Interesting articles for what they are worth:
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According to some experts Asia's economic crisis may be beginning to impact the U.S. economy. The Commerce Department reported that orders for durable goods last month dropped 2.6 percent, and orders for electronic and electrical equipment fell 6.8 percent. Industrial machinery orders - including computers - fell for a second straight month down 1.2 percent after a 2 percent April drop. chicago.tribune.com
The Commerce Department's report was a surprise "because it showed the weakness was fairly widespread," said Debbie Johnson, senior economist at Deutsche Bank Securities. "We are starting to see a slowing of industrial activity and the Asian situation is probably impacting that."
detnews.com
Others were not as surprised. "There is a financial firestorm spreading across East Asia, Japan, Russia and parts of Latin America. Currencies have collapsed, capital has fled and economies have sunk into recession on an unprecedented scale. The International Monetary Fund dangerously has depleted its resources trying unsuccessfully to contain it. These events constitute the worst financial crisis since the birth of the modern, international monetary system in 1944, and they seem to be accelerating."
latimes.com
Expressing growing concern over the Asia problem Washington, in a coordinated move to support the Japanese yen, began to exert additional political pressure on Japan to reform its financial system.
scmp.com p=Default.htx//&PrevMFS=2942//
Non-the-less, according to some things continue to deteriorate in Japan. Analyzing the situation Craig Chuddler, strategist for Salomon Smith Barney Securities in Tokyo, stated that the "situation in Japan will not improve until there is a revolution." scmp.com
Some say that the widely held view is that the recent U.S. support for the yen little more than ''a finger in the dike." members.aol.com
Senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have noted that the number of banks, and the amount of lending, should be halved, and have called for wholesale changes in the banking sector. Economists said the politicians' remarks showed that a sense of crisis was finally beginning to take hold. globe.com
Meanwhile Japan has instituted the "big bang" financial deregulation program, and some U.S. companies positioning themselves to take advantage of such deregulation. Now U.S. companies are being asked to bail out Japan's brokerage houses and bear unlimited liability - "foreign companies cannot come into Japan for free" which may slow the deregulation process. members.aol.com
The problems in Asia and elsewhere have created concerns about the erratic shifts of global monies -- called "capital flows" -- becoming the curse of the world economy due to the instability they create. members.aol.com
On a positive note depressed asset values, weak currencies and distressed markets have made Asian companies a tempting target for cash-rich US firms. Experts claim record volumes of US dollars are expected to continue flooding into Asia as the regional crisis rolls into its second year.
scmp.com |
