EARTHQUAKE

Prices for memory chips are rising as the earthquake in Japan has raised supply chain concerns.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is unlikely to tighten policy by either raising rates or halting the second edition of the asset purchase program known as QE2, when its policy board meets today, according to analysts.

Oppenheimer lowered its profit forecast on phone giant Nokia as the company is seeing greater than market seasonal weakness in demand in the first quarter of 2011.

German economic sentiment fell unexpectedly in March, as the expectations get hit by hawkish stance of the European Central Bank (ECB) and a major earthquake in Japan.

Report that a containment system at the bottom of Unit 2 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi has been breached saw uranium companies' shares to tank on the bourses.

The Japan earthquake and tsunami could result in significant shortages of certain electronic components, potentially causing dramatic price increases, a market reaserch firm said.

The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has drawn comparisons to the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. According to some experts, while they are very different, the consequences could be as bad or worse if authorities in Japan fail to prevent a meltdown.

The 56-year-old comedian and actor was fired on Monday after he tweeted a series of jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

An evidently impressed Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, has shared an e-mail from a friend who works for Apple in Japan shedding light on the ways in which the tech giant stepped up and helped people caught off guard by Friday's earthquake.

The March 11 earthquake has plunged Japan into a state of nuclear crisis as fresh reports of blasts at nuclear plants pour in every few hours. The live slideshow contains photos of the blast with details.

Texas Instruments said it expects loss of revenue in the first quarter and second quarter as the Japan earthquake caused substantial damage to its Miho plant in the country.

Japanese auto major Mazda Motor Corporation will extend the production suspension at its Hiroshima and Hofu plants until March 20 following Friday's earthquake.

Japan has confirmed that a fire at the spent fuel storage pond at an earthquake-hit reactor of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was extinguished on March 15 at 02:00 UTC, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

Japanese stock markets slumped for the second day on Tuesday on escalating fears of a nuclear crisis after a radiation leak was detected at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and residents were warned to stay indoors.

Rock star Bryan Adams exhorted the world's musicians to organize a concert for Japan, which is reeling from the worst disaster in recent history.

Japanese Auto major Honda Motor Co has said that all production activities are suspended at the following Honda plants, the carmaker said in a statement.

Japan has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that a spent fuel storage pond at an earthquake-damaged reactor is on fire and radioactivity is being released directly into the atmosphere, the Vienna-based U.N. atomic watchdog said.

A survey among state health departments finds that most American states are ill-prepared to cope with a nuclear radiation emergency should it arise.

The government of Japan, already battling against the deadly ravages of Friday’s earthquake-tsunami, has warned that the troubled No. 2 reactor at the badly-damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was still unstable, almost nearly five hours after workers poured seawater into it to try to cool down the fuel rods

Though it will take weeks or longer to determine how much was actually lost in the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, investors sold insurance shares on Monday in fear of how high the total will go.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Monday, as investors were worried about the impact of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan on the global economy.