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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dwight E. Karlsen who wrote (11552)	1/12/1998 3:03:00 AM
From: Scrapps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

Ah...a plowed driver on an unplowed road then! <giggle> Hey, down here they arrest people who blow snow, do you have any snow blowers up there? <GG>

To: Dwight E. Karlsen who wrote (11552)	1/12/1998 3:14:00 AM
From: Scrapps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

Japan PM says will not trigger global depression By Yoko Kobayashi TOKYO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on Monday outlined to parliament his plans to head off what he said was any chance of his country triggering a global depression. Urged on by world leaders to use economic recovery in Japan to pull Asia out of its financial crisis, Hashimoto vowed to make Japan again ''the leader of a flock of flying geese.'' ''It is my strong determination not to start a financial or economic depression from Japan, to stabilise the financial system, which is the main artery of the economy, and to restore confidence in the economic outlook,'' Hashimoto said in a speech to a new session of the Lower House of parliament. There were no new measures announced in the speech, which was more a clarion call to battle than a list of what needed to be done to revive the world's second-largest economy. Explaining his already announced decision to seek parliamentary approval for income tax cuts of two trillion yen ($15.1 billion) from February, Hashimoto said he acted after realising that Asia's economic plight was worse than he had thought. ''I took into account the history and the reality of Asia's economic growth -- where Japan acted as the leader of a flock of flying geese -- and the need to achieve a strong Japanese economic recovery,'' Hashimoto said. The prime minister said Japan would stick to its plans for fiscal reform but it needed to be flexible in adapting to financial conditions and global economic conditions. U.S., European and Asian leaders have urged Japan to loosen its purse strings to get domestic consumption back on track. ''I will never associate myself with that pessimistic view which makes it sound as though there is no future for the Japanese economy,'' he said. Japan hopes to spur corporate activity by making some 840 billion yen ($6.36 billion) worth of cuts in corporate, securities transaction and land holding taxes, as well as taking financial stability steps, he said. He said further structural reforms are needed for Japan to let domestic demand lead its economic growth. Japan will also include in its extra budget for this fiscal year about one trillion yen ($7.5 billion) of public works projects for rebuilding after disasters and about 1.5 trillion yen ($11.3 billion) of front-loading of some public projects planned for next fiscal year. Up to 30 trillion yen ($227 billion) of public funds will be made available for the protection of all deposits, and legal steps would be considered for the protection of securities investors and insurance policy holders, Hashimoto said. The public funds will be used to strengthen and expand the present deposit insurance system as well as to purchase banks' preferred shares to boost their capital, he said. The government will also ease a credit crunch by making more loans available from state-affiliated banks and to introduce flexibility on the capital adequacy ratio for banks operating domestically, he said. ''These measures were taken with the utmost consideration for the economy. I believe these measures, together with the financial stabilisation steps, will bring about strong recovery for our economy,'' Hashimoto said. ''I will strongly urge Japanese financial institutions to improve their disclosure of business activities to match global standards, and to rationalise their operations further,'' he said. ($1 equals 132 yen)