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To: Alex who wrote (13691)	6/23/1998 12:53:00 AM
From: Ahda	Respond to of 116874

nikkei.co.jp Hashimoto Suggests Converting Public Bank Into Bridge Bank TOKYO (Nikkei)-Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on Monday told the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's policy chief to review options for creating a bridge bank to take over the operations of failed banks. Hashimoto met with LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Taku Yamasaki at the prime minister's official residence to discuss ways to restore stability to Japan's financial system. Hashimoto suggested the option of forming the bridge bank from a public or quasi-public entity, apparently referring to such entities as Japan Development Bank. The prime minister also asked Yamasaki to study means by which two separate entities could be created - one to take over the immediate task of speeding the resolution of bad debt problems and the other with a mid-to-long-term mission of facilitating the liquidation of failed banks. A government-LDP panel will begin discussing specific plans Tuesday, with the aim of formalizing plans on July 8. Concerning the plan to create a bridge bank, the LDP has thus far mapped out two options: Converting the existing Resolution and Collection Bank into a government-run bank through the addition of lending functions, or creating a new government-run bank. Hashimoto asked Yamasaki to carefully examine a wide range of options. Yamasaki also touched on Hokuyo Bank's planned takeover of the operations of the failed Hokkaido Takushoku Bank. Yamasaki said the key question is the extent to which Hokuyo Bank can assume Hokkaido Takushoku's loans, which are believed to be in danger of turning sour. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Tuesday morning edition)

To: Alex who wrote (13691)	6/23/1998 5:34:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116874

Cen.banks should raise gold interest rates- Kebble 09:19 a.m. Jun 23, 1998 Eastern BARCELONA, Spain, June 23 (Reuters) - Central banks lending gold to the market should raise their rates, flushing out those profiting from gold 's discount on money and stabilising spot prices, JCI's Brett Kebble said on Tuesday. ''Gold price instability has been caused by a flood of liquidity resulting from an abuse of the low lease rate scenario,'' said Kebble, executive director at the South African mining company JCI Gold, in a speech to the Financial Times gold conference in Barcelona. ''It is the interest rate differential between gold and dollars which causes miners to hedge and it gives the speculators a fabulous array of ammunition to destroy the gold price,'' he said. Central banks themselves would benefit as rising prices increased the value of their reserve gold holdings. ''Rates of say five to six percent would still enable producers who wished to protect their downside and start new production,'' said Kebble, adding that such a move could raise spot prices by 15 percent. ''I'm sure that central banks are getting tired of giving fortunes to gold miners and speculators alike. ''When Europe realises that it holds the cards in the lending market and that the price of gold is going to be highly elastic to any increase in the gold interest rates, you might find that the interest rate trend begins to change very quickly,'' he said. The 11 countries in at the start of the euro, namely all those in the European Union minus Britain, Denmark, Greece and Sweden, carry between them more than 12,000 tonnes of gold, a third of the world's official sector holdings. One central banker at the conference, who asked not to be named, said he doubted that things were as simple as just raising the gold interest rate. ''The issue is more complicated than that,'' he said. Terry Smeeton, former head of treasury at the Bank of England, told Reuters later that while Kebble's remarks on increased European Central Bank (ECB) coordination were accurate, it was not possible to generalise when it came to the intentions of central bankers around the world. ''It's a mistake to think about central bankers as being homogenous, they come at the market with different motives,'' he said. ''The European central banks, certainly the ins (those 11 countries at the euro's debut), are moving towards a sort of investment trust position,'' he said. But Smeeton disagreed with the suggestion that central banks could significantly increase gold lending rates, citing their differing motives and limited access to borrowers. ''Central banks only lend to good-quality credit counter-parties i.e. banks. They have no knowledge of where the gold is subsequently deployed,'' he said. Rates were better now than they had been. ''1.5 percent compared with the 0.25 percent of eight years ago is not derisory,'' he said. Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.

