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To: Ron Schier who wrote (3479)	11/23/1997 8:42:00 PM
From: Bucky Katt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116810

RS-- Floods of cheap imports. It will be a bloodbath for the average American worker.

To: Ron Schier who wrote (3479)	11/23/1997 8:45:00 PM
From: Bucky Katt	Respond to of 116810

Here is the news>>>U.S. stocks are expected to open lower Monday in the aftermath of the closing of Japan's fourth largest brokerage house, Yamaichi Securities Co Ltd (8602.T), analysts said. Foreign exchange traders said they expected the dollar to gain on the yen following the news from Tokyo. ''My belief is that initially there will be a negative psychological impact on the stock market but not a significant decline,'' said Hugh Johnson, market strategist at First Albany Securities. Johnson said long term interest rates may fall as the 30-year U.S. benchmark bond rises in price on a flight to quality. However, he said there is a danger that short term rates may rise if Yamaichi is forced to sell positions in short term Treasury bills. He said when banks and brokerages have failed in the past, there has been a tendency to sell the most liquid assets, which are short term government paper. Johnson said that the seeds of Yamaichi's downfall were contained in the collapse of the Thai currency, the baht, earlier this year. ''We have to learn to live with these shocks,'' he said ''There will be more of them.'' ''I think we'll see the dollar gradually strengthen. If it breaks the high seen earlier this year of 127.50, then it will probably go a bit above 130 over the next two to three months,'' said John McCarthy, currency trader at ING Barings Capital Markets. McCarthy noted that the dollar was trading at a level of 126.40 early Monday in Asia, not too far out of line with its close Friday afternoon in New York trading. First Albany's Johnson noted one concern will be the effect of the Asian market turmoil on the revenues and earnings of U.S. multinational corporations. He added that there will be concerns over the lending exposure of global banks as the economies of Southeast Asia slow down.

To: Ron Schier who wrote (3479)	11/23/1997 10:04:00 PM
From: Albert V	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116810

Can anyone tell me what the current levels of personal debt are in the U.S., as compared to recent history?? Also wondering if anyone knows if CB's have limits regarding how much gold they are allowed to loan out. Albert

To: Ron Schier who wrote (3479)	11/23/1997 11:02:00 PM
From: Bucky Katt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116810

The final nail was driven into Yamaichi's coffin at an early morning board of directors meeting who took less than an hour to decide voluntary liquidation was the only answer to a credit crunch, shrinking business and a racketeer scandal that has left Japan's fourth largest brokerage under a pile of debt. Yamaichi said on Monday its assets had fallen by 264.8 billion yen ($2.10 billion) from 3.67 trillion yen ($29.1 billion) as of the end of September. The failure of Yamaichi dwarfs similar crises that have hit the financial world, including the 1990 closure of New York investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said some of Yamaichi's operations would halt as early as Tuesday while the Bank of Japan assured depositors their money would be protected. But the fear that Japan might be the next Asian domino to fall kept international financiers, already dealing with a crisis in South Korea, the world's 11th largest economy, and other Asian nations, on edge. ''I think the problem we have seen is perhaps far less than the actual problem. I think the market is actually expecting more problems to come,'' said Stanley Wong, Treasurer of Standard Chartered Bank in Hong kong. In Sydney, David Bassanese, senior economist for Bankers Trust Australia, said Yamaichi's failure showed Asia's malaise was spreading from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia into the richest parts of the region. ''I think the concern now is that the contagion is spreading into northeast Asia,'' he told Japanese officials did their best to contain the fallout and assure the world there was no need for panic. ''We will take all necessary steps to cope with any situation in a bid to maintain stability in the financial system,'' Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka told reporters. "The case of Yamaichi is a serious matter," he added. In Vancouver, where Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto arrives for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting later on Monday, his spokesman said the world should not lose faith in Japan. ''I think Japan's economic fundamentals are in principle still sound,'' spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto told RFTV in Vancouver. The Finance Ministry and central bank have contacted overseas authorities to alleviate global concerns, especially in U.S. and European markets. The Yamaichi crisis follows the collapse in the past month of second-tier brokerage Sanyo Securities Co Ltd and 10th-ranking commercial bank Hokkaido Takushoku Bank. Yamaichi fell in the centenary year of a Japanese household name that has a staff of 7,500 at home and in 33 branches abroad. Critics are unanimous that Japan's financial system is in urgent need of reform, deregulation and closer supervision. At its core, the liquidity crunch faced by Yamaichi, had been driven by concern that creditors could not pin down just how large the brokerage's potential losses could become. ''It's a story of lack of sufficient disclosure and supervision, said James Fiorillo, senior banking analyst at ING Barings in Tokyo. A Finance Ministry official said on Saturday there were suspicions of vast off-balance sheet liabilities exceeding 200 billion yen ($1.58 billion) from illegal trading practices.