Compaq in bold at the bottom of the article.
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AFX Japan/Far East corporate/economic news summary
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TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - The fall in unemployment to 5.3 pct in January from a
record high of 5.5 pct in December marks the first month-on-month decline in 12
months due largely to a rise in employment in the services sector, an official
in the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications
said.
"The pace of increase in unemployment among the 25-34 and the 55-64 age
categories also fell, which contributed to the fall in the overall unemployment
rate," the official said.
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Heizo
Takenaka said the improvement in the unemployment figure today is unexpected,
but added that it is mainly due to a seasonal adjustment.
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Spending by wage earners rose 0.2 pct year-on-year in
January, reversing a 4.4 pct drop in December triggered by the sharp reduction
in bonus payment, a public management ministry official said.
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - The Tokyo-area February consumer price index fell 0.4 pct
month-on-month after a 0.3 pct fall in January, the Ministry of Public
Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said.
Year-on-year, February CPI declined 1.7 pct, following a fall of 1.7 pct the
month before, it said.
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Nationwide consumer prices in January fell 0.2 pct
month-on-month after falling 0.1 pct in December, the Ministry of Public
Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said.
Year-on-year, nationwide CPI in January fell 1.4 pct, after a 1.2 pct
fall the previous month, the agency said.
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - The government cannot forcibly pump funds into banks to
raise their capital despite the central bank governor's call for injections by
the end of March, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said.
Bank of Japan governor Masaru Hayami "says it would be better to make the
injection by the end of the fiscal year, but we cannot make forcible injections
under the current law," Shiokawa said.
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Sales of new vehicles in February fell 5.9 pct
year-on-year to 349,603 units after falling 2.6 pct in January, the Japan
Automobile Dealers Association said.
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Salaried household spending in January rose 0.2 pct
year-on-year after falling 4.4 pct in December, the Ministry of Public
Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said.
SYDNEY (AFX) - The balance of goods and services in January was in deficit
by a seasonally-adjusted 308 mln aud, compared with a deficit of 358 mln in
December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Hitachi Ltd will aim for a V-shaped earnings recovery by
restructuring and boosting competitiveness, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported,
citing company president Etsuhiko Shoyama.
"It will depend on whether we can exceed 8 trln yen in group sales next
fiscal year," Shoyama said.
"But a decline in retail prices damaged earnings this fiscal year and it is
difficult to see past this uncertainty," he added.
BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) - Royal Philips Electronics NV said it has opened two new
state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Shanghai to support the liquid
crystal display (LCD) and optical storage activities of its components division.
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Standard and Poors said its rating and outlook on Sony
Corp will not be affected by Sony's plan to turn its consolidated subsidiary
Aiwa Co Ltd into a wholly-owned unit in October this year.
TAIPEI (AFX-ASIA) - First International Computer Inc said a newspaper report
that it has signed contracts with Hewlett-Packard Co for the former's European
plant to ship 600,000 desktop PCs worth 10 bln twd to HP Europe this year is
merely speculation.
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Toyota Motor Corp said it bought back 20 mln shares at
3,420 yen per share today.
So far, the company has bought back 25.8 mln shares for 88.4 bln yen.
HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) - Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said it has launched a
website for travel agents in Hong Kong, Australia, Germany and the UK.
In a statement, it said the service will be ultimately rolled out to travel
agents across Cathay Pacific's worldwide network.
TAIPEI (AFX-ASIA) - Hewlett-Packard Co and Compaq Computer Corp have asked
Taiwan electronics companies to announce their product price cuts monthly
instead of the current practice of quarterly price cuts, the Economic Daily News
reported, citing industry sources.
TAIPEI (AFX-ASIA) - Quanta Computer Inc said its efforts to seek new orders
from Hewlett-Packard Co is in the negotiation stage, contrary to a newspaper
report that it has won the contracts.
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