To: Alex who wrote (13691)	6/23/1998 6:01:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (6) \| Respond to of 116874

Coil beginnig to re-coil...Now oil..next IMO dollar is going to get hit on inflation worries, massive explosion of USA trade deficit and cheap asian sale which has ally started in earnest... FOCUS-OPEC plans bold oil cut to raise prices 04:52 p.m Jun 23, 1998 Eastern By William Hardy VIENNA, June 23 (Reuters) - Oil cartel OPEC signalled doubting markets on Tuesday it was ready to drain swollen supply by more than expected to pull prices higher. Gulf sources said the cartel's dominant force, Saudi Arabia, would contemplate output cuts beyond those it had already pledged provided others made promised sacrifices. ''I think there should be an adequate cut to reverse the trend in the markets,'' said OPEC President and United Arab Emirates Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Obaid bin Saif al-Nasseri. Any significant extra cuts would take Saudi Arabia close to the eight million barrels per day (bpd) level it held for six years after the 1990-91 Gulf crisis. That would send a strong signal of the kingdom's intent to reverse a decline in prices set in motion when it led a 10 percent rise in the group's output limits late last year. Oil prices rose when OPEC delegates said Saudi Arabia had taken the initiative in securing the extra reductions. ''800,000 barrels per day is short -- if you look at the market fundamentals you should probably be aiming at 1-1.3 million barrels per day,'' a non-Saudi delegate said. Another proponent of extra reductions, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah, said he expected fresh OPEC production cuts to match the 1.245 million bpd the cartel earlier pledged to siphon from the market from April 1. Delegates said the tricky question of compliance with output cuts could yet frustrate attempts by Wednesday's gathering of the 11-country group to lift depressed prices. They said OPEC's number two producer Iran was a focus of concern because it recently reported hefty output in a move widely seen as a bid to minimise future supply sacrifices. Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi was in Saudi Arabia for talks with Crown Prince Abdullah and Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on the oil price slide. Prince Abdullah underlined the need for the two countries to broaden cooperation on controlling the oil market ''crisis,'' the official Iranian News Agency said. Iran has circulated among some fellow OPEC members a proposal that the group extend its output cuts to a full 10 percent from a benchmark of production earlier in the year, a Venezuelan delegate said. The delegate was not able to say whether the idea had drawn any support. A Kuwaiti delegate said his colleagues had received no such proposal from Iran. Saudi Arabia is likely to strongly resist Iran's idea because it would take Riyadh 130,000 bpd below its cherished eight million supply. Oil prices traded sharply higher as dealers revised their expectations of OPEC's ability to slice oversupply. Brent crude ended 68 cents stronger at $13.94 a barrel in London. ''I would like to see $18-20 a barrel,'' said Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah. ''Any decision that OPEC has reached we will support it.'' The price slide has chopped OPEC oil revenues by a third and pressured national budgets already pared to the bone. Another challenge to the latest planned sacrifices comes from perceptions on oil market trading floors. Traders say the more OPEC says it should cut, the more the market will be dismayed if it does not match its words. ''The OPEC spin is positive, but I'll believe it when I see it,'' said Tom Benz of Cresvale International in the United States. ''A million is on the cards and 1.3 milliion would be mildly impressive,'' said Nigel Saperia of Bankers Trust. And Venezuela's Erwin Arrieta warned the market would not recover no matter what was said at the gathering if producers continued to pump in excess of demand. Prices fell to a 10-year low in March after an OPEC decision last year to hike output limits just as Asian demand began to falter. Asia's financial crisis means producers can no longer rely on any incremental demand from the region which in recent years has accounted for about half the globe's extra oil consumption. Ministers are due to assemble in a formal plenary session for the first time on Wednesday. In a preparatory step, OPEC's market monitoring committee met for almost two hours to study the extent of oversupply, breaking up without comment. ((OPEC Newsroom +431 710 6253)) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.