Message-ID: <12868251.1075861040904.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 16:11:06 -0800 (PST) From: info@forexnews.com To: sara.shackleton@enron.com Subject: Japanese Preview Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-From: @ENRON X-To: Shackleton, Sara X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Sara_Shackleton_Mar2002\Shackleton, Sara\Deleted Items X-Origin: Shackleton-S X-FileName: sshackl (Non-Privileged).pst [IMAGE] Forums Discuss these points in the Forums: Forexnews Forum T= echnicals Live Charts Analysis available from: Cornelius Luca J.P. Chorek= Technical Research Ltd. Charts & News featuring Standard & Poor's = Interest Rates US: Japan: Eurozone: UK: Switzerland: 1.75% 0.15% 3.= 25% 4.0% 1.25-2.25% [IMAGE] =09 [IMAGE] Japanese Forex Trading Pre= view February 11, 7:00 PM: EUR/$..0.8764 $/JPY..133.35 GBP/$..1.4220 $/CHF= ..1.6830 Japanese Forex Trading Preview by Darko Pavlovic No key data Th= e dollar fell to 133.40 yen from its Friday's highs of 134.70 yen on combin= ation of repatriation from Japanese investors and renewed pessimism about t= he US fast recovery. As the March 31 approaches, the end of fiscal year, ma= ny Japanese investors are repatriating funds home and at this time of year = the yen usually strengthens vs. the dollar. Also the yen was supported by r= emarks from Finance Minister Shiokawa that Japan is considering using 2 tri= llion yen to buy stocks. Markets are also waiting for U.S. President George= W. Bush's visit to Japan on Feb. 17.It is likely that Bush will give suppo= rt for Koizumi's reforms but also show concern about the weak state of Japa= nese economy and the pace it is implemented. Analysts say that speculation= that banks will sell their foreign bond holdings to raise funds necessary = for bad-loan disposals ahead of the fiscal year-end might help shore up the= yen. Finance Minister Shiokawa said Saturday there were no questions or po= licy requests made of Japan during the meeting of finance ministers and cen= tral bankers of the G-7 leading industrial nations. The government and the = ruling coalition agreed Monday to increase salaried workers' medical paymen= ts to 30%, up from the current 20%, in April 2003. The officials decided to= raise the rate of insurance premiums of the government-run health insuranc= e program, designed for workers at smaller firms, to 8.2% from 7.5% on an a= nnual income basis. Nihon Keizai Shimbun survey reported Sunday that listed= companies bought back 1.44 billion of their own shares from the beginning = of last April through the end of January. The increase is due to a growing = number of cross-held shares unloaded mainly by banks and to recover corpora= te financial indicators intensely watched by investors, such as return on e= quity and profit per share USD/JPY support is viewed at 133.30, 133.0 and 1= 32.65. Resistance is seen at 134.0, 134.60 and 135.0. EUR/USD is trading a= round 87.70 after reaching 2-1/2 week high of 88.01 against the dollar, , l= ifted by the euro's rise against the Swiss franc following Swiss National B= ank board member Niklaus Blattner's remarks that he hoped the euro would ri= se because the strong Swiss franc remained a concern. Blattner also noted t= he presence of signs indicative of a Swiss economic recovery in the latter = half of the year, and thus said the direction of the next rate move remains= open. The single currency was hurt by comments from Austrian Finance Minis= ter Grasser that he supported the European Union's budget warning to German= y since he believed there should not be a distinction between big and small= countries under the EU stability pact. The euro could be further undermine= d tomorrow when the EU finance ministers meet. Markets are speculating whet= her the EU will issue an official warning to Germany because of its rising = deficit approaching near the 3% of GDP limit. In rebuttal, German Finance M= inister Eichel vowed today to do everything to avoid a row over a budget wa= rning, and promised to recommit Germany to balancing the budget by 2004 tha= t would require higher growth than currently forecasted. EUR/USD support is= seen at 87.0, 86.65 and 86.40. Upside capped at 88.0, 88.50 and 89.0. Thi= s week's major US economic releases include retail sales, jobless claims, b= usiness inventories, import prices, PPI, industrial production and the Univ= ersity of Michigan confidence survey. Key Eurozone indicators consist of Sp= ain's labor force survey, Euroarea EcoFin meeting, German foreign trade, Sp= anish retail sales, ECB monthly bulletin, Dutch GDP, French employment, Fre= nch trade balance, French industrial production and Italian industrial prod= uction. Noteworthy UK data releases are retail prices, labor market report = and the Bank of England inflation forecast. Highlights from Japan comprise = the Cabinet Office economy watchers survey, GDP, balance of payments, indus= trial production and Tokyo department store sales. =09[IMAGE] Audio Mkt.= Analysis EUR/JPY Sets the Pace Articles & Ideas The Swiss National = Bank and the franc A Weak Yen Bites Articles & Ideas Forex Glossary= Economic Indicators Forex Guides Link Library [IMAGE] =09 =09=09[IMAGE][IMAGE] [IMAGE][IMAGE]=09 =09=09 This e-mail is never sent unsolicited. If you wish to unsubscribe f= rom this or any other Forexnews.com newsletters, please click here . Any = opinions expressed by representatives of Forexnews.com or its affiliates as= to the commentary, market information, and future direction of prices of s= pecific currencies reflect the views of the individual analyst, and do not = necessarily represent the views of Forexnews.com or its affiliates in any w= ay. In no event shall Forexnews.com or its affiliates have any liability fo= r any losses incurred in connection with any decision made, action or inact= ion taken by any party in reliance upon the information provided in this ma= terial; or in any delays, inaccuracies, errors in, or omissions of informat= ion. =09