Finance chiefs from the world's three biggest economies sought on Tuesday to keep a lid on global market jitters as banks at the sharp end of a global financial storm said they faced serious trouble. Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson agreed to keep a close eye on markets while German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said there was no sign of the turmoil hitting the wider economy.
Gold gained on Monday with a drop in the dollar and recovery in stocks, but investors remained cautious as they digested the U.S. federal reserve's surprise move to slash the rate it charges banks on loans.
Investors boosted stocks and moved back into other riskier assets on Monday as immediate fears of a credit crunch waned following the Federal Reserve's confidence-building move last week.
Policymakers and investors breathed a sigh of relief on Monday as Federal Reserve action brought calm to shaken financial markets, but experts said it was too soon to discount a global credit crisis.
Asian companies will have a tough time raising funds and face weaker export demand if the global credit squeeze persists and a deteriorating U.S. housing market crimps consumer spending.
The Nikkei plunged more than 5 percent in its biggest one-day loss since the September 11 attacks on Friday as sharp gains in the yen triggered concern about Japan's economic outlook and companies' profits, hammering shares of exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp.
Japanese department stores Isetan Co. Ltd. and Mitsukoshi Ltd. have agreed to merge under a holding company in spring 2008, creating the sector's largest player, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.
World stocks took another dive on Friday despite early attempts at a rebound in Europe while currency dealers drove the Japanese yen to a 14-month high against the dollar, throwing out risky leverage. Wall Street looked set for a weak opening.
Oil dropped $2 on Thursday as credit and economic fears pounded global financial markets and as a storm threat to U.S. Gulf refineries and rigs receded.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's largest bank, would consider buying a commercial bank in the United States or Europe to expand its international operations, a senior executive said on Thursday.
The region is still a safer bet than struggling U.S. and European markets despite an expected dip in investment due to higher borrowing costs from the U.S. subprime crises.
Central banks on Wednesday progressively withdrew the cash they recently injected into money markets as the focus of the global credit storm rolled into emerging markets and currencies.
Japan's Nikkei plumbed a 2007 low and other Asian stock markets fell as much as 6 percent on Wednesday as investors shunned risky trades amid growing credit jitters, pushing the yen to a 4 and a half month high. The nervous sentiment is set to hit Europe, where financial bookmakers are calling for falls of half a percent or more for major indexes.
Consumer appetite for digital cameras so far this year has grown twice as fast as expected, as buyers replace older models at cheaper prices, according to research firm IDC.
The bank of Japan drained up to 1.6 trillion yen in cash from its financial markets on Tuesday, suggesting that the Bank of Japan felt comfortable that business was returning to normal.
A new survey says 92.6 percent of affluent families in China which annual income exceeding $25,000 spend about $10,000 in leisure and entertainment every year, according to the research released on Monday by MasterCard International.
Asia's central banks took further steps on Monday to calm markets roiled by fears over a credit squeeze, with the Bank of Japan injecting $5.1 billion into the banking system and others pledging to follow suit if needed.
Asian stock markets made a tentative recovery on Monday following last week's hammering as fears of a global credit crisis eased after central banks around the world pumped money into banking systems.
Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. is considering selling its loss-making mobile phone operations and is already in preliminary talks with several domestic cellphone makers, a source close to the matter said.
Japan's economy grew an anemic 0.1 percent in the April-June quarter, reinforcing expectations that a shake-out in global markets will prompt the central bank to rethink a rate hike this month.
Central banks probably will halt their monetary tightening campaign and the Federal Reserve may start cutting interest rates to ward off a global credit crunch, financial market dealers said on Friday.
'Galactic Suite,' the first hotel planned in space, expects to open for business in 2012 and would allow guests to travel around the world in 80 minutes.
