JAPAN

European shares and the euro gradually recovered on Monday from early losses triggered by the mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign ratings last week, but they still looked vulnerable amid rising fears of a disorderly Greek debt default.

Fish hooks and fishbones dating back 42,000 years found in a cave in East Timor suggest that humans were capable of skilled, deep-sea fishing 30,000 years earlier than previously thought, researchers in Australia and Japan said on Friday.

European shares and the euro recovered from early losses on Monday in the wake of a mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign ratings, but trading was choppy with U.S. markets closed and the outlook for Greek debt talks uncertain.

Euro zone bank shares fell but stocks seen as resilient to an economic slowdown gained on Monday in the wake of Standard and Poor's mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign ratings, while the euro hovered near 17-month lows against the dollar.

Mass Eurozone ratings downgrades are unlikely to shake up investors too much, but with Greek debt talks at an impasse, pressure has been loaded on the bloc to shore up its defenses and glimmers of optimism from last week have been firmly doused.

Euro zone bank shares fell but stocks seen as resilient to an economic slowdown gained on Monday in the wake of Standard and Poor's mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign ratings, while the euro hovered near 17-month lows against the dollar.

Global leaders and businessmen urged Europe on Monday to take fresh steps to resolve its deepening debt crisis, with a top executive of the IMF warning the continent will see a downward spiral of collapsing confidence if no further action is taken.

Japan's Nikkei average fell to a one-month closing low on Monday after downgrades of nine European countries, including a cut in France's triple-A rating, escalated fears over the region's ability to end its debt crisis.

Financial markets are unlikely to be derailed by mass euro zone downgrades, but with Greek debt talks at an impasse, pressure has been loaded on the bloc to shore up its defenses and glimmers of optimism from last week have been firmly doused.

Honda Motor Co <7267.T> will completely overhaul its flood-hit factory in Thailand in a project that could cost more than 50 billion yen ($650 million), the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Saturday that France's credit downgrade puts the focus on Japan to get its own fiscal house in order. Europe's debt crisis is not just a disaster on the other shore, Noda said in a televised interview with TV Tokyo.

A Japanese banker who is a key figure in the Olympus Corp. accounting fraud came into public view for the first time since the scandal broke, appearing on Friday at his divorce hearing in a Florida court.

A whopping 44 percent of all mutual-fund shareholders are baby boomers, according to an Investment Company Institute report. As they take withdrawals from their retirement kitties over the next couple of decades, you're looking at a major, potentially market-altering event.

A Japanese banker who is a key figure in the Olympus accounting fraud came into public view for the first time since the scandal broke, appearing on Friday at his divorce hearing in a Florida court.

A Japanese banker who is a key figure in the Olympus accounting fraud came into public view for the first time since the scandal broke, appearing on Friday at his divorce hearing in a Florida court.

Standard & Poor's is set to downgrade the credit ratings of several euro zone countries later on Friday, but not those of Germany and the Netherlands, a senior euro zone government source said.

A rather tiny Yorkshire terrier name Lucy, from New Jersey, is the Guinness record holder for the world's smallest working dog. She weighs just 2.5 pounds and visits hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers each week, working with children with disabilities and troubled youth.

Private equity firm TPG Capital is willing to invest about $1 billion in Japan's Olympus Corp in a joint deal with Sony Corp or another suitor circling the scandal-hit firm, a person familiar with TPG's thinking said.

Japan's Nikkei share average climbed to a one-week high on Friday, rising above the key threshold of its 25-moving average after smooth European debt auctions prompted buying of exporters, while the market remained on edge ahead of U.S. corporate earnings.

Novartis AG plans to axe nearly 2,000 of its U.S. workforce ahead of the patent loss of top-selling blood pressure drug Diovan there and will take a $900 million charge after another of its key drugs failed to live up to expectations.

Gold prices struggled to hold recent gains Friday as a successful Italian bond auction buoyed optimism about the direction of the Eurozone's economy.