JAPAN

Now that Scott Thomson, 53, has been elected as Yahoo’s new CEO as well as a director, here are a couple of items the technology savvy accountant needs to take care of fast:

As part of Italian fashion label Marni's collaboration with retail brand H&M, approximately 25 percent of the funds raised from sales of an exclusive unisex T-shirt will be used to assist the Red Cross in Japan.

In his traditional new year's press conference, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pledged Wednesday to revive the area around the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

South Korea said on Wednesday it had approved a plan by Samsung Electronics Co to build a flash memory chip plant in China seen costing some $4 billion, as a boom in smartphones and tablet computers fuels the chip industry's growth.

U.S. oil group ExxonMobil is in talks to sell most of its 50 percent stake in Japanese refiner TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK <5012.T>, in a deal that could be worth as much as $5 billion, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Estrogen-like compounds that come with a soy-rich diet are sometimes linked to a reduced risk of cancer, but new research from Japan suggests that protection doesn't extend to stomach cancer.

Japan's leading share average rose to a three-week closing high on Wednesday after better-than-expected economic data from the United States and China, although strategists said the rally could stall if the euro holds below 100 yen.

Exxon Mobil is in talks to sell most of its 50 percent stake in TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK <5012.T> back to its Japanese refining partner and unload other assets in Japan in a deal that could be worth as much as $5 billion, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Stock index futures fell on Wednesday after a sharp market rally in the previous session, as investors focused again on Europe's debt problems.

Skiers flew off the ski jump, overlooking the hills and the audience, during the second event of the 60th Four Hills Ski Jumping Tournament, in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, over the weekend.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as investor risk appetite returned after upbeat U.S. and European economic data improved the global growth outlook, but the euro's gains were short-lived due to deep-set worries over the European debt crisis.

Shares of Elpida Memory rose more than 7 percent in early trade on Wednesday after the Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes said the troubled chipmaker may merge with Toshiba.

South Korea said on Wednesday it had approved a plan by Samsung Electronics Co to build a flash memory chip plant in China seen costing some $4 billion, as a boom in smartphones and tablet computers fuels the chip industry's growth.

In a disturbing example of corporate defense strategy, Pepsi's lawyers are denying that plaintiff Roland Ball discovered a dead mouse in his can of Mountain Dew... by claiming that the noxious chemicals in the soda would have erased any trace of it.

Shares of Micron Technology Inc climbed as much as 11 percent after Barclays Capital raised the chip devices maker's stock to overweight, even as the brokerage downgraded five other stocks from the sector, including Intel Corp.

U.S. semiconductor stocks are in for a volatile 2012 as inventory correction extends into the first quarter, and an industry recovery due only in the second half, Barclays Capital said and downgraded five stocks, including Intel Corp.

Buildings reportedly swayed from the jolt in Tokyo, but the Daily Mail reported that the quake did not disrupt the final of the Emperor's Cup football tournament being played at the National Stadium.

Bajaj Auto Ltd launched its first-ever four-wheeled vehicle on Tuesday, saying the RE60 would target commercial users and three-wheeled vehicle owners in India, and that production could involve Nissan and Renault.

The International Monetary Fund will release as early as this summer the results of health checks on Japanese banks, including their ability to withstand the European debt crisis and weak economic growth, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

SANTIAGO, Jan 2 - Chile's state copper giant Codelco said on Monday it exercised a disputed option to buy a stake in Anglo American's south Chile mining assets, but is willing to consider taking a smaller stake if Anglo proposes a formula that safeguards its full value.

SANTIAGO, Jan 2 - Chile state copper giant Codelco on Monday said it had exercised a $6 billion option to buy mining assets in southern Chile, but global miner Anglo American defied the move, setting the stage for a lengthy legal battle.