• FINANCIAL & BUSINESS NEWS

Last Update on March 18, 2010 03:31 EDT

Asian stocks mostly lower

HONG KONG (AP) -- Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday while the euro weakened after Greece said it might seek international assistance to resolve its debt crisis.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock average was down 1 percent. South Korea's Kospi index lost 0.5 percent.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.2 percent and Shanghai's main index was off by 0.3 percent.

Markets in Australia, Taiwan and Thailand rose. India's market shed 0.1 percent.

Consumer prices, leading indicators, jobless claims due

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Several economic reports are due for release today. Before the opening bell, the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index is expected to show inflation is muted at the retail level. New unemployment claims are expected to be down from last week. Also before the bell, the Commerce Department releases the current account trade deficit for the fourth quarter.

Later this morning, the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators is seen rising only modestly.

Asia oil prices head toward $82

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices fell toward $82 a barrel Thursday in Asia, paring two days of gains that were fueled by signs U.S. crude demand may be improving.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was down 50 cents to $82.43 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.23 to settle at $82.93 on Wednesday.

Oil had risen more than $3 the previous two days, helped higher by a larger-than-expected drop in gasoline and distillates inventories last week and a smaller-than-expected increase in crude supplies, according to Energy Information Agency data released Wednesday.

The 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for about 40 percent of global crude output, said Wednesday at a quarterly meeting in Vienna that it would maintain the group's production quotas.

Fed chief wants to retain banking oversight powers

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Chairman Ben Bernanke wants Congress to let the Federal Reserve keep all of its current power to oversee the nation's banks. He says that information gleaned from the regulatory process helps the central bank guide the economy.

Testifying at a House hearing, Bernanke waged a fresh battle against Senate efforts to scale back the Fed's role in overseeing the nation's banks.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd has called for stripping the Fed of its power to supervise state-chartered banks and bank holding companies with assets of less than $50 billion.

That would leave the Fed with 35 of the biggest bank holding companies under its supervision.

Yahoo buys sports information firm Citizen Sports

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) -- Yahoo says that it's buying Citizen Sports, which provides sports and information to social networking sites and cell phones.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Yahoo says its own sports content will be integrated into Citizen Sports' services. The acquisition strengthens Yahoo's presence online and on mobile phones, creating more advertising opportunities.

Citizen Sports lets people check live scores, read sports news, play fantasy sports and fill out brackets on cell phones or without having to leave their social networking sites.

The six-year-old San Francisco company delivers high school, college and professional sports information to Facebook, MySpace, hi5, and iPhone and Android-based phones.

Nike quarterly profit rises

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- Nike says that stronger sales helped boost third-quarter profit.

After the closing bell on Wall Street, Nike reported earning $496 million, or $1.01 per share, for the quarter, topped analyst estimates.

That's more than double the amount reported a year earlier.

Nike said its revenue grew 7 percent to $4.7 billion, helped in part by foreign exchange rates. Revenue grew most in China and other emerging markets, and it fell in some parts of Europe and Japan.

Nike's key markets of Western Europe and the U.S showed modest single-digit revenue gains.

Australian exec goes on trial in China

SYDNEY (AP) -- Australia expressed disappointment Thursday one of its citizens will be tried in a closed court in China. Lawmakers in Sydney doubt that Stern Hu will get a fair trial.

Hu is one of four employees of mining giant Rio Tinto who will be in a Shanghai court on Monday. The four are charged with stealing commercial secrets and taking bribes.

Hu and the others were arrested nine months ago. At the time, Rio Tinto was the lead price negotiator for global iron ore suppliers. Few details of the allegations against the suspects have been made public.

Defense lawyer Tao Wuping said the hearing will probably not be open to media or the public since the charges involve business secrets.

Toyoda says worker training affected quality

Tokyo (AP) -- The president of Toyota said his company failed to train workers to maintain quality control fast enough to keep up with rapid growth.

Akio Toyoda is the grandson of the automaker's founder. He told The Nikkei in a front page interview that the problem became especially acute after Toyota's global production and sales topped 6 million vehicles in 2002.

Meanwhile, a California Highway Patrol report on the runaway Prius raises the prospect of witnesses.

The report says an officer arrived at the scene to find a Border Patrol agent near the driver with lights flashing. But the report, which was released Wednesday, offers few new details and does nothing to clarify wildly divergent explanations from Toyota Motor Corp. and the driver.

James Sikes says his gas pedal got stuck and the car topped 90 miles an hour. Toyota says Sikes hit the gas pedal and brakes more than 250 times.