BUSINESS Clouds are beginning to gather over this year’s labor-management pay-hike talks known as shunto, falling stock prices worldwide combine with worries about a slowdown in the global economy to hurt corporate earnings and make prospects for pay rises look less certain. [YOMIURI]

STOCKS Tokyo stocks staged a firm rally for the second straight trading session on Thursday, with the Nikkei index recovering the 13,000 line, as reports of a U.S. government-backed bailout package for bond insurers gave a boost to recently battered financial and real estate issues. [KYODO]

BUSINESS Electronics giant Sharp Corp. was warned that it was using a yakuza-linked construction company in the construction of a new LCD panel factory it is building in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. [MAINICHI]

BUSINESS A minor rebound Wednesday in stock markets will likely provide only temporary relief for export-oriented companies, which could spell big trouble for the overall economy in the long run. [ASAHI]

STOCKS Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda expressed concern over the impact a further plunge in global stocks could have on the Japanese economy during an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, a government official said. [KYODO]

STOCKS Tokyo stocks plunged more than 5.6 percent Tuesday with the Nikkei index closing well below 13,000 for the first time since mid-September 2005 on panic over a slowing global economy triggered by credit woes from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

BUSINESS A total of 522 NHK employees traded stocks over the past year, including two who did so on office time, according to an in-house investigation the broadcaster carried out in response to recent allegations of insider trading involving its employees. [YOMIURI]

STOCKS Key Japanese ministers said Tuesday the government will take no immediate action in the face of global stock downturns and the yen’s appreciation in the currency market, with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda reiterating that Japan’s economy is fundamentally firm. [KYODO]

BUSINESS Sanyo Electric Co. said Monday it will sell its troubled mobile phone operations to Kyocera Corp. [MAINICHI]

STOCKS Investors are shunning investment trust funds with mainly Japanese stock portfolios, while funds generally investing in overseas stocks are gaining popularity, according to a report by the Investment Trust Association. [YOMIURI]

BUSINESS NHK said Saturday that it will ask each of its 11,000 employees about their stock transactions — including whether they trade based on unpublished information obtained through their work — after two reporters and a director were accused Thursday of engaging in insider trading in 2007. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

BUSINESS The cute cuddly white cat from Sanrio Co., usually seen on toys and jewelry for girls and young women, will soon adorn shirts, bags, watches and other products targeting young men. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

BUSINESS Hiroko Ota, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, said in her Diet policy speech Friday that Japan was no longer a top-tier economic power. [YOMIURI]

STOCKS Japanese stocks recovered from an early plunge Friday as investors scooped up shares that have been beaten down in recent days. [MAINICHI]

BUSINESS Department store sales in Japan fell 0.5 percent in 2007 from the previous year to 7.71 trillion yen on a same store basis, extending their losing streak to 11 years. [KYODO]

BUSINESS Public broadcaster NHK is considering requiring all employees to notify their bosses before trading in shares, NHK officials said. [MAINICHI]

BUSINESS The amount of losses at 21 major financial institutions in Japan, Europe and the United States caused by the U.S. subprime mortgage market crisis totals 107.8 billion dollars (about 11.4 trillion yen) to date. [YOMIURI]

BUSINESS One reporter and two other NHK employees are under investigation by the the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission on suspicion of insider trading, the broadcaster revealed Thursday.

STOCKS Tokyo stocks closed sharply lower Wednesday as the rapid appreciation of the yen, signs of worsening fallout from the U.S. subprime-mortgage meltdown, and the perception that the government is unconcerned about the slide shook the market’s confidence. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

STOCKS Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Wednesday he will take a wait-and-see stance on the recent dives in Japanese stock prices, while shrugging off concerns that Japan’s economy is deteriorating. [KYODO]