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: fut_trade who wrote (1705)	2/14/1999 9:54:00 AM
From: chirodoc	Respond to of 3902

peter, that was a great article--worth the read it has mirrored all of my thoughts about japan change is occurring, and the japanese will bounce back but the problem is: 1. people want change, but don't know exactly what they need 2. new, young business leaders know what they need 3. the government is full of old farts that won't leave power so, buying japan is just a matter of timing as for me, still watching i will wait for more deregulation, tax cuts, and maybe some new political leaders, then jump in ..still waiting, watching curtis

To: fut_trade who wrote (1705)	2/15/1999 12:17:00 AM
From: chirodoc	Respond to of 3902

Japan's anaemic economy posts record surplus Sunday February 14, 11:09 pm Eastern Time By William Mallard TOKYO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Japan posted a record surplus with the rest of the world in broadly measured trade in 1998, mainly because the sickly economy lost its appetite for imports, government figures showed on Monday. But the rise in the current account surplus slowed late in the year, barely posting a double-digit increase in December, prompting the government to declare it was on a declining trend. The current account surplus climbed 38.7 percent for the year to 15.86 trillion yen ($139 billion), the highest since the government began collecting data by the current method in 1985, the Finance Ministry said. Within the current account, the surplus in merchandise trade rose 29.9 percent to 15.99 trillion yen, the ministry reported. This surplus in the politically sensitive trade component remains on a rising trend, although repatriation of funds by big Japanese investors curbed the overall current-account surplus, said economist Hiroshi Kuribayashi at Barclays Capital Japan Ltd. Currency dealers said the data had little effect on dollar/yen trading as the surplus was broadly in line with expectations. A ministry official said the surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods, services and income, expanded because imports into the recession-wracked economy fell faster than exports. ''Exports are unlikely to rise sharply, but we need to see the effects of the government's economic stimulus measures to determine whether or not imports will continue declining at the current pace,'' he said. Data for the final three months of the year showed the surplus on a declining trend, the official told reporters. For December, the current account surplus rose 13.3 percent from a year earlier to 1.46 trillion yen, with the trade surplus up 10.2 percent to 1.56 trillion yen, the ministry said. That was down sharply from the 40 to 70 percent year-on-year rises seen for the current account surplus for much of last year. It was a bit smaller than expected in December, largely due to a decline in the income balance, indicating withdrawals from foreign markets by Japanese investors, said Kuribayashi at Barclays Capital. The December income balance was 488 billion yen, down from 634 billion yen in November and 524 billion yen in December 1997. If recently rising Japanese government bond yields continue to climb, Japanese insurers and pension funds could move more funds to the domestic market, avoiding currency exchange risks, he said. But much of the movement in investment flows appeared temporary, as financial institutions sought to shrink the assets on their balance sheets and take profits on overseas holdings ahead of the March 31 end of the business year, Kuribayashi said