Trading volume in local currency Asian bonds has grown from less than an annual $500 billion in 2008 to more than $1 trillion in 2012, and a new report from Greenwich Associates and HSBC suggests strong growth will continue. When local currency bonds emerged five years ago as a legitimate, albeit small, subset of fixed-income investing in Asia, their appeal …

Japanese blue-chip stocks fell Friday, extending losses into a second day after sharp gains earlier in the week, though Chinese and Australian shares inched higher. The moves came as Hong Kong and South Korean markets were closed for holidays, reportedly curbing trading volumes in bourses that were open. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average moved off opening lows but still traded with …

Chinese online retail giant Alibaba said Friday it would pay $294 million for a 28 percent stake in China’s leading digital map provider, AutoNavi, its second big purchase in two weeks. Alibaba, the world’s largest online retailer, bought an 18 percent stake in China’s dominant microblog provider Sina Weibo for $586 million in a separate transaction announced on April 29. …

TOKYO — Toyota (IW 1000/8) has accelerated past Samsung Electronics to become Asia’s biggest company by market value, after the automaker’s shares doubled in the past year. Toyota’s market capitalization stood at 22.23 trillion yen ($217 billion) on Thursday, beating out the Galaxy smartphone and tablet computer giant which was worth the equivalent of 20.32 trillion yen. Toyota, also the world’s biggest …

TOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) – Japan’s economy grew faster than expected in January-March, expanding at its quickest pace in a year on the back of solid private consumption and a rise in exports spurred by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus. Thursday’s Cabinet office data showed, however, that corporate investment has yet to follow to ensure a …

The premium traders in Asia are paying for the earliest deliveries of fuel oil is poised to slide from an eight-month high as Europe floods the region with excess supplies and Chinese refinery demand wanes. Deliveries to Singapore in June will cost an average $1.25 a metric ton more than July contracts in the second half of this month, according to the …