I've just seen a presentation by Kareem Basta from Merrill Lynch's Research
Dept. comparing Japan 10 years ago to U.S. today, and I tell you it is truly
scary. I may be able to make copies of his charts and outline for those very
interested. (Actually it may be on the web, maybe one of our expert web
searchers could find it).
-----Original Message-----
From: Louis Proyect
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: 3/20/01 9:54 AM
Subject: [PEN-L:9194] Interest rate cuts then and now
Fed Expected to Cut Interest Rates Today
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:01 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve is poised to cut interest rates
for
a third time this year in an effort to keep the record U.S. economic
expansion from ending, economists say.
Another big rate cut is needed now, they believe, given the continued
weak
state of manufacturing and the cautious mood of consumers, whose
spending
accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity.
Another reason: the huge sell-off that has been occurring on Wall
Street,
where the Dow Jones Industrial Average last week suffered its biggest
weekly drop in 11 years. If paper losses make consumers feel a lot less
wealthy and they stop spending, that could put an end to the 10-year
streak
of uninterrupted economic growth, analysts said.
===
The Independent (London), December 31, 1991, Tuesday
Japan cuts rates to stimulate economy
>From TERRY MCCARTHY in Tokyo
THE BANK of Japan yesterday cut the official discount rate by half a
percentage point to 4.5 per cent.
The move came barely a week before President George Bush arrives in
Tokyo
and is expected to put pressure on Japan to reduce its trade surplus
with
the US.
The interest rate cut, aimed at stimulating Japan's slowing economy, was
welcomed by businessmen, who had thought the bank would delay another
drop
in its discount rate until next year.
The Bank of Japan had already cut its discount rate in July and November
by
half a point each time, but this failed to cure the pessimism clouding
corporate profit forecasts and capital expenditure plans for next year.
The
rate reduction gave a sharp boost to the Tokyo stock exchange, where the
Nikkei index rose 546.45 points to 22,983.77.
Yasushi Mieno, the bank's governor, denied that the interest rate cut
was
timed to coincide with President Bush's visit. He said the move was made
for purely domestic reasons.
However welcome the cut, most businessmen believe the timing was urged
on
the bank by the prime minister, Kiichi Miyazawa, who is expecting some
tough talking from President Bush.
Louis Proyect
Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org
