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An easing of risk aversion, after an intensive sell-off earlier this week on fears that Europe's debt problems could trigger a new global financial crisis, helped boost commodities while tightening the Asian credit markets sharply.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 1.4 percent, moving away from a two-year low hit on Tuesday.

The Nikkei stock average .N225 rose 1.4 percent on Thursday, tracking commodity- and tech-led gains in the United States. .T

MSCI's all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS rose 2 percent on Wednesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that Berlin was ready to recapitalize its banks if needed, adding some more reassurance following an agreement on Tuesday by European finance ministers to safeguard banks in the face of mounting concerns about a Greek default.

Further adding to positive sentiment was data showing growth in the U.S. service sector stood steady in September and private hiring picked up, suggesting the economy was not yet slipping into recession.

Asian credit markets reflected easing strains, with the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment grade index narrowing by 16 points on Wednesday after a sharp widening at the start of this week.

U.S. crude oil steadied above $79 a barrel on Thursday as a surprise drawdown in U.S. crude inventories helped offset pressure from the euro debt crisis. On Wednesday, Brent crude bounced more than 2 percent to top $102 a barrel and U.S. benchmark futures jumped 5 percent.

Investors were likely to remain cautious about whether the market relief would be sustained, ahead of key events including the European Central Bank's policy meeting later this session, the last meeting held under presidency of Jean-Claude Trichet, and Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls.

The euro was steady against the greenback in early Asian trade amid uncertainty ahead of the ECB meeting which could see rates cut or the rebirth of long-term lending to banks. The euro is well off a nine-month trough of $1.3144 struck this week.

(Editing by Alex Richardson)

The co-founder of Apple Inc, one of the world's great entrepreneurs, was surrounded by his wife and immediate family when he died in Palo Alto, California. Other details were not immediately available.

His death was announced by Apple and sparked an immediate outpouring of sadness and sympathy from world leaders, competitors and other businessmen including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The Silicon Valley icon who gave the world the iPod, iPhone and iPad had stepped down as chief executive of the world's largest technology company in August, handing the reins to long-time lieutenant Tim Cook.

He was deemed the heart and soul of a company that rivals Exxon Mobil as the most valuable in America.

"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve," Apple said in a statement.

"His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."

Apple paid homage to their visionary leader by changing their website to a big black-and-white photograph of him with the caption "Steve Jobs: 1955-2011." The flags outside the company's headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop flew at half mast.

Jobs' health had been a controversial topic for years and his battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer a deep concern to Apple fans and investors.

In past years, even board members have confided to friends their concern that Jobs, in his quest for privacy, was not being forthcoming enough with directors about the true condition of his health.

Now, despite much investor confidence in Cook, who has stood in for his boss during three leaves of absence, there remain concerns about whether Apple would stay a creative force to be reckoned with in the longer term without its visionary.

Jobs died one day after the consumer electronics powerhouse unveiled its latest iPhone, the gadget that transformed mobile communications and catapulted Apple to the highest echelons of the tech world.

His death triggered an immediate outpouring of sympathy.

"The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come," Gates said. "For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."

Outside an Apple store in New York, mourners laid candles, bouquets of flowers, an apple and an iPod Touch in a makeshift memorial.

"I think half the world found out about his death on an Apple device," said Robbie Sokolowsky, 32, an employee for an online marketing company, who lit a candle outside the store.

Cook said in a statement that Apple planned to hold a celebration of Jobs' life for employees "soon".

APPLE, NEXT, IPHONE

A college dropout, Buddhist and son of adoptive parents, Jobs started Apple Computer with friend Steve Wozniak in 1976. The company soon introduced the Apple 1 computer.

But it was the Apple II that became a huge success and gave Apple its position as a critical player in the then-nascent PC industry, culminating in a 1980 initial public offering that made Jobs a multimillionaire.

Despite the subsequent success of the Macintosh computer, Jobs' relationship with top management and the board soured. The company removed most of his powers and then in 1985 he was fired.

Apple's fortunes waned after that. However, its purchase of NeXT -- the computer company Jobs founded after leaving Apple -- in 1997 brought him back into the fold. Later that year, he became interim CEO and in 2000, the company dropped "interim" from his title.

