from today's Nikkei

日銀見通し　２年連続マイナス成長　０９年度２％戦後最悪　ＣＰ・社債買い取り白川総裁「不確実性高い」

Bank of Japan made open at the January 22nd monetary policy meeting its estimate that Japan's economic growth for fiscal 2008 and 2009 will be minus 1.8 percent and minus 2.0 percent, respectively,which would be the worst declines for two years in a row after the World War.Bank of Japan's Governor Akira Shirakawa said at the news conference that the outlook for the future is very highly uncertain. At its January 22 nd meeting,Bank of Japan decided to purchase comercial papers and corporate bonds issued by domestic companies up to the level worth 3 trillion yen.

from today's Nikkei

ソニー、１工場に集約　国内ＴＶ生産　希望退職募集など　正社員２０００人超削減　業績悪化　コスト構造見直し

It is learned that Sony Corporation will start reconstruction of its electronics business,which has long been in a slump. Specifically,it will concentrate its domestic TV production on one of its domestic TV production factories.Another measure is that it will seek voluntary retirement of more than 2,000 regular workers, which accounts for about 3 percent of its overall workforce.It is likely that the company will go into deficit on its consolidated basis in the acounting for the business year through the end of March this year, which is the first in 14 years,due to such factors as strong yen and declining sales. In these circumstances the company is forced to further look into its cost structure and drastically change it.

from today's Nikkei

米再生「新たな責任の時代」　オバマ大統領就任　イラク撤収へ　経済の再建急ぐ
８年ぶり民主政権　初の黒人、４７歳

Barack Obama,47,took the oath of office as the 44th U.S. president at noon on the Janaury 20th ( at 2 a.m. on the January 21st in Japan Standard Time) at the U.S. Capitop,which makes him the first black U.S. president.
At the inauguration ceremony he promised to hasten to reconstruct the economy and to withdraw its troops from Iraq as soon as possible. He also stressed that all of the people in the U.S. are entering the era of new responsibility.Obama's presidency means Democratic Party's reign of the country and it is attained after a 8-year interval.

from today's Nikkei

アルミ事業　古河電・昭電が統合交渉　今夏合意めざす　シェア２割超　素材再編の先駆けに

The Furukawa Electric Co.,Ltd.,which is the top maker at home in the aluminum rolling business,and Showa Denko K.K.,which is the 6th largest maker in the field,have entered into their final negotiations on the merger of their aluminum businesses. They intend to reach an agreement by summer this year.After the deal,the new entity will come to have a market share of more than 20 perecent,far exceeding the second runner Sumitomo Light Metal Industries,Ltd.Because demand has rapidly been declining since last autumn in the aluminun business,companies are struggling to survive through measures like integrating or abolishing their production equipment.Large-scale realignment of the business in the aluminum manufacturing is the first in 7 years. Amid the situation that material industries are all worsening their performance due to the decrease of demand including the one from automobile industry, the unification of the two companies' businesses may prelude successive alignments of the material businesses.

from today's Nikkei

生産設備　過剰感強まる　鉄鋼3割、石油・化学2割　世界需要が急減　廃業や人員減加速

A sense of excessiveness for the production facilites and equipment at home has been spreading among the people in the country's manufacturing industry.This is because of the sharp decline of demand caused by the ongoing global economic recession.Specifically,it is likely that about 30 percent of its facilities in the steel sector will be surplus to requirement in the period from January to March this year.In the petroleum and petrochemical industries,about 20 percent capacity will be surplus to their requirement. This kind of situation of demand's rapidly declining continues,there is highly a possibility that equipment abolishment or regular workers' cut will be full-fledgedly carried out.