title
stringlengths
0
138
body
stringlengths
0
13.4k
REAGAN WARNS CONGRESS ON PROTECTIONISM
President Reagan warned the U.S. Congress in his weekly radio address against passing what he called dangerous, protectionist trade legislation that would tie his hands in trade negotiations with Japan and other countries. Reagan, who will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone here this week, sa...
TRADE MINISTERS SAY GOVERNMENTS NEED CREDIBILITY
Four trade ministers ended a weekend meeting with a frank confession that their governments are losing credibility in world financial markets and will not regain it until they back their promises over trade and currencies with action. "Until today we have anounced policies, but when it came to action required it wa...
EC FARM MINISTERS TO RESUME PRICE TALKS
European Community (EC) agriculture ministers resume discussions in Luxembourg tomorrow on tough 1987/88 farm price proposals from the bloc"s executive Commission with only thin hopes of reaching a quick agreement. Their current chairman, Belgium"s Paul de Keersmaeker, promised at the end of the group"s last meetin...
SAUDI RIYAL DEPOSITS STEADY IN DULL MARKET
Saudi riyal interbank deposits were mainly steady at yesterday"s higher levels in a market which saw little activity due to the European weekend, dealers said. They said banks in the kingdom offered two and three month deposits 1/16 of a percentage point lower, but there were few takers. Rates for short-dated a...
G-7 OFFICIALS TO DECIDE ON SUMMIT AGENDA
Senior officials from the Group of Seven (G-7) countries will meet next week to decide an agenda for the body"s June summit scheduled to be held in Venice, Japanese officials said. The meeting will provide senior government officials with their first chance to discuss the recent sharp drop of the dollar, although t...
EC MINISTERS LIKELY TO CRITICISE FINANCE IDEAS
Plans for a new-style European Community (EC) free of damaging budget wrangles receive their first full review from EC foreign ministers today, but are unlikely to gather much support. Diplomats said key EC capitals would voice strong criticism of proposals that would lead to a sharp increase in EC budget payments ...
ADB DELEGATES GATHER IN JAPAN AMID CONTROVERSY
Delegates from 46 countries are gathering for the 20th meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) amid concern over the bank"s role in aiding regional development. The three-day meeting, the first to be held in Japan since the bank"s inaugural meeting in Tokyo in 1966, will open tomorrow with political controversy...
BANK OF JAPAN INTERVENES IN TOKYO BUYING DOLLARS
The Bank of Japan intervened buying dollars shortly after the opening of 137.70 yen, dealers said. Strong selling from life insurance companies and investment trusts pressured the dollar downward, but the U.S. Unit steadied on profit-taking buying by petroleum companies and intervention by the central bank. The...
SUMITA SAYS FURTHER YEN RISE UNLIKELY - JIJI PRESS
Japan's Jiji Press quoted Bank of Japan Governor Satoshi Sumita as telling Japanese reporters the central bank will continue determined market intervention to prevent a further rise in the value of the yen. Sumita, who is attending an annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank, also said he does not think the yen...
BUNDESBANK INTERVENES IN TOKYO VIA BANK OF JAPAN
The Bundesbank intervened in the Tokyo foreign exchange market to buy a small amount of dollars against marks through the Bank of Japan, dealers said. The West German central bank bought dollars when the dollar was at about 1.7770-80 marks. Dealers' estimates of the intervention amount varied from 100 mln to one bi...
MIYAZAWA SAYS POLICY COORDINATION KEY TO CURRENCY
Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa told a press conference the basic solution to currency instability among major nations is economic policy coordination. He said that is a time-consuming process as coordination does not always proceed in a way policy makers envisage. "That is democracy," he said. Upon that ...
CSR PLANS TAKEOVER BID FOR MONIER
CSR Ltd <CSRA.S> said it plans to offer 3.50 dlrs a share cum-bonus for all the issued capital of building products group Monier Ltd <MNRA.S>. The offer values Monier's current issued capital of 156.28 mln shares at 547 mln dlrs and compares with the latest share market price of 2.80 dlrs, equal to last Friday's cl...
