NEW YORK (AP)—McDonald’s is fighting to hold onto customers in the U.S. and much of the world. The world’s biggest hamburger chain said Monday that sales fell 1.4 percent in February at establ...

LONDON (Bloomberg)—Chiquita Brands International Inc., owner of the namesake banana label, agreed to buy Ireland’s Fyffes Plc to create the world’s biggest supplier of the fruit for about €40...

SoftBank Corp. President Masayoshi Son will start a “massive price war” if U.S. regulators allow his company to purchase T-Mobile US Inc., he said in an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose. The...

Hitachi Ltd. and Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd., the company’s joint venture with General Electric Co. of the United States, say they have developed two types of robots for work to decommission wre...

SINGAPORE (Bloomberg)—Carlyle Group LP, which completed South Korea’s biggest private-equity buyout in five years, sees more large transactions as the nation sustains its economic growth amid eme...

All Nippon Airways said it suspects the unauthorized conversion of frequent flier mileage into points for Apple Inc.’s iTunes store. The ANA Holdings Inc. unit has suspended its service allowing ...

Itochu Corp. said Tuesday it will acquire Edwin Holdings, a financially troubled jeans maker based in Tokyo. Itochu is expected to spend over ¥30 billion to take full control of Edwin by the end o...

NEW YORK (AP)—Sbarro said Monday that it is filing for bankruptcy reorganization, the struggling pizza chain’s second trip through bankruptcy court in less than three years. The filing comes af...

The Bank of Japan kept unchanged Tuesday its policy target of increasing the country’s monetary base at an annual pace of about ¥60 trillion to ¥70 trillion. The decision was made unanimously a...

The dollar drifted in a narrow range moderately above ¥103 in Tokyo trading on Tuesday, as the Bank of Japan decided to keep its monetary policy unchanged in line with market expectations. At 5 p....

Stocks staged a rebound on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, helped by buybacks after the previous day’s fall. The 225-issue Nikkei average climbed 103.97 points, or 0.69 percent, to end at 15,224...

NEW YORK (AP)—Stocks drifted to a slightly lower finish Monday as investors sifted through a blend of discouraging economic data from China and Japan as well as ongoing uncertainty over Russia’s ...

NEW YORK (AP)—The collapse of Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange is spilling into U.S. bankruptcy court as the company scrambles for legal cover after losing digital currency valued at $473 million. Mt. Go...

BEIJING (Bloomberg)—Passenger vehicle sales in China gained 18 percent last month, beating analysts’ estimates, as deliveries surged at Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. Wholesale deliverie...

The government has revised downward its estimated growth for the country’s seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product for the October-December quarter to 0.2 percent, compared to the previous ...

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Comcast Corp. is stepping outside its core business of telecommunications and investing hundreds of millions of dollars in California and Florida theme parks in an effort to boost...

The average daily loan balance at Japanese banks in February rose 2.2 percent from a year earlier to ¥474.4 trillion, the Bank of Japan said Monday. Although it increased for the 28th straight mon...

Seven & i Holdings Co. will agree to an increase in base pay in this year’s spring wage negotiations, informed sources said Monday. The retail giant is in the final stages of talks to increase mo...

ABU DHABI (AP)—The U.S. Secretary of Commerce is in the Middle East, where she said Sunday she will tell officials from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar that closer economic coopera...

Major convenience store operator Lawson Inc. will raise its basic pay by an average of ¥3,000 per month, or about 1 percent, in the company’s first basic pay hike in 12 years, the company said Mon...

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. will fully launch Sharia-compliant Islamic finance in Malaysia, Jiji Press learned Monday. The core banking unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. has obtained a...

NEW YORK (Bloomberg)—SoftBank Corp. President Masayoshi Son is reframing his argument for consolidation in the U.S. mobile-phone market, heading to Washington this week to advocate for wireless bro...

The nation’s current account deficit surged to ¥1.59 trillion in January, hitting the highest monthly level since comparable data became available in 1985 and expanding from ¥348.4 billion a year ...

