Here is a look at Thursday's top business stories:
Stocks rise slightly in Tokyo
TOKYO, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended higher, supported by strength in selected blue-chip exporters, but earnings worries and weakness in the financial sector limited the gains.
Stocks also rose in Taipei, Taiwan; and Sydney, Australia; but eased in Hong Kong and Seoul, South Korea.
Japan's blue-chip Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selective issues, which fell 106.55 points Wednesday, rose 78.32 points, or 0.79 percent, to 9,997.80, just shy of the psychologically important 10,000 mark. On Wednesday the key index finished below the 10,000 level for the first time since Oct. 10, 2001.
The broader Topix index gained 7.02 points, or 0.73 percent, to 971.77, after falling to a new 17-year low of 964.75 on Wednesday.
Declines outpaced advances 759 to 585, while another 135 issues settled unchanged.
Volume was subdued as 659.50 million shares changed hands--the lowest total since January 17.
Analysts said stocks rose on short-covering and bargain-hunting following solid gains on Wall Street Wednesday.
Month-end window-dressing purchases from investment trusts also supported the market. But players refrained from actively buying back Tokyo stocks amid uncertainty over Japan's political and economic outlook, as well as corporate earnings and banks' bad loan problems, traders said.
Experts said the market's outlook remains poor amid lingering credit risk worries, the protracted bad loan problem and an unfavorable demand-supply picture, although hopes for a U.S. economic recovery may help support technology stocks.
A widely expected decision from the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee to leave its monetary policy unchanged marked the end of an aggressive Fed campaign of easing and raised hopes that the U.S. economy is on track to recover, analysts said.
In trading, high-technology stocks ended mixed to higher. Although the brighter U.S. outlook improved sentiment, players remained cautious after several leading electronics companies reported sluggish April-December earnings results earlier this week, traders said.
Automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. climbed on news that U.S. fourth-quarter gross domestic product rose 0.2 percent and after the Federal Reserve decided to stand pat on interest rates amid signs of economic strength. Toyota, the world's third-biggest automaker, added 2.07 percent.
In the technology sector, copier and camera maker Canon Inc. jumped 3.54 percent. After the market closed, Canon posted a record group net profit of $1.26 billion for 2001, beating analysts' expectations.
Among some of the other active issues, chip-making titan NEC Corp. fell 0.76 percent, Fujitsu lost 1.57 percent and Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd., Japan's biggest real estate firm lost 4.19 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, prices on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange closed slightly lower in a volatile session driven by futures trading.
The blue-chip Hang Seng Index slipped 31.66 points, or 0.30 percent, to 10,725.30, after trading between a low of 10,671.77 and a high of 10,953.57.
Thursday marked the over-the-counter futures settlement on the January contract, so the session was volatile. The contract expired Wednesday but over-the-counter settlement continued Thursday. There was also active trading as investors rolled over long positions in the January contract to the February contract, experts said.
In trading, China Mobile eased 0.7 percent, China Unicom lost 1.3 percent, HSBC settled unchanged, Johnson Electric fell 4.4 percent and Li & Fung lost 3.4 percent.
Meanwhile, prices on the South Korean Stock Exchange ended lower as domestic financial institutions took profits following earlier gains in the market. Futures-related selling and confusion surrounding Hynix Semiconductor's alliance talks also weighed on the market.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, slipped 1.38 points, or 0.20 percent, to 748.07.
Stocks had opened higher following a rise on Wall Street Wednesday but the market was on shaky ground all afternoon as some financial institutions took profits and other investors attempted to help the shares reclaim the 750 level.
The Kospi has gained 8.1 percent so far in January despite the index's slide for the three most recent sessions ending Thursday.
In trading, Hynix Semiconductor dropped 3.2 percent. Germany's Infineon Technologies AG said it's in talks with the South Korean chipmaker on a possible alliance in the area of dynamic random-access memory chips.
Semiconductor-parts maker Mirae fell 1.3 percent and Samsung Electronics lost 0.8 percent.
Prices ended higher on Taiwan Stock Exchange, lifted in part by Wednesday's gains on Wall Street and the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest upbeat comment on the economy.
The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 59.47 points, or 10 percent, to 5,872.14.
Advances outnumbered declines 436 to 187, while another 55 issues settled unchanged.
