Market Report

In financial news, Barack Obama's imminent inauguration did little to cheer Asian markets, which slumped after Royal Bank of Scotland on Monday unveiled the biggest loss in U.K. corporate history - over 40 billion dollars and another UK government bank bailout did little to restore confidence in the sector.

But there was some good news on the horizon.

Mazda Motor Corp vehicle sales in China rose 25.5 percent in 2008, outperforming growth of just under 7.3 percent in the overall market.

Mazda operates a three-way car manufacturing venture in China with Ford and Changan Automobile, making Mazda 2 and Mazda 3 compact cars.

All major foreign automakers have reported slower growth in China last year, however, with a much smaller volume Mazda led nearly all its foreign peers in sales growth.

And South Korea's Samsung SDI, which sells rechargeable batteries and plasma screens, swung from a half billion dollar loss in 2007 to a net profit of over 28 million due to strong demand for batteries and a restructuring plan that has seen Samsung Electronics take over management of its plasma panel business.

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