JAPAN

Japan said on Tuesday it will provide $60 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund, becoming the first non-European nation to commit money to boost the fund's financial firepower to contain the euro zone debt crisis.

Japan said Tuesday it would offer $60 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost a global firewall against Europe's debt crisis.

Japan said on Tuesday it will provide $60 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund, becoming the first non-European nation to commit money to boost the fund's financial firepower to contain the euro zone debt crisis.

Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), the beleagured No. 2 search engine, is expected to have flat revenue and earnings in the first quarter as it seeks to turn around stagnant advertising and search divisions under its new CEO.

The United Nations has issued a unanimous statement on Monday denouncing North Korea's attempted satellite launch and warned of further actions in response to new ballistic missile tests or nuclear testing from the North.

Iran and North Korea have long been suspected of having exchanged ballistic missile technology.

Retail sales showed unexpected vigor in March as Americans shrugged off high gasoline prices and bought a range of goods, suggesting economic growth in the first quarter was probably not as weak as many had feared.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is expected to report stronger first-quarter profit as the world's largest soft-drink maker tries to offset higher commodity prices by undertaking a new cost-cutting program and continuing to target emerging market growth.

U.S. retail sales rose solidly in March as Americans shrugged off high gasoline prices and bought a range of goods, implying that economic growth in the first quarter was probably not as weak as many had feared.

Retail sales rose more than expected in March as Americans shrugged off high gasoline prices and bought a range of goods, suggesting that economic growth in the first quarter did not slow as much as many had feared.

Asian stock markets ended lower Monday as surge in Spain's borrowing costs renewed concern over the eurozone debt crisis.

South Korea's central bank has lowered the country's growth forecast for 2012 to 3.5 percent on account of the global economic slowdown that has resulted in the weakening of exports.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Monday he was continuing to monitor the risk that Europe's debt woes could affect Japan's banking system, just as renewed fears about the euro zone spooked financial markets.

Asian stock markets declined Monday, following a slump in the US and European stocks last week on renewed eurozone concerns.

Situated 5,000 meters (16,404 feet) high in the Chilean Andes, the world's largest and most expensive ground-based astronomy project has just begun its monumental search in hopes of answering some of humanity's biggest questions.

Gu Kailai and Bo Xilai, an elite power couple in China, are at the center of a shocking political scandal involving the death of a British national.

South Korea's central bank said Friday that it is keeping the key interest rate unchanged at 3.25 percent, subsequent to the inflationary pressures witnessed by the country.

China has previously warned India away from exploration projects in the South China Sea.

A Japanese woman, nicknamed the Black Widow, has been sentenced to death for murdering three former lovers in 2009.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), the No. 1 PC vendor, kept its crown in the first quarter and added share as worldwide PC shipments rose 1.9 percent, market researcher Gartner (NYSE: IT) said.

Failure of the satellite and rocket, launched to mark the ascendancy of Kim Jong-un and celebrate the 100th birthday of North Korea's founder, the late Kim Il-sung, sparked fears the country will pursue further launches nuclear tests.