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 : Graham and Doddsville -- Value Investing In The New Era -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: porcupine --''''> who wrote (1614)	4/28/1999 12:14:00 AM
From: porcupine --''''>	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Japan's Industrial Output Plunges By The Associated Press -- April 27, 1999 TOKYO (AP) -- In a further sign of Japan's nagging recession, production at the country's factories and mines plunged 7.1 percent during fiscal 1998 for the largest fall in 24 years, the government said Wednesday. It was the biggest decline in percentage terms since 1974, when production fell 9.7 percent, said Konosuke Ikeya, head of the statistics analysis bureau with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. In fiscal 1998, the index of production at Japan's factories and mines stood at 97.4 against the 1995 base figure of 100. The latest data also marked the first year-on-year decline in five years, MITI said. The ministry attributed the sharp decline in industrial output to falling demand, particularly in the cement and steel industries, as well as sharply reduced capital investment by machinery makers. Japan remains mired in its worst recession since World War II as the economy continues to shrink and unemployment stands at a record high of 4.6 percent. There was some good news, however. Industrial production for March, the last month of fiscal 1998, rose 2.2 percent from the previous month, the ministry said. The March increase far exceeded expectations. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires estimated on average that production would show an increase of only 0.3 percent in the latest reporting month. The rise came after production declined in February for the first time in three months. MITI tallies the data after adjustment for seasonal factors. MITI said it expects output to fall 3.2 percent on month in April from March before increasing 1.0 percent in May from April.