VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The Bank of Japan is set to maintain its massive stimulus program on Tuesday and signal its conviction that a steady economic recovery will help achieve its ambitious price target without immediate, additional monetary easing.

Asian shares drifted higher on Monday after a downbeat session on Wall Street kept sentiment in check, while the euro recovered from a fresh 12-year low touched on the divergent monetary policy paths between the United States and the euro zone.

Oil prices have started to stabilize around $60 a barrel in past weeks and will continue to firm up, while crude demand will grow stronger, an adviser to Saudi Arabia's oil minister said on Sunday.

Brent crude fell towards $58 a barrel on Tuesday as the dollar scaled multi-year highs, but data showing a recovery in China's annual consumer inflation checked losses.

Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL.N), North Dakota's largest oil producer, is seeking a possible buyer, according to the Wall Street Journal, but a person familiar with the board's thinking told Reuters he was not aware of any such plan.

Revised fourth-quarter Japanese data on Monday is likely to show capital spending was slightly stronger than expected, but overall economic growth was little changed from initial estimates, confirming the economy only managed to limp out of recession.

Brent crude oil fell almost 2 percent toward $61 a barrel on Monday after Iran said a deal on its nuclear program could be agreed this week if the West lifted sanctions, which could boost the country's oil exports.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda defended his two-year timeframe for achieving his ambitious inflation target, warning that adopting a relaxed approach to the deadline would undermine efforts to break the country out of the shackles of deflation.

U.S. economic growth braked more sharply than initially thought in the fourth quarter amid a moderate increase in business inventories and a wider trade deficit, but strong domestic demand brightened the outlook.

Japanese households cut spending further and retail sales fell for the first time in seven months in January, data on Friday is likely to show, a sign the central bank's radical stimulus has yet to convince consumers that inflation will take hold.

Crude oil futures fell on Tuesday as expectations that this week's reports will show U.S. crude inventories rose again countered supportive news of Libyan oilfields being shut.

The Nasdaq ended higher on Monday for a ninth straight day following gains in Apple (AAPL.O), while the Dow and S&P 500 eased off recent record highs as lower oil prices dragged down energy shares.

Three members of the Bank of Japan's policy board expressed doubts the central bank can meet its inflation target because of a slowdown in underlying prices and falling oil, pointing to chinks in the BOJ's strategy to spark sustainable growth.

Oil prices edged up after early falls on Monday as parts of Asia returned from the Lunar New Year holiday, with Brent futures moving further away from $60 a barrel and U.S. contracts moving towards $51.

Oil prices rose on Thursday, rallying a little after big losses in the previous session, after China took steps to pour fresh liquidity into the world's second-biggest economy to spur activity.