TOKYO: Japan's core machinery orders fell 2.8 percent in March from the previous month, official figures showed Wednesday, matching market expectations. The core private-sector data, which exclude volatile demand from power companies and for ships, turned down after two months of increases, according to the Cabinet Office. In the January-March quarter, core orders rose by 0.9 percent from the previous quarter. The orders are forecast to increase 2.5 percent in the April-June term, the office said, citing ...

SUVA: Air Pacific will change its name to Fiji Airways next year to capitalise on the Pacific island nation's positive global brand, Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said on Tuesday. Sayed-Khaiyum said the national airline, which posted a loss of Fj$3.6 million ($2.0 million) in the 12 months to March 2011, would complete the rebranding by the end of next year. "The Fijian brand conjures up different images," he said in a statement. "If you go to Europe and ...

BRUSSELS: Output at factories in the euro zone unexpectedly fell in March, the latest in a series of disappointing numbers signalling that the bloc's recession may not be as mild as policymakers hope. Industrial production in the 17 countries sharing the euro fell 0.3 percent in March from February, the EU's statistics office Eurostat said on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.4 percent increase in the month. The figures stood in contrast with German ...