Chinese world worries that Year of Snake may bite

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) ? As Indiana Jones might say: Why did it have to be the Year of the Snake?

When the Chinese-speaking world ushers in its new year on Sunday, its 12-year zodiac will turn from the dragon to one of the world's most despised animals. As undeserved as the snake's reputation might be, its last two years did not go so well: 2001 was the year of the Sept. 11 attacks and 1989 was when Chinese forces crushed pro-democracy protests around Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Some wonder if this one also could hold bad tidings. "In Chinese mythology, snakes were often associated with monsters, or with incarnations of monsters, so some political turbulence can be expected," said Taiwanese astrologer Tsai Shang-chi.

Chinese New Year remains the most important festival in the region, a weeklong round of family reunions, temple visits and gastronomic excess. It is Mardi Gras, Christmas and the Fourth of July rolled into one, marked by the clacking of mahjong tiles and explosions of firecrackers. With businesses and markets hermetically closed, it brings a rare calm to the otherwise frenetic pace of what is arguably the world's most dynamic economic region.

In China, some couples have apparently been trying to schedule their pregnancies to avoid having children born during the snake year, in contrast to the coveted Year of the Dragon.

In Beijing, a manager with the government office that arranges appointments with obstetricians said there was a noticeable drop in appointment requests compared to those received as the Year of the Dragon approached, though she offered no firm statistics. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the press.

For souvenir makers, snakes have been a tough sell.

"Last year, our business was a lot better, because everybody loves the dragon, whatever his or her animal sign," said Lin Peixiang, who owns the Beixiang Souvenir Factory in the city of Wenzhou. "This year, business is a lot worse, because only those born in the year of the snake love the animal. The snake sign is a symbol of fear. People get scared when they see or hear the snake."

But if many fear the snake, some astrologers and masters of feng shui, the Chinese art of arranging objects and choosing dates to improve luck, also see good signs for 2013.

Hong Kong feng shui master Raymond Lo is trying to put a positive spin on the year. He points out that according to astrological tables, this year's variety is the relatively mild "morning dew" type of common water snake, less venomous than recent predecessors.

"It's more moderate, humble and patient," Lo said of the 2013 snake. He added that he is bullish on the year's prospects for the world as a whole, and sees good opportunities for economic growth.

Still, Lo said, people should probably take precautions against the snake's traditionally destructive power, perhaps by wearing monkey pendants around their necks. That goes double for anyone born in a year of the snake, he said, like incoming Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Xi's 1953 birth coincided with the final convulsions of the Korean War.

"The monkey is the only animal that really knows how to handle the snake," Lo said.

Tsai is also largely upbeat on the new Chinese year. He believes much-needed liquidity will be injected into struggling world economies, and that babies born over the next 12 months will be both self-motivated and agile.

On the down side, he warned, there could also be massive flooding and tsunamis.

The New Year's season is implacably festive, and people have been out in force in cities across the region in recent days, stocking up on provisions and traditional new year symbols.

In Taipei, revelers were particularly enamored of snake-shaped paper lanterns supplied by the municipal government, as well as coins imprinted with snake logos and snake-like toys thought to bring good luck.

At the Temple of White Snakes in suburban Taoyuan county, director Lo Chin-shih presided over a glass-encased display of dozens of slithering snakes, replete with flashing pink tongues and slowly molting skin, a symbol of change, renewal and hope for a better future.

Lo said this snake year will be a time of steady progress, in contrast to the more turbulent nature of the outgoing dragon year.

"Unlike dragons that make abrupt, attention-getting moves, snakes take slow and steady steps," he said, making it clear he considers the hiss of the Year of the Snake worse than its bite.

___

Annie Ho and K.M. Chan in Hong Kong and researcher Zhao Liang in Beijing contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-world-worries-snake-may-bite-062719651.html

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How To Turn Customers Into Long-Term Clients ... - Sales Training

As a sales person and business owner, you can be great at prospecting and setting appointments, and you can be great at closing the deal and delivering the desired results after the sale ? but until you can turn your one-time clients into long-term customers you will not be able to build and grow your business the way you need to. Watch our short video on turning these valuable one-time purchasers into loyal, long-term clients for your company.