The dollar traded in a tight range around ¥103 in Tokyo trading on Monday, with positive effects of upbeat U.S. jobs data offset by dismal Chinese trade data and concerns over the Ukraine crisis. ...

Stocks retreated sharply on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday on profit-taking after the recent surge. The 225-issue Nikkei average lost 153.93 points, or 1.01 percent, to end at 15,120.14. On Fri...

Ten major electronics makers are expected to agree to a uniform basic pay increase of ¥2,000 in this year’s shunto spring wage negotiations, according to sources. The Japanese Electrical Electron...

About 30 percent of companies plan to hire more new university graduates in the spring of 2015 than this year, according to a Jiji Press survey. The number of firms planning to add more new graduat...

CHICAGO (Bloomberg)—Boeing Co. is checking for hairline wing cracks on about 40 of its 787 Dreamliners after supplier Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. alerted the planemaker about possible risks to...

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Who is bitcoin’s real creator? The bitcoin community is reacting to that burning question with a collective ho-hum. Developers and bitcoin enthusiasts from Finland to Texas are...

NEW YORK (AP)—One positive report on the U.S. economy was not enough to make investors more confident. The stock market ended mixed Friday after a day of muddled trading. Among the three main U.S...

A government panel approved Friday a proposal on new rates in the government’s feed-in tariff program that requires power suppliers to purchase electricity from renewable energy sources at fixed pr...

Seven Bank will set up a total of 54 automated teller machines in 39 subway stations operated by Tokyo Metro Co. The machines will go into service between Saturday and the end of April, when the ban...

NTT Docomo Inc. returned to the top spot for mobile phone net subscription growth for the first time in two months in February, data from three major mobile carriers showed. The company posted net ...

Japan’s composite index of coincident economic indicators rose for the seventh straight month in January, the Cabinet Office said Friday. The coincident index, which reflects current economic con...

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. has announced it will team up with AXA Corporate Solutions SA of France and Assicurazioni Generali SpA of Italy to boost nonlife insurance services for corporate clients...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)—A federal judge in California has denied Apple’s request to permanently ban Samsung from selling 23 older-model smartphones and tablets smartphones that a jury found infring...

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (AP)— Staples will close up to 225 stores in North America by the end of next year as it seeks to trim about $500 million in costs annually by 2015. The nation’s largest offic...

Fast Retailing Co., the operator of Uniqlo casual clothing stores, plans to make 1,000 new hires in Japan in the spring of 2015, in line with the rapid expansion of its business mainly abroad, offici...

Toyota Motor Corp.’s Aqua subcompact hybrid was the top-selling vehicle in February, returning to the No. 1 slot for the first time in five months, according to industry data. Sales of the Aqua to...

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Disney is laying off 700 people from the interactive unit that makes video games and operates websites, about a quarter of the workforce in the division. A Walt Disney Co. spokes...

FRANKFURT (AP)—The European Central Bank kept its key interest rate on hold Thursday and raised its economic growth forecasts as it acknowledged that the recovery is strengthening in the 18 countri...

The government does not recognize bitcoin as a currency but income from bitcoin trading is taxable, the government said Friday. The view was adopted at a Cabinet meeting held to answer Diet questio...

The dollar rose above ¥102.50 in Tokyo trading Friday on the back of expectations for U.S. economic recovery, but a wait-and-see mood grew in the afternoon before the release of closely watched U.S....

Stocks gained further ground on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday, lifted by purchases on the back of the yen’s weakening against the dollar and other major currencies. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock...

NEW YORK (AP)—Investors were looking for any reason to look past the cold weather that has hampered the U.S. economy in the last few weeks, and they found it. Stocks mostly rose Thursday, lifted ...

The government asked for cooperation from South Korea in resolving economic issues between the two countries Thursday. Japan made the request as the two countries held preliminary talks in Tokyo to ...

