Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Very important news item from Japan

This from Japan a little while ago. Traders bid up the Yen a little but I think the USD/YEN is ready to make another move...I bought 2 lots again:

BOJ March Tankan Large Manufacturer Index At Record Low -58 20:08 EDT / Mar

31TOKYO (MNI) - Business confidence in most sectors for both current
and future conditions deteriorated sharply to a record low in March due
to the deepening economic slump here and overseas and the continued
strains in global financial markets, according to the Bank of Japan's
latest quarterly March Tankan corporate sentiment survey released on
Wednesday.

The Tankan survey headline index -- showing current business
sentiment among large manufacturers -- plunged to -58 in March, down
sharply from -24 in the previous survey in December. The index worsened
for the fifth consecutive quarter, with the March reading exceeding
the previous record low level of -57 seen in May 1975.

The index was in negative territory for the third consecutive
quarter.

The Tankan showed that Japanese companies, regardless of size, have
suffered from a slump in consumer spending and profits.

Exporting manufacturers were especially hard-hit, as the foreign
environment worsened further. The continued economic downturn overseas
is making such manufacturers much more cautious about their business
plans than three months ago.

On the bright side, the survey showed that the headline sentiment
index is expected to improve slightly to -51 in the next survey in June.

The benchmark March figure was lower than most analysts expected.
The median of forecasts by economists had expected the index to fall to
-52, with estimates ranging from -40 to -60.

The Tankan diffusion index represents the difference between the
number of companies reporting favorable business conditions and those
reporting unfavorable ones.

The Tankan results, as widely expected, suggest that corporate
executives remain cautious about their capital spending plans in the new
fiscal year on the back of the continued global economic slump.

That view among major manufacturers, key drivers of sustained
growth in Japan, indicates that the nation's economy will likely remain
weak this fiscal year to March 2010.

The Tankan survey was conducted from Feb. 23 to March 31.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4833 **

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