Russia decided to halt exports of gasoline and switch the flow to the home market to fight shortages and a price rise, in a statement on Thursday taking effect in a few days' time in May.

The sudden announcement from the world's biggest oil producer came after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered his government to tackle an issue that has been gaining increasing attention ahead of upcoming elections.

The French energy giant Total and its Argentinian partner, Tecpetrol, announced the discovery of a major natural gas find in Aquio in southeast Bolivia.

The find, which contains some three trillion cubic feet (84 billion cubic meters), will boost natural gas reserves in this Andean country by nearly one third, Bolivian energy officials said Wednesday.

Telcel, the Mexican cell phone company led by the world's richest man of Lebanese origin Carlos Slim, announced Tuesday it will appeal a record one billion dollar fine imposed by the anti-trust regulator.

"Telcel will use the legal means at its disposal to defend itself," faced with the "opportunistic and excessive" fine, imposed April 15 by the Federal Competition Commission (Cofeco), a statement said.

Saudi Arabia's state oil giant Aramco will raise its refining capacity by 50 percent to above six million barrels a day by expanding at home and abroad, chief executive Khalid al Falih said Tuesday.

Work was progressing on two new refineries in the kingdom, he told a meeting in Seoul.

Nintendo said Monday it would release a new console next year to succeed its popular Wii, as it reported earnings slumped due to the strong yen and its 3D handheld player came too late to give a lift.

The video game giant said the new machine would be showcased at E3 Expo in Los Angeles in June. The move comes as Nintendo has struggled to reverse its sliding fortunes in an increasingly crowded market.

Oil was up in Asian trade as escalating tensions in Libya, Syria, and Yemen heightened fears of supply disruption in the Middle East and North African region Agence France Presse reported on Monday.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, rose 36 cents to $112.65 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for June gained 24 cents to $124.23 in the afternoon.

Online bargain hunter Groupon announced the appointment of former Google executive Margo Georgiadis on Thursday, saying she would oversee global sales, marketing and operations.

"Margo is a strong leader with a passion for helping small business owners and consumers," Groupon CEO Andrew Mason said in a statement. "We’re thrilled to have her on our team."

Airbus has made even bigger savings than expected when it launched cuts in the midst of crisis in 2007 and remains competitive despite the rise of the euro, the company which makes airliners said on Friday.

Senior director Fabrice Bregier told the Les Echos newspaper that "the targets have been well exceeded", and that the so-called Power 8 program had enabled the company to save "2.5 billion euros ($3.65 billion), which means as much extra profit, and 10 billion euros in cash."

Toyota said Friday it expects global production to ramp up again by mid-year and return to normal by the end of 2011 after Japan's quake-tsunami disaster caused auto parts shortages.

Many key component manufacturers in Japan are based in the worst-hit northeast regions, where facilities were damaged by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake on March 11 or inundated by the giant wave that followed.

The dollar was heavily sold across the board in Asian trade on Thursday as upbeat stock markets gave investors a renewed appetite for risk, dealers said.

As equity markets around the globe rebounded from big losses earlier in the week caused by Standard & Poor's outlook downgrade for U.S debt dealer sentiment also rose, although Washington's debt problems also played at role.