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Source: http://www.mtdsalestraining.com/mtdblog/how-to-turn-customers-into-long-term-clients-video-blog.html

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Japan's TEPCO gears up for US shale gas imports

TOKYO (AP) ? Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the devastated Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, plans to buy liquefied natural gas from the LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, raising expectations Japan will tap into the U.S. shale gas boom.

TEPCO plans to buy 400,000 tons of LNG a year, for 20 years beginning in 2017, from the Cameron project through trading house Mitsui & Co. It expects a similar deal with Mitsubishi Corp. and other deals that would boost its imports by 1.2 million tons a year.

Both deals link the LNG price to the Henry Hub benchmark, at about $3.30 per million metric British thermal units, way lower than what Japan pays for its current gas imports. TEPCO said it was the first time it had set a long-term contract to the lower benchmark.

Japan is keen to cut costs for fuel imports that have surged after most of its nuclear plants were taken offline following the March 2011 accident at Fukushima Dai-Ichi. The cost of most of its LNG imports is linked to crude oil prices, nearly five times the Henry Hub level as of late last year.

A boom in U.S. gas production thanks to hydraulic fracturing ? blasting mixtures of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to stimulate the release of gas ? has taken U.S. prices to 10-year lows. Reduced U.S. demand for LNG from the Middle East, thanks to the increased domestic supply, is freeing up more LNG for Asia, including Japan, which accounts for 30 percent of global consumption.

But resource-scarce Japan's access to U.S. shale gas is limited by restrictions on exports of LNG to countries that have free trade agreements with Washington, which does not include its longtime Asian ally. Tokyo is lobbying for changes in that policy which limit it to buying gas from the Cameron Parish terminal. In the meantime, Japanese trading houses and energy companies are seeking access to LNG from Canada and elsewhere.

The Japanese government which took power in late December, led by the Liberal Democratic Party, appears to be backing away from a commitment by the previous administration to phase out nuclear power. But tighter regulations following the Fukushima accident and public opposition are slowing any moves to bring nuclear plants shut down for safety checks back online.

Soaring imports of oil and gas helped push Japan's trade deficit in 2012 to 6.9 trillion yen ($75 billion). As the largest Japanese electricity company, TEPCO is especially keen to reduce costs for its fuel imports.

It said its facilities, designed to handle so-called "hot" or "rich" LNG, need to be adapted to the type of "lean LNG" ? LNG with a low heating value ? to be shipped from the Cameron project.

A 10-year plan the company announced earlier calls for importing 10 million metric tons per year of lean LNG, expanding its LNG storage capacity, setting up a specialized LNG receiving terminal and upgrading equipment.

Mitsui and Mitsubishi are targeting 4 million metric tons a year in U.S. LNG exports from the Cameron project, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper reported.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-07-Japan-US-LNG/id-80c8b9a5e37940cdad775996f511d99d

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Toyota takes on Detroit with all-new Tundra truck

Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau ? ? ? 2 hrs.

You don?t get to be number one by sitting on the sidelines. Yet, since rolling out the original T100 more than two decades ago, Toyota has largely been left on the bench in the U.S. full-sizemarket. It remains the only major segment where the world?s largest automaker has repeatedly failed to become a significant, if not dominant player.

But Toyota is nothing if not patient. It took a series of tries to get on the boards in the once-thriving minivan market. And the Japanese maker is betting that it will eventually come up with the right formula for a full-size truck.

Like the one it is showing off in Chicago this week, an all-new version of the Toyota Tundra that has clearly been designed to correct past mistakes. The third-generation Toyota truck features a bolder, more rugged design, a bigger and quieter cabin, and a number of what the maker claims to be truck segment firsts, including Blind Spot Monitoring and Cross-Traffic Alert.

Whether that will be enough to take on the dominant domestics in one of the U.S. market?s largest and most profitable segments, however, is far from certain ? especially with all of Toyota?s Detroit competitors digging in to maintain their current ranks. And the Japanese maker will soon face new competition from home as Nissan prepares a redesign of its own, slow-selling Titan.

(For more on the next-generation Nissan Titan, Click Here.)

?Toyota prides itself on listening to its customers and the development of the 2014 American-born Tundra is a perfect example,? contends Bill Fay, group vice president and general manager, Toyota Division.