USSR ATTENDS ADB MEET, UNCERTAIN ON MEMBERSHIP
The Soviet Union is attending an Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual general meeting for the first time, but has not decided whether to apply for membership, a senior Soviet State Bank official said. "No specific plans exist for applying for membership," Yurij Ponomarev, international managing director of the State...
RAINFALL EASES DROUGHT IN NORTH CHINA
Spring rain in the last few days has helped ease a serious drought in most of north China, the New China News Agency said. It said rain fell in Peking, Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Sichuan and parts of Inner Mongolia. It said the drought in Shanxi, north Hebei, north Shaanxi and Peking has basi...
U.S. MAY TELL JAPAN SANCTIONS CAN END - NY TIMES
President Reagan is expected to tell Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone this week that the U.S. May be able to lift trade sanctions against Japan by the end of June, the New York Times said. The newspaper, quoting administration officials, said that under such a scenario the President would announce just before the J...
PHILIPPINES TO GET 300 MLN DLR JAPANESE LOAN
The Philippines has received a 300 mln dlr loan from the Japanese Export-Import Bank, Philippine Finance Minister Jaime Ongpin told Reuters. Ongpin said the loan, carrying interest of 5.5 pct a year, matches a 300 mln dlr economic recovery loan approved by the World Bank in March. Ongpin said Japanese Finance M...
U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY CANCELS TRIP TO AUSTRALIA
U.S. Treasury Secretary James Baker has cancelled a trip to Australia because of pressing business at home, including the visit this week by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, a Treasury spokesman said. The spokesman, who asked not to be identified, said, "I would not draw any conclusion from the cancellati...
STRONG INDONESIAN EARTHQUAKE LEADS TO FLOOD FEARS
Fresh tremors hit the northern area of the Indonesian island of Sumatra after an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale yesterday and local officials told Reuters they fear flooding after a dam was cracked. Contacted by telephone, they said the area around the town of Tarutung, south of the city of Medan and...
EGYPT SEEKS ARAB FUNDS TO BUY ITS MILITARY DEBTS
Egypt is trying to persuade Arab states and banks to buy its military debts to the United States and other Western countries so it can repay them on better terms, an Egyptian official said. "We want the Arabs to buy the debt and reschedule it at a more reasonable interest rate of up to seven pct," the official, who...
FIRE DAMAGES PAKISTAN SUGAR STOCK
A fire damaged a large stock of imported sugar stored in a customs warehouse at Karachi on Saturday night, customs officials said. They said the warehouse contained about 15,000 tonnes of sugar in 150,000 bags but they did not know how much had been destroyed or damaged. They said the cause of the fire was unknown....
MALAYSIA MAY CUT BASE LENDING RATE IN JUNE
Malaysia may cut its base lending rate by 0.75 to one percentage point from a current 8.5 pct in June to stimulate economic growth, Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin said. The last cut, of 0.5 pct, was effected by banks and finance companies on April 1 following a Central Bank directive. The lending rate has been...
TAIWAN UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS IN MARCH
Taiwan's unemployment rate fell to 2.03 pct of the labour force in March from 2.37 pct in February and 2.79 pct in March 1986, the government statistics department said. A department official said the decline was due to rising employment in the manufacturing sector, including textiles and footwear. The unemploy...
JAPANESE FIRMS TO SELL AUSTRALIAN GOLD COINS
Three Japanese trading companies and one coin retailer will start selling Australia's Nugget gold coins in Japan from May 12 after actively buying at the first international trading of the coins last Thursday, officials involved in the sale said. They estimated Japanese companies bought 30 pct of 155,000 ounces sol...
ALGERIA SIGNS MAJOR LNG DEAL WITH U.S. GROUP
Algeria's national petroleum agency Sonatrach and the U.S. Panhandle-Trunkline <PEL.N> group signed a 20-year accord for the delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the official APS news agency said. Deliveries will start next winter and rise over three years to reach 4.5 billion cubic metres annually, with 60 pct...
FOREIGN INVESTORS NET SELLERS OF JAPANESE STOCKS
Foreigners were net sellers of Japanese stocks in the week ended April 17 for the seventh consecutive week, the Tokyo Stock Exchange said. Net sales were 112.15 billion yen against 105.80 billion the previous week. Overseas investors sold shares worth 727.08 billion yen on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya Exchanges,...
