BENGALURU (Reuters) -South Korea's economic growth likely slowed significantly in the first quarter as restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 slammed the brakes on consumer spending, a Reuters poll found.

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's core consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in more than two years in March, raising worries higher energy and food costs could increasingly take a toll on households' purchasing power.

TORONTO (Reuters) -The Bank of Canada could consider a larger rate increase than the half-point move it made last week, as the central bank grapples with reining in inflation which is at a 31-year high, Governor Tiff Macklem said on Thursday.

Honda Motor Co plans to build millions of electric vehicles (EV) by 2030 using three new dedicated platforms, with one to be jointly developed with U.S. partner General Motors Co, a top executive at the Japanese automaker said.

Oil prices fell on Friday, heading for a drop of nearly 4% for the week, burdened by the prospect of rate hikes, weaker global growth and COVID-19 lockdowns in China hurting demand, even as the European Union weighed a ban on Russian oil.

Shares of Toshiba Corp jumped more than 3% on Friday, after the Japanese conglomerate said it would solicit deal offers, including on a potential buyout, bolstering hopes of a lucrative exit for its hedge fund investors.