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

To: Sam who wrote (4476)	6/12/1998 6:52:00 PM
From: Joseph Beltran	Respond to of 9980

latest rubin statement re. japan: Friday June 12, 3:43 pm Eastern Time Rubin says concerned about weak Japanese yen MOBILE, Ala., June 12 (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said on Friday the U.S. administration was concerned about the weak level of the Japanese yen and urged Tokyo once again to address mounting problems in its banking sector. Addressing a gathering at the Chamber of Commerce here, he also said Japanese gross domestic product figures released earlier on Friday, which confirmed the world's second-largest economy had entered a recession, were worse than expected. The Japanese economy shrank at an annual rate of 5.3 percent in January to March from the previous quarter. ''Their currency is exceedingly weak -- we are very concerned about that. It is affecting Asia, and Asia is affecting Russia,'' Rubin said. He called Japan's latest GDP data ''even worse than expected.'' Speaking to reporters after delivering his remarks, Rubin reiterated he was not in principle opposed to intervening in foreign exchange markets to bolster the value of the yen. ''I am not opposed to intervention...I'm not unopposed either,'' he said. ''We are very concerned about the weakness in Japan's economy. The fiscal stimulus is not in place. It is a great concern.'' Rubin traced Japan's problems in part to a sharp rise in asset prices in the late 1980s. ''The Japanese stock exchange was at 39,000 (points) at its peak. It's now at 15,000 -- that gives you some idea of how much air there was in that asset bubble,'' he said. ''They need to have a clear fiscal policy and they are well underway to doing that now,'' Rubin noted. ''They need to deal with very serious issues in the financial sector, in the banking sector. They need to open markets and deregulate, and the fact that they have not done these things is the reason their economy is in recession.'' What the heck does he mean "....they are well underway to doing that now"???? THOSE FOLKS ARE STILL IN THE DENIAL PHASE!!!!