HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- The Bank of Japan's policy board voted unanimously to hold its overnight call rate at 0.1% and said that the economy appears to be recovering moderately, helped by a pick-up in business' fixed investments. The central bank said conditions in the labor market remain severe, but added that there has been some improvement.

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HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- SJM Holdings , the Chinese gambling company controlled by Stanley Ho, has filed an application with the Macau government seeking to take over a piece of land which has already seen development work by a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corp. , according to reports Tuesday. The Hong Kong-listed firm, Sands China Ltd. has sunk $102.3 million into the plot as part of early preparations for construction, even though it doesn't technically own the land, according to a Wall Street Journal report. It's not uncommon in Macau for casino groups to begin developing a site after receiving verbal assurances from authorities but before formal ownership rights are secured, according to the report. In its interim earnings, Sand China said construction on some of its sites in Macau has been delayed by labor shortages. The Macau government has said recently it may take back underdeveloped land from developers. Shares of SJM were down 0.5% late Tuesday morning, while Sands China traded unchanged.

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SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Australian independent lawmaker Bob Katter said Tuesday that he will support the Liberal-National coalition. The decision takes the number of seats held by the coalition to 74, putting it neck-and-neck with the ruling Labor Party. Both parties need 76 seats out of 150 to control the lower house of Parliament. Two other independents are expected to announce their decision Tuesday.

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LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong shares were mixed in choppy trading Tuesday, with property shares higher and some mainland Chinese metal-sector names continuing to gain on reports of moves to limit capacity, but with banks mainly on the retreat. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.1% to 21,377.4, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was marginally down at 11,956.1. Local real-estate developers were among the gainers, with Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. and Hang Lung Properties Ltd. each rising 0.6%. Among metal producers, Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., or Chalco added 1.7%, and Angang Steel Co. rose 3.7%. But financials were mostly weaker, with HSBC Holdings PLC down 0.1%, and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China losing 0.5%. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to 2,701.7.

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SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Australia's political limbo could end Tuesday if, as expected, the last three undeclared independent lawmakers declare support for either the Labor Party or the coalition Liberal-National coalition. Following the inconclusive election result on Aug. 21, both parties have been scrambling to gain support from independent lawmakers to try to amass 76 seats of the 150-seat lower house of Parliament. Currently, the Labor Party holds 74 seats while the coalition has 73 seats. Independents Robert Oakeshott, Bob Katter and Tony Windsor are still on the fence but are expected to make an announcement on which major party to back on Tuesday afternoon.

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SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- U.S. president Barack Obama is expected to announce that businesses will be allowed to write off 100% of all new investments in plant and equipment in 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The president is expected to make the announcement Wednesday, with the tax break to be retroactive from the same day, according to the report. Congress will need to approve the proposal which, if implemented, would cut business taxes by almost $200 billion over a two-year period, the report said. On Monday, Obama unveiled a $50 billion plan to upgrade roads, airports and railways as part of an effort to create jobs and support the U.S. economic recovery.

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LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian shares traded little changed Tuesday morning, as the markets awaited a central bank policy decision and a likely announcement over which political party would lead the nation's next government. In early morning trading, the S&P/ASX 200 was down less than 0.1% at 4,574.0. Some of the losses came from the mining sector, with BHP Billiton Ltd. down 0.4%, Alumina Ltd. dropping 1.1%, and Rio Tinto Ltd. losing 1%, although Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. gained 0.2%. The three remaining undeclared independent members of Parliament's lower house were expected to announce whether they would support the ruling Labour Party or the opposition Liberal-National coalition later in the day. The Reserve Bank of Australia was also slated to announce an interest-rate decision, with most economists tipping the central bank to stand pat.

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SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Oracle Corp. said Tuesday that it has named Mark Hurd as one of its two presidents and a member of its board of directors. At the same time, the firm announced that current president Charles Phillips has resigned, both as president and as a director at the business-software and hardware-systems firm. "Mark did a brilliant job at HP, and I expect he'll do even better at Oracle," said Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison. Hurd recently stepped down as CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co. amid allegations of improper conduct.

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LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese shares lost ground in early Tuesday trading, giving back some of their previous-session gains ahead of a central bank decision due later in the day. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.6% to 9,245.6, while the Topix lost 0.5% to 834.9. The move lower came as the Bank of Japan was likely to leave its policy rate unchanged but could elaborate on new, recently announced monetary easing measures. Tech shares, many of which had advanced Monday, were among the leading decliners Tuesday. Toshiba Corp. dropped 1.3%, Elpida Memory Inc. was down 1.1%, and Renesas Electronics Corp. gave up 1.6%.

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SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is planning a development deal with Peugeot SA to produce a commercial electric vehicle, according to a report Tuesday. The vehicle is expected to enter production by 2012, will be designed for short distances, and will initially be sold in Europe under the Peugeot and Citroen brands, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

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SYDNEY (MarketWatch) - British banking group Barclays PLC is expected to announce a change of chief executive officers on Tuesday, according to a report Monday. The lender will announce that Bob Diamond, the bank's president and head of its investment banking operations, will replace John Varley in the role, The Wall Street Journal reported. Varley has been CEO of the lender since 2004 and has informed the Barclays board that he's ready to step down, according to the report.

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LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. same-store sales values rose 1% in August compared to the same month last year, the British Retail Consortium reported Tuesday, after a 0.5% year-on-year rise in July. Total sales rose 2.8% compared to August 2009, after a 2.6% annual increase in July. "These results are a slight improvement on last month, but this better growth is compared with a very poor performance a year ago and sales were often deal-driven," said Stephen Robertson, BRC director general. Retailers will be hoping that government budget cuts and an upcoming rise in the value-added tax won't dent consumer confidence in coming months, he said.

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LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Air Products & Chemicals Inc. said Monday it was increasing its takeover offer for Airgas Inc. to $65.50 a share in cash, up from a previous bid of $63.50, which Airgas rejected in July. Industrial gas supplier Air Products said in a statement that the new offer represented a 50% premium over Airgas' closing share price of Feb. 4, the day before the first Air Products offer was announced. Air Products said, however, it will withdraw the new offer if Airgas shareholders fail to elect Air Products' board nominees at their annual meeting on Sept. 15. Air Products acknowledged the offer, saying they would study it and noting that their shares closed at $66.67 on Sept. 3.

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TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Tropical Storm Hermine, the eighth named storm of the season, has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, and its center should approach the coast of northeast Mexico or "extreme southern Texas" early Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. As of 7 a.m. U.S. Central Time, the storm was moving north at 10 miles, or 16 kilometers, an hour. Storm winds were blowing at as much as 45 miles an hour, the forecaster said. The affected areas could see rain of 4 to 8 inches with some parts getting up to 12 inches, the center said. Rain of this severity "could cause life-threatening flash [floods] and mudslides, especially over the higher terrain of northeastern Mexico," the center said.

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TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Tropical Storm Hermine, the eighth named storm of the season, has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, and its center should approach the coast of northeast Mexico or "extreme southern Texas" early Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. As of 7 a.m. U.S. Central Time, the storm was moving north at 10 miles, or 16 kilometers, an hour. Storm winds were blowing at as much as 45 miles an hour, the forecaster said. The affected areas could see rain of 4 to 8 inches with some parts getting up to 12 inches, the center said. Rain of this severity "could cause life-threatening flash [floods] and mudslides, especially over the higher terrain of northeastern Mexico," the center said.

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