News Summary

In China, striking workers who have paralyzed Honda Motor Company’s HMC production lines have been offered a 24% pay hike and benefits by the company. However, production at Chinese plants will remain halted till at least June 3 as some holdouts are still not satisfied. The walkout at Honda started on May 17, when the company fired two strike leaders at a plant in the southern Guangdong province, China's export powerhouse. Strikers were demanding a 53% boost to total their compensation package at 2,300 yuan, or US $337, a month. By 11:47 am, shares of HMC were trading 0.26% higher at $30.47. Apple AAPL announced today that iPad sales have topped 2 million, well ahead of the two-month target. The sales growth of iPad has exceeded that of iPhone, which debuted 2007. Till now, 5,000 iPads have been created by Apple developers. Despite the recent spike in Apple’s shares, some continue to believe that they are a low-risk buy. With the iPad sales figure rising, upgrades have started pouring in, with Broadpoint AmTech raising AAPL’s target price to $340 from $320. iPad estimates have also been raised, with Broadpoint AmTech upping its iPad estimate to 2.5 million from 1 million in June and Kaufman raising its iPad estimate to 2.7 million from 2 million. According to the New York Post, an initial round of bids was completed for the Texas-based electronics chain RadioShack RSH last week. Blackstone BX has emerged as a leading bidder, with other big private equity firms following it. A low profile has been maintained by Best Buy BBY so far and it is hard to tell whether the firm is bidding or not. RSH has hired Goldman Sachs GS to find out strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company that could garner more than $3 billion. RSH gained 6.6%, whereas BX lost 2.85 in pre-market hours. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.