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To: Alex who wrote (15145)	8/2/1998 3:01:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116753

Alex, welcome back, we missed you! Japan's foreign minister vows pro-America policy 08:39 a.m. Jul 31, 1998 Eastern By Teruaki Ueno TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) - New Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said on Friday that Tokyo would pursue a pro-American foreign policy but it would not necessarily mean Japan always obeyed the United States. ''To continue to be pro-American, we don't have to continue to pursue diplomacy which the general public feels lacks originality and that Japan is obeying the United States,'' Komura said. ''Diplomacy has to be backed by public understanding. It is the same in any other country,'' he told a group of journalists in an interview. Komura said Japan has already launched such a diplomatic drive towards Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia. ''We have already secured considerable understanding appraisals from Asia, Europe and the United States,'' he said. ''We would like to advance it further.'' Critics argue that Japan's foreign policy has been ''faceless'' and virtually controlled by the United States since its defeat in World War Two. Despite its tight fiscal conditions, Japan, the world's biggest aid donor, would continue to extend substantial economic assistance to developing countries, Komura said. ''In order for Japan to pursue diplomacy with strong leadership and to be trusted by other countries, we must continue to extend aid to developing countries,'' he said. Japan, hit by its worst recession since World War Two, has cut overseas aid by 10 percent for the current fiscal year, which started on April 1, as part of widespread fiscal reform. ''Although fiscal conditions are severe, we would like to secure as large a foreign aid budget as possible next year,'' Komura said. Komura was formally named on Thursday to lead the country's Foreign Ministry, taking up the post that had been held by new Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. Komura, who along with Obuchi named improved ties with Russia as a key diplomatic goal, said he was considering visiting Moscow in September to pave the way for a visit later this year by Obuchi. Russia and Japan, once bitter Cold War foes, remain at loggerheads over the ownership of four Pacific islands, which has blocked the signing of a peace treaty to formally end World War Two hostilities. At a meeting last November in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, then prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Russian President Boris Yeltsin pledged to work towards signing a peace treaty by the year 2000. Obuchi told a separate news conference that he would like to ask Hashimoto to help him maintain good ties with Moscow. ''It's not a firmly defined job, but I would like to ask Mr Hashimoto to help out in Russo-Japanese diplomacy in a public capacity under the cabinet's responsibility,'' Obuchi said. On North Korea, Komura urged Pyongyang to soften its hardline stance and come forward with ''constructive'' proposals that could open the way for bilateral talks aimed at normalising relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang. ''North Korea is facing very serious economic difficulties and there are signs that a new government is being installed,'' Komura said. ''We therefore hope that North Korea would present us with more constructive proposals,'' he said. ((Tokyo Newsroom +81-3 3432 8018 tokyo.newsroom+reuters.com)) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.

To: Alex who wrote (15145)	8/2/1998 3:07:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116753

"Trichet also said that growth in Europe's internal demand seems to be strong enough to offset the impact of Asia's economic slowdown so far. Still, he urged the Japanese authorities to act ''rapidly'' to pull the country out of recession and said that ''international investors currently underestimate the yen's value.'' bloomberg.com@@O*8IgwcAhuJxoGa2/news2.cgi?T=news2_ft_topww.ht&s=567514972

To: Alex who wrote (15145)	8/2/1998 3:15:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116753

This summer US investors are seeing something they haven't seen in many years - bears dancing down Wall Street. The 143.7-point plunge on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday has many analysts deeply worried that share prices are poised on the edge of a precipice. afr.com.au

To: Alex who wrote (15145)	8/4/1998 9:14:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116753

Headline: Inco looks ripe for takeover as nickel prices plunge ====================================================================== By Paul Simao TORONTO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Plunging base metals prices, a weak Canadian dollar and uncertainty over the C$4.3-billion Voisey's Bay nickel development in Labrador have made Inco Ltd. (TSE:N) a ripe takeover target, analysts said on Tuesday. Inco's shares touched a 12-year low of C$15.75 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday, fueling further market speculation that the Toronto-based nickel producer's days as an independent mining firm were numbered. Inco, one of Canada's oldest blue-chip stocks, traded as high as C$47.25 in 1997. "They're already at a point where I'm sure companies are scratching their heads and sniffing around," said Richard Aldrich, an analyst with Lehman Brothers in New York. While not forecasting an imminent takeover of Inco, Aldrich said he would not be surprised if one of the world's large, well-heeled mining companies launched a hostile bid for the financially-strapped company. Analysts have cited Britain's Rio Tinto Plc (ISEL:RIO) and Billiton Plc (ISEL:BLT), South Africa's Minorco-Anglo group and Anglo-Australian mining giant RTZ-CRA as the companies most likely to be interested Inco. Inco has a shareholders rights plan, or "poison pill". It added the weapon to its arsenal in 1989, the first Canadian-based company to do so. But the plan is due to expire in October and few observers believe a poison pill would deter a truly determined bidder. Inco officials were unavailable for comment on Tuesday. Takeover talk has swirled around Inco in step with falling nickel prices and the ongoing financial crisis in the company's key Asian markets. Inco is the Western world's largest nickel producer. "It was a takeover target when it was trading in the C$30 range. We reached that hedge a year ago," said Terry Ortslan of TSO & Associates in Montreal. Nickel is trading at $1.86 a pound on the London Metal Exchange, down from a 1997 high of $3.75 a pound. Few analysts predict a quick turnaround for the metal. Nickel's collapse has stripped sorely-needed cash from Inco's bottom line and forced it to undertake a painful restructuring of its operations. The restructuring has included more than 1,200 layoffs and several mine closures. Inco eked out a slim profit in the second quarter of 1998 after posting two consecutive quarterly losses. The falling Canadian dollar -- the embattled currency has lost 6.5 percent of its value in the past five months -- has also added to the feeling Inco is in the crosshairs of some big hunters. Ironically, Inco's biggest headache may be its greatest shield against a hostile takeover bid. Inco's investment in the Voisey's Bay nickel development in remote northern Labrador, in the province of Newfoundland, could be a bone in the craw of prospective bidders. Newfoundland's government suspended negotiations on granting a mining permit to Inco two weeks ago after the two sides failed to reach an agreement over the proposed construction of a C$1-billion smelter and refinery at Argentia, Nfld., to process Voisey Bay's rich, low-cost ore. Inco told reporters in a conference call early last week that it had halted all work at Voisey's Bay and had delayed indefinitely the startup date for the project. The company has not stated whether it is considering taking a writedown on its prized project, which many analysts see as a precondition to any takeover bid. "They spent $3-billion-plus dollars on the thing. It's delayed, no mining permits are being issued. Certainly, that is a big uncertainty out there," Aldrich said. If an international bid for Inco did materialize, it could spark a bidding war in which either Toronto-based mining firm Falconbridge Ltd. (TSE:FL) or Noranda Inc. (TSE:NOR) could play the role of white knight. Some analysts see some sort of consolidation of the three Canadian companies as preferable to an international takeover of Inco. "If a rival bid does come in it would be a sad day. I think Inco is a Canadian institution that has attributes in terms of costs, market share and productivity," Ortslan said. ($1=$1.52 Canadian) Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service