Toyota has rapidly expanded its U.S. design and engineering operations in recent years, and the maker is billing the 2014 Tundra as ?American-born.? No surprise, perhaps, considering this is a distinctly North American segment, with only marginal sales of full-size pickups beyond U.S. borders.

Development of the third-generation Toyota truck was largely handled through the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan while design work was the purview of the Calty Design Research centers in Newport Beach, California and Ann Arbor, Michigan. The truck will be assembled at Toyota?s San Antonio, Texas plant, appropriate considering the size of the Lone Star State?s pickup market.

The Detroit Bureau: BMW Unveils Unusual 3-Series GT

But pickup sales across the U.S. are showing strong signs of revival after the devastating economic downturn. Trucks are closely linked to the housing market which is just beginning what could be a solid upturn over the next several years ? making it all the more critical for Toyota to get things right with the 2014 Tundra.

The outgoing truck tried to distinguish itself with a design that wasn?t a me-too clone of the domestic competition. If anything, Toyota is moving more in line with the shape of Detroit sheet metal, something that may be more comforting to buyers in this most traditionalist of segments.

The chrome grille is 1.6-inches taller, the vehicle has a broader, more planted stance. With truck buyers, you can talk ?bold,? but there?s a need to make your truck look rugged, durable and able to handle whatever you throw at it without complaint.

Perhaps the place the truck market has been changing most is in the interior. The new Chevrolet Silverado is a good example, opting for an evolutionary exterior design revision but a much more dramatic rejigging of the interior. Toyota appears to be following a similar philosophy.

The cabin of the 2014 Toyota Tundra is, it claims, bigger and more lavishly outfitted. A first glance suggests the maker has trimmed back on the cheap plastic parts and panels that have saved it money but cheapened the look of a number of models over the last decade. The maker claims it has put an emphasis on ergonomics ? the driver?s reach for climate and audio controls has been trimmed by 2.6 inches, for example.

Meanwhile, each of the five individual grades gets its own distinct look and feel, something that Ford pioneered with the best-selling F-Series pickup. The Tundra SR5, the volume model in the line-up, will feature a ?professional gear? theme, with metal accents and contrasting fabrics in a cabin divided into distinct driver and passenger modes.

The Platinum edition, meanwhile, accents ?an urban, contemporary edge,? according to Toyota division General Manager Fay, ?appealing to a new generation of buyers.?

If there?s a surprise in the details Toyota has revealed about the new 2014 Tundra it?s the maker?s decision to stick with its existing powertrain line-up, though it claims to have made some tweaks ?to improve performance.?

There will still be the three familiar engine options, starting with a 4.0-liter DOHC V-6 making 270 horsepower and 278 lb-ft of torque. It?s paired with a 5-speed automatic.

The Detroit Bureau: VW Goes Forward into the Past with the 'Black/Yellow Racer'

The midrange engine is a 4.6-liter DOHC V-8 turning out 310 horsepower and 327 lb-ft, while the heavy lifter is the 5.7-liter V-8 churning out 381 hp and 401 lb-ft. Both V-8s are paired to 6-speed automatics. The 5.7 gives the Tundra a maximum 10,400 pounds of towing capacity in the 4?2 regular cab configuration.

With competitors offering a range of new, high-mileage alternatives, notably the popular Ford turbocharged EcoBoost V-6, and with word that General Motors and even Nissan could follow with standard-duty diesels, that raises the question about whether Toyota has more still in the development stage.

CEO Akio Toyota has often suggested he?d like a hybrid for just about every possible model. Could one eventually follow for Tundra? And in a conversation with TheDetroitBureau.com, Toyota division chief Fay suggested one might come out of the Japanese maker?s new joint venture with Ford. The two have teamed up to develop hybrid systems for larger vehicles that could include future truck models.

Innovation has become an increasingly important factor in the pickup market, whether it comes in the form of creative storage nooks or more high-tech features. There?ll be Bluetooth connectivity, of course, and on the safety front the new 2014 Toyota Tundra will be the first full-size pickup to get such features as the aforementioned Blind Spot Monitor and a standard-issue back-up camera. It will also feature eight airbags.

But there are still some things missing from the list. While the new Tundra will come in three cab styles, two-door Regular Cab, four-door Double Cab and four-door CrewMax, all of them offered with either 4?2 or 4?4, that still leaves the third-generation truck lacking the broader range of body styles of key Detroit competitors. And there?s nothing in the way of mid- and heavy-duty models.