Along the way Jobs also had managed to revolutionize computer animation with his other company, Pixar, but it was the iPhone in 2007 that secured his legacy in the annals of modern technology history.

Forbes estimates Jobs' net worth at $6.1 billion in 2010, placing him in 42nd place on the list of America's richest. It was not immediately known how his estate would be handled.

Six years ago, Jobs had talked about how a sense of his mortality was a major driver behind that vision.

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life," Jobs said during a Stanford commencement ceremony in 2005.

"Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta, Edwin Chan, Andrew Longstreith, Sarah McBride; Editing by Gary Hill and Tiffany Wu)

Employers announced 115,730 planned job cuts last month, more than double August's total of 51,114, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The figure was the highest since April 2009 when 132,590 layoffs were announced.

September's job cuts were also much higher than the same time a year ago, tripling from the 37,151 job cuts announced in September 2010. For 2011 so far, employers have announced 479,064 cuts, up 16.5 percent from the first nine months of 2010.

"It is important to keep in mind that 80,000 cuts, or nearly 70 percent of last month's total, came from just two organizations: Bank of America and the United States Army," John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. "Neither of these cuts is directly related to recent softness in the economy."

Bank of America's (BAC.N) 30,000 planned cuts stemmed from continued fallout from the U.S. housing market collapse and restructuring efforts to remake the bank into a smaller, more efficient company, Challenger said.

The 50,000 military cuts were the result of drawing down forces in two wars and cost-cutting efforts in all areas of the federal government. September's cuts followed an announced 17,500 reduction in August, he added.

These military personnel might face tough times finding jobs with companies.

"Perhaps the biggest challenge is taking the often specialized skills and experience gained in the military and translating it to the private sector," Challenger said.

On the hiring front, employers announced plans to add 76,551 workers in September, down from 123,076 a year ago, the firm said.

* At 1215 GMT, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) releases its September employment report. Economists expect 75,000 jobs were created in September.

* The Institute for Supply Management releases at 1400 GMT its September non-manufacturing index. Economists forecast a reading of 52.9 versus 53.3 in August.

* The Mortgage Bankers Association releases at 1100 GMT Weekly Mortgage Market Index for the week ended September 30. The mortgage market index read 767.9 and the refinancing index was 4,239.6 in the previous week.

* At 1130 GMT, Challenger, Gray & Christmas releases its report on job cuts for September. Challenger reported 51,114 layoffs in August.

* The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to ease a new air pollution rule that would require power plants in 27 states to slash emissions, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

* Sprint Nextel said it will sell the next version of Apple's iPhone, ending months of speculation about whether it would become the third U.S. operator to sell the popular device.

* Asian smartphone makers have a chance to exploit a rare letdown from Apple after the new iPhone 4S failed to wow fans and investors, leaving Android rivals better placed to grab market share.

* EU regulators will formally object this week to the planned merger of Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext, two sources with knowledge of the case said, which may force the companies to offer concessions to ease competition concerns.

* Oil and gas firm Anadarko Petroleum Corp said the resource potential in the Offshore Area 1 of Mozambique's Rovuma Basin had increased.

* Bank of New York Mellon was sued on Tuesday by New York federal and state prosecutors who accused the bank of cheating clients in foreign exchange transactions.

* European shares rose in early trade, led by banks after European finance ministers agreed to safeguard the region's lenders. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.3 percent.

* Japanese stocks gave up early gains and ended lower, with the broad Topix index hitting its lowest level since the March earthquake. The Nikkei average fell 0.9 percent.

* Investors rushed in to buy U.S. technology and other beaten-down sectors as the S&P 500 dipped in and out of a bear market on Tuesday, before a late rally drove the index to its largest gain in more than a week.

* The Dow Jones industrial average gained 153.41 points, or 1.44 percent, to 10,808.71. The S&P 500 gained 24.72 points, or 2.25 percent, to 1,123.95. The Nasdaq Composite gained 68.99 points, or 2.95 percent, to close at 2,404.82.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by David Holmes)

Citing anemic employment, depressed confidence, and financial risks from Europe, Bernanke urged lawmakers not to cut spending too quickly in the short term even as they grapple with trimming the long-run budget deficit.