LATIN AMERICAN, SPANISH BANK GOVERNORS TO MEET
Central bank governors from Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean will meet here this week for two separate conferences on finance and monetary problems, the Central Bank of Barbados said. The 24th session of Central Bank governors of the American continent opens today for two days and the central bank governors o...
VENEZUELA FINANCE MINISTER TO SEEK JAPANESE CREDIT
Finance minister Manuel Azpurua said he will visit Japan in mid-May to seek new credits for planned expansion in Venezuela's state-owned aluminum, steel and petrochemical industries. Azpurua told reporters he will be accompanied by central bank president Hernan Anzola and director of public finance Jorge Marcano. ...
JAPAN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RISES IN MARCH
Japan's preliminary industrial production index (base 1980) rose 0.7 pct to a seasonally adjusted 122.8 in March from the previous month, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said. Production had fallen 0.2 in Feburary from a month earlier. The preliminary, unadjusted March index fell 0.2 pct from a...
BANK OF JAPAN INTERVENES IN TOKYO
The Bank of Japan intervened in the market, buying a moderate amount of dollars around 137.80-85 yen, dealers said. Some dealers noted talk that the Bundesbank intervened here directly buying dollars against marks, after reports that it intervened through the Bank of Japan in the morning. The dollar moved up on...
BALDRIGE SAYS FURTHER DOLLAR FALL NOT PRODUCTIVE
The U.S. Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige said a further decline of the dollar would not be productive. He told reporters here that Treasury Secretary James Baker "feels, and I feel the same way, that a further dollar fall would be counterproductive." Baldrige also said governments cannot determine long-t...
C. ITOH TO BUY CRAY SUPERCOMPUTER
C. Itoh and Co Ltd <CITT.T> said in a statement it has agreed in principle to buy a Cray Research Inc <CYR> X-MP supercomputer worth 8.3 mln dlrs. The computer will be paid for and used by the Century Research Center (CRC), a research body specialising in civil engineering, in which C. Itoh has a 36.2 pct stake, a ...
CHINA CALLS FOR CAUTION ON NEW CREDIT INSTRUMENTS
A Chinese newspaper said the country must be careful about introducing credit instruments to avoid the risk of an uncontrolled credit expansion. It said: "The introduction of credit, while undoubtedly facilitating business, could result in unhealthy expansion of the volume of money in circulation..." adding that th...
INDIAN BORROWING FROM ADB SEEN RISING
India, which received its first loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1986, expects to increase borrowing this year, an Indian official said. The official, a member of the Indian delegation at the ADB's annual meeting here, told Reuters the bank is likely to approve three loans totalling between 350 and 40...
TAIWAN ACCUSES CHINA OF UNDERMINING ITS ADB STATUS
Taiwan accused China of trying to downgrade its international status by forcing the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to change its name in the organisation. Taiwan is boycotting the annual meeting of the ADB, which opened in Tokyo today, in protest at the Bank's decision to change its name to "Taipei, China" from "Repu...
U.S. CONSIDERING OIL INDUSTRY TAX INCENTIVES
The Reagan Administration is considering tax incentives to boost oil output and restore 100,000 jobs, U.S. Energy Secretary John Herrington said. A tax credit for new exploration would be part of a package to bring 1,000 idle drilling rigs back into operation and raise domestic production by one mln barrels a day, ...
BANGLADESH PAYMENTS DEFICIT NARROWS IN NOVEMBER
Bangladesh's overall balance of payments deficit narrowed to 3.03 mln U.S. Dlrs in November from 8.3 mln in October and 22.63 mln in November 1985, Central Bank officials said. The current account deficit increased to 28.68 mln dlrs in November against 10.69 mln in October and 55.19 mln in November 1985. The tr...
WORLD MARCH ZINC SMELTER STOCKS FALL 31,800 TONNES
Total world closing stocks of primary zinc at smelters, excluding Eastern Bloc countries, fell 31,800 tonnes to 432,800 tonnes in March from a corrected February figure of 464,600 tonnes, provisional European Zinc Institute figures show. This compares with 403,300 tonnes in March last year. Total European stock...
