Shares, US Futures Decline; Oil Rises  09/08 05:05

   World shares and U.S. futures skidded Tuesday as flaring conflict in the 
Middle East pushed oil prices higher.

   BANGKOK (AP) -- World shares and U.S. futures skidded Tuesday as flaring 
conflict in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher.

   A wave of Houthi attacks on oil facilities and utilities in Saudi Arabia's 
southern region has escalated renewed fighting between an important U.S. ally 
and Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen.

   In early European trading, Germany's DAX declined 0.3% to 25,922.44 and the 
CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.2% to 8,291.43. Britain's FTSE 100 was nearly unchanged, 
at 10,824.32.

   The future for the S&P 500 was down 0.2%, while that for the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average fell 0.7%.

   Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gave up early gains, sinking 1.7% to 65,269.33 as major 
exporters were sold due to a surge in the value of the Japanese yen.

   Shares in Toyota Motor Corp. shed 4.1%, while electronics maker Panasonic 
Holdings Corp. fell 5.8%.

   Early Tuesday, the U.S. dollar slipped to 153.86 Japanese yen from 154.34 
yen. The yen has gained value against the dollar in the past few days on 
expectations that the U.S. and Japanese governments might intervene to prevent 
the yen from weakening further. Last week, the dollar briefly rose to about 160 
yen.

   The government reported that the economy grew at a slightly faster annual 
pace in the April-June quarter than earlier reported, at 1.4%. Earlier, the 
Cabinet Office had estimated the annualized growth rate at 1.1%.

   The revision reflects stronger business investment than earlier reported, 
though overall investment still contracted, at minus 0.9%, Norihiro Yamaguchi 
of Oxford Economics said in a commentary.

   "The boost to consumption from policy measures seen in April-May is already 
fading, and supply-side-driven inflation will accelerate ahead as firms will 
pass on increased costs, deteriorating consumers' purchasing power," he said.

   South Korea's Kospi fell back after an early rally, losing 0.6% to 6,954.52. 
Shares in Samsung Electronics handed back early gains to slip 0.2%.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.4% to 25,317.18, and the Shanghai Composite 
index edged 0.2% higher, to 3,940.55.

   China said its exports jumped 25% year-on-year in August, driven by strong 
demand for autos and high tech items.

   In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1% to 8,920.80.

   On Friday, the S&P 500 lost 0.4% and the Dow industrials fell 0.5%. The 
Nasdaq composite gave back 0.3%.

   Wall Street will get important updates about inflation this week. The U.S. 
will release its August report for inflation at the wholesale level, called the 
Producer Price Index, or the PPI, on Thursday. It provides details on prices 
for businesses before they pass along the costs to consumers.

   On Friday, the U.S. will release its better-known Consumer Price Index, for 
August. The CPI is closely watched and provides details on price changes for 
specific grocery items, furniture, and clothing, among other categories. It 
also details price changes for services ranging from car maintenance to travel 
and restaurant dining.

   In energy markets early Tuesday, Brent crude, the international standard, 
added 1.5% to $98.48 a barrel as tensions simmered in the six-month U.S. war 
with Iran.

   Benchmark U.S. crude surged 2.5% to $93.79 a barrel.

   In other currency dealings, the euro slipped to $1.1615 from $1.1624.