VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The Bank of Japan on Tuesday maintained its massive asset buying program but offered a bleaker view on factory output, following signs that the world's third-largest economy was hit harder than expected by a sales tax increase in April.

Japan's August core machinery orders due next week are expected to rise modestly for a third straight month, a Reuters poll found - doing little to ease fears that the government's growth-promotion policies aren't working fast enough.

Activity in China's manufacturing sector unexpectedly picked up in September even as factory employment slumped to a 5-1/2-year low, a survey showed on Tuesday, a potential source of worry for Communist leaders who prize social stability above all else.

Asian shares slipped on Tuesday as a periodic bout of angst over China combined with the U.S. dollar's recent meteoric run to pile pressure on commodity prices.

Like a death in the family, union members of PSA Peugeot Citroen factory located in Aulnay, France mourn the closure of the 40 year old plan.

Asian factories were knocked again and the halt in growth is expected to last for nine months.