TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average turned positive in a volatile session on Friday afternoon after the previous session's 7.3 percent plunge.

Western European Corp Meetings European hits & misses Major European Co.'s earnings Monthly S&P 500 earnings Weekly non-S&P 500 earnings Day ahead S&P 500 earnings Weekly conference call/webcast Weekly meetings Global Company News Preview Day ahead conference call Weekly S&P 500 earnings Central & East Europe earnings ***PLEASE NOTE - We have split this diary into two separate diaries; Earn

May 24 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

PARIS, May 24 (Reuters) - European stocks are seen opening flat to slightly higher on Friday after the previous session's sell-off, with Germany's Ifo business climate index likely to shed light on the outlook for Europe's biggest economy. Financial spreadbetters expect Britain's FTSE 100 to open around 2 points, or 0.03 percent, lower, Germany's DAX to open 8 points, or 0.1 percent, higher, and France's CAC 40 to open 10 points, or 0.25 percent, higher. European stocks sank on Thursday,

* Nikkei down 1.8 pct, Topix off 1.4 pct * Nikkei support seen 13,800 short-term, 13,000 mid-term - analysts * Futures selling drags down market - traders By Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average snapped back into the red on Friday afternoon in a turbulent session, as the previous day's 7.3 percent plunge forced some investors to scale back their exposure to Japanese equities. Traders said that hedge funds were selling futures while retail investo

TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co said on Friday it will shift some of the money earmarked for foreign bonds to Japanese government bonds given their rise in yields.

TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average fell below 14,000 for the first time in three weeks at one point on Friday afternoon, extending the previous session's 7.3 percent plunge.

May 24 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories were reported by media on Friday:

TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average reversed gains on Friday afternoon as profit-taking set in after the index rebounded earlier from the previous session's 7.3 percent slide.

* Nikkei rises 2.7 pct, Topix up 2.5 pct * Nikkei still on track for longest monthly winning run since 1972 By Dominic Lau TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average regained ground on Friday after a 7.3-percent dive in the previous session, which most market watchers said marked a long-overdue correction and didn't presage the end of a remarkable six-month bull-run. Thursday's biggest one-day percentage drop in two years was triggered by weak manufacturing activity da

* Waze seeks more than $1 bln, multiple parties interested-Bloomberg

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Thursday told Congress that a recent restructuring of its heavy rocket launch program to add 60 more launches and extend the schedule for a decade would more than double the program's projected cost to $70.7 billion.

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 23 (Reuters) - Brazil plans to sell the right to explore and develop its largest-ever oil discovery in October, auctioning an offshore petroleum prospect that is expected to produce about 12 billion barrels of oil over 35 years.

May 24 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Friday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Nikkei rises 2.4 pct, Topix up 2.1 pct * Nikkei still on track for longest monthly winning run since 1972 By Dominic Lau TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average regained ground on Friday after a 7.3-percent dive in the previous session, its biggest one-day percentage drop in two years after weak Chinese factory data spooked investors. The Nikkei climbed 2.4 percent to 14,837.35 after trading as high as 15,007.50. Despite Thursday's slide, the index is up 7.2 per

GRAPEVINE, Texas, May 23 (Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America voted on Thursday to lift a century-old ban on openly gay scouts in a major victory for gay rights activists, but the decision means a sea of change for an organization that depends heavily on faith-based groups.

May 23 (Reuters) - Google Inc is considering buying Israeli mobile satellite navigation start-up Waze Inc, which may lead to a bidding war with Facebook Inc, Bloomberg news reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

May 24 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

May 23 (Reuters) - Procter & Gamble Co on Thursday brought back A.G. Lafley to run the world's largest household products maker, replacing Bob McDonald immediately in the midst of a major restructuring.

* Regulators in early stages of probe on how Google handles some ad sales -source

Data on ENRC may have been stolen after a computer hacking attack and a domestic burglary, the miner said.

SYDNEY, May 24 (Reuters) - Asian shares opened cautiously higher on Friday with Tokyo's Nikkei steadying from its biggest one-day drop in two years as investors breathed a sigh of relief when Wall Street cut losses on an upbeat outlook from Hewlett-Packard.

By Sam Forgione NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - Investors in funds based in the United States poured $1.51 billion into Japanese stock funds in the latest week, marking the longest streak of weekly inflows into the funds on record, data from Thomson Reuters' Lipper service showed on Thursday. The latest inflows in the week ended May 22 marked the 27th straight week of cash gains into funds that hold Japanese stocks. The latest demand was for exchange-traded funds, which attracted $1.52 bil

TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average regained ground on Friday after a 7.3-percent dive in the previous session, its biggest one-day percentage drop in two years after weak Chinese factory data spooked investors. The Nikkei climbed 2.4 percent to 14,827.50, while the broader Topix index rose 2 percent to 1,213.11.

May 23 (Reuters) - A California senator on Thursday called on the country's top nuclear watchdog to complete all investigations surrounding the crippled San Onofre nuclear plant before the agency decides whether one of the reactors is safe to operate.

* Majority of targeted trades take place at Nasdaq's PHLX exchange

May 23 (Reuters) - Salesforce.com Inc's quarterly earnings and outlook disappointed investors as costs rise following a spree of acquisitions, sending its shares lower.

May 23 (Reuters) - Campbell Soup Co said on Thursday it had agreed to buy organic baby food maker Plum Organics, as the company behind Goldfish crackers and Campbell's Soup seeks to expand its offerings to the youngest consumers.