JAPAN

Oil slid for a second day on Thursday, a day after Fed chief Ben Bernanke rekindled unease across financial markets over the pace of economic recovery, while rising U.S. inventories also kept prices in check.

Japan warned on Thursday it wants to avoid excessive rises in the yen, as the currency hovers near a seven-month high against the dollar on worries about the U.S. economic outlook. We have been saying that we want to avoid excessive rises in the yen, Deputy Finance Minister Motohisa Ikeda told reporters, when asked about the yen's recent strengthening.

Oil slid for a second day on Thursday, a day after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke rekindled unease across financial markets about the pace of economic recovery, while rising U.S. inventories also kept prices in check.

The yen neared a 7-1/2-month high and Asian stocks slid on Thursday after comments by the head of the Federal Reserve added to concerns about the U.S. economy, causing investors to dump riskier assets ahead of European bank stress test results.

The dollar slid towards a recent seven-month low versus the yen on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke expressed concern about the U.S. economy but steered clear of hinting about further easing as some had hoped.

The yen neared a 7-1/2-month high and Asian stocks slid on Thursday after comments by the head of the Federal Reserve added to concerns about the U.S. economy, causing investors to dump riskier assets ahead of European bank stress test results.

Asian stocks slipped and the yen rose on Thursday after comments by the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve added to concern about the U.S. economy and left investors uneasy ahead of European bank stress tests.

Wall Street analysts boosted their price targets on Apple Inc after it posted robust quarterly results, but the company's conservative margin forecast limited gains in the stock on Wednesday.

Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hirohide Yamaguchi said on Wednesday the central bank has not guided monetary policy with a specific currency rate level in mind, and will not do so.

Japan's Nikkei average inched down 0.2 percent on Wednesday, weighed down by worries about a stronger yen and doubts over the U.S. economic recovery as the market awaited events later this week, including the results of European bank stress tests.

Gold edged down on Wednesday as investors shifted some of their money into firming equities, while a drop in ETF holdings could prompt more selling as bullion struggles to hold above $1,190 an ounce. Although purchases from jewelers offered some support, trading was thin ahead of euro zone bank stress test results this week, which some analysts say could soothe concerns about how European banks would cope with deterioration in the region's economy and financial markets.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as investors cheered Apple's strong earnings and on optimism that China may roll back policy tightening measures later this year, while the euro firmed ahead of euro zone's bank stress test results late in the week.

Over the Saturday and Sunday over 200 groups consisting out of 12,000 dancers perform to the delight of locals and tourists.

Honda Motor Co plans to launch a plug-in hybrid and battery electric model in 2012 as part of its strategy to push to the front of a race by global automakers to develop more fuel-efficient cars.

The euro eased a bit after hitting a two-month high against the dollar on Tuesday, but remained supported as weak U.S. economic data hurt the greenback. The euro rose as high as $1.3029 on trading platform EBS, with dealers saying key stop-losses -- closing of positions to cap loss-making trades -- had been taken out around $1.3010, with more above $1.3030. By 0929 GMT (5:29 a.m. EDT), it was up 0.1 percent on the day at $1.2955.

Emerging markets were in high demand in mid July, with bond fund inflows at a record, as investors chose dynamic developing economies over lagging advanced markets, EPFR Global said on Tuesday. Emerging market equity funds tracked by EPFR posted combined inflows of more than $3 billion for the week ended July 14, while emerging market bond funds took in $745 million, bringing their year-to-date inflows to an all-time high of $18.5 billion.

Japan's Sharp Corp said on Tuesday it would enter the electronic reader and book markets, hoping to grab a slice of the hot but increasingly crowded sector popularized by Apple Inc and Amazon.com.

Financial markets juggled with competing drivers on Tuesday as investors generally boosted stocks in the hope of more good earnings reports and the dollar slipped on concerns about the U.S. economy.

Asian stocks broadly rose on Tuesday as a firm performance on Wall Street and optimism over corporate earnings offset increasing worries about the U.S. economy.

(Corrects to say in paragraph 5 to say yen near 7-month high, not 7-week)

The dollar eased on Tuesday, inching closer to a two-month low versus the euro hit last week as investors continued to cut long positions on more disappointing U.S. economic data. The greenback rose a little against the yen on bids from Japanese importers, but remained close to a seven-month low marked last week, leading many market players to look to what authorities in Japan could do about a firm yen.