Tokyo - Japanese electronics companies Panasonic Corp and Sanyo Electric Co began negotiations Friday on a capital and business partnership.
The two companies plan to settle the talks by the end of December for Panasonic to undertake a tender offer in January to acquire a majority of shares in Sanyo and make it a subsidiary in April.
If the merger is successful, Panasonic would become Japan's largest electronics manufacturer.
Panasonic hopes to secure a basic agreement with Sanyo's three shareholders - Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, the Daiwa Securities SMBC group and the Goldman Sachs group.
Tokyo - Asia-Pacific stocks ended the week mixed as Wall Street's overnight plunge prompted investors to sell but interest-rate cuts in some markets led to afternoon recoveries.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 3.55 per cent on Toyota Motor Corp's sharp cut in its earnings forecast for this fiscal year, but South Korean and Hong stocks took big jumps on the rate cuts.
The Nikkei was the region's big loser as it shed 316.14 points to close at 8,583 but still managed to end the week up 0.07 per cent.
Tokyo - Japan Airlines Corp saw its operating profit and revenues fall in the July-September quarter on high fuel prices and slowing demand for air travel amid the global economic downturn and lowered its earnings projections for the year.
Operating profit dropped 60 per cent from the same quarter a year ago to 26.31 billion yen (268.47 million dollars), and revenues were also down 6.7 per cent to 583.26 billion yen.
But net profit more than tripled in the second quarter of the fiscal year, thanks to gains from securities sales.
Tokyo - The Tokyo market extended its recent losses Friday after Toyota Motor Corp announced a sharp cut in it earnings forecast for the current fiscal year.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 316.14 points, or 3.55 per cent, to close at 8,583.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 30.3 points, or 3.33 per cent, to 879.
For the week, Nikkei was up 0.07 per cent, and Topix also rose 1.35 per cent.
Tokyo - Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average extended losses in early trading Friday on prolonged economic concerns and the yen's strength against other currencies, with the benchmark index down 423.18 points, or 4.76 per cent, to 8,475.96.
The Nikkei lost more than 6 per cent in Thursday trading.
On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar traded at 97.27-32 yen, down from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 97.90-93 yen.
Tokyo - Japanese electronics companies Panasonic Corp and Sanyo Electric Co began negotiations Friday on a capital and business partnership.
Tokyo - Asia-Pacific stocks ended the week mixed as Wall Street's overnight plunge prompted investors to sell but interest-rate cuts in some markets led to afternoon recoveries.
Tokyo - Japan Airlines Corp saw its operating profit and revenues fall in the July-September quarter on high fuel prices and slowing demand for air travel amid the global economic downturn and lowered its earnings projections for the year.
Tokyo - The Tokyo market extended its recent losses Friday after Toyota Motor Corp announced a sharp cut in it earnings forecast for the current fiscal year.
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