InfoAnda - Japan, Sweden hold bailout lessons for US

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Japanese women reborn in the nude through photography | 15 April 2010
Pakistan | 7 February 2011
NZ economy suffers biggest contraction since 1992 | 27 March 2009

Netanyahu: Hamas must be toppled | 14 January 2009

">Forum Views () ">Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Japan, Sweden hold bailout lessons for US

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail Yahoo! Search Search: Sign InNew User? Sign Up News Home - Help Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Singapore Asia Pacific World Search Search: Japan, Sweden hold bailout lessons for US By YURI KAGEYAMA and KARL RITTER,Associated Press Writers AP - Saturday, February 14 TOKYO - As the U.S. grapples with its banking crisis, President Barack Obama is pointing to Sweden and Japan as offering lessons for what the United States should _ and shouldn't _ do. ADVERTISEMENT Both faced banking crises in the 1990s, but reacted differently. Sweden moved quickly, nationalizing two banks and setting up an asset management company to take over bad debt. In contrast, Japan waited seven years before getting serious about bailing out its banks. The result: a "lost decade" of economic stagnation _ a fate the U.S. president says America must avoid. On the surface, Sweden "looks like a good model," Obama said at his first prime-time news conference Monday. But he cautioned that drawing parallels had limits: Sweden's banking sector is far smaller and the country's culture embraces a greater economic role for government. Of Japan, Obama said: "They kept on trying to paper over the problems. The markets sort of stayed up because the Japanese government kept on pumping money in. But eventually, nothing happened and they didn't see any growth whatsoever." Japanese economists commend the U.S. for starting to take action far more quickly than did Japan. The Obama administration's bailout plan, which includes a public-private fund of up to $1 trillion that would seek to purchase bad assets weighing down banks' balance sheets, is a step in the right direction, they say. Still, some experts in Japan say the U.S. plan is too vague and that Washington isn't acting decisively enough to take the painful moves necessary to clean up the banking sector _ crucial to getting the economy back on a recovery track. A major problem in the U.S. crisis is that assessing the bad debts is complex because they involve mortgages sliced into millions of securities that passed from one holder to another, said Hiroshi Watanabe, economist at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo. "It's a nightmare that might take so long it would be mind-boggling, a task for mathematical whizzes," Watanabe said. "Japan was groping in darkness in trying to fix its bad debt mess. At least, the U.S. knows from the Japanese experience the general path it must take." Japan's banks then, like America's today, were burdened with mountains of bad loans after a real estate boom collapsed in the early '90s. But it wasn't until 1999 that Japan's bailout process began in earnest, when the government set up the Resolution and Collection Corp. to handle the disposal of loans that weren't being repaid. While Japan's government was able to recoup a sizable amount of public outlays by selling loan collateral, most often land, the process has taken years _ and it still isn't over. The net public cost was 18 trillion yen, or about $168 billion, according to the Financial Services Agency, far less than the estimated 50 trillion yen ($473 billion) to 70 trillion yen ($663 billion) total spending. To spur growth while dallying on the bailout, Japan embarked on a huge public works campaign. That also holds lessons for Washington, where congressional leaders just agreed on a $790 billion economic stimulus bill that includes tax cuts and spending on ecological technology and infrastructure. Japan spent trillions of dollars on projects that some criticized as wasteful, such as paving riverbeds and building highway tunnels and airports in rural areas that even today get very little use. "They dug up roads," said Yasuo Yamamoto, economist at Mizuho Research Institute. "The least they could have done was make roads easier to use for the elderly. That would have served a real purpose for Japan's aging society." Experts say the money would have been better spent on areas with growth potential, such as Internet technology or energy independence _ closer to the goals outlined in the U.S. stimulus package. All told, Japan spent 560 trillion yen, or $6 trillion, on public works from 1991 to 2007 _ leaving the government with huge budget