Steps taken to prevent financial crisis: Koizumi
Toko: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Saturday the government had taken steps to prevent a financial crisis by deciding to offer funding to Resona Bank Holdings, which has asked for government support.Koizumi also said he thought the economy was in a severe state, but "not all that bad.""We took measures so that a financial crisis will not occur," Koizumi told reporters after an emergency meeting that approved the funding for Resona."This is not a (bank) failure," he said. "We took steps so that depositors and companies that deal with the bank should absolutely have no worries. It was a pre-emptive move. We won't allow a financial crisis to occur."
Back to News Review index page  

Euro beginning to flex its economic muscle power
Frankfurt: Its leaders are divided and its economies are distressed, but Europe stands tall in one respect. The euro, its toddler currency, is growing into a cheeky rival to the dollar, one of the most visible symbols of America’s power in the world. After a hapless debut in January 1999, marked by a long, stomach-churning slide in its value, the euro has made up virtually all the ground it lost against the dollar. It now trades at an exchange rate of about $1.15 per euro, only three cents shy of its value on the first day of trading. And, the euro has gained stature as a safe haven for investors and governments. The dollar remains the world’s default currency the lingua franca of oil traders and bond dealers, and the bedrock of foreign reserves held by central banks from Brussels to Baghdad. But the euro is gaining, both as an attractive currency in which to issue bonds and as an alternative to the dollar for national foreign exchange reserves, notably in southeast Asian countries with dominant Muslim populations.
Back to News Review index page  

G7 meet bypasses currency talks
Deauville: The world's finance chiefs omitted referring to volatile world currencies in a post-meeting public statement, a move that may be seen by markets as endorsing the recent US dollar slide. Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) richest nations, famous for its dramatic currency market interventions in the 1980s, told reporters after the meeting they agreed to avoid explicit reference to foreign exchange markets due to the absence of their central bankers. Meetings without the bankers avoid written references to currencies, they said. They also said currencies were discussed as part of a general economic assessment and there was agreement to continue to monitor markets and cooperate if action was necessary — a line that is often included in their communiques.
Back to News Review index page