Wal-Mart Stores Inc. stepped up Bangladesh factory inspections while U.S. and European retailers pursued separate accords to try to prevent another disaster in a garment industry where more than 1,200 workers have died in the past six months.

Kuwait Airways Co. (KAC) signed a deal with Airbus to buy 15 A320neo and 10 A350-900 planes with options for 10 more, five from each category, chairman Sami al-Nasef said on Thursday.

Financial markets were subdued Thursday despite encouraging growth figures out of Japan, as investors paused for breath a day after the main U.S. stock indexes struck record highs.

Oil was down in Asian trade Thursday as caution returned to the market following weak U.S. production data, analysts said.

The U.S. dollar was little changed against the yen in Asia on Thursday after investors adjusted positions on the greenback's recent surge, while the euro was weak on gloomy European growth data.

U.S. brokerage Morgan Stanley has trimmed its forecast for global notebook computer shipment growth in the current quarter after April figures fell short of expectations.

Weak economic data across the eurozone pushed European stocks lower Wednesday, as news hit that the 17-country currency bloc is now in its longest-ever recession.

The dollar held firm versus the yen in Asian trade Wednesday, clinging to recent gains after upbeat U.S. data with analysts saying the greenback could climb higher.

The price of oil fell below US$94 on Wednesday after Germany, Europe's largest economy, reported anemic growth for the first quarter.

Major U.S. retailers, including Gap Inc., declined to endorse an accord on Bangladesh building and fire safety backed by Europe's two biggest fashion chains, a trans-Atlantic divide that may dilute garment industry reform efforts.