Sales of Toyota cars in China plunged by 50 per cent on-month in September amid an anti-Japan backlash over disputed islands, a report said on Friday.

The Japanese auto giant -- the world's largest c

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reshuffled his cabinet on Monday, naming Koriki Jojima, a senior member of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), as new finance minister.

Foreign Minister

Japan released yet more worrying figures Friday showing the world's third largest economy was already stuttering before a damaging territorial dispute erupted with its largest trading partner.

Factor

The euro remained weak in Asia on Thursday with investors seeking refuge in the safe-haven yen as anti-austerity protests in Spain and Greece raised fresh concerns over the eurozone debt crisis.

The

Japan was Thursday considering whether to prosecute or deport 14 people it arrested after pro-China activists landed on a disputed island, as Beijing angrily demanded their immediate release.

Toyota said Friday that its quarterly net profit skyrocketed to $3.71 billion and it upped sales targets, as the Japanese auto giant recovered from last year's quake-tsunami disaster.

The company sai

Tokyo Electric Power's chief on Wednesday vowed 'nothing was sacred' in his bid to chop costs as the operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant posted a $3.68 billion quarterly loss.

Toyota said on Friday it will roll out a number of new compact cars priced around $12,500 in developing nations, targeting sales of more than one million of the models annually in emerging markets by

The dollar held firm against other major currencies in Asia on Monday as market players awaited speeches by US central bankers for clues on the health of the world's biggest economy.

The euro bought

The euro held firm against the dollar in Asia on Monday as investors opted to sit and wait for upcoming data.

The single currency, which lost ground Friday on weak European economic figures, stood at