Asian shares eased on Thursday on renewed concerns about Chinese growth, but a brighter global economic outlook underpinned the dollar, reducing the appeal of safe-haven government debts. European stocks were inching higher in morning trade.

Brent crude inched above $125 on Thursday, after falling more than a dollar the previous session, as traders balanced a firm dollar and bulging crude stocks with lingering concerns about tensions between Iran and the West.

Treasuries extended their rout on Thursday, with the 10-year yield hitting a fresh 4 1/2 month high, as the Federal Reserve's brighter economic outlook and recent stock market strength drove investors out of debt.

JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has sent a memo to the bank's global operating committee in response to the firestorm that has engulfed Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) after former employee Greg Smith bashed the bank in an extraordinary resignation letter published in the New York Times opinion page.

Samsung Electronics Co (005930.KS) said on Thursday a Dutch court rejected its 3G patent bid to ban sales of Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhone and iPad in the Netherlands.

The Treasury said on Wednesday that it plans to sell its preferred stock position in six community banks as part of the Obama administration's effort to unwind bailout programs from the financial crisis.

Global maritime firms are starting to take container ships out of operation as rising fuel prices and falling freight rates erode profits, the head of industry leader Maersk Line (MAERSKb.CO) said on Thursday.

Around 5 percent of the global container capacity, or 800,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), are in lay up, an industry term for taking vessels out of action, said Soren Skou at Maersk's Singapore offices on his first overseas trip as CEO.

Guess Inc (GES.N) forecast a weak first-quarter profit as it expects belt-tightening by European governments to hurt consumer spending, sending the clothing maker's shares tumbling nearly 13 percent in trading after the bell.

Public anger about soaring profits at Chinese banks has strengthened calls to address the country's interest rate regime, forcing bank executives to defend the regulated deposit and lending terms that have helped them reap mega profits.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) said it was sued for causing climate change but that, like some other global warming cases taken against energy companies by environmentalists, the cases were dismissed.

Sears Holdings Corp's (SHLD.O) top shareholder ESL Investments, a hedge fund owned by Edward Lampert, has stepped in to make sure that vendors continue to provide supplies to the retail chain by agreeing to assume some payment obligations.

NDS, which develops software for multi-channel television networks, is in advanced talks to be acquired by Cisco Systems (CSCO.O) for $5 billion, Israel's Calcalist financial newspaper reported on Thursday.

Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N) said it would sell $1.25 billion of its common stock to pay for a portion of its acquisition of HSBC's (HSBA.L) U.S. credit card business and forecast a strong first-quarter profit.

Computer contractor SAIC will pay New York City more than $500 million under a deal to resolve its role in a fraudulent scheme that overcharged the city for a payroll time-keeping system, officials said on Wednesday.

Activist hedge fund Third Point said it will launch a campaign in the next seven days to install its own hand-picked directors on Yahoo Inc's (YHOO.O) board, blasting the Internet company for failing to give the firm a greater say in its operations.

On the macro front, the New York Federal Reserve Bank releases its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for March, at 1230 GMT, while the Labor Department releases February producer price index as well as first-time claims for jobless benefits for the week ended March 10, also at 1230 GMT.

The S&P 500 broke a five-day streak of gains on Wednesday as investors found little reason to extend a rally that took the benchmark index to four-year highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 16.42 points, or 0.12 percent, to 13,194.10 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX slipped 1.67 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,394.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC inched up just 0.85 of a point, or 0.03 percent, to 3,040.73.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency