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.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alex who wrote (20113)	9/30/1998 8:48:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116762

!!!!!!!?????? Clinton Cancels Plan To Visit India And Pakistan 06:55 p.m Sep 30, 1998 Eastern By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Clinton has canceled plans to visit India and Pakistan this year because of their tit-for-tat nuclear tests and U.S. officials said Wednesday he would instead travel to South Korea and Japan. Clinton put his scheduled visit to South Asia in November on hold after India and Pakistan carried out nuclear tests last May, sparking world outcry and prompting Washington to impose economic sanctions on the two long-time adversaries. White House spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters Clinton had ultimately decided not to travel there this year but still wanted to make the trip during his presidency and other U.S. officials said that he hoped to do so next year. The spokesman declined to say whether Clinton would make other stops when he travels to Malaysia for the Nov. 17-18 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, but U.S. officials who asked not to be named said that he would visit South Korea and Japan instead. The officials said Clinton decided not to make the South Asia visit, including a stop in neighboring Bangladesh, this year because of limited progress in U.S. talks with both India and Pakistan on their nuclear programs and security issues. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott has led talks with the two countries aimed at persuading them not to deploy nuclear-tipped missiles and at strengthening their controls on the export of nuclear and other technologies. The talks also aimed to strengthen the countries' bilateral dialogue on such issues as Kashmir, the disputed northern province that has been the flashpoint of two of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. ''We had good talks with both India and Pakistan ... We made some progress on the issues that obviously prompted this decision: nuclear testing and export controls,'' McCurry told reporters at his daily briefing. ''Until more progress is achieved we are not going to be able to lift the sanctions that are in place and we are not in a position to strengthen the kind of bilateral ties with both governments which we would naturally want,'' he added. Washington was heartened by last week's announcement by both India and Pakistan that they were prepared to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), a global nuclear test ban treaty, next year. But U.S. officials said that they need more time to make headway on other issues, particularly on persuading the two countries to tighten their internal controls on the export of weapons technology to other countries. ''If they are going to have these kinds of weapons they have got to have these kinds of export controls,'' said one official. ''We want them to strengthen their indigenous regimes.'' Neither country is a signatory to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an international agreement on controlling the spread of missiles and related technology. Clinton's planned trip to India and Pakistan, postponed once because of the Indian elections earlier this year, was built around the president's attendance at the APEC summit in Malaysia. U.S. officials said that he would make stops in Japan and South Korea instead. ''We have important issues to discuss with both allies,'' said one official explaining why the two countries were added to Clinton's itinerary. The officials said the visits would help ease displeasure in Japan and South Korea over the fact that Clinton made a nine-day visit to China this summer without stopping in either country. Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited

To: Alex who wrote (20113)	9/30/1998 9:26:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116762

Canada's dollar weakens on rate cut, growth data 04:32 p.m Sep 30, 1998 Eastern By Masaru Sato TORONTO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The one-two punch of an interest rate cut and bearish growth data sent the Canadian dollar lower on Wednesday, throwing the nation's central bank back into the hot seat. The Canadian dollar wrapped up the session near the day's trading low with one dollar worth 65.3 U.S. cents, down from 66.2 U.S. cents 24 hours before. The currency extended overnight losses after Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday that Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.3 percent in July, after falling 0.1 percent in June, the fourth consecutive month of declines. When Canadian currency traders came to work in the morning, sentiment was already ''sell-Canada'' following Tuesday's move by the Bank of Canada to follow the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and cut the key rate on its loans to commercial banks. But the Bank of Canada let it be known it is poised to counter any resurgence of speculative attacks on the currency in a ''more discretionary'' fashion. A bank official told Reuters on Wednesday that bank executives had told commercial bankers last week it had changed the way it intervenes in the currency market to help boost the stability of the dollar. ''From now on, the bank will intervene in a more discretionary manner, as it did in August, in order to increase the signalling impact and the effective of intervention,'' the bank told market participants. The bank's new tactics, which were employed in early August, are to step in at any level, in amounts as deemed appropriate at the time of intervention, instead of the previous method of waiting until the U.S. dollar moved 0.75 Canadian cents from the previous day's close, and selling or buying US$40-US$50 million at a time at intervals of 0.05 cents. Traders who had been hoping for a stable Canadian dollar were disappointed by the timing of Bank of Canada's 0.25-percentage point cut in Canada's bank rate to 5.75 percent, which came an hour after an identical cut in the U.S. Fed funds rate on Tuesday. ''The bank's having reacted right after the Fed was a tactical mistake. Had they waited to do it this morning after the (GDP) numbers, we could well be testing C$1.4990 (US$0.6671) right now,'' said a trader in Montreal After opening more than one Canadian cent weaker at C$1.5235 (US$0.6564) against the U.S. dollar today from the previous day's close here, the Canadian dollar slipped to a day's low (high for the U.S. dollar) of C$1.5320 (US$0.6527). If it had waited to cut rates, Canada's central bank could have projected an image as an independent agency that is concerned about the economic climate at home ''rather than being a subsidiary of the Federal Reserve,'' the trader said. Traders thought it would have been wise to delay a rate cut in Canada and take advantage of a wider gap in interest rates with the United States. Expectations of lower U.S. interest rates had pushed up the Canadian dollar because capital tends to shift to securities denominated in currencies that offer higher returns. ''Now we've got a bank rate cut that matched the Fed cut, but we've got signs of weak economy and the Bank of Canada is back in the same situation as it was before, where you can't really defend the currency with rate hikes but, on the other hand, can't go ahead of the Fed in terms of cutting,'' Daniel Kelly, director of financial markets at CIBC Wood Gundy, told Reuters Television. The Bank of Canada has started to reverse some of the credit tightening it had conducted from time to time to shore up the dollar for over a year. The bank last raised the bank rate by one full percentage point on August 27. In contrast to Canada's currency, its long-term government bonds have regained popularity among investors. This trend has been helped by a safe-haven move to fixed-income securities from volatile and slumping equities. This time concern has moved to the health of global financial systems from jitters over inflationary pressures on the U.S. economy a few months ago. ''The market has shifted from inflation fears to heightened concerns over credit risks,'' said Jeffrey Cheah, financial market analyst at Standard & Poor's MMS. ''Basically it's a flight to quality that has become dominant on the Bank of Canada coupon curve. As long as the global financial environment is uncertain, you are going to see that continuing.'' Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin, who insists Canada's economic fundamentals are strong despite the weak GDP data, is calling on other major industrial nations to lower interest rates and help spur global economic growth. ((Reuters Toronto newsroom (416) 941-8107, toronto.newsroom+reuters.com)) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.