JAPAN

Gold prices followed crude oil and global stocks lower Tuesday after ratings firms cut the credit ratings of several European nations and banks and warned that more reductions were likely.

The U.S. Federal Reserve should do all it can to reduce very high unemployment and bring inflation back up to more desirable levels, a top Fed official said on Monday.

Japan's Nikkei share average slipped on Tuesday but still hovered near the 9,000 level, with non-life insurers underperforming after MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings (8725.T) cut guidance on heavy losses on the flooding in Thailand.

A fountain video from Dubai set to I Will Always Love You has been received by many Whitney Houston fans to be a tribute to the late singer.

Lin's heritage is a bit of a puzzle, especially when viewed through the prism of Chinese-Taiwanese relations.

Scandal-hit Olympus Corp on Monday forecast a $410 million full-year loss due largely to its ailing camera operations, but strength in its endoscope business suggested its core division would emerge from the debacle unscathed and its president said it might try to go it alone without seeking outside capital.

The international economic outlook is showing tentative signs of improvement, with the momentum shift spreading from the United States and Japan to other developed countries, the OECD's December survey of growth prospects showed on Monday.

Relief over the passing of austerity measures by the Greek parliament saw bank shares lead European stocks higher on Monday, while the euro also gained even though more steps are needed before the shadow of a messy debt default can be lifted.

Greeks swept rocks and broken glass from the streets of Athens on Monday after a night of violence that gave lawmakers a taste of the challenge they face in implementing a deeply unpopular austerity bill demanded by the country's foreign lenders. The bill was the price of a 130 billion euro EU/IMF bailout to save Greece from a chaotic default next month.

Japan's Olympus Corp, which is trying to recover from an accounting scandal that battered its balance sheet, forecast a 32 billion yen ($412 million) full-year net loss on Monday, dragged down in large part by its ailing camera business.

Japan's Olympus Corp, which is trying to recover from a massive accounting scandal that battered its balance sheet, forecast on Monday a 32 billion yen ($412 million) full-year net loss, dragged down in large part by its ailing camera business.

Japan's Mitsubishi Corp <8058.T> cleared the last hurdle on Monday to take control of iron ore, port and rail projects in Western Australia which are slated to cost $10 billion and which it hopes to fund with Chinese partners.

Japan's economy shrank more-than-expected in the fourth quarter, hurt by slowing global growth, Thai floods and a strong yen, casting doubt on hopes for a pick up in activity in the first months of 2012.

Japan’s economy contracted more than economists forecast in the fourth quarter as exports slid on weakness in global demand and strength in the yen.

Three years after China launched its most ambitious experiment yet to give its currency more global clout, some market watchers are writing its epitaph, saying Beijing is not loosening its grip on the yuan fast enough to attract sustained interest.

Greece's parliament approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill Monday to secure a second EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy, as buildings burned across central Athens and violence spread around the country.

Japan's economy shrank a bigger-than-expected 0.6 percent in October-December, hurt by slowing global growth, Thai floods and a strong yen, casting doubt about expectations that growth will resume this quarter as Europe's debt crisis clouds the outlook.

When they saw the house on El Dorado Drive in this Los Angeles suburb being painted a startling orange and green and giant billboards hung on the outside, Scott and Beth Hostetler's neighbors were initially angry and confused. Some even considered calling the police.

When they saw the house on El Dorado Drive in this Los Angeles suburb being painted a startling orange and green and giant billboards hung on the outside, Scott and Beth Hostetler's neighbors were initially angry and confused. Some even considered calling the police.

Aided by the World Food Programme (WFP), the Philippine government's Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is undertaking a $46,000 customization of open-source software, Sahana, which is commonly used in disaster relief to develop a national Relief Goods Inventory and Monitoring System (RGIMS).

Japanese Emperor Akihito will undergo heart bypass surgery on Feb. 18, after a detailed examination found a heart problem had worsened, the Imperial Household Agency was quoted as saying on Sunday.