Japan's and Australia's central banks injected more funds into money markets yesterday, continuing a string of such injections meant to ensure market liquidity and calm investors' fears in the wake of the US subprime mortgage crisis.
The Japanese central bank pumped ¥800 billion (US$7 billion) into money markets yesterday in its ongoing effort to curb rises in key interest rates in the face of US credit concerns. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) injected ¥1 trillion on Monday.
Major central banks, including the BOJ, as well as the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, have already poured billions of dollars into the markets in recent weeks because of concerns about the possible impact of the US subprime mortgage woes' on the global economy.
PHOTO: AFP
The Japanese finance minister said he spoke by telephone with US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to work together closely to monitor the recent financial market turmoil.
"We've agreed that we will exchange opinions on a frequent basis, such as through telephone calls, and will closely monitor market conditions," Finance Minister Koji Omi told reporters.
The Reserve Bank of Australia also said it had injected A$3.57 billion (US$4.4 billion) yesterday through the purchase of mostly short-term securities, following a similar action on Monday.
The US Federal Reserve on Friday cut its key discount rate by half a percentage point to 5.75 percent to quell investor worries, though the action is considered a temporary remedy.
Global stock markets have mostly climbed since the rate cut, although after sharp gains on Friday in the US and Europe and on Monday in Asia, the pace has slowed.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.32 percent on Monday in the US, after posting an 1.8 percent gain on Friday.
The Nikkei 225 benchmark stock index rose 168.86 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 15,901.34 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday. The index surged 458.8 points, or 3 percent, on Monday, posting the largest one-day point gain since June 22 last year.
Before the subprime mortgage crisis surfaced, analysts had expected the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates when it meets later this week. However, such expectations have dwindled at a time when financial authorities around the world are trying to work together to calm investors' jitters.
Omi urged the central bank to look at "the overall situation" before making a decision at the two-day monetary policy meeting scheduled to end tomorrow in what appears to be a signal from the government against a premature hike.
"I think it will make an appropriate judgment while looking at the overall situation," Omi said.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu said the strengthening of military facilities would help to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, visiting a military base close to Taiwan, said plans to deploy missiles to the post would move forward as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing. “The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni. “The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.” Former Japanese minister of defense Gen Nakatani in January said that Tokyo wanted to base Type 03 Chu-SAM missiles on Yonaguni, but little progress
NO CHANGES: A Japanese spokesperson said that Tokyo remains consistent and open for dialogue, while Beijing has canceled diplomatic engagements A Japanese official blasted China’s claims that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has altered Japan’s position on a Taiwan crisis as “entirely baseless,” calling for more dialogue to stop ties between Asia’s top economies from spiraling. China vowed to take resolute self-defense against Japan if it “dared to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait” in a letter delivered Friday to the UN. “I’m aware of this letter,” said Maki Kobayashi, a senior Japanese government spokeswoman. “The claim our country has altered its position is entirely baseless,” she said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday. The Chinese Ministry
RSS