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Technology Stocks : Jimbo's Playhouse/CPQ -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mao II who wrote (4285)	9/21/1999 9:38:00 PM
From: Jimbo Cobb	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12662

as long as we are all straight on the BKX...that IS the BUTT-KICKING index, right ???????? jajajajajajajaja Jimbo.

To: Mao II who wrote (4285)	9/21/1999 10:00:00 PM
From: Night Writer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12662

M2, If you make a list of good things and bad things happening or projected to happen right now, the bad list is longer then the good list. I think it's that simple. No big mystery. We need some things to put on the good list and some things to drop off the bad list. NW

To: Mao II who wrote (4285)	9/21/1999 10:10:00 PM
From: Night Writer	Respond to of 12662

Japan sees 22.6% fall in trade surplus in Aug. TOKYO, Sept. 22 (Kyodo) -- Japan's overall merchandise trade surplus plunged to 689.4 billion yen in August, down 22.6% from a year earlier, as a stronger yen held back exports, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. The figure for the country's trade balance has thus registered a year-on-year decline for the fifth straight month, the ministry said in a preliminary report. Exports came to 3,736.7 billion yen, down 6.9% for the 11th consecutive monthly decrease, as the yen's value was steeply higher in terms of the U.S. dollar than a year before. The stronger yen propelled shipments of steel, office equipment and automobiles to shrink by 25.1%, 16.4% and 6.9 %, respectively. Imports also retreated 2.4% to 3,047.3 billion yen for the 20th straight month of decline, with imports of aircraft and coal down 66.3% and 28.0%, respectively. Manufactured goods accounted for 61.1% of all imports. ''The trade surplus has contracted for the fifth consecutive month and we will carefully watch whether this trend will continue,'' a ministry official said. Japan's merchandise trade balance is measured on the basis of goods clearing customs and is reported before adjustment for seasonal factors. The ministry official sidestepped the question of whether the yen's recent surge will continue to weigh on the nation's exports, saying that a stronger yen usually reduces exports and boosts imports. The yen averaged 115.91 yen to the dollar in August, a 23.8% rise from the 143.48 yen a year earlier. The Japanese currency has soared some 13% in the past few months amid optimism about an early economic recovery. Japan's politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States jumped 24.3% to 534.4 billion yen, marking the fourth straight month of expansion, the ministry said. Shipments to the U.S. slumped 4.2% to 1,162.0 billion yen, the 10th consecutive month of decline, as exports of steel and office equipment fell 67.4% and 25.5%, respectively. Exports of vehicles to the U.S., which suffered the first year-on-year setback in value terms in 39 months in July, rose 14.7%. Imports from the country also took a drubbing, tumbling 19.9% to 627.7 billion yen for the sixth straight month of decrease. Aircraft imports from the U.S. plunged 67.5%, while those of office equipment dropped 39.5%. With other Asian nations, Japan's merchandise trade surplus fell 4.6% to 226.3 billion yen, showing the first downturn in three months. Exports to these countries gained 3.0% to 1,425.1 billion yen for the third consecutive month of rise, due to a 29.9% increase in exports of optical instruments and a 7.2% climb in shipments of semiconductors and related electronic parts. Imports from the region totaled 1,198.8 billion yen, up 4.5% for the fifth straight month of growth, lifted by a 39.8 % rise in purchases of semiconductors and related electronic parts and a 14.6% jump in imports of office equipment. Japan's trade balance with the 15-member European Union (EU) posted a surplus of 201.6 billion yen, down 27.0% for the sixth setback in as many months. Exports to the EU weakened 13.4% to 613.5 billion yen for the eighth consecutive monthly dip, with shipments of office equipment and autos down 21.6% and 16.6%, respectively. Imports from the EU also dipped 4.7% to 411.8 billion yen for the ninth straight month of decline, with imports of clothes and organic compounds decreasing 24.2% and 23.1%. Koichi Ono, an economist at Daiwa Research Institute, said the effects of a higher yen will appear more drastically in the months ahead. ''Given the current situation, the yen is unlikely to depreciate sharply. If the current trend continues for a few months or half a year, it will have a huge impact on the trade balance in the next fiscal year and beyond,'' he said. -0-