VENEZUELA PREPARING NEW WAGE, INFLATION PLAN
President Jaime Lusinchi is preparing an economic package in response to demands from organised labour in Venezuela for a general wage increase and controls on inflation, the state news agency Venpres reported. Venpres said the plan includes pay hikes and a "strategy against indiscriminate increases in prices or sp...
MIYAZAWA DOES NOT THINK DOLLAR IN FREEFALL
Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa told a parliamentary Upper House budget committee that he does not think the dollar is in a freefall. He said concerted intervention is only a supplementary measure to moderate volatility in exchange rates and repeated that policy coordination among major industrial nations...
SOAKING RAINS BOOST DRY AUSTRALIAN SUGAR CANE AREA
Good soaking rain is boosting the sugar cane crop in the key Mackay region of Queensland following a prolonged dry spell relieved only by intermittent falls, an Australian Sugar Producers Association spokesman told Reuters. The rains began late last week, developed into heavy downpours over the weekend and are cont...
BUNDESBANK CALL TO BONN ON OVER-SPENDING RISKS
The Bundesbank urged the West German government not to relax efforts to rein in spending when taxes are cut in a 1990 fiscal reform package, saying that higher expenditure could lead to a dangerous rise in interest rates. The Bundesbank's 1986 annual report said the government's choice of measures to compensate for...
GERMAN TRADE SURPLUS SHOULD NARROW, BUNDESBANK SAYS
Germany's current account and trade surpluses should narrow sharply in 1987 but they will take a long time to get back to normal levels, the Bundesbank said in its 1986 yearly report. The procedure would be slow as an abrupt turnaround in external factors such as oil prices and exchange rates was not expected. It d...
BANK OF JAPAN DEPUTY SAYS NO NEW MEASURES PLANNED
The Bank of Japan's deputy governor Yasushi Mieno told a parliamentary Upper House budget committee that the central bank has no monetary measures other than intervention planned to stabilize currency rates. He also said the Bank of Japan is not considering a cut in its 2.5 pct discount rate. Mieno said the cen...
BALDRIGE SAYS U.S. WANTS JAPAN TRADE PROPOSALS
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige said he hopes Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone will make specific proposals to ease U.S.-Japan trade friction at a meeting with President Reagan this week. He also told reporters he hopes the U.S. Will soon be able to lift sanctions imposed against Japan for alle...
SIGN OF SLOWING IN GERMAN MONEY GROWTH -BUNDESBANK
Central bank money stock was growing at about seven pct in the first quarter of 1987, down from 9-1/2 pct in the second half of 1986, so there are signs that the pace of growth is slowing even though it is still above target, the Bundesbank said in its 1986 annual report. The Bundesbank set a target range of three ...
UAE TO RECOGNISE CONTRACTUAL INTEREST RATES
A top United Arab Emirates (UAE) banker said a new law would be introduced soon obliging courts to recognise interest rates contracted between bank and borrower. Sheikh Suroor bin Sultan al-Dhahiri, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, told reporters after the shareholders' meeting last night the decree would mak...
EMS INTERVENTION SAID SOMETIMES COUNTERPRODUCTIVE
Attempts to hold currency rates rigidly within tight ranges through European Monetary System intramarginal intervention can be counterproductive, bringing funds into the stronger currency from the weaker at rates still considered fairly favourable, the Bundesbank said. "The movements thus sparked can actually promo...
POEHL TO REMAIN BUNDESBANK CHIEF, MAGAZINE SAYS
Chancellor Helmut Kohl has decided to keep Bundesbank President Karl Otto Poehl in office for a further eight years, the news magazine Der Spiegel said. Government officials were not immediately available to comment on the report, which said that because Poehl is a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Kohl ...
COATS VIYELLA MAKES AGREED BID FOR YOUGHAL
Coats Viyella Plc <CPAT.L> and <Youghal Carpets (Holdings) Plc> have agreed to merge on the basis of an offer from Coats, a joint statement said. Coats is offering one Irish penny in cash per Youghal ordinary share. The offer also covers shares arising on conversion of Youghal convertible preference shares. As ...
