RHJ International, a European buyout firm with holdings in the auto-parts industry, has emerged as a suitor for General Motors Corp.'s European operations, a person familiar with the matter said, adding to the list of possible buyers scrambling to strike a deal with the U.S. car maker before the end of the month, The Wall Street Journal reported. Brussels-based RHJ is considering an offer for GM operations including Adam Opel GmbH in Germany, this person said.

American International Group Inc. is close to selling its Japanese headquarters for about $1 billion, in a deal that would mark one of the largest divestitures the insurance company has made to pay off its government debt, people familiar with the matter said. At least two suitors have been vying for the property, but the expected buyer is a Japanese insurance company, The Wall Street Journal reported. AIG owes the U.S. government about $45 billion as part of a rescue package that could total as much as $173.3 billion.

The global downturn could lead to unrest, more poverty and environmental challenges in Asia, regional leaders were warned on Monday, after they agreed on a $120 billion emergency fund to counter the crisis, Reuters reported. Asia has been hard hit by the collapse in global demand largely because of the region's heavy reliance on exports. Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan are in recession and growth elsewhere is the weakest in years. "Poverty is worsening in many countries. Businesses are struggling.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, one of Japan’s three so-called “megabanks,” on Thursday reported a full-year loss of nearly $4 billion and said it planned to raise $8 billion via a new share offer, The New York Times reported. The news raised fresh concerns about the health of the country’s other banks as Japan’s recession deepens. SMFG said it had accrued a net loss of ¥390 billion, or about $3.9 billion, during the fiscal year that ended March 31--far off the ¥180 billion profit it had projected and the ¥462 billion profit it made the previous year.

Japan’s ruling party unveiled the country’s biggest-ever economic stimulus plan Thursday, a ¥15.4 trillion, or $154.4 billion, package of subsidies and tax breaks that aims to stem a deepening recession in the world’s second-biggest economy, the New York Times reported. The Liberal Democratic Party released details of the draft stimulus, worth about 3 percent of Japan’s gross domestic product, ahead of a formal announcement Friday. The plan would bring Japan’s total stimulus spending to ¥27 trillion since Prime Minister Taro Aso took office in September.

HMP Constructions, one of Queensland’s largest privately-held companies, has entered voluntary administration with the loss of an estimated 500 jobs and debts of around $150 million, the Queensland Business Review reported. It is reported the company was hit by BHP Billiton's decision to axe contracting from its Goonyella mine in Central Queensland, where some 350 staff were employed.

Japan's economy, the second-largest in the world, is shrinking at the fastest pace in more than 30 years, roughly twice as fast as the U.S. economy, The Washington Post reported. Exports and imports declined in February at a record rate, with monthly sales to the United States down nearly 60 percent compared with last year. Tokyo is giving itself public-works medicine for these global trade ills, deploying legions of men and women with flags and hard hats to repave streets, repaint crosswalks and fix broken clocks in city parks.

The British division of HSBC PLC said Wednesday that it may lay off as many as 1,200 staff following a review of operations, although the Unite union claimed that 2,900 staff would be affected. HSBC UK said the 1,200 cuts represent about 2% of its 58,000 employees in Britain and are being made in information technology, human resources and other support operations -- not in front-line branch staff. Some employees would be able to take other positions within the company, HSBC said.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest bank by assets, said on Monday it plans to close about 50 branches and cut 1,000 jobs over the next three years as part of its ongoing effort to cut costs, The Wall Street Journal reported. The plan for its core banking unit Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, includes shutting down at least 200 automatic teller machines. Firing people in Japan is extremely difficult because of tough labor laws protecting staff and public pressure on companies to preserve social stability.

Sony Corp. said it will impose a salary freeze on its full-time workers in Japan for one year to cut costs as the electronics giant braces for a massive loss amid a deepening global downturn, The Wall Street Journal reported. The salary freeze will be effective from April, and Sony's managers with non-board posts will be also take a 35% to 40% cut in their annual bonuses for the fiscal year starting next month, a Sony spokeswoman said. "Our business environment is severe.