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

To: porcupine --''''> who wrote (1634)	5/10/1999 10:11:00 PM
From: porcupine --''''>	Respond to of 1722

Japanese Economy Remains Weak (5/6/99) TOKYO (AP) _ The Japanese economy remained weak today as figures showed that new vehicle sales fell for the 25th consecutive month and household spending also was stuck in a slump. Sales in Japan of new cars, trucks and buses fell 11 percent in April from the year before, to 269,388 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Dealers' Association said today. Hardest hit were sales of new trucks, which plunged 15.8 percent to 71,773 vehicles. Car sales dropped 9.1 percent to 196,383, the association said. The government also said household spending was down in March for the second straight month. The average Japanese household spent $2,937, down 1.9 percent in real terms from the same month a year earlier, Japan's Management and Coordination Agency said today. The slip followed a 3.8 percent fall in February that came after a rise in January, when household spending rose 1.4 percent for the largest year-on-year increase since September 1997. The figures are the latest sign that consumer spending _ hurt by a stubborn economic slump, rising unemployment and a wave of corporate job-cutting _ remains weak as Japanese worry about holding on to their jobs. In late April, the government said Japan's unemployment rate in March shot up to yet another record high of 4.8 percent, as corporate restructuring efforts force more people out of work.

To: porcupine --''''> who wrote (1634)	5/10/1999 10:14:00 PM
From: porcupine --''''>	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Japan Predicts Economic Turnaround (05/04/99) By MARTIN CRUTSINGER= AP Economics Writer= WASHINGTON (AP) _ Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is telling President Clinton what he wants to hear _ that the world's second largest economy is poised to make a ''major turnaround'' that will provide relief for a troubled global economy and the soaring U.S. trade deficit. But while the United States and Japan announced a flurry of trade deals during Obuchi's meetings Monday with Clinton, the president and others in his administration pointedly warned that Japan must address a host of other irritants, including, most importantly, rising steel shipments to the United states. A flood of cheap steel from Japan and other countries has resulted in thousands of layoffs in the American industry, raising a protectionist clamor in Congress as America's trade deficit hit a record $169 billion last year. Concerns over the widening U.S. deficit with Japan, which climbed to a near-record $64 billion last year, were raised by members of Congress today in meetings with Obuchi. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., called Obuchi's visit to America ''very timely'' because of the number of issues that need to be addressed in the relationship between the world's two largest economies. Lott said the discussions with Senate leaders covered ''a number of issues from economics to trade to security.'' He singled out Japan's $200 million in economic support to deal with the Kosovo refugee situation for praise. Lott said Congress was appreciative of Japan's support in the effort ''to bring a peaceful solution and to address the humanitarian needs of the Kosovars.'' America's rising trade deficit has battered American manufacturers in steel and other industries, who have seen their overseas markets shrink because of spreading recessions in other nations, and have had to compete against rising imports pouring into the United States, the only major economy doing well. The House has already passed a bill that would impose global quotas on steel imports even though the administration has said the measure is clearly in violation of U.S. commitments to the World Trade Organization. While steel shipments from Japan are running below last year's levels, Clinton said he impressed on Obuchi the need to make sure they remain low. The administration has been pushing Japan to boost its own economy to help lift its Asian neighbors out of recession and take pressure off the U.S. trade deficit. On that score, Obuchi brought an optimistic forecast, saying massive amounts of government spending and serious efforts to deal with Japan's banking crisis should soon begin to bear fruit. ''I explained to the president that Japan is swiftly and boldly taking every measure in order to address the difficulties we are facing,'' Obuchi said at a joint news conference with Clinton on Monday. Obuchi predicted his government's effort would result in a ''major turnaround'' that will pull Japan out of its worst recession in 50 years. Clinton and Obuchi both welcomed a new package of trade agreements announced Monday that are designed to boost American exports to Japan. Japan pledged to take a series of actions, including reducing hookup charges for foreign telephone companies seeking to crack Japan's vast telecommunications market, revising regulations that have prohibited sale of American lumber for homes and apartments and shortening the approval time for new drugs offered by U.S. pharmaceutical companies. These measures were follow-ups to an initial package announced by the two countries at last year's Group of Seven economic summit in Birmingham, England. In addition to measures benefiting specific industries, the administration struck deals it said would expand opportunities for American businesses to make foreign investments in Japan and strengthen Japan's antitrust enforcement. As evidence of what one U.S. official called a ''sea change'' in Japan's approach to economic issues, the administration pointed to a column Obuchi wrote last week in The New York Times in which he said, ''Unless we adopt a more flexible economy driven by the market, Japan is doomed to economic and technological decline.'' But private analysts said the structural problems Japan is facing are so severe that it is far from clear that Japan is willing to go far enough in changing its society. ''The Japanese economy is so over-regulated and structurally distorted that the normal economic tools don't work,'' said Clyde Prestowitz, head of the Economic Strategy Institute, a Washington think tank devoted to trade issues. Obuchi offered Clinton support on the administration's efforts to deal with the Kosovo crisis and pledged $200 million in financial aid to help affected nations in the region. The two leaders also pledged continued cooperation in dealing with nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea.