The preparations for the 2020 Olympics in Japan are in full swing. Five years before the global sports event takes place in Tokyo, Japanese authorities are allegedly busy getting ready for the big event that'll showcase the best that the capital has to offer.
Industry
U.S. payrolls rise solidly, but weak wages dim limelight
U.S. job growth increased briskly in December, but wages posted their biggest decline in at least eight years in a sign the tightening labor market has yet to give much of a boost to workers.
Cheap gas, holiday sales could fuel retailer shares
Investors hope the lower gasoline cost is putting more money in consumers' wallets for spending on apparel and other retail goods. The next two weeks will indicate whether that's happening.
Starbucks' COO Alstead taking 'extended unpaid leave'
Starbucks Corp on Thursday said Chief Operating Officer Troy Alstead, who as finance chief helped lead the coffee chain's extensive restructuring a few years ago, is taking an extended unpaid leave to spend more time with his family.
China December inflation near five-year low, more policy easing seen
China's annual consumer inflation hovered at a near five-year low of 1.5 percent in December, signaling persistent weakness in the economy but giving policymakers more room to ease policy to support growth.
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McDonald's Japan (2702.T) has apologized to customers and vowed to ensure product safety after objects including a tooth and plastic were found recently in its food, the latest trouble for a fast-food chain hit by sliding sales and a shortage of french fries.
Germany's unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 6.5 percent in December while Italy's pushed up to a new high of 13.4 percent, underscoring the vast differences within the struggling euro zone economy.
U.S. retail mall vacancies rose in the fourth quarter from the third, mainly due to the closure of some Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O) stores, according to real estate research firm Reis Inc (REIS.O).
China's annual economic growth likely slowed to 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter, the weakest since the depths of the global crisis, a Reuters poll showed, which would keep pressure on policymakers to head off a sharper slowdown this year.
The euro tumbled to its lowest since early 2006 in Asia on Monday as a wave of stop-loss sales were tripped on the break of major chart support, sending the U.S. dollar flying higher against a range of competitors.
Undaunted by a run of horrific factory accidents that have hit Bangladesh's garments industry, two entrepreneurs bought Adorn Knitwear Ltd earlier this year.
China is aiming to triple the number of patents it files by 2020 as Beijing looks to boost the country's high-tech economy in areas from agriculture to pharmaceuticals, according to a notice from the central government on Sunday.
The U.S. factory sector grew at its slowest pace in six months in December, a sign that weakness in the global economy is weighing on the United States.
China's growth engine looks to have ended last year on a flat note as its massive factory sector sputtered in December, though ebbing price pressures also offered scope for more policy stimulus from Beijing and across much of Asia.
