JAPAN

Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp said talks to deepen ties with PSA Peugeot Citroen were ongoing, but played down expectations of a capital alliance after a report that those talks had stalled.

Standard and Poor's on Tuesday threatened to cut Japan's credit rating unless it produced a credible plan to rein in its soaring debt and lift growth in an economy plagued by persistent deflation.

Standard & Poor's cut its rating outlook on Japan on Tuesday and China implemented a clampdown on lending, hitting investor confidence about global economic recovery.

The yen hit a nine-month high against the euro on Tuesday, rallying after a Japanese Finance Ministry official pledged fiscal discipline after ratings agency S&P downgraded its outlook on the country's sovereign rating.

Standard and Poor's on Tuesday threatened to cut Japan's rating unless it produced a credible plan to rein in its soaring debt and lift growth in an economy plagued by persistent deflation.

Asian stocks slid on Tuesday, with Taiwan suffering its worst one-day fall in six months, as fears mounted that China could impose further measures to curb soaring loan growth, potentially dampening a global recovery.

Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as fears of further clampdowns on lending in China and a U.S. plan to freeze domestic spending sparked worries about the outlook for global growth.

Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan will ask the Bank of Japan to support the economy through flexible monetary policy in a speech in parliament this week, the Nikkei financial daily reported on Tuesday. Kan will make the unusual reference to the central bank's policy in a speech planned for Friday as part of the government's efforts to to overcome deflation, the paper said without citing sources.

The yen held broadly steady on Tuesday, hovering below a nine-month peak struck against the euro last week and taking a breather from a rally triggered by the onset of risk reduction. The yen surged last week as investors dumped higher-yielding currencies and risky assets on concerns that China's efforts to curb its surging economy could impair global growth and worries over a White House plan to curb risk-taking among banks.

Stock index futures pointed to a rebound on Wall Street on Monday following last week's sharp sell-off, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.82 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.74 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.51 percent at 4:15 a.m. EST.

World stocks added to the previous week's fall on Monday, weighed down by Wall Street losses, uncertainty over U.S. bank plans and concern that Greece's debt crisis could spread.

Asian stocks fell on Monday after Wall Street's worst three-day slide in 10 months, but moved off intra-day lows as a gain in U.S. futures signaled New York markets could recover some of last week's losses.

Asian stocks fell on Monday after Wall Street suffered its worst three-day slide in 10 months, but losses were muted, and high-yielding currencies edged up as some investor appetite for riskier assets surfaced.

Japanese manufacturers' confidence has recovered to its highest level since the global financial crisis hit, but remains weak overall due to concerns about deflation and sluggish domestic demand, a Reuters poll showed.

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China could overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy in 2010, one year before Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jim O'Neill had previously expected.

Japanese ruling party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa denied on Saturday any wrongdoing in a funding scandal that is dimming his party's mid-year election prospects, and vowed to stay on in his key position.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it will recall millions more vehicles in the United States, its second massive recall in four months, this time to fix potentially faulty accelerator pedals.

Sony Ericsson warned on Friday a recovery in the cellphone market could be slower than many expected as it reported its seventh straight quarterly loss.

South Korea's foreign minister said on Friday he wants to see dormant international talks on ending North Korea's nuclear arms programme resume in February without Pyongyang attaching conditions to its return.

Sony Ericsson reported progress in its turnaround plan on Friday as losses met expectations, but the mobile phone venture offered a cautious view on 2010 market conditions.