deficits. Koetsu Aizawa, economics professor at Saitama University, warned that the U.S. stimulus plan doesn't go far enough in fostering new businesses, risking the same entrenched stagnation that Japan faced in the 1990s, he said. "The Obama administration has definitely studied Japan's mistakes," Aizawa said. "But what it's doing is still similar to what Japan did in doling out public works. I'm worried whether the U.S. fully realizes the severity of the crisis and the need to reshape its industries." By contrast, Sweden overcame its crisis, also caused by a collapsing housing boom, in the early 1990s quickly _ and with bailout money fully recovered. The government nationalized two banks, Nordbanken and Gota Bank, and created a so-called "bad bank" to take on troubled assets, mostly real estate, which were sold off once market conditions improved. The system allowed the government to recoup the $10 billion _ or 4 percent of Sweden's annual gross domestic product _ it spent on salvaging the banks. In addition, Sweden emerged with a healthier financial sector that has withstood the shocks of the current global meltdown relatively well. Unlike Japan, Sweden's government made it clear right away how bad the losses were, which officials said was key in restoring confidence. And there was pain: bank shareholders were wiped out. "People have to know that 'this is how big the problems are, and this is how we're going to take care of it'," said former financial markets minister Bo Lundgren, one of the architects of the bailout. Lundgren and others believe the Swedish model could help the U.S., despite the difference in the size of the countries and the scope of the crises. They point to transparency, political consensus and effective coordination between financial authorities as some of the ingredients of the Swedish success. "The general principles are the same whether you have a huge or small banking system," said Goran Lind, a Swedish central bank official involved in the bailout. "To get out of a crisis you have to restore confidence towards the banks," he said. "All involved must trust that the full scope of the problem has been disclosed and that there is a credible solution. That's what permeated our thinking in the '90s." ___ Associated Press business writer Yuri Kageyama reported from Tokyo and AP writer Karl Ritter from Stockholm. Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Recommend this article Average (0 votes) Sign in to recommend this article » Most Recommended Stories » Related Articles: Business Air France reports heavy loss, reduces staffAFP - 43 minutes ago Ask AP: State stimulus plans, buying Iraq's oilAP - 50 minutes ago Bank worries set to hit Wall StreetReuters - 1 hour 28 minutes ago BRIEF-Turkey's Gubretas takes stake in drugs companyReuters - 52 minutes ago Stocks slip as world's finance ministers meetAP - 53 minutes ago Most Popular – Business Viewed Merrill bonuses made 696 millionaires: probe Family income linked to child language skills: study Dozens feared dead in US plane crash US scientists defend Darwin from attacks on evolution Indian woman has football-sized tumour removed from jaw View Complete List » Search: Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Community - Intellectual Property Rights Policy - Help

Other News on Friday, 13 February 2009
U.S. airbase in Kyrgyzstan locked up in limbo | International |
U.S. warns of space dodgeball after satellite crash | International |
Joaquin Phoenix Makes Disastrous "Letterman" Appearance
Russia NATO envoy says alliance needs Moscow's help | International |
Colombian ambush kills seven, 15 more wounded | International |
Google exits broadcast radio ad business | Technology |
U.S. tweaks Internet privacy guidelines | Technology |
Netflix passes 10 million subscriber mark | Technology |
Google plans data center at old Finnish paper mill | Technology |
Feb 12 Highlights Of Low Points In U.S. Economy
Nevada Leads U.S. Home Sales While Prices Drop To Record Low
67 Computers Missing From Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Lab
Former New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici Subpoenaed In Attorney Firings Probe
Oil Refiners Slow Down Production To Keep Prices Of Gasoline Up
Racist 1908 Incident In Abe Lincoln's Hometown Led To Formation Of NAACP On 100th Centennial Of His Birth
Retailers Expect Weak Valentine's Day Spending
American Idol boots off Joanna Pacitti | Entertainment |
Michael Shannon finds Oscar nod nice, life strange | Entertainment |
Thirst for learning defies forced marriage in film | Entertainment |
Barat rules out Libertines reunion right now | Entertainment |
U2 gets week long gig on David Letterman show | Entertainment |
