Thread,
A couple of interesting stories.
MikeM(From Florida)
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Inflows to Equity Funds total $1.4 Billion for the week ended 9/9/98
* Large Cap Growth Funds receive inflows of $1.6 Billion
* International Equity Funds report outflows from all sectors, totalling $452 Million
* Taxable Bond Funds report inflows of $252 Million
* Money Market inflows total $6.3 Billion."
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Japan economy continues to worsen--BOJ
TOKYO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Japan's economy continues to worsen, with weak final demand and worsening employment conditions, the Bank of Japan said in a monthly report issued on Friday.
In the report for September the central bank said: ''Japan's economic conditions continue to deteriorate.'' Net exports are increasing mainly due to a decline in imports, the bank said. Capital investment has been decreasing significantly and housing investment has declined further.
Private consumption has not yet shown a recovery, despite the special income tax reduction, and against this background of weak final demand, output has been reduced significantly. The report also said:
* Levels of inventories remain high, although some industries have shown an improvement.
* Corporate profits continue to decline
* Lower output and the drop in personal income continues to accelerate
* The unemployment rate remains high
* The economy is unlikely to shift immediately to a self-sustaining recovery led by private demand, although already announced economic steps are expected to prevent the economy from worsening further
* BOJ also said attention should be paid to the possible negative impact on the real economy from financial market developments, including the recent fall in stock prices.
* Smaller companies are still having difficulties raising funds and needs careful monitoring.
* The Japan premium is on an expansionary trend due to strong demand for foreign currencies by Japanese banks.
* Falls in long-term interest rates reflect market's preference for investment in safer financial products and worsening of economic sentiment against the background of global stock falls and uncertainty over Japan's financial system.
* Interest rate differentials between public bonds and private-sector bonds expanded against the backdrop of market caution over credit risk. |
