JAPAN

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as strong results from chip maker Intel Corp prompted a rally in tech shares, while renewed strength in metals prices boosted materials companies and also lifted the commodity-linked Australian dollar.

Japan's top three banks are planning to book a combined loss of 160 billion yen ($1.9 billion) on their stakes in Tokyo Electric Power <9501.T>, whose shares have tumbled sharply due to the crisis at its crippled nuclear plant, sources said on Wednesday.

Shares of Toshiba Corp jumped 4 percent on Wednesday after a newspaper report that Apple Inc would invest in its production of small smartphone-use displays, dropping Sharp from the running for that business in Japan.

Intel Corp forecast quarterly revenues well above Wall Street's estimates, defying fears the world's top chip maker is struggling to find its footing as personal computer sales growth wanes.

Japan's exports fell in March from a year earlier at a faster pace than economists expected, in a sign that shipments will continue to weaken and hurt economic growth after last month's earthquake and tsunami sparked a nuclear crisis and disrupted supply chains for many manufacturers.

Yahoo Inc posted quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street targets, and its shares rose more than 3 percent as Chief Executive Carol Bartz said the number of users and time spent at Yahoo sites rose from a year ago.

Global makers of products from motorcycles to mobile phones are finding it harder to get the parts they need after Japan's earthquake and tsunami wrecked supply chains, and investors worry that the worst is yet to come for earnings.

U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, clawing back some of the previous day's losses as positive earnings news helped buoy shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65.16 points, or 0.53%, to finish near the day's highs at 12266.75. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 7.48 points, or 0.57%, to 1312.62 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 9.59 points, or 0.35%, to 2744.97. The gains came one day after the Dow fell 140 points on credit-ratings firm Standard & Poor's decision to lower its ...

Intel Corp forecast quarterly revenues well above Wall Street's estimates, defying fears the world's top chip maker is struggling to find its footing as personal computer sales growth wanes.

U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected report on new home starts and encouraging quarterly results from Johnson & Johnson buoyed sentiment.

A telecom equipment company in Spain has published instructions and sells kits for a DIY radiation detector.

Toyota Motor Co <7203.T> may have to change its U.S. sales targets because of production slowdowns in Japan and North America, the U.S. sales chief of the world's largest automaker said on Tuesday.

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Tuesday as investors searched the latest raft of corporate profits for a reason to rebound from Monday's selloff.

Cellphone maker Sony Ericsson is suffering component shortages following the Japanese earthquake and has roped in its bigger parents to give it more muscle in the fight for supplies with bigger rivals.

Donald Trump's PR campaign has been built around questioning the validity of President Obama's birth certificate. But recently Trump has also broached on foreign policy, adding another angle to his PR campaign.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to move the radioactive water from one of the reactor buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and treat it on site, the company said.

[Selling silver short] natural with these giddy prices, one London trader told the Platts news service on Monday. Speculators are going to have to take profits soon. Shorts have been burned in the run-up, but keep coming back for more, he said, forecasting a $10 drop in the Silver Price short term.

Booming smartphone demand and cost cuts kept cellphone venture Sony Ericsson in the black in the first quarter as it battled supply disruptions from Japan's earthquake and tsunami.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Atrinsic, Millicom International Cellular, Zions Bancorp, Pacer International, and Internet Initiative Japan. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Identive Group, Logitech International, Lincare Holdings, Vodafone Group, and Inspire Pharmaceuticals.

The situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remains very serious but there are early signs of recovery in some functions, such as electrical power and instrumentation, International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday in its latest update on Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Toshiba Corp said on Tuesday it likely fell short of its operating profit estimate for the past business year by 4 percent after last month's massive earthquake and tsunami affected operations at some of its plants.