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 : JAPAN-Nikkei-Time to go back up? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert H. who wrote (1187)	6/24/1998 1:01:00 AM
From: chirodoc	Respond to of 3902

Wednesday June 24, 12:31 am Eastern Time Japan worries pushes dollar above 140, widens premium By Yoko Kobayashi TOKYO, June 24 (Reuters) - Persistent worries over Japan's banking system lifted the dollar above 140 yen on Wednesday, the first time since Japan-U.S. joint intervention, despite pleas from top officials that Tokyo was doing its best. The dollar broke above 140 yen by Tokyo midday trading, the first time since Japan and the United States jointly acted to sell dollars for yen on June 17, shaking off fears that monetary authorities would step in again to boost the yen. The Japan premium, the extra cost Japanese banks must pay in the euro interbank markets, also widened due to deepening worries over some Japanese banks, bankers said. For three-month euroyen interest rates, the premium was 30 basis points (BPS) over the 0.38 percent European and U.S. banks with better credit ratings are paying. Taku Yamasaki, the policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), told reporters that Japan was doing its best to stabilise its economy and he hoped financial markets would understand. ''We are making utmost efforts to stabilise our economy and want the market to understand this,'' he said. Meanwhile, Haruhiko Kuroda, director general of the Ministry of Finance's (MOF) international bureau, repeated his stand taken since the beginning of this week that he will not comment on daily currency movements. MOF's vice minister for international affairs, Eisuke Sakakibara, slipped into his office from the backdoor to avoid media pumping on Wednesday. He had said on Tuesday that financial markets were underestimating Tokyo's ability and determination to revive the economy. Japan's policy-makers began discussing ways to reduce the mountain of bad loans weighing on the financial system this week, while protecting relatively sound companies that might be hurt if their banks went under. At the centre of discussions was how to set up a ''bridge bank'' to lend money to relatively sound borrowers left in the lurch in the event their creditor banks failed. A senior LDP official said the talks may have yielded a ''prototype'' for future discussions, which would leave lending capacity in the hands of troubled commercial banks, but under the watchful eyes of the government. The LDP and the government has said they would like to come up with a conclusion around July 8, before the Upper House elections on July 12. ''The financial sector plan that the government is thinking about right now, we really don't know how it will be financed, how much money will be behind it, it may indeed represent an increase in the contingent liability for the financial sector,'' Jeff Young, chief Japan economist at Salomon Brothers Asia, told Reuters Television. ''It does appear that Japan's fiscal situation is worsening, and that they are not getting a big growth boost either,'' he said. Fitch IBCA on Tuesday warned that Japan's domestic recession, soft equity prices and the weak yen had compounded problems in the banking industry and could undermine the nation's AAA sovereign credit rating. Vice Finance Minister Koji Tanami, when asked about Fitch IBCA's warning, told reporters on Wednesday that it was important for Japan to persistently pursue stable growth. According to Jiji news agency, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto complained that foreign countries and investors gave only low marks to Tokyo's 16-trillion yen plus economic stimulus package announced in April, which the government claims will boost economy by 2.0 percent. ''It (Fitch IBCA warning) may have a minor impact on the currency, it may have a small impact on the bond market, but the impact will be small because Japan is one of the few countries which doesn't depend at all on foreigners for financing,'' Chris Calderwood, chief economist at Jardine Fleming Securities in Tokyo said.

To: Robert H. who wrote (1187)	6/24/1998 1:12:00 AM
From: chirodoc	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3902

<<<<I'm looking to buy Japan equity plays and banking stocks. Any help .........i only go long so ask someone else about calls. .......i agree with MBK and also like SNE, FUJIY, HMC, nomura, and maybe even merril lynch since they took over yamaiichi, etc. curtis p.s. we are at the bottom before the ascent upward although it won;t be fast. i do predict they will solve the bank problem over the next 1-2 years as we did with RTC and there will be more deregulation and some modest tax reform. it won't happen fast but it will happen this time.