Japanese Business Confidence Up as Economy Expands
Published:
7 March 2004 y., Sunday
Japanese executives remain hopeful about the economy and Japan's largest bank has moved to reassure investors and the public.
Business confidence is growing in Japan, where the economy is expanding at its fastest clip in 13 years. A Ministry of Finance survey shows that large companies expressed optimism for the second quarter in a row in the January to March period.
According to the survey, which measures optimism on a numerical scale, confidence is now at 5.1 compared with 5.3 last quarter. A positive number indicates that optimists outnumber pessimists.
Business executives say a recovery in corporate investment and exports is fueling their hope, as is Japan's improved growth rate, now at 7 percent on a yearly basis.
Japan's largest bank in terms of assets, Mizuho Financial Group, is moving to restore public confidence after receiving a government bailout in the late 1990's.
The bank says it plans to return more than $4.5 billion to government coffers. It owes more than $20 billion in public funds.
Šaltinis:
voanews.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
The European Parliament's proposal for its own operational budget for 2011 includes the financing of measures in preparation for enlargement with Croatia.
more »
Links between business and the academic world need to be strengthened but higher education institutions must retain their autonomy and public support, says a resolution adopted on Thursday by the European Parliament.
more »
The Spanish Minister of Economy and Finance, Elena Salgado, will present the additional fiscal tightening measures set out by the Spanish Government to her eurozone (Eurogroup) counterparts on Monday; the measures were required by Spain’s European partners as a condition of approving the plan to bolster the euro on 9 May.
more »
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation under EU State aid rules into capital injections destined to two subsidiaries of state owned company Elan Skupina in Slovenia.
more »
GDP growth in the EU expected to gradually pick up, though recovery less robust than past upturns.
more »
The EESC tabled its opinion on the regulation of alternative investment funds, such as hedge funds and private funds. Although endorsing the much debated proposal of the European Commission, the EESC calls for uniform risk data provision for all such funds and emphasizes their responsibility in triggering the crisis.
more »
Concluding the process and deciding on the schedule for releasing the funds agreed on for Greece, as well as examining and learning lessons from the crisis for the governance of the eurozone, will be the focus of the discussions of the heads of state and government at the meeting in Brussels this Friday.
more »
The EU pavilion at the world expo in Shanghai marks the first time the EU has presented itself to a large Chinese audience.
more »
Shanghai's World Expo offers visitors plenty of fun offering bizarre things to do at over 200 pavillions competing for attention.
more »
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a loan of EUR 150 million to MVM Zrt. for the capacity increase and the extension of a high-voltage transmission network, partly constituting priority axes of the Trans-European Energy Network (TEN-E) in Hungary.
more »