Panicky investors dumped shares on the Tokyo market Thursday, sending the main index plunging more than seven percent on weak Chinese data after months of sharp climbs.

Amendments proposed to the Consumer Protection Law would eliminate the seven-day grace period that allowed consumers to return electronic products or fresh goods.

Amid discouraging macroeconomics conditions, Taiwan's industry and manufacturing production indexes in April fell by 0.88 percent and 1.18 percent year-on-year, marking the third consecutive month of decline, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Amid the impressive sales figure of 5 million units for its flagship smartphone since its launch in March, HTC, Taiwan's No. 1 smartphone vendor, confirmed Thursday that some of its senior executives have terminated their contracts.

Taiwan's HTC Corp. yesterday unveiled its first mid-range smartphone featuring the BlinkFeed news feed home screen that was initially available only on its flagship device — the new HTC One — to expand its presence in the affordable phone market.

The fifth annual Taiwan-U.S. Commercial Forum will take place in Kaohsiung Friday, focusing on the development of bilateral trade relations and the prospects for further economic cooperation, the organizers said recently.

Sales of new U.S. homes rose in April to the second highest level since the summer of 2008 while the median price for a new home hit a record high, further signs that housing is recovering.

Online retail titan Amazon announced Thursday it is expanding sales of its Kindle tablet computers to “over 170 countries and territories around the world,” and its Appstore in nearly 200 countries.

Japan's number two carmaker Nissan said Thursday it would recall some 841,000 compact cars worldwide due to a steering wheel problem.

Financial markets around the world were roiled Thursday after Japanese stocks suffered their biggest slide since the country was hit by a devastating tsunami more than two years ago.