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Tokyo - Fujitsu Ltd on Friday reversed its forecast for a profit for the current fiscal year and said it expected to suffer a 20-billion-yen (222.21-million-dollar) net loss because of dwindling demand and a strong yen.

In October, the Japanese electronics company had forecast a net profit of 60 billion yen for the year that ends March 31.

It also cut operating profit to 50 billion yen from an earlier projection of 150 billion yen and sales to 4.7 trillion yen from 5.05 trillion yen.

Tokyo - Hitachi Ltd said Friday that it expected a record loss of 700 billion yen (7.78 billion dollars) for the current fiscal year on sluggish demand for semiconductors, car devices and digital products and announced thousands of job cuts.

The Japanese electronics company had previously forecast profit of 15 billion yen for the year that ends March 31.

Hitachi also cut its sales projection by 8.1 per cent to 10.02 trillion yen for the year while it said it expected operating profit of 40 billion yen, which was also revised downward from 410 billion yen.

Tokyo - Fear grows in Japan as the world's second largest economy is hit by the most severe recession in the post-War years after enjoying several years on the economic upswing.

"Japan's economy is falling off a cliff," a Tokyo-based analyst said.

Industrial production in December was down 9.6 per cent compared to the previous month, and a whopping 20 per cent compared to December 2007 as a result of shrinking foreign demand.

Tokyo  - Honda Motor Co on Friday revised downward its earnings forecast for fiscal 2008 that ends in March after suffering from the yen's surge against other currencies and sluggish auto sales due to the global recession.

Japan's second largest automaker after Toyota Motor Corp said it expected a net profit of 80 billion yen (888.83 million dollars) for the full year, down from 185 billion yen it projected in December.

Tokyo  - Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell more than 3 per cent Friday due to sluggish economic data and corporate earnings reports by major Japanese companies.

The Nikkei index plunged 276.19 points, or 3.35 per cent, to 7,975.05, and the broader Topix index of all first section issues was also down 24.44 points, or 2.99 per cent, to
794.03.