Nikkei climbs to 6-week high on earnings optimism

TOKYO May 2 Japan's Nikkei share average rose to six-week highs on Tuesday in a holiday-shortened week, getting a lift from robust earnings and gains on Wall Street. The Nikkei was up 0.6 percent in morning trade at 19,434.01. Wall Street climbed on Monday ... ( read original story ...)

Nikkei gains on strong data; Markets in Europe closed

S&P 500 futures were also up 0.1 percent to 2,383.60. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.6 percent to finish at 19,310.52. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.6 percent to 5,956.50. JAPAN MANUFACTURING: The Nikkei purchasing managers index survey of ... ( read original story ...)

DIARY-Top Economic Events to June 23

TUESDAY, MAY 2 ** BERLIN - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaueble speaks at the B20 summit – 1215 GMT. TOKYO - Bank of Japan will release the minutes of its March monetary policy meeting. YOKOHAMA, Japan – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda ... ( read original story ...)

Mizuho 2nd Japanese bank to sign Islamic credit deal with ICD

KUALA LUMPUR (Kyodo) -- Mizuho Bank has become the second Japanese commercial bank to sign a "murabaha" credit facility agreement with Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, an arm of the multinational Islamic Development Bank group ... ( read original story ...)

Japan, China to hold bilateral finance dialogue in May: Aso

TOKYO Japan and China will hold a bilateral finance dialogue on May 6 on the sidelines of the annual gathering of the Asian Development Bank in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday. The dialogue will be attended by ... ( read original story ...)

Japan economy likely to grow at pace: BOJ

TOKYO: Japan’s economy is expected to continue growing at a pace well above its potential, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said. Kuroda made the comments at a press conference after the central bank upgraded its assessment of the country’s ... ( read original story ...)

Japanese Yen: Disappointing Data Add to Downside Pressure

As predicted here a week ago, the Japanese Yen declined last week and there's little sign yet that the trend is about to change. According to the Bank of Japan, the outlook for the economy is improving and inflation is picking up, but there was no ... ( read original story ...)

Man gets 8 years in Internet banking deception case

A court has sentenced a man to eight years in prison for illegally obtaining the internet banking passwords and account details of other people and using the information to illegally remit money, but was found not guilty of "free riding" his neighbor's Wi ... ( read original story ...)