JAPAN

Western powers this week readied a contingency plan to tap a record volume from emergency stockpiles to replace nearly all the Gulf oil that would be lost if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, industry sources and diplomats told Reuters.

Japan's Sony Corp will promote its consumer business chief Kazuo Hirai to the role of president as early as April, taking the title away from Howard Stringer, who is expected to remain chairman and CEO, the Nikkei newspaper reported

American Airlines, US Airways, and United Continental have all joined Delta in adding a $3 surcharge to fares purchased in the United States for flights to Europe in response to the EU's new Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

BMW grabbed the top spot in the U.S. luxury auto market in 2011, edging out Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand, as both German automakers took advantage of inventory problems for Toyota Motor Corp's Lexus lineup.

BMW AG has sealed its position as the most successful luxury brand in the U.S. in 2011 by outselling Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz last month.

The ousted British CEO of Olympus Corp abandoned his three-month battle to replace the management of the scandal-tainted maker of medical devices, blaming big Japanese shareholders for not backing his campaign to take back the helm.

The ousted CEO of Olympus Corp, Michael Woodford, said on Friday he is calling a halt to his three-month battle to replace the management of the scandal-tainted Japanese endoscope maker and to return to lead the battered company.

For the third straight year, McDonald's is making America look big (in every sense of the word) with the release of four new Big America burgers in Japan.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. reported sales of 178,131 cars in December, up 0.4 percent from 177,488 cars from a year ago. Sales beat forecasts by analysts polled by Bloomberg, who had predicted an average 1 percent drop in sales.

As one analyst said, the U.S. market isn't the cash cow it once was, but it's still a mature and profitable market, as opposed to more volatile emerging markets, or stagnant ones in Europe, said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with the consulting firm IHS Automotive, according to The New York Times.

Kanye West took to Twitter to ramble about his fashion line, creative genius, grammatical correctness and the penitentiary system.

Stocks of Japanese oil refiner TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK keeps dropping following an announcement that ExxonMobil Corp., is considering selling its majority shares of that company.

Rapper announces DONDA plans and gives his two cents on education.

Asian shares and the euro eased Thursday as concerns about the ability of euro zone countries to refinance their huge public debt dampened investor risk appetite ahead of a French bond auction later in the day.

European governments have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian oil, EU diplomats said Wednesday, dealing a new blow to the Islamic Republic.

On Tuesday, Delta became the first airline to add a surcharge on flights to and from Europe after the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme went into affect.

The Japanese outfielder felt desperate in 2011 as his numbers declined.

Now that Scott Thomson, 53, has been elected as Yahoo’s new CEO as well as a director, here are a couple of items the technology savvy accountant needs to take care of fast:

As part of Italian fashion label Marni's collaboration with retail brand H&M, approximately 25 percent of the funds raised from sales of an exclusive unisex T-shirt will be used to assist the Red Cross in Japan.

In his traditional new year's press conference, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pledged Wednesday to revive the area around the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Estrogen-like compounds that come with a soy-rich diet are sometimes linked to a reduced risk of cancer, but new research from Japan suggests that protection doesn't extend to stomach cancer.