from today's Nikkei

GDP実質４．９％成長　４期連続プラス　１～３月年率　住宅投資５期ぶり増

According to a preliminary figure of gross domestic product in the period from Januray to March,2010, released Thursday by the Cabinet Office, the gross domestic product was up 1.2 percent from a previus period, or up an annual 4.9 percent, in real terms excluding price fluctuations.Growth has continued for the consecutive fourth period due to steady exports, robust investments in the equipment and solid consumer spending. Housing investment also increased for the first time in five periods.

from yesterday's Nikkei

半導体設備　投資１/100 少量生産向け　超小型システム　日立・東芝などで３０社で開発１４年までに実用化

According to sources familiar with the matter, abou 30 domestic companies such as Hitachi,Ltd., Toshiba Corporation and Olympus Corporation likely will jointly develop a production system of ultra-small semiconductors and put it on a practical operation by 2014. The envisaged system is favorable for small poduction of specific-usage semiconductors like LSIs used for various kinds of degital products and automobiles and estimated amount of investment in one line is expected to be less more than 500 million yen.

One LSI production line usually costs 50 billion yen. So, compared with this, the small production syetem they are going to develop is very efficient in terms of cost performance.

from today's Nikkei

りそな、公的資金返済へ　国有化時の２兆円　まず４０００億円で調整　大手行支援に区切り

It was learned Wednesday that Resona Holdings,Inc. has enterd into a final stage of its negotiations with the government that it will repay some of its borrowing from the government,which amount to 2 trillion yen, injected from the public fund as a rescue package to the bank in 2003.

Specifically,the bank intends to buy back a 400 billion stake of its preferred shares the govenment has now this summer and write it down off the book.

As the government also has a plan to finish its policy of bolstering major banks once proceeding to the brink of bankruptcy,implemented in the period from the late 1990sto the early 2000, it is thought that the government approves the bank's policy.

from today's Nikkei

「新型ガス田」開発急ぐ　米欧中　ロシア・中東依存脱却　岩盤層や石炭層から採掘

There are a growing number of projects where they exploit for new type of natural gas fields in the world. Until now it has been known that there is a plenty of resources of natural gas in the places beneath the surface of the earth called the rock layer or the coal bed. However it is very difficult to get natural gas out of that kind of layers. In this area the U.S. has preceded and China and European countries have followed the suit.

As demand of natural gas is expected to increae because it emits less greenhouse gases on its combustion compared with petroleum, an increasing number of countries in the world are seking to tapping this new source of natural gas. This deal will lead to changing today's situation that the world is now depending too much on the Middle East and Russia witb regard to natural energy resources. They all think that the current such dependence should be reduced.

from today's Nikkei

自治体監査を厳格化　総務省　広域組織や新資格　不正経理や「なれ合い」防げ

The Minisry of Internal Affairs and Communications has launched on drastically revising the current municipality-auditing system, in which they inspect the financial situations of autonomous bodies' and contents of their spending. At present most of the auditors are from each autonomy's assembly members or ex-officials of the autonomy. So there is a strong criticism for its coziness.

Under a plan, the ministry will establish a new audit body in charge of auditing multiple autonomies. Establishing a new qualification system is another measure for it.