A Japanese fund backed by veteran activist investor Yoshiaki Murakami will gain a majority in Japan Asia Group (JAG) as a result of a tender offer that closed on Friday, according to a filing by the energy and environmental services firm.

Peru's Pedro Castillo appointed moderate economist Pedro Francke as finance minister late on Friday, an olive branch to rattled markets after the newly-elected president earlier named members of his Marxist Free Peru party to several other cabinet positions.

Peru's Pedro Castillo appointed moderate economist Pedro Francke to the key finance minister post, an olive branch to rattled markets after the newly-elected president earlier named members of his Marxist Free Peru party to several other cabinet positions. (Reporting by Marco Aquino, writing by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

* July manufacturing PMI at 50.4, vs 50.9 in June, poll's 50.8

Canadian miner Yamana Gold is cutting its projected expenses to expand the Jacobina complex in northeastern Brazil by up to 74%, after tests at its processing plant went better than expected, Chief Executive Peter Marrone told Reuters.

A U.S. government watchdog on Friday sided with NASA over its decision to pick a single lunar lander provider, rejecting a protest filed by Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics Inc.

The resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the United States due to the Delta variant, and the new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance that requires fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks have led to companies changing their plans regarding vaccinations and masking. Here are some of the companies that have taken action following the CDC guidance. COMPANIES A

Walt Disney Co said on Friday it was making vaccination mandatory for all its on-site salaried and non-union hourly employees in the United States, as the highly infectious Delta COVID-19 variant drives a resurgence in cases.

Three-quarters of people infected with COVID-19 at July public events in a town on Cape Cod in Massachusetts were fully vaccinated, a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed.

Peru's currency tumbled to a record low on its largest daily decline in over seven years after new President Pedro Castillo appointed a member of his Marxist party as prime minister and did not yet name a finance minister, leaving the direction of policy and the economy uncertain.