Market Report – Doubts of Economic Recovery

Today Asian stocks mostly edged lower, as investors took a step-back from higher-yielding assets due to doubts about the speed of the global economic recovery.

Australia’s central bank kept its key cash rate steady, saying the economy was faring better than feared, but left the door open to further easing if a hoped-for recovery failed to materialize.

A Japanese newspaper says Toyota decided to scrap plans to develop diesel engines with Isuzu in what is likely to be the first of a series of restructuring measures under new management.

LG Electronics says it will restructure its Mexican production bases to focus on flat-screen TVs and appliances and to boost output from the country by more than 50 percent by 2012. Shares jumped more than 5 percent.

Sony says it plans to launch a new Vaio laptop that will sell for $630 in Japan in August, making its entry into the fast-growing netbook market. Shares plunged 2.3 percent.

Taiwan shares defied the downturn, as smartphone maker HTC reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit.

(NTDTV)