Those are significant gaps, some observers caution. Could Toyota have bigger plans yet to come? That?s quite possible, certainly if it has ambitions to generate more than just incremental sales growth. Then again, the maker might have to wait until it does an even more complete tear-up of the Tundra platform later this decade.

The Detroit Bureau: Chrysler's new Ram ProMaster, an American Van with Italian Roots

It will certainly help that the overall full-size market is making a comeback after sliding to ?just? 1.1 million units in 2009, its worst year in decades. Volume rebounded to 1.6 million last year, ?and we see it hitting 1.6 million by 2015,? forecast Fay.

Toyota?s share, however, has been miniscule, U.S. sales reaching only 100,000 last year, or less than what Ford sold in under two months.

?We?ll probably not get a whole lot of (additional) volume this year,? cautioned Fay. ?We?ll get a lift next year,? Toyota hoping 2014 will see Tundra sales climb to 130,000, still a marginal level.

The new Tundra, backed by Toyota?s marketing muscle, could make some further inroads longer-term but it remains to be seen whether the Japanese giant will finally move from the bench into the front line.

Copyright 2013 The Detroit Bureau

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/toyota-takes-detroit-all-new-tundra-truck-1B8285989

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Alcatel CEO to leave after company swings to 2012 loss

PARIS (Reuters) - Alcatel-Lucent announced the departure of its chief executive after the telecom equipment maker swung to a full-year net loss of 1.37 billion euros ($1.85 billion), hit by lower sales in Europe and China, and an impairment charge.

CEO Ben Verwaayen will step down once the group has found a successor, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Since arriving in September 2008, Verwaayen has been unable to deliver on his pledge to return the group formed in a merger in 2006 to "normal" with steady cash flow and profit.

Even after trimming its product portfolio and several rounds of layoffs, the group remains hobbled by its smaller size and higher proportional cost base compared to rivals Ericsson , China's Huawei and Nokia-Siemens Networks .

The group's fragility was laid bare last year when telecom operators cut back on spending on network gear as the global economic downturn dragged on.

Sales fell to 14.45 billion euros last year, down 5.7 percent compared with 2011, when Alcatel-Lucent managed its first annual profit since the merger.

In the fourth quarter, usually the strongest for telecom gear groups like Alcatel-Lucent, sales fell 1.3 percent compared with a year earlier to 4.1 billion euros. Strong 13.7 percent growth in the U.S. was not enough to offset weakness in Europe and Asia.

The group's annual adjusted operating profit was 117 million euros, giving it a margin of 2.9 percent.

Sales were largely in line with average estimates for sales of 4.12 billion euros in the fourth quarter and 14.51 billion for the year, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Verwaayen told a conference call that a rebound in spending by operators in China and continued strength in the U.S. would lead to higher sales of telecom equipment this year.

"China will improve this year because key decisions about LTE mobile will be made, and the U.S. will stay very strong," he said. He did not provide annual guidance for this year, however.

Alcatel added that it was scrapping the dividend for last year.

The company said it booked a non-cash charge of 1.4 billion euros "related to the depreciation of goodwill and fixed assets, and the corresponding impact on deferred tax."

Chief Financial Officer Paul Tufano said the charges stemmed largely from lower value attributed to the group's wireless and optics businesses.

In trading in Frankfurt, Alcatel-Lucent shares were up 5 percent to 1.32 euros at 0713 GMT.

Shares in Alcatel have risen nearly 30 percent this year, helped by a 2 billion-euro financing package that the company sealed in January, reassuring investors about its balance-sheet strength. But the group's market capitalization of 3 billion euros now stands at roughly one-tenth of its pre-merger levels.

"The combination of our recent refinancing and the implementation of our restructuring plan will put the company on a secure footing for the successor the Board will seek to appoint," Verwaayen said.

($1 = 0.7387 euros)

(Reporting by Leila Abboud; Editing by James Regan and Hans-Juergen Peters)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alcatel-ceo-leave-company-swings-2012-loss-074454156--finance.html

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Judge: Texas school finance plan unconstitutional

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? The system Texas uses to fund public schools violates the state's constitution by not providing enough money to school districts and failing to distribute it fairly, a judge ruled Monday in a landmark decision that could force the Legislature to overhaul the way it pays for education.

