Japan's Nikkei average leapt 5 percent and led Asian stocks higher on Friday, propelled by growing investor confidence that large U.S. banks will survive without government takeovers and may even profit.
A 5 percent surge in Japan's Nikkei average led a charge in Asian stocks on Friday, propelled by increasing confidence in the financial sector stemming from hopes that large U.S. banks will survive without a government takeover and may even profit.
HONG KONG - Asian stocks rose on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei up 4 percent, helped by a smaller-than-expected decline in U.S. retail sales and hopes that the largest U.S. banks will survive without a government takeover.
China said it was ready to pump more money into its economy and saw a pick-up in trade, offering another glimmer of hope for the battered global economy as signs that big U.S. banks may be turning around lifted world stocks.
Asian stocks rose for a fourth day on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei up 4 percent, helped by a smaller-than-expected decline in U.S. retail sales and hopes that the largest U.S. banks will survive without a government takeover.
U.S. business leaders urged lawmakers on Thursday to act quickly on healthcare reform, saying American companies were losing out to other countries with cheaper healthcare and healthier workers.
North Korea has given global agencies notice of its plans to launch a satellite from April 4-8, an official said on Thursday in a move Washington has called provocative and views as a disguised long-range missile test.
Japanese shares fell more than 2 percent on Thursday and other Asian markets were on the defensive as confidence in a rally this week proved fleeting in light of a shaky global economy and financial system.
The global economy may shrink 1-2 percent this year, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said, as revised Japanese data confirmed the world's No. 2 economy suffered its deepest slump since the oil shock of 1974.
Japan's economy posted its sharpest contraction since the oil crisis of 1974 in the final three months of last year, revised government data showed, and economists saw little signs of an early rebound.
The British arm of Toyota Motor Corp is to cut UK staff pay and working hours by 10 percent to save money in the face of a sharp downturn in global demand, the Japanese auto maker said on Wednesday.
North Korea's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday accused the United States of preparing for a war against the communist state in Pyongyang's first verbal criticism of the Obama Administration.
Shares of Japan's Toshiba Corp gained 9.5 percent after a newspaper reported it would likely see an operating profit of about $1 billion next business year, in sharp contrast with analyst estimates for a loss.
Banking worries shot back into equity markets on Wednesday after leading European bank UBS said it saw its earnings at risk for some time, weighing on investors a day after many had their best day since December.
A drop in Chinese exports and falling prices in Japan and Germany underscored the weakness of the world economy, while the IMF said governments are moving too slowly to rid banks of their toxic assets.
Asia stocks rose on Wednesday after hopes Citigroup will deliver a first-quarter profit sparked an improvement in investor confidence, though grim Chinese export data sent dealers buying the U.S. dollar for safety.
China's exports tumbled in February and Japan's wholesale prices fell by the most in six years, stark illustrations of a bleak world economy even as Citigroup boosted investor confidence in the banking sector.
Asia stocks rose on Wednesday after hopes Citigroup will deliver a first-quarter profit sparked an improvement in investor confidence, though grim Chinese export data sent dealers buying the U.S. dollar for safety.
Citigroup said it was profitable in the first two months of 2009 and Toshiba was reported to be set for an operating profit of $1 billion next year, two rare shards of corporate news to lift markets.
The U.S. dollar slipped and world stocks rallied in their biggest single-day gain in three months on Tuesday after a Citigroup memo saying the troubled bank made a profit in January and February fuelled the appetite for risk.
Asian shares outside Japan posted their best gains in a month on Tuesday while safe-haven flight to the dollar eased, but the moves were seen as only a momentary reprieve from a gloomy economic outlook.
Asian shares rebounded on Tuesday from a three-session losing streak, while the safe-haven bid on the dollar retreated in moves seen as a momentary reprieve from concerns about the weak outlook for the global economy.
