People stand in front of the electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Friday, Dec. 18, 2009. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 21.75, or 0.2 percent, to 10,142.05 as Asian stock markets retreated Friday as worries - from weak job figures in the U.S. to the prospect of more stringent capital requirements for banks - checked appetite for riskier assets.
(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Koji Sasahara)