MITSUI

Beijing Manufacturing in China grew at a faster pace in August after the weakest performance since early 2009.

THE powerbroker of Japan's ruling party Ichiro Ozawa pledged bold steps yesterday to fix the country's flagging economy if he becomes premier, floating tax cuts and threatening to intervene in currency markets to curb the yen's rapid rise.

MADRID, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Spanish engineering and renewable energy group Abengoa said on Thursday it has attracted Japanese group JGC Corp <1963.T> as a minority investor in two solar mirror-power plants being built in southern Spain.

Mizuho Corporate Bank said Thursday it has signed a contract with China CITIC Bank Corp.

"As domestic institutional appetite remains modest, international firms with strong overseas distribution capabilities are playing an increasingly important role in global offerings," said Jasper Tans, 38, head of the Japan financing group at Goldman Sachs, the most profitable securities firm in Wall Street history.

Asian stocks hit a two-week high, with Japan's Nikkei briefly rising more than 2 percent, as strong US manufacturing data further soothed worries about the global economy.

Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.5 percent on Thursday, moving further away from a 16-month low touched the previous day, after US and Chinese manufacturing data eased investor worries about the global economy.

The dollar and yen recovered losses on Thursday as risk-taking sentiment was tempered ahead of a European Central Bank policy meeting later in the day and key U.S. jobs data on Friday.

Honda Motor Co's shares closed higher than those of rival Toyota Motor Corp on Thursday for the first time since 1976, as investors anticipated faster growth in emerging markets for Japan's No.2 automaker.

Otsuka Holdings Inc. , Japana s largest privately owned drugmaker, hired Morgan Stanley , Nomura Holdings Inc.

Goldman Sachs is capturing a record share of Japan's equity underwriting market as foreign investment banks benefit from local companies selling a greater proportion of stock overseas, Bloomberg News reported.

Qatar Marine crude is trading at the highest level in four weeks versus its official selling price as Japanese refiners replenish supplies of kerosene for heating and Saudi Arabia cuts shipments of similar grades.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and rival Ichiro Ozawa clashed over fiscal priorities Wednesday in a battle for party leadership that threatens a policy vacuum as Japan struggles to tackle a strong yen and weak economy.

Barclays Plc's banking unit raised 143 billion yen from the biggest sale of Samurai bonds without a government guarantee since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The dollar was on the defensive on Thursday, retaining most of the losses sustained the previous day when upbeat data helped lure investors away from safe-haven currencies and assets.