*BOJ pledges to pump $1.4 trillion into economy. TOKYO, April 5- The yen touched a 3-1/ 2- year low on Friday after suffering its biggest one-day tumble since late 2008 in the previous session, when the Bank of Japan surprised markets with a radical campaign of monetary expansion to attack deflation.
*Technical support seen near 85- to 86- cent range- broker. NEW YORK, April 4- ICE cotton fell on Thursday, as weekly U.S. government export data were not seen as strong enough to boost prices and losses across commodities markets weighed. The most-active May cotton contract on ICE Futures U.S. fell 0.89 cent, or 1 percent, to settle at 88.33 cents per pound.
*Tele2 says deal is closed, eight days after unveiled. *Vimpelcom, a Fridman investment, has bid for Tele2 unit, alongside MTS. Fridman is linked with two bids for the Russian unit of Nordic operator Tele2- one from his A1 vehicle and the other, at a higher price, from MTS and Vimpelcom, in which he is a leading investor.
NEW YORK, April 4- If you read just one book this spring to understand how the world is changing, it should be Mohsin Hamid's new novel, "How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia." Asia's rise is a story of the eastward tilt of global gross domestic product, but behind those numbers are billions of individual lives that are being radically transformed.
SEOUL/ WASHINGTON- The United States said it would soon send a missile defence system to Guam to defend it from North Korea, as the U.S. military adjusts to what Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called a "real and clear danger" from Pyongyang.
*Fast Retailing falls, giving up Wednesday's near 14 pct jump. TOKYO, April 4- Japan's Nikkei average dropped 1.7 percent on Thursday, with sentiment affected by concerns over the U.S. recovery after weaker-than-expected data as markets waited on the outcome of a crucial Bank of Japan policy meeting.
If it fails, international lenders may have to do what they wanted to avoid and which Germany and its northern European allies may baulk at- give Cyprus more money. Nicosia will get 10 billion euros over three years from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund.
*Medical tourism on the rise in Turkey. ISTANBUL, April 3- Sitting in a private clinic in an upscale neighbourhood of Istanbul, Saleh, a human resources executive from Qatar, is preparing to leave Turkey with a smile on his face and more hair on his head.
*Cbank may cut one-week-repo rate. *Lira appreciation back in its sights. MARDIN, Turkey, April 3- Turkey's central bank may consider cutting its main policy rate if the lira appreciates too sharply in real terms, Governor Erdem Basci said on Wednesday.
French drugmaker Sanofi SA said Friday that it's building a new medicine factory in Vietnam to supply drugs to that country and others in the region. Paris- based Sanofi said it plans to spend about $75 million to build the factory in Ho Chi Minh City.
ISTANBUL, March 29- Turkey exported almost $120 million worth of gold to Iran in February, data showed, suggesting the two countries' trade of gold for natural gas has resumed despite tighter U.S. sanctions, though at levels below last year's peaks.
SEOUL/ WASHINGTON- North Korea put its missile units on standby on Friday to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force.
TORONTO, March 28- BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis said on Thursday he has no plans to sell his stake in the smartphone maker even as he steps down from the board to focus on a new quantum computing investment fund.
That cruel reality confronts the four large emerging stock markets known as the BRICs: Brazil, Russia, India and China.
*Wheat stocks down to 85 days, bread riots a key worry. LONDON/ CAIRO, March 28- Egypt has hit breaking point in its ability to pay for imports of oil, wheat and other basic commodities, forcing it to call in diplomatic favours or seek easy payment terms from suppliers who hope for future advantage in return.
ISTANBUL, March 27- Standard& Poor's upgrade of Turkey's sovereign credit rating will help Turkish firms access financing, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Wednesday.
NEW YORK/ ISTANBUL, March 27- Ratings agency Standard& Poor's raised Turkey to within a whisker of investment grade on Wednesday, citing a rebalancing economy and progress in a Kurdish peace process, but the move failed to impress the country's finance minister.
ISTANBUL, March 27- Standard& Poor's upgrade of Turkey's sovereign credit rating is belated and still does not reflect the country's current economic outlook, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Wednesday, but he said the upgrade was encouraging.