IBT Staff Reporter

The devastation in Japan is set to worsen the negative short-term sentiment gripping a vulnerable U.S. stock market, with companies exposed to Japan and the nuclear energy sector likely to take the biggest hits.

Euro zone finance ministers will discuss the details on Monday of how to strengthen Europe's financial safety net, after their leaders decided on Friday the emergency fund should have more firepower and flexibility.

The death toll from Friday's large earthquake and subsequent tsunami is likely to rise beyond 10,000, Miyagi prefecture's police chief said on Sunday, according to Kyodo News.

The world has entered a new economic era that will be more volatile and more dependent on the growth of emerging economies, General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said in a letter to shareholders.

Last week's earthquake in Japan could lead to insured losses of nearly $35 billion, risk modeling company AIR Worldwide said, making it one of the most expensive catastrophes in history -- even without expected additional tsunami losses that are not yet counted.

Ireland expects Europe to cut the interest rate it is charging on some 40 billion euros ($55 billion) worth of loans at a summit at the end of this month and will also seek greater flexibility from Brussels on dealing with its banks.

The board of Zain approved on Sunday an offer worth a total $5 billion including debt by Kingdom <4280.SE> and Bahrain Telecom for the Kuwaiti telco's Saudi assets, sources said.

Earthquake in Japan. Unrest in the oil-producing Arab world. Sovereign-debt strains in Europe. Inflation in China.

Despite going through one of the most severe crisis in its history, Japan is continuing her plan of hosting two football (soccer) International friendlies in March.

The board of Zain approved on Sunday an offer worth a total $5 billion including debt by Kingdom <4280.SE> and Bahrain Telecom for the Kuwaiti telco's Saudi assets, sources said.

British mobile operator Vodafone and its U.S. partner Verizon plan to combine parts of their businesses and share some equipment costs, according to a report in Britain's Sunday Times.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said the central bank will provide huge amounts of liquidity to the banking system on Monday, reinforcing the bank's determination to keep markets stable in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck northeastern Japan.

An alliance of media groups opposed to News Corp's proposed buyout of satellite broadcaster BSkyB have criticised proposals by the UK government to ease competition concerns about the deal.

Ireland's new government is concerned about what fresh stress tests will reveal about the health of the domestic bank sector at the end of this month, Justice Minister Alan Shatter said on Sunday.

Japanese automakers, electronics firms and oil refiners shut key factories after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast, underscoring the challenge facing the government as it rushes to limit the economic blow.

The earthquake disaster in Japan looks set to dominate a Group of Eight foreign ministers meeting this week in Paris as members discuss ways to coordinate help for the only Asian country in the group.

Can LaserMotive, which is developing a truly 21st-century power beaming technology for a space elevator, dominate the solar system?

Could the ambitious project of developing a laser-powered space elevator, a 'railway line' into space, turn science fiction into reality?

Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding <4280.SE> and Bahrain Telecommunications , whose bids to buy Zain's Saudi operations were rejected last month, teamed up on Sunday to make a joint bid for the assets.

Japanese shares look set to tumble this week while government bonds and the yen are expected to gain, although market players are still trying to gauge the impact of the country's worst earthquake in modern history.

It took a massive earthquake back in her homeland to persuade Yuki Kosuge to look beyond traditional news sources and log in to Twitter for the first time.

Seeking to avert a meltdown, Japanese officials injected seawater into overheating nuclear reactors on Sunday, relieving pressure at a nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture, according to a report.

England skipper Rio Ferdinand will miss the European Championship qualifier with Wales on 26 March with a calf injury, leading to speculation that John Terry could be offered the role which he was stripped off over a year back.

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is considering buying a controlling stake in Kuwaiti telecom firm Zain at a price of 1.7 dinars ($6.12) per share, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

China Everbright Bank <601818.SS> has mandated 10 banks for its planned about $6 billion Hong Kong listing, IFR reported late on Saturday.

The unexpected nature of this week's earthquake in Japan, plus the damage from the subsequent tsunami and fires, makes estimating insured losses from the disaster especially difficult, senior executives at two top catastrophe risk modeling firms said on Saturday.

The unexpected nature of this week's earthquake in Japan, plus the damage from the subsequent tsunami and fires, makes estimating insured losses from the disaster especially difficult, senior executives at two top catastrophe risk modeling firms said on Saturday.

Deutsche Boerse will avoid forced layoffs in its planned merger with NYSE Euronext , and employees will choose the merged exchange operator's name, Deutsche Boerse chief executive Reto Francioni has said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised Brazil his government would support Dassault's proposed technology transfer of its new fighter jet as the company seeks an edge in its bid to win a multibillion-dollar Brazilian military contract.