He made clear that the U.S. central bank's policy committee considers inflationary pressures well under control and given high unemployment, would be ready to ease monetary conditions further following the launch of a new stimulus measure in September.

"The Committee will continue to closely monitor economic developments and is prepared to take further action as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in the context of price stability," Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.

His language was firmer than the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee's statement less than two weeks ago, when the Fed said it would monitor the outlook and was "prepared to employ its tools as appropriate."

Since then, uncertainty about the outcome of the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis has undermined U.S. business and consumer confidence and helped to slow economic growth. The business cycle monitoring group ECRI last Friday said that the U.S. economy is tipping into a new recession.

Asked whether another round of bond purchases, known as quantitative easing, was in store, Bernanke was noncommittal.

"We never take anything off the table because we don't know where the economy is going to go. We have no immediate plans to do anything like that," he said.

The prospect of further Fed support for the economy lifted U.S. stocks though, after the market saw selling early in the day, pushing the S&P 500 briefly dipping into bear market territory.

Andrew Tilton, economist at Goldman Sachs, said contagion from the European crisis is a serious risk, threatening to tighten credit availability in the United States and weaken exports to the region. "This impact is likely to slow the U.S. economy to the edge of recession by early 2012," he said.

Recent U.S. economic data has been mixed after a dismal August, with a key manufacturing survey showing an unexpected improvement, but the slightly better tone has not been sufficient to dispel fears of another downturn.

Fresh clarity on the state of the economy will come on Friday, when the Labor Department releases monthly employment figures. Economists in a Reuters poll forecast a paltry gain of 60,000 jobs for September, and Bernanke in his testimony offered little hope for much improvement.

"Recent indicators, including new claims for unemployment insurance and surveys of hiring plans, point to the likelihood of more sluggish job growth in the period ahead," he told the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.

FISCAL WARNING

Bernanke said government belt-tightening was likely to prove a significant drag on the world's largest economy, which averaged less than 1.0 percent annualized growth in the first half of the year.

"An important objective is to avoid fiscal actions that could impede the ongoing economic recovery," he said,

Stressing that higher inflation earlier in the year had not become ingrained in the economy, Bernanke argued price pressures will remain subdued for the foreseeable future.

That backdrop made it easier for the Fed to launch its latest monetary easing effort in September, when it announced it would be selling $400 billion in short-term Treasuries and using the proceeds to buy longer-dated ones.

Bernanke estimated the new policy would lower long-term interest rates by about 0.20 percentage point which he said was roughly equivalent to a half percentage point reduction in the benchmark federal funds rate. Already 10-year Treasury note yields are at multi-year lows of 1.83 percent, helping keep mortgage and corporate borrowing costs extraordinarily cheap.

"We think this is a meaningful but not an enormous support to the economy. I think it provides some additional monetary accommodation, it should help somewhat on job creation and growth. It's particularly important now the economy is close -- the recovery is close -- to faltering," Bernanke said.

"We need to make sure that the recovery continues and doesn't drop back and the unemployment rate continues to fall downward."

INFLATION VS JOBS

Republican lawmakers pressed Bernanke on whether the Fed's dual mandate for full employment and price stability meant that it had to make compromises on inflation. On the 2012 presidential campaign trail, Republican candidate, Texas Governor Rick Perry earlier said it would be "treasonous" for the Fed to add further money to the economy.

Bernanke was categorical in defending the Fed's record of price stability in recent decades. He noted inflation has averaged 2.0 percent during his tenure and blamed regulatory failures, not excessively low rates, for the financial crisis.

Some economists believe the central bank could announce more concrete targets for policy goals, by linking the path of rates directly to unemployment and or inflation.

In response to the financial crisis and recession of 2008-2009, the Fed slashed interest rates to effectively zero and more than tripled the size of its balance sheet to a record $2.9 trillion, buying bonds off banks balance sheets. Bernanke said this was not bailing out Wall Street, but was part of its mandate to provide price and financial stability.