SYDNEY (Jiji Press)—The first Australian outlet of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain will open in Melbourne on April 16, according to chain operator Fast Retailing Co. The store will be located in...

DETROIT (AP)—U.S. safety regulators are demanding that General Motors turn over reams of documents and other data showing what the company knew when about a dangerous ignition problem that has been...

SINGAPORE (Bloomberg)—Singapore is poised to surpass Tokyo as the Asian city with the most ultra-high-net-worth individuals within a decade as its stature as a financial center increases with the r...

WASHINGTON (AP)—A Federal Reserve survey shows severe weather held back economic growth in much of the U.S. from January through early February. Even so, conditions strengthened in most regions, th...

Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. will set up a representative office in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Apr. 1, mostly to conduct market research. The insurance market is expected to grow strongly in Afric...

Sales of imported foreign-brand vehicles in Japan rose 36.4 percent in February from a year before to 26,138 units, up for the 22nd straight month, an industry group said Thursday. The sharp rise r...

GENEVA (AP)—A new study shows that the top 10 global automakers amassed more than $221 billion in cash by the end of 2013 to invest in new products, strategic alliances and other growth strategies....

Tokyo Stock Exchange Inc. and the industry ministry have jointly selected 26 companies listed on the TSE’s first section as “Nadeshiko Brand” firms that actively promote the use of female emplo...

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. will step up recruitment of new graduates next year. Mizuho Financial Group companies, including its banking units, will employ a combine...

The dollar gained further ground and rose above ¥102.50 in Tokyo trading Thursday, as stocks surged on hopes for a review of portfolio for Japanese public pension funds. At 5 p.m., the dollar stoo...

The Liberal Democratic Party has begun investigating ways to regulate bitcoins, looking to protect the interests of users and to address other worrying issues related to the virtual currency, party s...

Stocks advanced sharply on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday thanks to a weaker yen, with the benchmark Nikkei retaking 15,000 for the first time in a week. The 225-issue Nikkei gained 237.12 points...

NEW YORK (AP)—Calm returned to the stock market Wednesday after two days of volatile trading. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index traded within a range of about five points, or about a quarter of a...

WASHINGTON (Bloomberg)—U.S. President Barack Obama sent Congress a $3.9 trillion budget request with increased spending for employment, education and job-training programs to boost the economy, fin...

WASHINGTON (AP)—U.S. home prices rose in January after three months of declines as a tight supply of properties likely supported prices despite slower sales. Real estate data provider CoreLogic s...

NEW YORK (AP)—Facebook is in talks to buy Titan Aerospace, a maker of solar-powered drones, to step up its efforts to provide Internet access to remote parts of the world, according to reports from...

CANBERRA (AP)—Australia’s government rejected a request from Qantas Airways for a $2.7 billion unsecured loan to help the national carrier return to profitability, deciding instead to abolish for...

Six major electronics makers are considering implementing base pay increases of up to ¥2,000 per month in this year’s shunto wage negotiations, sources have told Jiji Press. Labor unions have dem...

The Japan Housing Finance Agency has cut the lowest interest rates on its Flat 35 long-term fixed-rate housing loans for March to record lows. The interest rates on mainstay loans with repayment pe...

The government will tax income related to bitcoin trading, such as profits from the sale of the virtual currency, officials said Wednesday. The government will express its intention in a statement i...

Stocks gained further ground on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday, reflecting temporary relief over the crisis in Ukraine. The 225-issue Nikkei average climbed 176.15 points, or 1.20 percent, to...

Japan and the United States are expected to resume bilateral working-level talks relating to the Trans-Pacific Partnership multilateral free trade negotiations next week, informed sources have said. ...

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP)—Apple’s longtime Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer will retire in September, and he’ll be replaced by the company’s corporate controller. The announcement Tue...

Australian trade minister Andrew Robb is likely to visit Japan in late March for talks with Japanese officials on a proposed bilateral economic partnership agreement for free trade, informed sources ...

