JAPAN

Hollywood is on global expansion overdrive, with the international box office racking up a larger percentage of overall film revenues than ever before.

The economy stumbled badly in the first half of 2011 and came dangerously close to contracting in the January-March period, raising the risk of a recession if a stand-off over the nation's debt does not end quickly.

Nokia's tale of woe continues while Apple soars higher than ever before. The companies continue to head in opposite directions.

The U.S. economy came perilously close to flat-lining in the first quarter and grew at a meager 1.3 percent annual rate in the April-June period, leading economists to warn of recession if a stand-off over U.S. debt does not end quickly.

The economy grew less than expected in the second quarter as consumer spending barely rose amid higher gasoline prices, and growth braked sharply in the prior quarter, a government report showed on Friday.

Tire makers Michelin and Continental raised their full-year sales targets and said price hikes were compensating for the surging cost of rubber, their main raw material.

The Great Recession was even greater than previously thought, and the U.S. economy has skated uncomfortably close to a new one this year.

Former New York Yankee pitcher Hideki Irabu was found dead on Wednesday. His body was reportedly found by his friend. He was 42 years old.

The U.S. economy came perilously close to flat-lining in the first quarter and grew at a meager 1.3 percent annual rate in the April-June period as consumer spending barely rose.

Lacklustre lending activity in Japan's earthquake-ravaged economy and a shrinking retail investment business capped earnings of the country's top banks and brokerages in the fiscal first quarter, raising pressure on them to take more risks and find revenue sources overseas.

The shares of Japanese videogame maker Nintendo fall by a massive margin of 20 percent after poor sales results of its new 3D capable games device forced the company to cut the price of the product and its annual profit target.

"Higgs Boson," "Large Hadron Collider (LHC)" and CERN seem to have more or less become household words, even though it will take many patient sessions with a physicist to fully understand what is going on at CERN and what are the implications of a research of this large a scale.

German auto parts and tire maker Continental AG raised its full-year sales forecast on Friday as price increases helped it offset a sharp rise in raw material costs.

The Russian space agency's deputy head Vitaly Davydov?s comments forced Russia?s space agency to back off from an international outcry on Thursday.

Japan's biggest banks reported lackluster quarterly lending activity in the earthquake-ravaged economy, raising pressure on them to take more risks and find revenue sources overseas.

Japanese imports of rare earths from China fell 13 percent in June to 1,386 tonnes as a rise in prices made it unaffordable to many Japanese hi-tech companies.

Star baseball player Hideki Irabu was found hanging in his California home, and the police have said it was a case of 'apparent suicide'.

Japan on Friday escalated its warning to financial markets against testing the yen's upside further, with the finance ministry signaling that Tokyo may not wait for too long with action if the currency keeps climbing.

Apple and Samsung Electronics ended struggling Nokia's 15-year reign at the top of the smartphone sales rankings in the second quarter, researchers said on Friday.

Japan escalated on Friday its warning to markets against testing the yen's upside further, with the finance ministry signaling that Tokyo may not wait for too long with action if the currency keeps climbing.

Former New York Yankee pitcher Hideki Irabu was found dead on Wednesday. His body was reportedly found by his friend. He was 42 years old.