JAPAN

Wall Street was set to open higher for a second day on Friday as Group of Seven nations moved to calm markets rattled by Japan's nuclear crisis and oil prices fell after Libya said it would cease military actions.

General Mills is set to pay 800 million euros ($1.12 billion) for half the Yoplait yogurt brand, allowing the company to settle a management dispute and pursue emerging markets growth.

Apple may face supply chain disruptions for its newly launched iPad 2 as a 9 magnitude earthquake in Japan impacted several component makers for the tablet, according to a report from IHS.

Apple may face supply chain disruptions for its newly launched iPad 2 as a 9 magnitude earthquake in Japan impacted several component makers for the tablet.

Oil rose above $116 a barrel on Friday after the United Nations authorized Western-led attacks in OPEC member Libya and tension stayed high across the oil-producing Middle East.

Futures bounced back for a second day on Friday but Japan's nuclear crisis and rising oil prices on possible military action against Libya could keep Wall Street on track for its worst week in seven months.

Adam Cole, global head of FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets, expects yen crosses to trade in narrow ranges as factors limit both the upside and the downside.

The nuclear crisis at the quake-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant is now rated just two notches below the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine after Japanese authorities raised the alert level at the site to five from four (on a seven-point global scale for such incidents.

Panic gripped the U.S. West Coast despite a fraction of media's active campaign to quell the fears of harmful radiation from earthquake-torn Japan blowing in the wind.

Impending 8-magnitude aftershock is yet to come and it may devastate Tokyo and surrounding regions, says UC Davis seismologist.

The following is a roundup of the effect on the energy and commodities sector of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeast coast of Japan.

U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday, bouncing back from three straight days of losses as better-than-expected reports on jobless claims and Consumer Price Index (CPI) buoyed sentiment, and FedEx Corp. boosted its profit forecast.

Brent crude jumped by more than $1 to $116 on Friday on fears of rising geopolitical tension in the oil-rich Middle East and North Africa, after the United Nations approved military action to contain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Japan bought billions of dollars to restrain a soaring yen on Friday, kicking off joint market intervention by the world's richest nations to calm global markets made nervous by the threat of a meltdown at a nuclear power plant near Tokyo.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa reiterated the central bank's resolve to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy following Friday's Group of Seven agreement to join in a rare coordinated intervention to restrain soaring yen.

Brent crude jumped by more than $1 to stand above $116 on Friday on fears of rising geopolitical tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and North Africa, after the U.N. approved military action to curb Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Hawaiian tourism, a keystone of the state's economy just starting to rebound from a long slump, is taking a new hit from a plunge in Japanese leisure travel after the devastating earthquake and tsunami there.

The Group of Seven industrial nations agreed on Friday to jointly intervene in the currency market to stem a sharp yen rise that complicates Japan's battle with the devastation caused by last week's violent earthquake and an unfolding nuclear crisis.

General Motors Co said it would temporarily idle its pick-up truck plant in Louisiana due to a parts shortage stemming from the crisis in Japan.

Samsung Electronics Co <005930.KS>, the world's top memory chip maker, forecast on Friday a challenging business outlook due to growing competition, but said it was aiming to achieve record profit this year.

The Group of Seven finance chiefs said authorities from the United States, Britain, Canada and the European Central Bank will join with Japan in joint foreign exchange intervention from Friday, at the request of the Japanese authorities.