IBT Staff Reporter

Japanese shares rose almost 4 percent on Tuesday while government bond futures slipped as reports of progress to contain radiation leaks at a quake-hit nuclear plant prompted investors to buy back risky assets.

Japanese stocks jumped more than 4 percent on Tuesday amid reports of progress in stabilizing an earthquake-damaged nuclear plant and the yen edged up, putting traders on heightened alert for more central bank intervention.

Brent crude futures were steady near $115 on Tuesday, supported by a spreading unrest in the Middle East, while uncertainty about demand from the world's No. 3 consumer Japan capped gains.

Japanese stocks jumped nearly 4 percent on Tuesday amid reports of progress in stabilizing an earthquake-damaged nuclear plant, and the yen was broadly weaker on the prospects for further intervention by major central banks.

Sony <6758.T> said on Tuesday shortages of parts and materials would force it to reduce or suspend production at five additional plants in Japan following the catastrophic earthquake this month.

China's exports of rare earth metals burst through the $100,000-per-tonne mark for the first time in February, up almost ninefold from a year before, while the volume of trade stayed far below historical averages.

The chief executive of Verizon Wireless said he has no interest in buying Sprint Nextel Corp even as the company stands to lose its top position in the U.S. wireless market because of a merger between AT&T Inc and T-Mobile USA.

Cuba attacked dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez in a nationally televised program on Monday, accusing of her being part of a cyberwar against the communist island by the United States and other enemies.

Global miner Rio Tinto said on Tuesday its first-quarter iron ore production would be hit by a string of cyclones that swept through its mining operations in Australia last month.

While a real war in Libya is unfolding, a much less serious event took place in Berlin, where a pillow fight flash mob suddenly appeared in front of the German capital's iconic Brandenburger Tor and engaged in a large scale pillow fight.

Shutterfly said it agreed to buy privately held card design company Tiny Prints in a $333 million cash-and-stock deal, as the photo-sharing service tries to win back customers in a market increasingly dominated by social networking sites like Facebook.

Microsoft Corp filed lawsuits for patent infringement on Monday against bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc over its Nook electronic book reader, widening the software company's legal assault on devices running on Google Inc's Android system.

AT&T Inc will likely be forced to sell major assets and pledge to expand service to poor areas to get approval from the U.S. government for its $39 billion deal to buy Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA.

NEW YORK, March 21 - Six former and current employees of a U.S. unit of Bayer AG filed a class-action lawsuit against the company on Monday, alleging gender discrimination in pay, promotions and the treatment of pregnant women and mothers.

NEW YORK, March 21 - Six former and current employees of a U.S. unit of Bayer AG filed a class-action lawsuit against the company on Monday, alleging gender discrimination in pay, promotions and the treatment of pregnant women and mothers.

A nascent boom in the demand for rental apartments is luring U.S. property developers from the shadows, and their efforts to meet that demand are softening the blow for a still sliding housing market.

Charles Schwab Corp will buy U.S. online brokerage optionsXpress Holdings Inc in a $1 billion deal that gives Schwab a stable of the most active retail traders, as options continue to boom.

Raj Rajaratnam made $4 million on Hilton Hotels stock when the company was bought by Blackstone Group LP in July 2007, jurors heard on Monday, as prosecutors pressed their case that the hedge fund founder had profited from inside tips about pending deals.

The U.S. natural gas market's rally last week, its biggest this year, may have less to do with an anticipated Japanese import boom than with fears about short-term safety measures in the U.S. nuclear sector.

AT&T's planned buy of Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA will face major demands from U.S. regulators, including extensive asset sales and promises to serve rural areas, but the $39 billion deal is expected to ultimately get a government nod.

Citigroup Inc will resume paying a nominal dividend after it uses a reverse stock split to shrink the number of shares outstanding, taking a small step in its recovery from the financial crisis.

Washington Mutual Inc will soon be able to ask creditors to approve its modified plan for paying off its debts as it tries for a second time to get out of bankruptcy.

Citing patent multiple infringements Microsoft is suing Barnes and Noble over features in the Nook's Android OS

Just over a week after the massive earthquake hit the sprawling Texas Instruments chip plant here, a gardener is reworking the Japanese garden in an inner courtyard of the office tower attached to the plant.

France's data protection regulator has fined Google 100,000 euros for collecting private data from wireless networks when its camera-equipped cars gathered footage for its on-line map service Street View.

A gay rights advocacy group says Apple allowing the anti-gay app from Exodus International is a double standard.

Nokia's digital mapping arm Navteq launched on Monday an indoor mapping service enabling shopkeepers or retailers to better target consumers. Navteq's Destination Maps covers more than 200 of the largest shopping centers in the United States with expansion plans for more shopping centers and other types of destinations throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Coalition forces targeting Libya are working to expand a no-fly zone south and west of Benghazi and are generally achieving their aims and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is not a target even as the coalition struck one of his compounds in Tripoli, the U.S. commander organizing the coalition's military strikes said Monday.

Japan automakers in the first two weeks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami will lose about 65 percent in light vehicle production, industry consultant IHS Automotive Insight said Monday in a report.