Top Stories

Asian Stocks Rise, Heading to Third Weekly Increase; Honda Advances on Yen Asian stocks rose, sending the MSCI Asia Pacific to its third weekly advance, as the yen weakened on speculation Japan’s central bank will loosen monetary policies.

Inflation Eroding China's Bank Deposits Signals Zhou Must Increase Rates China’s inflation rate outstripped returns on household savings for the first time in 16 months, making it harder for officials to damp rising expectations for price gains.

Japan May Cushion BOJ Balance-Sheet Contraction, `Preserve' Easing Options Japan’s central bank may seek next week to counter a contraction of its balance sheet caused by the month-end expiration of an emergency-credit program as deflation persists in the world’s second-largest economy.

BHP's Kloppers Winning in War to End Annual Price Talks With Steelmakers Marius Kloppers, chief executive officer of BHP Billiton Ltd., is winning his war on how the steel industry buys its raw materials.

Hong Kong Property Prices Set for `Another Good Year,' Sun Hung Kai Says Hong Kong’s home market may see “another good year” in 2010 as buyers remain financially sound, according to Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., the world’s biggest developer by market value.

Toyota Sees Recovery in 2010 for Most of U.S. Market Share Lost on Recalls Toyota Motor Corp. set a 2010 goal of regaining most of the U.S. market share lost in the past two months after global recalls of 8 million vehicles damped demand, the No. 2 U.S. sales executive said.

Exclusive

Chavez Outdone by Billionaire Mendoza as Wealth Soars Amid Takeover Threat Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s “21st Century Socialism” is failing to rein in billionaire Lorenzo Mendoza.

Brown Tries to `Perversely' Benefit From U.K. Relapse Risk Before Election Gordon Brown is trying to turn the threat of a double-dip U.K. recession into an advantage.

Solar Prospectors Chase `Gold Mine' Deals in Chinese, Israeli Subsidies Olivier de Vergnies quit managing family fortunes at Dexia Private Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. in 2008 to run a New York start-up at 100 Wall St. that’s trying to tap riches in solar energy.

Chrysler in Hibernation Means Marchionne May Have to Wait on Fiat Spinoff Fiat SpA, the Italian carmaker that helped Chrysler Group LLC emerge from bankruptcy, may wait to turn around the U.S. business before deciding on a share sale or spinoff for its automotive division.

Red-Coral Rescue Plans Endanger Italian Jewelry Makers of Torre del Greco The people of Torre del Greco, 10 miles south of Naples, have lived off the red corals found in the Mediterranean Sea for more than two millennia. A proposal to list the species as endangered may push the seaside town’s $217 million-a-year coral industry into extinction.

Triple Whammy of Costs, Taxes, Inflation Sinks Stock Returns: Chart of Day U.S. stock investors made far less in the past half century than the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s performance would suggest, according to David Bianco, chief U.S. equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.