Tokyo  - Japanese electronics concern Fujitsu is to take over full control of the Fujitsu Siemens Computers joint venture, according to Japanese media reports on Saturday.

Fujitsu and Munich-based Siemens AG had owned 50 per cent each of the computing firm, which was established in 1999.

Fujitsu is to make Siemens' share of the firm its own subsidiary, according to well-informed sources speaking to the Japanese business paper Nikkei.

Tokyo - Japan's Panasonic Corp is considering buying troubled Sanyo Electric Co to become the nation's largest electronics manufacturer, news reports said Saturday.

Panasonic wants to begin negotiations with the three top shareholders of its domestic competitor as early as this month, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Should the negotiations be successful it would be the first merger between two large Japanese electronics companies.

Tokyo  - NTT DoCoMo Inc on Friday reported a net profit rise of 40 per cent to 173.1 billion yen (1.76 billion dollars) year-on-year for the July-September period on increased sales of handsets.

Tokyo  - All Nippon Airways Co (ANA) on Friday lowered its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year as it saw its second-quarter profits fall because of rising fuel prices and slow demand for air travel.

Japan's second-largest airline said its operating profit declined 18.6 per cent in the July-September period from the same quarter a year ago to 35.2 billion yen (358.48 million dollars).

Its net profit was down 2.7 per cent to 15.3 billion yen, and sales were down 5.8 per cent to 407.8 billion yen.

ANA attributed the results to slowing demand for domestic travel and severe competition with other airliners and railway transport services.

Tokyo  - Markets across the Asia-Pacific ended a roller-coaster week mixed on Friday with key bourses in Hong Kong and Tokyo down despite a much-anticipated rate cut by the Bank of Japan.

Asian markets had posted significant gains mid-week with daily surges of up to 10 per cent or even more after a rate cut in the United States, making up for similarly heavy losses at the beginning of the week.

The Bank of Japan on Friday cut its key short-term interest rate to 0.3 per cent from 0.5 per cent to help the world's second-largest economy weather the global financial crisis.

Tokyo - Nissan Motor Co sharply cut its earnings forecast for the full year that runs through March 2009 on the yen's rise and slow overseas sales, the company said Friday.

Japan's third-largest automaker lowered its net profit projection by 53 per cent to 160 billion yen for the full year from an initial forecast.

Nissan halved an operating profit forecast at 270 billion yen for the full year and lowered sales by 7.2 per cent to 9.6 trillion yen.

For the second quarter through September, the automaker saw its net profit fall 38.8 per cent to 73.5 billion yen from a year before.