VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Euro zone businesses performed much better than forecasters expected this month and China's vast factory sector grew a shade faster but there were worrying signs that the upturn could be short-lived.

After the Fukushima disaster crippled Japan's nuclear energy sector three years ago, the government pledged the biggest shake up in the history of the fragmented electricity industry to boost competition and contain a surge in power prices.

SoftBank Corp announced Wednesday it will lead a $100 million investment round in Indonesian ecommerce giant PT Tokopedia, the Japanese mobile carrier's third investment overseas under Vice Chairman Nikesh Arora.

Toshiba Corp said it had signed an agreement with United Technologies Corp to strengthen strategic collaboration through their joint venture, Toshiba Carrier Corp, which develops air-conditioning equipment.

Asian stocks clawed back some of this week's losses on Friday after a solid set of U.S. data calmed turbulence in global financial markets, though underlying worries about slowing world economic growth kept investors on edge.

Staffing firm Recruit Holdings Co Ltd (6098.T) surged in its market debut in Tokyo on Thursday, with investors leaping at a rare opportunity to grab part of a big Japanese company with strong online growth prospects.

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Wednesday it would recall a total 1.67 million vehicles globally in a voluntary move to address three separate defects including a faulty brake master cylinder that could hinder the brake's performance.

Japan's Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co Ltd (8750.T) will raise $1 billion by issuing dollar-denominated subordinated bonds in overseas markets, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

Manuel Medina-Mora, head of Citigroup Inc's (C.N) consumer banking and chairman of the company's troubled Mexico unit, is preparing to leave in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation.

European stocks reversed early losses on Monday as airline shares gained after crude oil prices fell to near a four-year low, though broad dollar weakness and a jump in gold signaled investor concern over global economic health.

The finance ministers of Japan and South Korea will hold their first bilateral meeting in nearly two years on Friday, on the sidelines of this week's autumn IMF gathering in Washington, the Japanese Ministry of Finance said.

Asian shares tentatively rose in early trade on Tuesday, while the dollar steadied after investors locked in some gains overnight on its recent rally.

Japan's largest recruitment company Recruit Holdings priced its initial public offering at 3,100 yen on Monday, the top of its bookbuilding range, showing confidence in investor demand for the $2 billion listing.

World policymakers gather in Washington later this week to ponder how to sustain economic recovery at a time when the United States is about to turn off its money taps.

Thailand will revive talks with Japan and Myanmar aimed at kick-starting the floundering multi-billion dollar Dawei Special Economic Zone in Myanmar, a junta spokesman said on Thursday.