Just A Minute With: Doubt Oscar nominee Viola Davis | Entertainment |
67 Computers Missing From Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Lab
67 Computers Missing From Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Lab
Vatican Accepts Darwin's Theory Of Evolution Compatible With Christianity
Murder Charge For Mom Who Dropped Baby In Lake Pontchartrain
Racist 1908 Incident In Abe Lincoln's Hometown Led To Formation Of NAACP On 100th Centennial Of His Birth
Retailers Expect Weak Valentine's Day Spending
On Darwin's 200th Birthday, Less Than 40 Percent Of Americans Believe In Evolution
Australian man charged over deadly bushfires | International |
US envoy prepares for key Afghan talks
Pakistan says it arrests Mumbai attack plotters | International |
U.S., France, UK oppose suspending Bashir Darfur case
Final count leaves Israel with election headache | International |
Cruise-in In Daytona
Hamas agrees truce, announcement within 48 hrs: report
North Korea assembling longest-range missile: report | International |
Netanyahu ahead in battle for Israel's helm: observers
Dozens feared dead in US plane crash
Cuba's Fidel Castro doing well: Chilean president | International |
8 more Shiite pilgrims killed by Iraq bomb attack
Ex-Somali president's son set to become PM | International |
Family income linked to child language skills: study
U.S., France, UK oppose suspending Bashir Darfur case | International |
Hamas says Gaza truce deal expected in next 3 days
US scientists defend Darwin from attacks on evolution
Tibet's religious life still bruised by Lhasa riots | International |
Reformist candidate slams Iran's hard-line leader
US lawmakers gird for stimulus showdown
Slumdog turns spotlight on Mumbai's biggest slum | International |
Final count leaves Israel with election headache
Economic crisis top US security concern: intel chief
Cleaner waters attract sharks to Sydney beaches | International |
Moderate party holds edge in final Israeli count
Sudan dismisses Beshir ICC charge as 'rumours'
Obama hails Lincoln's legacy on bicentennial
Lincoln text urging unity sells for 3.4 mln dlrs
UK celebrates 200th Darwin anniversary
Microsoft to open own stores, take on Apple | Technology |
US retail sales stage surprise rebound
U.S. tweaks Internet privacy guidelines | Technology |
U.S. video game sales show continued strength | Technology |
US plane crashes into home, burst into flames
Google plans data center at old Finnish paper mill | Technology |
Pennsylvania County Judges Plead Guilty To Wire, Tax Frauds
Continental Plane Crashes Into New York Home, 49 Killed
YouTube renews music video deal with Sony Music: sources | Technology |
Obama Vows Justice For USS Cole Victims, To Transfer Bombing Mastermind To U.S. Prison
U.S. Navy In Second Seajack Bust, Arrests 9 Suspected Pirates
"Mortal Combat" videogame maker seeks bankruptcy protection
Iran nuclear arms bid unclear: US intel chief
Microsoft Seeking Worm Source, Offers $250,000 Reward To Informant
Royal watchers can track British Queen on website | Technology |
YouTube testing video downloads
Iridium says in dark before orbital crash
Southwest Airlines Plane Catches Fire, Makes Emergency Landing In Las Vegas
New York City Should Consider Four-Day Work Weeks, New IBO Reports Says
World economic crisis is top U.S. security threat
YouTube renews music video deal with Sony Music: sources
Sen. Judd Gregg Withdraws From Commerce Secretary Consideration
Congress sets final votes on stimulus for Friday
U.S. video game sales show continued strength
New Unemployment Claims Fall In First Week Of February
40 job cuts as Google exits broadcast radio ad business
Wall Street Pares Losses On Home Loan News
More Americans updating status online: Pew
Freed Ukrainian cargo crew back on land
Online retail spending falls in 4th qtr: comScore
Italy's right-to-die woman buried in native village
Microsoft offers reward to catch worm maker
Britain refuses entry to far-right Dutch MP
NASA scoops up Twitter award for Mars 'tweets'
Russia wants 'fully fledged' ties with NATO: Medvedev
Cuba gets its own twist on Linux
YouTube renews music video deal with Sony Music: sources
Facebook, Nokia look to bring social network to mobiles
Dreamgirl Hudson dominates NAACP Image awards | Entertainment |
Madonna the top-earning musician of 2008 | Entertainment |
Friday the 13th looks to top long weekend | Entertainment |
Eminem's Bottle breaks download record | Entertainment |
Short movies make big Oscar splash | Entertainment |
Indonesia to extradite pedophile suspects
Da Vinci Code author sees secret revealed | Entertainment |
Suspect charged in deadly Australian fire
Andre Rieu, king of waltz, fiddles his way to stardom | Entertainment |