NAGOYA (Jiji Press)—Toyota Motor Corp. plans to hire 1,160 new graduates and midcareer workers in its annual recruitment plan for fiscal 2014, maintaining the same level as the current fiscal year ...

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)— RadioShack plans to close up to 1,100 of its underperforming stores in the United States and reported a wider loss for its fourth quarter as customer traffic slowed during t...

The dollar moved firmer above ¥102 in Tokyo trading Wednesday, as fears of an imminent military conflict in Ukraine have receded. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥102.23-27, up from ¥101.79-80 at ...

NEW YORK (AP)—Relieved investors sent stocks sharply higher on Tuesday after Russia pulled troops back from the border of Ukraine. The rally pushed the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to an all-time...

Toyota Motor Corp. is considering offering a base pay increase in excess of ¥3,000 during upcoming labor-management wage negotiations, company sources said Wednesday. The nation’s largest carmak...

NEW YORK (Bloomberg)—Russian stock investors have become experts at bracing for the unexpected from President Vladimir Putin. After watching him seize companies, jail dissidents and support Syria, i...

SAN FRANCISCO (Bloomberg)—Apple Inc. said technology letting drivers use iPhones with voice commands or steering-wheel buttons will be available in vehicles as early as this year. Fiat SpA’s Fe...

GENEVA (Bloomberg)—The Peugeot 308 beat six other vehicles, including electric autos from BMW and Tesla Motors Inc., as Europe’s Car of the Year, providing a boost to the model’s French produce...

Kadokawa Corp. will offer a free online magazine featuring 200 manga comic titles, including the popular “Mobile Suit Gundam,” starting March 22. ComicWalker magazine will be available in Japan...

OSAKA (Jiji Press)—Panasonic Corp. plans to carry out a base pay hike for the first time in six years as the electronics maker is seen returning to the black in fiscal 2013, informed sources said T...

The number of companies forced into bankruptcy due to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami has reached 1,485, three years after the disaster, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Monday. The number of busin...

The nation’s monetary base expanded 1.9 percent from last month to ¥204.75 trillion at the end of February, hitting a record high for the first time in two months, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday. ...

WASHINGTON (AP)—Americans spent more in January, but the increase came from a surge in spending on heating bills during the harsh winter. Spending in areas such as autos and clothing declined. Spe...

Wages averaged ¥269,195 in January, down 0.2 percent from a year before, falling for the first time in three months, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said in a preliminary report Tuesday. Win...

The dollar gained ground and rose above ¥101.50 in Tokyo trading Tuesday, drawing purchases thanks chiefly to the solid performance of Tokyo stocks. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥101.79-80, up ...

Stocks bounced back moderately on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, bolstered by buybacks amid continuing caution about the turmoil in Ukraine. The 225-issue Nikkei average ended up 69.25 points, or...

NEW YORK (AP)—Russia’s military advance into Ukraine rattled global markets Monday. U.S. stocks fell the most in a month and the price of crude oil rose sharply as traders feared Russian export...

DUBAI (Bloomberg)—Oil and natural gas rose amid investor concern that escalating geopolitical tension over Ukraine could curb energy supplies. Brent crude advanced as much as 2.2 percent to $111....

SEATTLE (Bloomberg)—Microsoft Corp.’s newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, in an effort to reignite growth, is shuffling management and putting former political operative Mark P...

HONG KONG (Bloomberg)—Macao casino revenue climbed 40 percent to a record in February, beating estimates, after a jump in mainland Chinese visitors to the world’s gambling hub during the Chinese ...

Daiwa House Industry Co., Japan’s biggest homebuilder by market value, plans to invest ¥150 billion in U.S. rental housing in an effort to boost overseas revenue. Daiwa House will acquire and de...

Keyence Corp., a Japanese maker of sensors and measuring equipment for factory automation systems, will launch a marketing firm in Hanoi on Monday. The new firm, Keyence Vietnam, has some Japanese-...

