JAPAN

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia Oyj said on Tuesday it planned to cut 220 research and development jobs in Japan as it focused on launching fewer, but more iconic, phones.

Ford Motor Co will launch a new car model in India every 12-15 months over the next five years, with its new Figo small car is set to drive a tripling of sales in 2010, its India head said on Tuesday.

Asimco Technologies, an automotive components maker founded by Wall Street veteran Jack Perkowski in Beijing 15 years ago, is up for sale in a deal that could fetch over $200 million, people involved in the potential deal said on Tuesday.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday it had received about 14,000 orders for the new SAI hybrid sedan to go on sale in Japan on December 7, or roughly five times its monthly sales target of 3,000 units.

Warner Music Group , the world's third largest music company, on Tuesday reported a surprise quarterly loss as higher interest expense and operating costs cut into the record label's margins.

Japanese cabinet ministers piled yet more pressure on the Bank of Japan on Tuesday to respond to deflation, with one saying the central bank was asleep at the wheel.

Financial markets did a quick about-face from the previous session's patterns on Tuesday with stocks falling, the dollar recovering some losses and gold dropping back a bit from record highs.

The dollar recouped some of its overnight losses on Tuesday, while Asian shares slipped as investors shrugged off upbeat U.S. home sale data and took light profits on recent rallies.

The dollar stabilized in early trade on Tuesday after losing ground in New York, while Asian shares slipped as investors shrugged off upbeat U.S. home sale data and took a breather after recent gains.

China - Europe's biggest carmaker, Volkswagen plans to more than triple its sales in south China by 2018 as a main driver for its strategy to double sales to 2 million units in the country by that time, its China chief said on Sunday.

The dollar fell broadly on Monday after dovish comments from a U.S. Federal Reserve official added weight to expectations that U.S. monetary policy would stay ultra-loose for a prolonged period.

Gold powered to another record high on Monday, benefiting from its reputation as a hedge against inflation and sluggish economic growth, while oil and copper prices rose on a weaker dollar and supply concerns.

Japan's defense ministry is moving toward selecting Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 jet as the mainstay of its next-generation fighter force, Kyodo news agency reported on Monday, citing ministry sources.

Herman Van Rompuy, the European Union's new president, may not be very well known around the world but he's already winning fans in Japan -- as a poet rather than a politician.

Japan's Honda Motor Co Ltd has again produced the most fuel efficient and least polluting vehicles on American roads, the U.S. government projections for 2009 showed on Friday.

The chief executive of Delta Air Lines Inc says the SkyTeam alliance of global carriers would be willing to invest more than its proposed $1.02 billion in Japan Airlines, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Japan Airlines Corp will ask the government as early as Tuesday for 100 billion yen ($1.13 billion) in bridge loans from the Development Bank of Japan, the Nikkei business daily said.

The chief executive of Delta Air Lines Inc says the SkyTeam alliance of global carriers would be willing to invest more than its proposed $1.02 billion in Japan Airlines , the Wall Street Journal reported.

Nomura Asset Management said on Friday it will suspend new subscriptions of a popular U.S. REIT investment trust fund as heavy inflows from retail investors boosted its size beyond the appropriate level to manage the fund.

Barack Obama's first presidential trip to Asia was also his first big step in recasting U.S. ties with a region in flux, and showed this will demand patience and compromise from a superpower used to pushing its weight around.

Asian shares slipped on Friday, but recovered some early losses, while the dollar was steady after U.S. data raised fears that a global economic recovery could lose momentum.