The US activist investor Daniel Loeb has bought a stake in a Japanese retailer Seven & I Holdings. Though the details about stake and valuation are not revealed, Loeb-run hedge fund Third Point is believed to have acquired stake below five percent. After the sale, the Japanese retailer is expected to take up restructuring exercise enhance profitability, reducing underperforming merchandise stores. Seven & I Holdings operates over 18,000 outlets under the brand 7-Eleven across Japan. Seven & I has decided to shut about 40 unprofitable Ito Yodado stores in the next five years.

GoPro Inc has announced quarterly results below the market forecast as the demand for new cameras has been sluggish in the market. Recently launched wearable cameras haven't been received well by the market.

Japanese engineering conglomerate Toshiba announced on Wednesday that it will sell its image sensor business to Sony for a reported 20 billion yen, as it plans to overhaul its semiconductor business, which is still recovering from a $1.3 billion scandal.

Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest automaker, is maintaining an investment plan to build a new seven-seater sports utility vehicle. It is starting next year at its only manufacturing plant in Tennessee, although beset by issues of cost cuts in the wake of the company's diesel-emission manipulation scandal.

It seems like Japanese retailers are saying not to believe in official statistics on consumer spending as stores cut earnings forecasts and expects a lackluster consumer spending, which is an important factor in the growth of Japan during a time of declining exports and factory output.

China, South Korea, and Japan have announced plans to reignite a three-party summit that was halted on 2012 due to lingering animosity towards Japan's part in WWII.

A voluntary recall had been announced by Toyota Motors around the globe due to a defective power window switch that could overheat, melt and lead to fires. According to Toyota, The recall includes 2.7 million vehicles in North America, 600,000 in Japan, and 1.2 million in Europe. The cars involved are Yaris, Corolla, Matrix, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, Tundra and other models, as reported by NBC New York.

Netflix reported a lower than expected performance today after the company reported a total revenue of $1.74 billion for its third quarter performance. The revenue contributes to earnings of $0.07 per share, which is lower than analyst expectation of $0.08 per share.

Japanese automobile major Toyota Motor Corp is planning to launch driverless cars in the market by 2020. Toyota will launch three models in semi-automatic range this year in Japan market. The semi-automatic cars equipped with Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) are technology-driven vehicles that change lanes, merge with traffic or even overtake other vehicles. The fourth generation Prius hybrid car is one among the three semi-automatic models is scheduled for launch in Japan market in 2015.

After five years of negotiations, 12 Pacific nations are about to conclude on a free trade agreement (FTA) as these countries have arrived on an understanding on Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deciding monopoly on new biotech drugs.