Published: September 14, 2006
 
 
TOKYO 'Fine adjustments' ahead for Japan
 
Atsushi Mizuno, Bank of Japan board member, said that bank policy makers remained committed to raising interest rates gradually, despite recent signs of slower economic growth and lower-than-expected inflation.
 
Minutes of the policy board's August meeting, released Wednesday, showed that the board members have no predetermined view of monetary policy and will adjust rates on the basis of developments in the economy and prices.
 
But Mizuno said during an interview Tuesday that "things are in line with our scenario" that prices are rising and the economy is expanding.
 
"I want to emphasize that that means fine adjustments will continue to be made to interest rates," he said.
 
Mizuno's comments leave open the possibility that the bank may raise its benchmark rate before the year's end.
 
Policy makers in July raised the overnight loan rate for the first time in almost six years to 0.25 percent.
 
 
 
KDDI president takes a pay cut
 
TOKYO:The president of KDDI, Tadashi Onodera, on Wednesday accepted a 20 percent pay cut for three months to take responsibility for a June leak of data on customers of the company, the second-biggest mobile phone operator in Japan, after NTT DoCoMo.
 
An employee of a KDDI client was involved in providing the names, addresses and phone numbers from about four million of its users to a third party, the results of an internal investigation showed.
 
Tokyo police arrested two men for allegedly attempting extortion using the information.
 
 
J.P. Morgan executive plans rise in dividend
 
NEW YORK: The J.P. Morgan Chase chief executive, Jamie Dimon, said Wednesday that he intended to raise the bank's stock dividend in 2007, the first increase of its quarterly payout in six years. "We'd like to be doing it sometime soon," he said, "like some time next year."
 
Dimon said J.P. Morgan needed to generate steady earnings growth before the company paid out more to shareholders. The company will stick with its goal of paying out 30 percent to 40 percent of earnings to shareholders, he added. $@ - Justin Baer
 
 
Moscow bank hires Dresdner's Foresman
 
AMSTERDAM: Renaissance Capital, an investment bank based in Moscow, said Wednesday that it had hired Bob Foresman of Dresdner Kleinwort to help attract new clients.
 
Foresman joins Renaissance as deputy chairman, the company said. Foresman was chairman of Dresdner Kleinwort's management committee for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
 
At Dresdner Kleinwort, Foresman advised Rosneft, the Russian national oil company, on its .6 billion initial public offering in July.
 
Before joining Dresdner Kleinwort, Foresman was head of investment banking for Russia and Ukraine at ING Barings. From 1993 to 1995, Foresman ran the Ukrainian Privatization Advisory team for the International Finance, the private lending arm of the World Bank, Renaissance said. - Bradley Cook
 
 TOKYO 'Fine adjustments' ahead for Japan
 
Atsushi Mizuno, Bank of Japan board member, said that bank policy makers remained committed to raising interest rates gradually, despite recent signs of slower economic growth and lower-than-expected inflation.
 
Minutes of the policy board's August meeting, released Wednesday, showed that the board members have no predetermined view of monetary policy and will adjust rates on the basis of developments in the economy and prices.
 
But Mizuno said during an interview Tuesday that "things are in line with our scenario" that prices are rising and the economy is expanding.
 
"I want to emphasize that that means fine adjustments will continue to be made to interest rates," he said.
 
Mizuno's comments leave open the possibility that the bank may raise its benchmark rate before the year's end.
 
Policy makers in July raised the overnight loan rate for the first time in almost six years to 0.25 percent.
 
 
 
KDDI president takes a pay cut
 
TOKYO:The president of KDDI, Tadashi Onodera, on Wednesday accepted a 20 percent pay cut for three months to take responsibility for a June leak of data on customers of the company, the second-biggest mobile phone operator in Japan, after NTT DoCoMo.
 
An employee of a KDDI client was involved in providing the names, addresses and phone numbers from about four million of its users to a third party, the results of an internal investigation showed.
 
Tokyo police arrested two men for allegedly attempting extortion using the information.
 
 
J.P. Morgan executive plans rise in dividend
 
NEW YORK: The J.P. Morgan Chase chief executive, Jamie Dimon, said Wednesday that he intended to raise the bank's stock dividend in 2007, the first increase of its quarterly payout in six years. "We'd like to be doing it sometime soon," he said, "like some time next year."
 
Dimon said J.P. Morgan needed to generate steady earnings growth before the company paid out more to shareholders. The company will stick with its goal of paying out 30 percent to 40 percent of earnings to shareholders, he added. $@ - Justin Baer
 
 
Moscow bank hires Dresdner's Foresman
 
AMSTERDAM: Renaissance Capital, an investment bank based in Moscow, said Wednesday that it had hired Bob Foresman of Dresdner Kleinwort to help attract new clients.
 
Foresman joins Renaissance as deputy chairman, the company said. Foresman was chairman of Dresdner Kleinwort's management committee for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
 
At Dresdner Kleinwort, Foresman advised Rosneft, the Russian national oil company, on its .6 billion initial public offering in July.
 
Before joining Dresdner Kleinwort, Foresman was head of investment banking for Russia and Ukraine at ING Barings. From 1993 to 1995, Foresman ran the Ukrainian Privatization Advisory team for the International Finance, the private lending arm of the World Bank, Renaissance said. - Bradley Cook