In Japan exporters' shares such as Canon 7751

In Japan, exporters' shares such as Canon (7751.T) fell amidworries about the strengthening yen eating into profits earnedabroad, leaving the Nikkei average .N225 flat on the day. Elsewhere, the MSCI index for Asian stocks outside Japan.MIAPJ0000PUS still rose 0.4 percent, putting it on track fora about a 4.5 percent gain for the week. For a story, please double click on [ID:nLM598789] SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS South African stocks faltered on Thursday, weighed down byrisk aversion after Standard & Poor's warned it could downgradeBritain's credit rating and the U.S Fed cut its economicoutlook. The Johannesburg bourse recoiled more than 3 percent,snapping a five session winning streak as global marketsretreate, but the rand staged a late comeback, partly on ahigher gold price. The JSE Top-40 index of blue chips .JTOPI ended 3.13percent lower at 19,898.20 points, after rising to the bestlevel in more than four months on Wednesday.

The broaderAll-share index .JASLH retreated 2.9 percent to 22,015.59points. For Thursday's South African financial markets closingreport, double click on [ID:nLL668459] SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY South Africa faces a sharp downturn after a prolonged boomand is responding with counter-cyclical measures to boostgrowth, Treasury Director-General Lesetja Kganyago said onThursday.But he said the government must manage its borrowingcarefully to avoid overburdening the country with debt. For a story, please double click on [ID:nLL944902] BHP BILLITON (BILJ.J) Global miner BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP.AX) (BLT.L) is looking todevelop a uranium mine in western Australia, a BHP spokesmansaid on Friday, confirming a newspaper report. "It is at a very early stage and is conditional on a numberof approvals," said spokesman Illtud Harri. For story double click on [ID:nSYU006570] BLUE FINANCIAL SERVICES (BFSJ.J) Blue Financial Services Ltd said on Thursday headlineearnings per share rose 5.5 percent to 12.96 cents per share forthe year to end February. Its loan book increased by 201 percent to 1.45 billion rand($173.4 million) and said it was well positioned to maintain itsstrong growth path through expansion into new geographies. For story double click on [ID:nWEA3835] ESKOM [ESCJ.UL] South Africa's state-owned utility Eskom said it hadreceived a 530 million euros ($730.6 million) loan from sevenEuropean banks to help pay for its Medupi power plant.

A senior official at Eskom said separately South Africaplans to secure a buffer of 2,000 megawatts to ensure ablackout-free World Cup next year. For story double click on [ID:nLL175100] and [ID:nLL970363] NAMPAK (NPKJ.J) Africa's biggest packaging firm, Nampak, expects no sharpupturn in business in the coming months after a tough first halfas it struggles to find buyers for assets it wants to sell undera turnaround plan. Nampak, which supplies plastic milk bottles to Britain andoperates in 12 African countries, posted a 39.1 percent drop infirst-half profit on Thursday due to fair value adjustments onforeign exchange contracts, and said trading since the start ofApril had been quiet. For story double click on [ID:nLL451966] GOLD XAU= Gold held steady on Friday near a two-month high, withinvestors turning to the safe-haven asset as the dollar remainedweak and as U.S. data on jobless claims and business conditionsdented hopes for a quick return to growth. Spot gold XAU= was steady at $952.65 per ounce at 0242GMT, little changed from New York's notional close of $953.40.Gold rose as high as $955.95 on Thursday, its highest sinceMarch 23 In March, gold prices rose as high as $966.

For the latest precious metals report, double click on[GOL/] WALL STREET U.S. stocks slid in a broad sell-off on Thursday asinvestors, concerned about the U.S. budget deficit, exiteddollar-denominated assets across the board. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 129.91points, or 1.54 percent, to 8,292.13. The Standard & Poor's 500Index .SPX fell 15.14 points, or 1.68 percent, to 888.33. TheNasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 32.59 points, or 1.89percent, to 1,695.25.

For the New York stock market report, double click on [.N] EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on[nTOPEMRG] - - - - Some of the main stories out of the South African press: BUSINESS DAY - South Africa's powerful trade union federation COSATUwarns ANC of "uncontrollable strikes" - JSE (JSEJ.J) hit as recovery doubts grip global markets - Treasury chief warns on jobs and poverty-relief targets BUSINESS REPORT - Ministries' battle lines drawn - Minister of National Planning Trevor Manuel urges economicboost THE STAR - Struggle veteran to lead "new Scorpions" (Reporting by Gugulakhe Lourie) Japan. MELBOURNE, May 22 (Reuters) - Australian coal-to-groceriesconglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd (WES.AX) has put a freeze onexecutive salaries and cut bonuses as economic conditionstoughen. Wesfarmers Chief Executive Richard Goyder, as well as themanagers of Wesfarmers nine divisions and several directors athead office would all be affected by the changes, Goyder toldthe company's 110,000 employees in a letter The company sentthe letter to the media on Friday. "The decision to freeze salaries at 2008 levels for thegroup's most senior executive managers, as well as not pay theindividual discretionary component of their annual bonuses thisyear, is a responsible one given the current economic climate,"Goyder said. "The group overall continues to travel relatively wellgiven the economic conditions, with solid performances across anumber of our divisions," the letter said. Wesfarmers, which bought Coles, Target, Kmart andOfficeworks stores in 2007 for A$19 billion ($15 billion)before the credit crunch hit, said in April trading in theMarch quarter had been volatile.