Briefly

JAPAN

Nissan abandons talks on merger with Honda

Japan's Nissan has called off merger talks with rival Honda, the Nikkei newspaper said, abandoning a tie-up that would have created the world's No 3 automaker and raising questions about how it will drive a turnaround by itself. Shares in Nissan slid more than 4 percent before trade was suspended by the Tokyo Stock Exchange following the report. Shares of Honda continued to trade and finished the day up more than 8 percent, in a sign of apparent investor relief that the deal had been scrapped. Honda, Japan's second-largest carmaker, and Nissan, its third-largest, last year said they were in discussions to merge and create the world's third-largest automaker by sales.