Asian shares sagged on Thursday after a retreat on Wall Street and falling crude oil prices rekindled investor anxiety over slowing global growth, while a mixed picture on Chinese manufacturing failed to impress markets.

A top Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) executive said on Wednesday the Japanese automaker has no plans to abandon Takata Corp (7312.T) despite the supplier's struggles with air bag inflators that could rupture and spray metal shrapnel at vehicle occupants.

Aircraft makers Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corp of China have launched a joint pilot project to turn used cooking oil into jet fuel.

Nestle has no plans to close any of its eight factories or curb output in cocoa and coffee-rich West and Central Africa because of Ebola, but is ready to adapt if it spreads, the Chief Executive of the world's largest food company said on Wednesday.

Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) said on Wednesday that the head of its North American business, Melanie Healey, will retire next June, as the company puts together a new leadership team in an effort to revive sagging sales growth and gain market share.

U.S. stocks erased earlier gains to close lower on Wednesday as a shooting at the Canadian parliament unnerved investors, Boeing and Biogen sold off following results, and energy stocks fell along with oil prices.

U.S. securities regulators adopted a rule on Wednesday designed to avert another financial crisis, but two officials dissented, saying it did not do enough to discourage banks from lending to borrowers with shaky credit and then passing the mortgage risk to investors.

A dramatic upswing in volatility is putting post-crisis financial markets to the test, as curbs on banks' ability to take risks and an increase in technology-driven trading expose potential new cracks in the system.

After the Fukushima disaster crippled Japan's nuclear energy sector three years ago, the government pledged the biggest shake up in the history of the fragmented electricity industry to boost competition and contain a surge in power prices.

Some of the world's biggest banks and asset managers have asked the Hong Kong securities regulator to delay a landmark China stock trading link that could generate billions of dollars of trade a day due to uncertainty over the scheme rules, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The incoming head of the EU executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, told the European Parliament on Wednesday that he would present his 300-billion-euro plan for investment to bolster growth and jobs by the end of this year.

Hungary's government plans to levy a new tax on Internet data transfers, according to the draft 2015 tax bill submitted to parliament late on Tuesday, which could hit Internet providers and the country's telecommunications companies.

British insurer Standard Life (SL.L) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SS) said on Wednesday they had agreed to look at developing savings and investment services together.

European shares edged up and the euro hit a one-week low against the dollar on Wednesday, driven by upbeat company earnings results and hopes of corporate bond buying by the European Central Bank.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) majority owner Lucio Tan is offering to buy out minority shareholders in PAL Holdings Inc (PAL.PS), the carrier's parent company, at 1.19 pesos per share, less than a quarter of the stock's current market price, regulatory filings showed.

SoftBank Corp announced Wednesday it will lead a $100 million investment round in Indonesian ecommerce giant PT Tokopedia, the Japanese mobile carrier's third investment overseas under Vice Chairman Nikesh Arora.

German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) is close to a deal to sell its IT infrastructure unit to IBM (IBM.N), including an outsourcing agreement for the services, as part of a shake-up of its technology activities, it said on Wednesday.

Some of the world's biggest banks and asset managers have asked the Hong Kong securities regulator for more time to prepare for a landmark China stock trading link due to uncertainty over the rules of the scheme, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The United States faces potential trade sanctions from Canada and Mexico after the World Trade Organization ruled on Monday it had failed to bring its meat labeling regulations fully in line with international fair trading rules.

India's diversified Aditya Birla Group has submitted a bid for the Brazilian and the Philippine assets of cement industry leaders Lafarge (LAFP.PA) and Holcim (HOLN.VX), two persons directly involved in the transaction said.

Russia and Ukraine failed to reach an accord on gas supplies for the coming winter in EU-brokered talks on Tuesday but agreed to meet again in Brussels in a week in the hope of ironing out problems over Kiev's ability to pay.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill on Tuesday that will keep electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) from selling its cars directly to consumers in the state, home to the biggest U.S. automakers.

The U.S. Department of Commerce will terminate a 15-year-old deal sheltering Russian flat-rolled steel producers from high import duties, it said in a letter to Russian authorities.

Strong global demand for Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone 6 will drive revenue growth through 2015, while updated models should help reverse three straight quarters of declining iPad sales, analysts said.

A measure of global equity markets advanced on Tuesday as technology earnings lifted U.S. shares and the prospect of European Central Bank corporate bond purchases boosted European stocks, while weighing on safe-haven U.S. Treasuries prices.

U.S. home resales raced to a one-year high in September, the latest indication the housing market recovery is gradually getting back on track.

Broadcom (BRCM.O) posted third-quarter results on Tuesday that exceeded Wall Street's expectations as the chipmaker focused on networking and smartphone chips, sending its shares 5 percent higher.

Yahoo Inc reported a modest increase in revenue during the third quarter, exceeding lackluster Wall Street targets, as the Internet company's online display advertising business continued to struggle.

Lufthansa pilots threatened to call further strikes this week after the latest stoppage in a dispute over retirement benefits grounded two-thirds of its flights on Tuesday.

Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) expects international sales to reach a target of 20 percent of revenues by the end of this year, and growing further in coming years, Bruce Tanner, the company's chief financial officer, told reporters on Tuesday.