Australia arrests arson suspect after deadly fires
Hollywood eyes more play dates with toy industry | Entertainment |
Report: Man charged with arson in Australia fire
Slumdog turns spotlight on Mumbai's biggest slum | Entertainment |
North Korea reportedly assembling longest-range missile
Chinese police arrest 17 in drug trafficking bust
More civilians flee war zone as Sri Lanka snubs Britain
Army creates new 'safe zone' in Sri Lankan war
Call for calm as Australia hit by more shark attacks
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Surfer injured in second Sydney shark attack
Cigarettes still burning holes in Austrian ban
Protectionism 'absolute evil', says Japanese minister
Serbia's Roma fight poverty with education
Seoul shares end up 1 pct; techs, autos rise
"Dreamgirl" Hudson dominates NAACP Image awards
Dell awards technology education grants in India, Brazil and Mexico
Estelle Bennett, member of The Ronettes, dies
New Zealand house, retail sales slow
Short movies make big Oscar splash
Telecom 1st half profit down 60 pct
Andre Rieu, "king of waltz," fiddles his way to stardom
Taiwan dollar barely changed, mkt wary over c.bank
Spain's Adria unveils food of tomorrow
Nissan reviewing alliance plans with Chrysler
Dada and surrealist masterpieces make US stop
"Friday the 13th" looks to top long weekend
Korea Hot Stocks
1 worker's struggle for a factory job in China
Powerful earthquake hits Indonesia, 42 injured
Seoul shares open flat; Hana falls after results
Female bomber kills 32 on Iraqi pilgrimage route | International |
Obama's dream of bipartisanship takes hit
U.S. offers Moscow concession on missile shield | International |
Iraq suicide bomber kills dozens of Shiite pilgrims
Eurozone recession 'deepens with record GDP drop'
Female bomber kills 32 on Iraqi pilgrimage route
Algeria twin bombings kill seven: APS news agency | International |
Jennifer Hudson Wins Three Gongs At The NAACP Image Awards
Turkish army reportedly kills 13 rebels in north Iraq
Russia says deal near on UN monitors in Georgia | International |
Britney Spears' Paparazzo Ex-Lover Adnan Ghalib Under Investigation For Trying To Run Over A Man With His Car
India welcomes Pakistan probe, wants terror camps shut | International |
Hu launches China's largest gift to West Africa | International |
Tibet's religious life still bruised by Lhasa riots | International |
Telecom industry faces moment of truth | Technology |
Kenya, Turkey, Japan lead mobile money trend | Technology |
Nokia, others target mobile software sales | Technology |
Nokia, others target mobile software sales
Telecom industry faces moment of truth
Nokia extends "Comes with Music" phone lineup
Chicago Condo Developers Auction Units To Reduce Inventory
Los Angeles Eyes New Gun Control Law
One Of Nation's Largest Magazine Distributors Closes Doors, Lays Off Undisclosed Number Of Employees
Nokia, others rush for mobile software sales
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Warns Of Up To 25 Percent Fare Hike
Nokia extends "Comes with Music" phone lineup
Public Utility TVA Slashes Electric Rates For 9 Million Customers, Also Suspends Executive Bonuses
President Offers Condolences To Victims Of Continental Plane Crash
Pelosi, Reid Formally Invite Obama To Speak Before Feb. 24 Joint Session
Housing Crisis Resulting In 1 Vacant House For Every 9 In The U.S
Bush To Give First Post-White House Speech In Canada
Intelligence Chief Identifies Global Economic Crisis As Top Threat To U.S.
Pakistan presses India over Mumbai investigation
Duds outweigh discoveries at Berlin film festival | Entertainment |
Myanmar extends detention of opposition leader
India welcomes Pakistan prob
Thai PM: Myanmar migrants were sent back to sea
Australia debates controlled burns
Report: 2 sentenced to death in India drain murder
Suspect charged in deadly Australian fire
Japan, Sweden hold bailout lessons for US
Dung is key to tracking elusive Cambodian tiger
Nissan, Chrysler 'put joint projects on hold'
Malaysian government faces critical by-elections
Pakistan says economic problems easing
Pakistani stocks rise 4.2 pct on accounting waiver
Love among the stars: Celebs share Valentine plans
Japan, Sweden hold bailout lessons for US
Duds outweigh discoveries at Berlin film festival
Scorsese plans film on early Japanese Christians
Pakistan economic problems easing, says PM adviser
HK stock index climbs over 2 percent
Japan economy seen shrinking at 10 pct pace in 4Q
Air France reports heavy loss, reduces staff
G7 finance chiefs meet in Rome amid recession storm
Former rebel gunned down in Indonesia's Aceh
Octuplets' Doctor Has Another Patient In Her 40s Expecting Quadruplets
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01