SOUTH AFRICAN TRADE SURPLUS FALLS SHARPLY IN MARCH
South Africa's trade surplus fell sharply to 940.8 mln rand in March after rising to 1.62 billion in February, Customs and Excise figures show. In February last year the surplus stood at 752.8 mln rand. Exports fell to 3.24 mln rand in March from 3.36 billion in February while imports rose to 2.30 billion rand ...
FUNARO'S DEPARTURE COULD LEAD TO BRAZIL DEBT DEAL
The resignation of Finance Minister Dilson Funaro is bound to focus attention on whether Brazil will now adopt a more flexible debt stance and move towards an accord with creditors, bankers and political analysts said. With Funaro in charge, Brazil's relations with creditors sank to a low ebb, they said. Banker...
KLOECKNER-WERKE SHARES SUSPENDED IN FRANKFURT
Shares in Kloeckner-Werke AG <KLKG.F> were suspended from stock exchange trading pending an announcement expected by the company today or tomorrow, a bourse spokesman said, without giving further details. Kloeckner shares closed Friday at 67.20 marks. They had come under pressure in recent sessions on reports the c...
WORLD OIL DEMAND LIKELY TO INCREASE, SUBROTO SAYS
Oil prices have stabilized in world markets and demand is likely to increase in the second half of the year, Indonesia's Mines and Energy Minister Subroto said. He told a meeting of oil industry executives that oil prices had stabilized at 18 dlrs a barrel -- the average fixed price OPEC put into effect in February...
TOSHIBA TO SET UP MICROCHIP PARTNERSHIP IN U.S.
Toshiba Corp <TSBA.T> will set up a five-year technology partnership with California-based SDA Systems Inc with the intention of designing and producing computer microchips, a company spokesman said. Toshiba's investment in the project is likely to total less than 10 mln dlrs over the five years, he said. REUTER 
NAKASONE HOPES U.S. VISIT WILL HELP END TRADE ROW
Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said he hopes his visit to Washington later this week will help resolve Japan's severe trade problems with the United States. Nakasone leaves on his sixth official visit to the United States on Wednesday, only weeks after President Reagan imposed punitive tariffs of 300 mln dlrs a y...
NORTHERN VIETNAMESE RICE CROP THREATENED
Insects are threatening to destroy 367,000 hectares or about one-third of the spring rice crop in northern Vietnam, Hanoi radio reported. Drought has hit another 189,000 hectares, with 40,000 hectares very badly affected, it said. Insecticides are in short supply so only the most endangered rice fields should b...
BANK OF JAPAN TO SELL 600 BILLION YEN IN BILLS
The Bank of Japan will sell 600 billion yen in 60-day financing bills tomorrow through 36-day repurchase agreements maturing June 3 to roll over a previously issued 400 billion yen of such bills maturing tomorrow, money traders said. The yield on the bills for sale to banks and securities houses by money houses wil...
FURTHER TERM FOR POEHL LIKELY, BONN SOURCES SAY
Karl Otto Poehl is likely to be re-elected President of the Bundesbank when his current term in office expires at the end of this year, government sources said. They were commenting on a report in Der Spiegel news magazine which said Chancellor Helmut Kohl had decided to keep Poehl in office for another eight years...
TAIWAN ISSUES MORE CDS TO CURB MONEY SUPPLY GROWTH
The central bank issued 7.53 billion Taiwan dlrs worth of certificates of deposits (CDs), bringing issues so far this year to 174.48 billion against 40 billion a year ago, a bank spokesman said. The new CDs, with maturities of six months, one and two years, carry interest ranging from 4.03 to 5.12 pct. The issu...
JAPAN HOLDS OUT PROMISE OF FUNDS FOR ASIAN BANK
Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa opened the 20th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank by holding out the promise of more Japanese money for the organisation. "We are ... Striving to enhance the flow of capital from Japan to the developing countries," he said. "The Asia-Pacific region is an area...
NIPPON STEEL NOMINATES NEW PRESIDENT
Nippon Steel Corp <NSTC.T> nominated Hiroshi Saito as president, to replace Yutaka Takeda, subject to shareholders' approval at a meeting on June 26, company officials told a press conference. Takeda will become chairman, and vice president Akira Miki will be vice chairman, they said. Current chairman Eishiro Saito...