Japan surplus fuels recovery hopes
August 11, 2009
Hopes mounted yesterday that Japan's economy was on the mend after its worst recession in decades as the current account surplus showed the first rise in 16 months and machinery orders rebounded. The surplus in the current account more than doubled in June to 1651.15 trillion (R13.9 trillion) from 165471.6 billion a year earlier, the government said. The figure easily beat market expectations for an increase of about 40 percent, helping to lift the Nikkei stock index to a new 10-month high. - Sapa-AFP
Toshiba had applied for membership at the Blu-ray Disc Association, the group that supports the technology as the successor to the DVD format, the electronics maker said yesterday. Toshiba had previously backed the rival HD-DVD format, but lost that battle. The Blu-ray alliance, backed by Sony, Panasonic and others, was more successful in wooing Hollywood studios. Toshiba said it planned to introduce Blu-ray products such as players and personal computers. - AP
US banks were set to earn a record $38.5 billion (R311bn) this year from overdraft fees charged to customers whose spending had exceeded their bank balance, the Financial Times reported yesterday. Citing a study by research firm Moebs Services, the newspaper said the fees were mostly collected from poorer customers, who were struggling to make ends meet in the midst of the global economic crisis. - Sapa-AFP
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