A yuan banknote is displayed next to a US dollar banknote (back) for the photographer at a money changer inside the Taoyuan International Airport. Fitch Ratings has downgraded Japan's sovereign debt rating to A+ from AA and with a negative outlook, as the country struggles to push through much needed tax hikes to rein in its huge public debt. The downgrade reflects growing risks for Japan's sovereign credit profile as a result of high and rising public debt ratios, said Andrew Colquhoun, head of Asia-Pacific Sovereigns at Fitch. "The country's fiscal consolidation plan looks leisurely relative even to other fiscally-challenged high-income countries, and implementation is subject to political risk," he said. The dollar rose against the yen after the announcement, now moving around 79.74 versus the yen.Pictures by Reuters

May 22: Fitch cuts Japan rating to A+

A cashier counts currency notes inside a bank in the northern Indian city of Lucknow.

The rupee fell to a new record low of 55.09 to the dollar, its fifth consecutive all-time low, as arbitrage measures taken by the RBI late on Monday provided only a brief sentiment boost.

At 10:05 a.m., the partially convertible rupee traded at 54.95/00 per dollar, rebounding from the record low and strengthening from its close of 55.03/04 on Monday.

Traders said some exporters were selling dollars in the market, limiting a steeper fall, but the overall bias is still towards a weaker rupee.

Rupee hits new low of 55.09/dollar

People walk past of Marks & Spencer&#39;s flagship store on London&#39;s Oxford street.

Bellwether British retailer Marks & Spencer posted a 1.2% fall in full-year underlying profit, its first decline in three years, as even its relatively older and more affluent customers were touched by the economic downturn.

Britain&#39;s biggest clothing retailer, which also sells homewares and upmarket foods, said on Tuesday it made a profit before tax and one-off items of 705.9 million pounds in the year to March 31.

That was down from the 714 million pounds made in 2010-11 and compares with analyst forecasts in a range of 675-706 million pounds, according to a company poll which put the consensus number at 694 million pounds.

Marks & Spencer posts first profit fall in 3 years

The Facebook logo is seen on a screen inside at the Nasdaq Marekstsite in New York.

Facebook Inc&#39;s underwhelming debut on Wall Street increases the pressure on the social networking giant to deliver stellar growth - a novel situation for Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who has been clear he is more interested in building products than making money.

Facebook shares fell 11% on Monday, the company&#39;s second day as a publicly traded company, due to what many analysts and investors blamed on overly aggressive pricing by Facebook&#39;s underwriters, as well as a decision to expand the size of the offering by 25%.

The poor stock market performance has intensified the scrutiny of Facebook&#39;s business, raising the bar for the company to regain Wall Street&#39;s confidence, say some investors and analysts.

Facebook stock slide puts new pressures on company

A Japanese woman passes Vodafone&#39;s logo in Tokyo.

Vodafone lowered a medium-term target for revenue growth on Tuesday as consumers in southern Europe slashed spending and regulators upped the pressure on the world&#39;s largest mobile operator.

Vodafone posted full-year results in line with forecasts as strength in emerging markets and Germany and Turkey offset a slump in spending in Spain and Italy.

Group organic service revenue from the provision of ongoing services to customers was up 1.5% in the year, with Europe down 1.1% and Africa, West Asia and Asia Pacific up 8%.

But with trading in Italy and Spain showing few signs of improving and regulatory and foreign exchange pressures due to continue, Vodafone said it now expected organic service revenue growth in 2013 to be slightly below its previous medium term target range of 1-4%.