Moments after closing arguments in his packed courtroom, state District Judge John Dietz ruled the funding mechanism does not meet the Texas Constitution's requirements for a fair and efficient system that provides a "general diffusion of knowledge." He declared that funding was inadequate and that there were wide discrepancies in state support received by school districts in wealthy parts of Texas versus those in poorer areas. He also said the system is tantamount to an income tax, which is forbidden by the state constitution.

It was the second time in less than a decade the state has been ordered to remake its school finance system. Dietz said he would issue a written ruling elaborating on his announcement in about a month. The state can then appeal the case directly to the Supreme Court, which could order the Legislature to remake the system.

But a ruling from the high court is not likely to come until the end of the legislative session in May, meaning Gov. Rick Perry would need to call a special session in 2014. In the interval, the state's school finance system remains unchanged.

This was the sixth case of its kind since 1984. During a round of litigation eight years ago, Dietz issued a similar ruling, but the all-Republican Supreme Court reversed his findings on funding ? while still declaring the system unconstitutional since it violated state guarantees against an income tax.

This time around, more than 600 school districts across Texas responsible for educating three-quarters of the state's 5 million-plus public school students sued. At issue were $5.4 billion in cuts to schools and education grant programs the Legislature imposed in 2011 ? but the districts said simply restoring that funding won't be enough to fix a fundamentally flawed system.

"It's not just dollars, it's how we use them," David Thompson, an attorney representing school districts that educate about 2 million students, said in reaction to Dietz's ruling. "I think there's a lot of room there to begin a discussion with the Legislature."

The districts noted that the cuts came as the state requires schools to prepare students for standardized tests that are getting more difficult and amid a statewide boom in the number of low-income students and those who need extra instruction to learn English, both of whom are more costly to educate.

"There is no free lunch," Dietz said while issuing his ruling. "We either want increased standards and are willing to pay the price, or we don't."

The trial, which began Oct. 22, took more than 240 hours in court and 10,000 exhibits to get this far.

Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said Dietz's decision confirms what his party has been saying all along.

"Hopefully this latest in a long line of decisions will force the legislature to truly and systemically address the inequities in our school finance system to ensure that every child in every school ? regardless of wealth ? has access to a top-notch education," Ellis said in a statement.

The state attorney general's office declined to comment. But Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams said he'd wait for appeal.

"The Texas Education Agency will continue to carry out its mission of serving the students and educators across our state," he said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for Perry declined to comment. But Lt. Gov. Dewhurst said he was disappointed in Deitz's decision and that he would work with other top state leaders to "ensure that Texas continues to have an accountable, efficient system of public education that produces graduates ready to compete in college and in our global economy."

Texas relies on local property taxes to fund its schools. But attorneys for the school districts said the bottom 15 percent of the state's poorest districts tax an average of 8 cents more than the wealthiest 15 percent of districts, but receive about $43,000 less per classroom.

Rick Gray, a lawyer representing districts mostly in poorer areas of the state, said during closing arguments that the funding system was "woefully inadequate and hopelessly broken." He said Texas must begin producing better educated college graduates, or it would see its tax base shrink and needs for social services swell due to a workforce not properly prepared for the jobs of the future.

"Texas should be ashamed," Gray said of the funding system.

The state countered that the system is adequately funded and that school districts don't always spend their money wisely. "We are not here to debate whether the state is providing the best system money can buy," argued Assistant Attorney General Shelley Dahlberg. "We are here asking if the state system is a constitutional one and we believe that it is."

Districts in rich and poor parts of the state are on the same side of the case since the funding mechanism relies on a "Robin Hood" scheme where districts with high property values or abundant tax revenue from oil or natural gas resources turn over part of the money they raise to poorer districts.

But many "property wealthy" districts say that while they are in better shape than their poorer counterparts, the system still starves them of funding since local voters who would otherwise support property tax increases to bolster funding for their schools refuse to do so, knowing that most of the money would be sent somewhere else.

Also suing were charter schools, which wanted state funding for their facilities and for Texas to ease or a remove a cap allowing only 215 licenses to operate charter schools statewide. Dietz said those complaints did not violate the state constitution.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-texas-school-finance-plan-unconstitutional-221045057.html

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Asian shares drop on euro zone worry, soft U.S. data

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares, oil and the euro fell on Tuesday as investors took profits from recent rallies, while the yen got a respite from broad-based selling.

