JAPAN

Global shares continued to slide on Monday, while Europe's benchmark Brent crude was just short of $100 a barrel on fears political unrest in Egypt could spread among regional oil-producing nations.

Mizuho Financial Group's net profit doubled in the October-December quarter, helped by lower credit costs, and it kept its full-year profit outlook unchanged.

Honda Motor Co raised its annual profit outlook above market expectations as a recovery in the key U.S. market helps counter the strong yen and sliding Japanese sales, which weighed on third-quarter earnings.

Japan's Toshiba Corp's quarterly profit more than doubled, driven by a boom in sales of NAND flash memory chips and liquid-crystal displays used in tablets and smartphones but it stuck with its full-year outlook.

Mizuho Financial Group said on Monday its net profit more than tripled in the nine months ended in December, buoyed by hefty bond trading gains in the first half, and kept its full-year profit outlook unchanged.

Honda Motor Co lifted its cautious outlook even as a strong yen and sliding Japanese sales hit quarterly profits, confirming investors' optimism about the automaker's robust earnings potential.

Honda Motor Co <7267.T> raised its cautious annual outlook beyond market expectations as a recovery in the key U.S. market helps counter the strong yen and sliding Japanese sales, which dragged its third-quarter profits down 29 percent.

Fundamentals and nasty surprises are on investors minds heading into February, with big tests in the coming week about jobs and inflation and increasing worries over Egypt and its region.

The 80s animated series will be tweaked and modernised for today's viewers

An emergency condition has been issued by the government in Japan after the Shinmoedake peak on the southern island of Kyushu erupted, spewing columns of ask and smoke in the sky.

A recent survey says more Americans are worried about having their online privacy violated than about losing their job.

Japan's prime minister vowed on Friday to push ahead with tax reforms to curb bulging public debt, but an uncooperative opposition and divisions within his own party on policy make the chances of success slim.

Poverty and unemployment reared their heads at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, with speakers urging the elite audience to bridge a growing gap between booming multinationals and the jobless poor.

The euro's rally against the dollar faltered on Friday and stocks opened weaker ahead of U.S. fourth-quarter GDP numbers on profit taking, although both look set to end the week in the black.

Stock index futures fell on Friday ahead of the release of fourth-quarter U.S. growth data, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq all down by around 0.2 percent by 4:35 a.m. ET.

Japanese leaders vowed on Friday to push ahead with tax reforms needed to rein in bulging public debt, but doubts persisted over whether the government could succeed in the face of a divided parliament.

Japan and the United States faced new pressure to confront their swollen budget deficits as the IMF and rating agencies demanded more evidence they can bring their public debts under control.

The United States and Japan received sharp warnings from the IMF and ratings agencies on Thursday that they must tackle their huge budget deficits to avoid investors dumping their bonds, which would create a sovereign debt crisis and push up their borrowing costs.

Asian stocks fell on Friday in a broad wave of profit-taking, giving up much of this week's gains, while a ratings cut gave investors an excuse to reduce their Japanese share holdings.

Asian stocks fell by half a percent on Friday, succumbing to a broad bout of profit-taking, as concern about rising inflation outweighed robust earnings.

Japan's core consumer prices fell in December from a year earlier for a 22nd consecutive month, as slow wage growth and sluggish demand kept the country mired in deflation while the government grapples with heavy public debt.