Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MikeM54321 who wrote (4390)	6/11/1998 10:29:00 AM
From: Joseph Beltran	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9980

I sure get a sense that the dam in japan, inc. is collapsing and that the entrenched japanese bureaucrats are all sitting around with their fingers up their asses thinking (hoping) that the situation will "correct itself". I am beginning to truly believe that those idiots are going to allow japan to fall over the edge here. Incidentally, it was interesting to note that Greenspan yesterday deferred any questions about u.s. intervention vis a vis the yen to treasury secretary Rubin, indicating that the FOMC and Rubin had "agreed" to a course of action on that issue. My suspicion is that Rubin is willing to play hardball at this point: he is telling japan that the u.s. (and its allies) will not act in concert with japan to support the yen unless there are immediate ACTIONS on the part of japan to re-structure their banking and financial system. Any comments? regards

To: MikeM54321 who wrote (4390)	6/11/1998 1:47:00 PM
From: don pagach	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 9980

MikeM, The article you mentioned: Panel Calls For Ban On Use Of Pension Funds To Bolster Stocks TOKYO (Nikkei)-A study group formed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare will recommend that public pension funds not be used by the government to shore up the stock market, ministry officials said Wednesday. The government's so-called price-keeping operations, or PKOs, can erode the returns of pension funds which should be managed in a safe manner, the officials said. Some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party had urged using public pension funds to prop up stock prices ahead of corporate book-closings at the end of March. The study group, which has discussed ways to manage public pension funds, will propose that a planned organization to supervise management of pension funds be banned from instructing fund managers to invest in specific stocks. It will also ask that the organization be restricted from exercising voting rights at shareholders' meetings, arguing the body should not be able to influence the operations of private companies. The ministry decided to set up the organization to oversee management of 126 trillion yen of public pension monies. The decision followed last year's agreement with the Ministry of Finance to stop entrusting the funds to MOF's Trust Fund Bureau, which uses most of the monies for the government's loan and investment program. The Health Ministry intends to submit to the Diet next year a bill to put the study group's proposals into effect in fiscal 2000. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Thursday morning edition) www.nikkei.co.jp

To: MikeM54321 who wrote (4390)	6/11/1998 3:56:00 PM
From: Steve Tauscher	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9980

Hello Mike, I have been a lurker on this thread since the start. The quality of commentary, analysis and writing here is just amazing. Mike, I believe I had seen something on the Yahoo international wires earlier this year regarding the use of Japanese equities as bank assets. My memory is getting worse all the time but I thought (imagined?) there was a change which allowed banks to carry equities at book value if they fell below it. Did I get this wrong? If not, does that mean that N225 can drop fairly far but the Japanese banks can still meet BIS asset requirements as long as book values don't erode significantly. Can anyone comment on this? My apologies to all if I've screwed any of this up. Best Regards, Steve Tauscher