ANKARA (Bloomberg)—Turkish annual inflation accelerated to 7.89 percent in February, while producer prices surged 12.4 percent. The inflation rate rose from 7.8 percent the previous month, the of...

NEW YORK (Bloomberg)—John Martin, the chief executive officer of Gilead Sciences Inc., has become a billionaire on the prospects of a powerful new hepatitis C drug that’s attracting scrutiny from...

Japanese nonfinancial firms’ combined capital expenditures in the October-December quarter rose 4 percent from a year before to ¥9.44 trillion, up for the third straight quarter, the Finance Minis...

Stocks tumbled on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday, bruised by heavy selling on the back of the yen’s ascent due to wariness over the crisis in Ukraine. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell ...

The dollar weakened to below ¥101.50 in Tokyo trading Monday, dragged down by selling pressure on the back of growing concerns over the crisis in Ukraine. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥101.34-3...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP)—Billionaire Warren Buffett is confident that Berkshire Hathaway will be a mainstay of the U.S. economy for the next 100 years, regardless of whether it sometimes underperforms bull...

Citigroup reduced its 2013 earnings by $235 million on Friday, saying it was a victim of fraud committed by a Mexican oil services company to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in short-term loan...

The Government Pension Investment Fund and the Development Bank of Japan will invest in electricity, railway and other infrastructure projects in advanced countries abroad jointly with the Ontario Mu...

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. says it will pay a dividend of ¥25 per share for the year ending in March, its first payout in more than 16 years. The move comes as the automaker plans to have about ¥380...

HONG KONG (Bloomberg)—A Chinese manufacturing gauge fell to an eight-month low in February, adding to headwinds for growth as Premier Li Keqiang prepares to map out the government’s economic stra...

NEW YORK (Bloomberg)—J. Crew Group Inc., the retailer owned by TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners LP, is in talks about a potential sale to Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing Co., two people with kn...

HONG KONG (Bloomberg)—China’s yuan tumbled by the most on record Friday on speculation the central bank will widen the currency’s trading band, allowing greater volatility at a time when growth...

BRUSSELS (AP)—The inflation rate in the 18-country eurozone held steady in February, against analysts’ expectations of a further slide that would have put more pressure on the European Central Ba...

NEW YORK (AP)—After two months of trading, the stock market is back where it started. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4.3 percent in February, the biggest gain since October 2013, helped b...

WASHINGTON (AP)—The U.S. economy grew at a 2.4 percent annual rate last quarter, sharply less than first thought, in part because consumers didn’t spend as much as initially estimated. Severe w...

Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based major exchange for the bitcoin digital currency, filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, only three days after it suddenly suspended all transactions. Almost all of about 750...

LONDON (Bloomberg)—The London gold fix, the benchmark used by miners, jewelers and central banks to value the metal, may have been manipulated for a decade by the banks setting it, researchers say....

Finance Minister Taro Aso said Friday he had been thinking that the bitcoin digital currency would collapse sooner or later. Bitcoin “is not a generally accepted currency,” Aso said at a press ...

AUSTIN (Bloomberg)—Local officials in at least 10 states are trying to cut pensions of municipal workers, or to eliminate defined-benefit plans, pointing to Detroit as a symbol of the peril of grow...

OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP)—McDonald’s plans to expand a test this year in the United States that lets people order customized burgers. The world’s biggest hamburger chain began testing the waters o...

SALAMANCA, Mexico (Jiji Press)—Mazda Motor Corp. held a ceremony Thursday to commemorate the start of production in January at its new plant in Mexico, which the company sees as a key base for expo...

Honda Motor Co. is recalling 48,816 parcel delivery motorcycles from its Super Cub line due to a brake glitch. According to filings with the transport ministry, the recall affects Super Cub 50 MD a...

BRUSSELS (AP)—The European Union’s top court has ruled that a fuel tax applied by Spanish regions to help finance health care is illegal, possibly opening the door to compensation claims totaling...

