Japanese car maker Nissan has reported a big fall in third quarter profits, blaming weak demand in Europe, China and the United States.

BBC: Nissan Infiniti

In May Nissan, Japan's second-biggest car maker, was rumoured to be selling Nissan Diesel, its lorry-making subsidiary, to Germany's Daimler-Benz, though nothing has yet been settled.

ECONOMIST: Corporate Japan goes to waste

The weakest, such as Nissan, a car maker, and Daiei, a supermarket chain, had to borrow even to meet wage payments.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s bond market

By the time Chrysler shareholders vote on the merger in September, Daimler-Benz will probably have signed three collaborative deals with Nissan, a Japanese car maker labouring under a mountain of debt.

ECONOMIST: Chrysler��s sold, Volvo��s too expensive. How about BMW?

Nissan's alliance with the French car maker Renault, for instance, is promising.

ECONOMIST: Japanese finance

Output by Nissan, Japan's second biggest car maker, totaled 99, 571.

WSJ: Japanese Car Makers Report Production Increases in China

But when his "Nissan Revival Plan" worked -- he resurrected the car maker from near bankruptcy a year earlier than scheduled -- he became a hero.

CNN: The True Story of Carlos Ghosn

Although Daimler has recently retreated a bit in China, the new car maker will at some point have to expand in Asia, possibly by forging links with Japan's troubled Nissan Motor, which was apparently in talks with Chrysler about a possible takeover.

ECONOMIST: A new kind of car company