TOKYO, Feb 4- Japan's Nikkei share average was expected to climb on Monday after robust data pointed to a U.S. economic recovery on track, lifting U.S. stocks to five-year highs and helping the dollar extend gains against the yen.
Feb 3- Centrica Plc, owner of British Gas, is set to scrap plans to build nuclear power stations in Britain, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing one person familiar with the company's plans.
LONDON, Feb 3- Central banking is in a state of flux as policymakers from Tokyo to Washington ditch prevailing orthodoxies to try to grab a bigger share of a slow-growing global economic pie.
TOKYO, Feb 3- Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso on Sunday said it was not Tokyo's goal to weaken the yen and its policies were purely aimed at beating deflation, brushing off foreign concerns about currency wars ahead of a G20 meeting in Moscow.
TOKYO, Feb 3- Japan's All Nippon Airways is in talks with U.S. aircraft maker Boeing Co to speed up the delivery of three 777 jetliners as its fleet of 787 Dreamliner airplanes remains grounded with undiagnosed battery problems, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday.
TOKYO, Feb 3- Currency hedging cost Japanese companies such as Honda Motor Co the chance to fully cash in on a weak yen last quarter, raising the risk that investor expectations could outrun earnings. "The rally is completely driven by hopes rather than facts," said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments.
"It's inevitable that that's going to be on the table," said Jake Colvin, vice president at the National Foreign Trade Council, which represents major U.S. exporters such as Boeing Co, Microsoft Corp and Caterpillar Inc..
WASHINGTON, Feb 1- U.S. officials on Friday said they are making progress in their investigation of a battery fire on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner in Boston this month, as the grounding of Boeing's entire fleet Of 787 s stretched into a third week.
*Chrysler ousts Ford as No. 1 in sales in Canada in January. Feb 1- Auto sales in Canada slipped 2.2 percent in January, data showed on Friday, on weaker demand for European vehicles and strong comparable data from a year ago when Japan's automakers were rebounding from earthquake and tsunami disruptions.
NEW YORK, Feb 1- The euro hit a 14- month high against the U.S. dollar and 33- month peak against the yen on Friday, the beneficiary of stronger-than-forecast euro zone manufacturing data and expectations of easy monetary policy from Washington and Tokyo.
*GM, Ford, Toyota top Wall Street forecasts. *Chrysler, Honda, Nissan fall short of analysts' estimates. "We all started the year with a little bit of apprehension with the fiscal cliff debates and the new tax rates," said Toyota Motor Corp's Bill Fay, head of U.S. sales for the Toyota brand. "
NEW YORK, Feb 1- The euro hit a 14- month high against the U.S. dollar and 33- month peak against the yen on Friday, the beneficiary of stronger-than-forecast euro zone manufacturing data and expectations of easy monetary policy form Washington and Tokyo.
*GM, Ford, Toyota top Wall Street forecasts. DETROIT, Feb 1- Several major automakers, including General Motors Co and Toyota Motor Corp, posted better-than-expected U.S. vehicle sales for January, kicking off the fourth straight year of the sector's recovery from the depths of recession.
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 1- The world of criminal computer hacking has traditionally been far removed from the cyber-spying efforts of governments, but security experts say several recent cases suggest the lines are starting to blur.
JPMorgan's Global Manufacturing PMI, produced with research and supply management organisations, rose to 51.5 in January from December's 50.1, above the 50- mark that divides growth from contraction for the second straight month.
*Per-share earnings $0.83 in quarter vs forecast $0.81. *Quarterly sales $11.74 bln, vs forecast $11.48 bln. Feb 1- Merck& Co Inc's quarterly results beat estimates, but the company issued a cautious 2013 profit forecast and said it would delay seeking approval for a high-profile osteoporosis drug, sending its shares lower in premarket trading.