TMCnet News
Kyodo news summary+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Jan. 28_(Kyodo) _ ---------- Tokyo to help poor countries market specialty goods in Japan TOKYO - The government will help poor nations market their specialty goods in Japan under the "one village, one product" initiative, in line with its aid package presented in December in the run-up to the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, government officials said Saturday. The initiative, which originated in Oita Prefecture in 1979, is intended to make selected local products globally competitive. Japan pledged to assist developing countries' efforts to expand trade with its new $10 billion aid plan that was unveiled just before the WTO meeting. ---------- Gov't to pay for autopsies in suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease cases TOKYO - The health ministry plans to provide 250,000 yen to subsidize each autopsy of a person suspected to have died from sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to confirm whether they died from that or variant CJD, which is linked to mad cow disease, ministry officials said Saturday. The subsidy will be covered by a concerned prefecture as well as the central government starting in April. ---------- Gov't to investigate 120 Toyoko Inn hotels across nation TOKYO - The land ministry has decided to launch full-scale investigations into about 120 hotels operated by Toyoko Inn Co., following revelations that two of its hotels in Yokohama removed mandatory parking facilities for the disabled after the hotels had passed inspection, ministry officials said Saturday. The decision was made after Toyoko Inn President Norimasa Nishida admitted to the modification, which is illegal, at a news conference hastily convened Friday following the Asahi Shimbun's report on the matter. ---------- Ford, Mazda ordered to pay woman $29 million for rollover accident LOS ANGELES - A Texas jury ordered Ford Motor Co. and its Japanese affiliate Mazda Motor Corp. on Friday to pay $29 million in damages to a 22-year-old woman who was partially paralyzed in a 2002 rollover accident. The sport-utility vehicle involved in the accident was supplied to Mazda by the U.S. carmaker for sale under the Mazda brand. ---------- Dow recovers 10,900 level on strong earnings, robust home sales NEW YORK - New York stocks gained strongly Friday, spurred by surprisingly brisk sales of new houses in the United States, despite weaker-than-expected U.S. economic growth for the final quarter of 2005. The 30-issue Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 97.74 points, or 0.90 percent, from the previous day to end the week at 10,907.21, recovering the 10,900 level for the first time in two weeks. ---------- Oil trades firmer, closing at $67.76 in New York NEW YORK - Crude oil futures traded firmer on Friday in New York, lifted by reports that a senior Saudi Arabian official indicated crude prices will stay high at least for now. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery ended the week at $67.76 a barrel, up $1.50 from Thursday's close. ---------- Dollar rises above 117 yen for 1st time in 3 weeks in N.Y. NEW YORK - The U.S. dollar exceeded the 117 yen level for the first time in about three weeks on Friday in New York on reports of unexpectedly solid sales of new homes in the United States which overcame a dollar-bearish factor of surprisingly weak fourth-quarter U.S. economic growth data. At 5 p.m., the dollar traded at 117.25-35 yen, compared with the 5 p.m. quotes of 116.26-29 yen in Tokyo. ---------- As Greenspan's term ends, young artist's exhibit opens NEW YORK - Just ahead of Tuesday's departure of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, Erin Crowe attended a reception Thursday night showcasing her portraits that capture the many expressions of the famous American who spent 18 years running the economy. Although only a young girl when Greenspan took over as the Fed chair, the 25-year-old, who is studying for her master's at Goldsmiths College in England, has been focusing on him as a subject since entering six paintings at an art festival centering around the theme of the dollar sign. |