from today's Nikkei

政投銀、ＣＰを直接購入　政府検討　企業の資金繰り支援　資本注入行　中小融資に数値目標　

The government is scheduled today to decide additional economic measures including the one for supporting the corporations' management of the fund. Specifically,it will establish a system where Development Bank of Japan Inc. is able to directly purchase commercial papers (CPs) issued by corporations up to around 2 trillion yen by using the fund from Japan Finance Corporation.Another specific policy involeved in the measures is that the numerical target is imposed on financial institutions in terms of the laons for small and mid-sized companies in order to encourage the financial insitutions to provide enough funds to such firms.

from today's Nikkei

一般歳出　初の５０兆円台　年金の国庫負担上げ・「道路」一般財源化・・・来年度６％増　ムダ排除課題に

In terms of compiling the fiscal 2009 budget,it is learned that the general account's expenses including those for social security and public works projects will come to be on the 50 trillion yen level for the first time as a fiscal year's initial buget.This is about 6 percent up from this fiscal year's initial buget.Due to the policy that the state subsidy for the basic public pension scheme will be raised to half its necessary cost startin next April,national spending is expected to significantly increase.
So,finding out fitile expenses will be a challenge to be tackled.

from today's Nikkei

厚生年金、若者の不利改善　本社研究会２次報告　個人の積み立て枠を新設　基礎年金、物価反映で充実

The Pension System Reform Study Conference set up by The Nihon Keizai Shimbun has compiled its second report on the reform of the public pension scheme.In addition to the first report that said that all the premium for the basic pension should be burden by the consumption tax and should prevent premium-delinquent persons or the non-eligible for the pension from being generated,the second report claims that some of the premium for the second-layered part of the employees' pension and mutual-aid pension(the part proportionate to the premium decided by each person's pay) should be accumulated for each pension member and thus the principal and interest are to return to each pension member.This is aimed at improving the current condition that the younger generation are more unfavorable in reciving the pension benefits than the older generation. Another idea in the second repoer is that the benefit of the basic pension should be made substantial by not fixing it to 66,000 yen but making it flexible to the price fluctuation such as commodity price and pay.

from today's Nikkei

欧州、同時に大幅利下げ　ユーロ圏０．７５％、英１．０％　景気下支え　異例の３カ月連続　歴史的低水準

Central banks in Europe greatly lowered their policy rates at the same time on December 4th.The ranges of the reduction are 0.75% in the euro zone and 1.0 % in U.K. This is a very unusual case that central banks in Europe have cut their interest rates for the consecutive third month. These actions are obviously aimed at bolstering their ailing economies.In these circumstances,their interest rates have come to be in their historic low levels.

注：in these circumstances というのは私の最近の口癖であります。とにかく適当なところに来ると、これを使いたくなる。

from today's Nikkei

新日石・新日鉱ＨＤ統合　石油、世界８位に　来春メド、持ち株会社　売上高１３兆円　規模拡大で勝ち残り

According to sources,Nippon Oil Corporation,the biggest oil-wholesaling company at home,and Nippon Mining Holdings,Inc.,the 6th-ranked company in the industry,will be merged around next autumn.The deal makes the new entity the world's 8th largest oil company with annual sales more than 13 trillion yen and having a oil-selling share of 33 percent in the domestic market.This is obviously aimed at seeking to survive a severe business competition through enlargement of management scale.