Blue chips in the traditional manufacturing sector, considered cyclical issues, led the gains amid hopes a recovering U.S. economy will lead Taiwan out of its economic doldrums, analysts said.
In trading, Formosa Plastics Corp., Taiwan's largest non-state-owned petrochemical company, rose by the daily limit of 7 percent. Far Eastern Textile Ltd., one of Asia's largest polyester makers, also rose the 7 percent limit.
Meanwhile, United Microelectronics rose 3.6 percent and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing added 0.6 percent.
Elsewhere around the Pacific region, stocks ended higher on the Australian Stock Exchange.
The blue-chip All Ordinaries Index rose 29.80 points, or 0.88 percent, to 3,400.10.
In trading, Lang Corp. soared 22 percent after the company, in a consortium that includes Toll Holdings, won a bid for the assets of National Rail Corp. and FreightCorp, controlled by the Australian government. Toll Holdings surged 14 percent.
Meanwhile, News Corp. gained 2.8 percent, John Fairfax Holdings Ltd. rose 3.2 percent, West Australian Newspapers gained 1.8 percent and Westpac Banking Corp. gained 1.0 percent.
Dow Chemical posts loss
MIDLAND, Mich., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Dow Chemical Co., the nation's second largest chemical company, said it posted a fourth quarter net loss of $37 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a net income of $149 million, or 16 cents a share during the same period a year earlier.
Excluding special items, Dow said it lost 1 cent a share, compared with a profit of 18 cents a share a year ago.
Analysts on Wall Street had expected the company to post a net income of 5 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Dow had warned earlier this month it would miss its fourth quarter guidance because of soft demand and weak margins in its basic chemicals and plastic units.
Revenues fell 12 percent to $6.3 billion from $7.2 billion a year ago.
The company said its operating rates declined to 73 percent during the quarter as many businesses slowed operations to balance inventories with demand. While feedstock and energy costs declined by approximately $950 million compared with the same period in 2000, the benefit was largely offset by a decline in price of about $850 million.
"This has been one of the most challenging quarters that Dow has ever faced," said Michael D. Parker, president and chief executive officer, citing trough margins associated with very weak demand.
The company said prices declined in all geographic areas. Double-digit price declines in the basics segments -- particularly in the polyethylene, polystyrene and chlor alkali businesses -- and in some Performance Plastics businesses more than offset a slight increase in price in Performance Chemicals.
Volume was down in most segments and, on a geographic basis, was particularly weak in the United States and Latin America.
"The chemical industry has been, and is, facing the worst business environment in decades," Parker said, noting that the year began with a spike in feedstock and energy costs and was later marked by trough margins and weak demand.
"At the same time, Dow has had the added challenge of integrating Union Carbide and other strategic acquisitions. Our people have risen to these challenges, putting us ahead of schedule in our integration plans -- successfully merging the cultures and capturing synergies -- and meeting our Six Sigma commitment," Parker said.
"As business conditions improve, the benefit of this work will be further leveraged and will significantly impact the bottom line," he added.
Looking ahead, Parker said that, while there has been little evidence of a recovery to date, industry conditions are not expected to deteriorate further.
"We expect the business environment to remain challenging throughout the year -- stable in the first half, with the potential for improvement in the second half," he said.
"However, Dow should see an improvement in earnings for the year, as it benefits from progressively stronger volume, the realization of cost synergies, the impact of Six Sigma efforts and, ultimately, a higher level of operational and business excellence," he said.
Dow said it anticipates that results in the first quarter of 2002 will be similar to the fourth quarter of 2001.
Earnings rise 21 percent at Mattel
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan 31 (UPI) -- Mattel Inc., the world's largest toy manufacturer, said its fourth quarter net income from continuing operations jumped 21 percent to $146 million, or 33 cents a share, from $120.6 million, or 28 cents a share during the same period a year earlier.
Analysts on Wall Street had expected Mattel to post a net income of 34 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
The maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars said its total sales rose 2 percent to $1.6 billion from a year earlier.
"I am pleased with our performance for the year, despite modest sales growth in the fourth quarter," said Robert A. Eckert, chairman and chief executive officer.
"In spite of the tough retail environment and higher bad debt expense, our cash flow and profitability were strong and virtually all of our brands grew at point of sale and gained market share," he added.
