JAPAN

Most Asian stocks rose on Thursday with energy stocks higher as oil held near a record peak above $80, while expectations of an U.S. rate cut next week pinned the dollar near an all-time low versus the euro.

The euro surged to a lifetime high against the dollar on Wednesday, weighing on European shares as investors remained nervous over the health of the U.S. economy even with an expected interest rate cut there next week.

It looks like a washing machine on wheels, but the bulky contraption vacuuming the hallways of a Tokyo high-rise is a robot.

Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan's largest broker, said on Wednesday it would join hands with Norinchukin Bank in establishing a company which would gather pension money to invest in private equity funds.

Japanese drug maker Astellas Pharma Inc said on Wednesday it would begin mid-stage trials of a new drug candidate to help prevent organ rejection in kidney transplants.

The battle for supremacy in the optical disc technology between world's No.2 consumer electronics company, Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray and rival Toshiba's HD DVD, has intensified with Sony announcing that it will launch four models of new Blu-ray high-definition (HD) optical disc recorders in November in Japan.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his resignation, Wednesday, over his failure to win backing from politicians for an extension to a Japanese naval mission providing refueling support to US-led operations in Afghanistan.

Faced with a shrinking labor force, companies in the world's fastest-aging society are looking to older people as well as younger women, immigrants and even robots to fill the gaps.

Gold stayed near a 16-month high on Wednesday as Tokyo futures hit their highest in nearly seven weeks on a falling yen, after media reports that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would resign sparked fears of political uncertainty.

The dollar fell to a record low against the euro on Wednesday as an expected interest rate cut next week from the Federal Reserve continued to erode the U.S. currency's appeal.

Japanese stocks ended in negative territory on Wednesday after the shock resignation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with the Nikkei average down 0.5 percent as thin trade and political uncertainty took their toll.

Sony Corp said it will launch four models of new Blu-ray high-definition optical disc recorders in November in Japan, as its format battle with the HD DVD camp heats up.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe abruptly announced his resignation on Wednesday after a year in power dogged by scandals, an election rout and a crisis over Japan's support for U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan.

NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile phone carrier, said it may restructure its regional sales units, as it battles a price war against aggressive rivals seeking to grab market share.

Japanese venture capital firm SBI Holdings Inc and Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co Ltd said they would launch an Internet bank this month, joining a crowded race to manage Japan's $13 trillion in household financial assets.

Bank Citigroup will list its shares in Tokyo as early as November as part of the financial giant's push into the world's second-largest economy, sources familiar with said.

The dollar slid to a 15-year low against a basket of currencies on Monday after data showing U.S. employers cut jobs for the first time in four years stoked expectations for a hefty Federal Reserve rate cut this month.

In the apparently pure Arctic air, a research station on a Norwegian island mountain ridge finds tiny chemical traces from factories in Russia, pesticides in Israel or China's coal-fired power plants.

Asia-Pacific leaders said on Sunday they saw real progress in world trade talks now underway in Geneva and pledged flexibility and the political will to forge a deal by the end of 2007.

Nippon Steel Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. have agreed to price rises of more than 10 percent for car-use steel, media said, raising the prospect of steelmakers' earnings upgrades later this year.

China's booming economy is creating more than 70 millionaires a day, but foreign banks don't have enough products, client managers or offices to tap into the market for top-end private wealth services.