COPENHAGEN (AP)—Lego says its multicolored blocks were hugely in demand worldwide in 2013, especially in China where the company plans to open a factory to meet growing interest in its products. ...

MADRID (Bloomberg)—Acciona SA, one of the largest owners of renewable-power plants, reported a surprise €1.97 billion ($2.7 billion) annual loss, equating to more than half its market value, afte...

The dollar dropped below ¥102 in Tokyo trading Friday, weighed down by Tokyo stocks’ decline and concern over the political crisis in Ukraine. At 5 p.m., the dollar was quoted at ¥101.64-65, do...

The core consumer price index in January rose 1.3 percent from a year earlier, up for the eighth straight month, amid higher energy prices and last-minute demand before the April consumption tax hike...

The effective ratio of job openings to job seekers in Japan improved for the 14th straight month in January, rising 0.01 point from the previous month to 1.04, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfa...

Stocks lost further ground on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday as a stronger yen sapped investor confidence in month-end trading. The 225-issue Nikkei average lost 82.04 points, or 0.55 percent, to c...

NEW YORK (AP)—After knocking on the door all week, the stock market logged a record on Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index had moved above its previous all-time high on numerous occasions...

The absence of legal structures to protect the interests of bitcoin users and regulate bitcoin exchanges is a key factor behind the turmoil resulting from the abrupt suspension of operations at one o...

WASHINGTON (Bloomberg)—With the shutdown of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest exchange for digital currency transactions, other companies in the Bitcoin universe worked to defend the ...

WASHINGTON (AP)—U.S. bank earnings rose 17 percent in the October-December quarter from a year earlier, as losses on loans fell to a seven-year low and banks set aside less to cover losses as well ...

Marubeni Corp. said Wednesday it will acquire Eastern Fish Co., a major U.S. seafood distributor, for about $56 million. The acquisition of the leading U.S. shrimp importer is designed to help Marube...

The dollar was pinned to a narrow range near ¥102.30 in Tokyo trading throughout Thursday, as market players were waiting for fresh market-moving news. At 5 p.m., the dollar was quoted at ¥102.34...

The provider of the Line free communication application for smartphones will launch a new service in March allowing Line users to make low-cost phone calls to nonusers, according to the company. Ca...

Itochu Corp. is set to become the first Japanese company to enter the water utility sector in Spain. Itochu said Wednesday that it will acquire a 33.4 percent equity stake in Canaragua Concesiones ...

WASHINGTON (AP)—U.S. sales of new homes rebounded in January to the fastest pace in more than five years, offering hopes that housing could be regaining momentum after a slowdown last year caused b...

LONDON (Bloomberg)—Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC, the world’s No. 2 commercial jet-engine maker, will pursue geared turbofan technology championed by rival Pratt & Whitney as it seeks to power future ...

Toyota Motor Corp. promoted a former design chief to lead its luxury division as it seeks to extend the Lexus brand’s reach in markets outside the United States. Tokuo Fukuichi, 58, becomes presi...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that no time limit should be set for negotiations with the United States that are being held in parallel with the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership free t...

Japan Post Holdings Co. has unveiled a medium-term business plan for fiscal 2014-2016, including ¥1.3 trillion in investment aimed at boosting operations. Announced on Wednesday, the plan for the t...

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Sony Corp. says it is closing about two-thirds of its U.S. Sony Stores as part of a wide-ranging company restructuring it announced earlier this month. It also said 1,000 of the p...

Tokyo stocks lost further ground in directionless trading Thursday, weighed down by continued profit-taking amid a lack of major incentives. The Nikkei average of 225 major issues on the Tokyo Stock...

NEW YORK (AP)—The stock market is struggling to take it to the next level. For a third straight day the Standard & Poor’s 500 index traded above its record close but fell back to end below it. A...

The history of the “diptyque” brand began in 1961, when three fellow artists opened a store in Paris. In those days, interior designer Christiane Gautrot and painter Desmond Knox-Leet jointly ...