European markets are seen barely changed, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> would open up nearly flat. But a 0.1 percent gain in U.S. stock futures suggested a firm open on Wall Street. <.l><.eu><.n/>

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> tumbled 0.9 percent, dragged lower by a steep 1.7 percent fall in Hong Kong shares <.hsi>. The pan-Asian index climbed to a 18-month high on Monday.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average <.n225> closed down 1.9 percent, after scaling a 33-month high on Monday. <.t/>

Positive data from China failed to brighten the bearish mood, after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> had its worst day since November on Monday on discouraging U.S. factory orders and worries that a potential political shake-up could disrupt the euro zone's efforts to resolve its debt crisis.

Analysts and traders said selling was a correction to markets rallying on receding tail risks such as growing euro zone stability and an improving global economic outlook, while global monetary easing still underpinned sentiment.

"This move in equities ... looks to be a healthy correction, nothing more," said Richard Yetsenga, Head of Global Markets at ANZ Research, adding that downside risk would likely convince major central banks globally to stick to easy policy.

In China, the HSBC services purchasing managers' index rose to a four-month high of 54 in January from December's 51.7, underlining confidence in the world's second-biggest economy, which is expected to grow 8.1 percent this year, off a 13-year low of 7.8 percent hit in 2012.

"The data globally is unquestionably better but the recovery still seems gradual. (China) hit the bottom and they had a bit of a bounce but nothing much else happened. We don't really seem to have preconditions for a much stronger bounce than that (8 percent growth)," Yetsenga said.

The Australian dollar fell 0.3 percent to $1.0405 after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its cash rate steady at 3.0 percent, as expected, having just cut in December. Australian shares <.axjo> fell 0.5 percent but trimmed some earlier losses after the RBA's rate decision.

The euro took the brunt of renewed focus on the euro zone problems, having risen 2.3 percent so far this year against the U.S. dollar, up about 5.4 percent against sterling and 1.8 percent higher against the Australian dollar.

The euro eased 0.2 percent to $1.3485, retreating further from Friday's 14-1/2-month peak of $1.3711, ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting on Thursday.

"Markets have been increasingly comfortable with European risks over the past few months and are largely not positioned for this increase in political problems. The outcomes in Spain and Italy are far from certain and may represent stumbling blocks for further expansion in risk appetite," Barclays Capital said in a research note.

Spain's opposition party on Sunday called for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to resign over corruption allegations, which Rajoy denies, pushing Spanish 10-year bond yields to six-week highs.

In Italy, 10-year Italian government bond yields hit their highest since late December, as chances of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi regaining power raised worries about Rome's ability to fix its fiscal problems.

The yen took a breather, firming from lows against a broad range of currencies.

The dollar steadied at 92.36 yen after scaling its highest since May 2010 of 93.185 on Monday, while the euro eased 0.1 percent to 124.53 yen, off its loftiest since April 2010 of 126.97 hit on Friday.

"Markets are broadly undergoing a correction and the euro is definitely facing profit-taking, given the pace of its climb. Worries about the euro zone debt crisis always remain a downside risk for the euro, and could push it lower to $1.32-$1.33," said Hiroshi Maeba, head of FX trading Japan at UBS in Tokyo. "But the trend is still upward for dollar/yen, cross/yen. The dollar could reach 95 yen by the end of the month."

As long as markets hold out expectations for the Bank of Japan to implement aggressive monetary easing to beat decades of deflation in Japan, the yen will stay pressured. Any correction to the dollar's rise against the yen was also be seen as shallow, with many traders and analysts seeing a firm floor around 87-88 yen.

Italy & Spain bond yields: http://link.reuters.com/gat45t

Asset returns in 2013: http://link.reuters.com/dub25t

China, EU, US Services PMI: http://link.reuters.com/dyh85s

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

Asian credit markets faltered with the plunge in equities, widening the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index by three basis points.

Brent crude slipped towards $115 per barrel, giving up some of its gains from the last three weeks, on renewed euro zone worries and a slightly firmer dollar.

(Editing by Eric Meijer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shares-drop-euro-zone-worry-soft-u-034745061--finance.html

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