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Japan Struck by Temblor South of Tokyo as Kan Calls for Calm A temblor struck southwest of Tokyo late yesterday and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for calm as the government battled to cool three quake-damaged nuclear reactors in the northeast following the country’s worst quake on record five days ago. The 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck at 10:31 p.m. local time, 42 kilometers (26 miles) northeast of Shizuoka, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka Nuclear Plant, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter, was unaffected by an earthquake, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in an e-mailed statement. The plant’s No. 4 and No. 5 units are still operating, it said. The quake, which authorities didn’t characterize as an aftershock, came as hundreds of thousands of people faced freezing temperatures tonight with no power. Stocks slumped yesterday after the news that a third explosion and fire struck Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima plant, and supermarkets reported panic buying. Stocks, Commodities Plunge Amid Japan Disaster; Bonds Jump Stocks in the U.S. and Europe plunged, following Japanese shares lower after the Nikkei 225 index posted its biggest two-day drop since 1987, amid concern a nuclear accident outside of Tokyo may cripple the global economy. Commodities slid and government bonds jumped globally.
The MSCI World (MXWO) Index of developed nations fell 2.3 percent at 12:11 p.m. in New York after the Nikkei sank 10.6 percent to the lowest since April 2009. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index tumbled 1.5 percent. Ten-year Treasury yields slid six basis points to 3.30 percent. The Swiss franc rose against all 16 major peers except the yen, climbing to a record against the dollar. Oil lost 2.3 percent to $98.88 a barrel. Credit-default swaps insuring Japanese debt climbed to a record as Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s damaged nuclear power plant was rocked by two explosions today as workers struggled to avert a meltdown in the wake of last week’s earthquake. Equities also retreated as Saudi Arabian troops moved into Bahrain with a regional force in the first cross-border intervention since uprisings swept through parts of the Middle East.
G-8 Fails to Agree on Libya No-Fly Zone, Russia, Germany Opposed Group of Eight foreign ministers failed to agree on a possible no-fly zone over Libya as rebel fighters were pushed back by Muammar Qaddafi’s forces.
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