1.   Japanese stocks posted strong advances for the day, which traders attributed to lower interest rates in the United States and renewed hope for an uptick in technology sales.

2.   The decline in manufacturing output prices in August was attributed to lower prices for petrol and base metal products, the Bureau of Statistics said.

3.   A fall in inflation was mainly attributed to lower food prices, Statistics Finland said.

4.   Most cuts were attributed to lower circulation and lower revenues, though some small departments were eliminated.

5.   The slowdown was attributed to lower prices for fuel, the service said.

6.   The larger defict was attributed to lower than targetted tax revenues and higher than expected government spending during the period.