A Japanese bank has halted transactions by the Iranian government after a US court ordered a $2.6 billion asset freeze over the 1983 bombing of US barracks in Beirut, a bank spokesman said on Thursday.

Japan's economy grew an at annual rate of 4.1 percent in the first quarter amid a gradual recovery from last year's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

Singapore on Thursday stuck to its economic growth projections of 1.0-3.0 percent for 2012 but warned there was a chance of a "disorderly sovereign debt default" in the eurozone that could hit exports.

NAVARRE, Ohio/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The busy shop floor at Miller Weldmaster Corp could make a great location for an Obama campaign ad. As workers assemble the family-owned company's hot-air fabric welders, used to manufacture everything from inflatable rafts to truck tarps, it's hard to know the recession of 2007-2009 ever happened. Ten clocks on the wall of the plant in Navarre, Ohio, show local time from Norway to New Zealand and tell Miller Weldmaster's comeback story in a word: exports. Sixty percent of the company's business now comes from outside the United States. ...