Panasonic Corp said it would launch in April in Japan plasma TVs that are a quarter of the thickness and consume half as much electricity as conventional models, in a bid to stir up demand amid a spreading recession. Panasonic, the world's largest plasma TV maker ahead of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, aims to boost

Seven months after IBM delivered the world's fastest supercomputer, it has announced an even speedier one with the computing power of 2 million laptops. IBM said on Tuesday it is developing the technology for its new Sequoia computer, with delivery scheduled in 2011 to the Department of Energy for use at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher opening on Wall Street on Tuesday, bouncing back from recent weakness as investors braced for a flurry of corporate results, as well as for U.S. auto sales data for January. At 0922 GMT futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures were up 0.4

Australia slashed rates and unveiled a $26 bln stimulus on Tuesday as authorities stepped up efforts to revive foundering economies. The government more than doubled its initial stimulus, bringing the total package to more than $49 bln or nearly 8 percent of the economy's annual output to stave off a recession already engulfing much of

The Bank of Japan on Tuesday pledged to spend $11 billion to buy shares held by Japanese banks to ease the pain from the global financial crisis, reviving a scheme launched earlier this decade to head off a domestic banking crisis. The move came as a Japanese newspaper report said Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's

Bank of Cyprus Group profit after tax for 2008 increased by 4% to EUR506 mln compared to EUR485 mln in 2007, beating analyst expectations ranging from EUR 460 to 506 mln, but short of its target of EUR 540 mln. The results, which correspond to a very satisfactory return on equity (25%) include gains of

The European Central Bank has made it very clear it will pause with cuts in interest rates on Thursday, focussing financial markets on signals of how low the bank can go and the likely scale of a cut they now expect in March. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet has said the next important policy meeting for

Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, helped by a tech sector rally and new measures by Japan and Australia to support their economies, but sentiment remained negative amid concerns about plunging company earnings. The stock market gains undermined government bond prices, while major European stock markets were expected to open as much as 1.8 percent higher,

The cost of purging bad bank debts from the world financial system is rising and it looks increasingly likely taxpayers will have to foot a large portion of a bill that could run into the trillions of dollars. The problem is two-fold: first there is the matter of either removing or limiting the losses from

European shares pared losses on Monday after U.S. factory activity slowed less sharply in January with a key gauge of manufacturing improving for the first time since June, according to an industry report. At 1517 GMT, Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 was down 2 percent at 780.68 points after having traded as low as 769.01. The Institute