IBT Staff Reporter

Some of the world's richest central banks will not stop investing in the euro, supporting its reserve status, despite the sovereign debt crisis hammering the euro zone's currency, government sources said.

Tanzania is all set to build a new oil refinery and a 1,500-kilometres pipeline to bring oil to its interiors, according to country's Energy and Minerals ministry. The ministry said, the $3.5 million project will be carried out by Noor Oil & Industrial Technologies (NOIT), a US based multinational oil firm will give the region a steady, uninterrupted supply of refined products.

The World Gold Council (WGC) has announced the appointment of Jammy Chan as its Head of Investment in Greater China, effective immediately. Mr Chan will be based in Beijing and will report to Roland Wang, General Manager, Greater China at the WGC.

Central bank reserve holdings have exploded globally in the last decade and nowhere more so than in Asia, where the biggest piles of cash are. Since 2000, global foreign exchange reserves have grown by a staggering $6.15 trillion and stood at $8.09 trillion at the end of 2009, or 14 percent of the world's gross domestic product, International Monetary Fund data showed.

The euro rose on Wednesday after some of the world's biggest central banks said they would not stop investing in the single currency, while world equities and commodity prices fell.

Japan's Nintendo Co said on Wednesday it will cut the domestic prices of its DS handheld game consoles, slashing the price of one model by a fifth as it seeks to stimulate demand.

Production line workers at Foxconn's southern China manufacturing hub will get a 30 percent pay rise, as top customer Apple Inc called recent suicides at the plant troubling but said the site was not a sweatshop.

UK insurer Prudential Plc is pulling out of its bold $35.5 billion takeover of AIG's Asian life insurance arm, ending a 3-month battle with shareholders who had argued the deal was over-priced.

Asian stocks followed Wall Street down on Wednesday as jitters over the euro zone's debt crisis prompted investors to keep cutting riskier positions, while the euro steadied after hitting a four-year low.

old prices remained steady in Asian trade Wednesday mainly on increased safe-haven buying after a report said European banks face sizeable write-offs. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1223.55 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while gold for August delivery was at $ 1226.97 an ounce.

Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs finds troubling a string of worker deaths at Foxconn, the contract manufacturer that assembles the company's iPhones and iPads, but said its factory in China is not a sweatshop.

British insurer Prudential plc is withdrawing from a $35.5 billion deal to buy American International Group Inc's Asian life insurance business AIA, paving the way for a potential listing of AIA.

Singapore Mercantile Exchange, a leading Asian multi-product commodity derivatives exchange, has announced that it will commence trading of the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude oil futures contract on its state-of-the-art electronic trading platform when it goes live in August this year.

World oil prices extended overnight losses in Asian trade Wednesday as the dollar moved up amid weak market trends. Light sweet crude for July delivery was seen trading at $72.04 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $72.27 a barrel in London. Analysts said after the long holiday weekend, the market was focused on economic storm clouds in the Euro zone and China.

The euro edged up on Wednesday after hitting a four-year low against the dollar on jitters over the euro zone's debt crisis, while Asian stocks were broadly steady despite a dip on Wall Street.

Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs said on Tuesday Foxconn, the global contract manufacturer that assembles the company's iPhones and iPads in China, is not a sweatshop.

The Bank of Japan may lend at least 1 trillion yen ($11 billion) to commercial banks under a new loan program to support industries with growth potential that was outlined last month, the Asahi newspaper said on Wednesday.

BP will seek to patch up its battered share price by reassuring investors the cost of cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is manageable and will not affect dividends, British media reported on Wednesday.

Prudential Plc said on Wednesday it is withdrawing from its effort to buy AIG's Asian life insurer, an expected move by the U.K. group after AIG turned down a $30.4 billion offer for the company.

Prudential Plc's bid for AIG's Asian life insurance unit was close to collapse on Tuesday after the two failed to negotiate a price cut, raising questions about the future of the British insurer and its chief executive.

(Reuters) - Cancer will kill more than 13.2 million people a year by 2030, almost double the number who died from the disease in 2008, the United Nations' cancer research agency said on Tuesday.

(Reuters) - Americans inhale more cancer-causing agents with their cigarettes, probably because of the tobacco blend, while smokers in Canada, Britain and Australia get less, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

The arrival of winter can also highlight the presence of a mild form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), when a person's mood turns gloomy along with the temperature and daylight hours.

Walt Disney Co expects retailers to sell $2.4 billion in Toy Story 3 merchandise this fiscal year, potentially the company's biggest licensing windfall from a single film.

Talks between British Airways Plc and officials from the Unite trade union were adjourned on Tuesday with no agreement reached to resolve a dispute with cabin crew staging the latest in a series of strikes.

THE Australian-made flu vaccine Fluvax, has been identified as being the most likely trigger of 59 convulsions in Western Australia and in about 20 cases elsewhere, including four in NSW and six in Victoria. All the babies, most of them under two years, recovered fully.

The Australian Dollar has opened lower this morning, continuing on from yesterday's weakness, which saw the AUD trade below 0.8400.

An Australian study has shown women who drink at least four cups of tea per day have a reduced risk of ovarian cancer.

Not much of anything worked for investors in May, including those known to be the savviest of the bunch.