Japanese retail giant gets controversial bank bailout
Japan's biggest retailer announced a massive bank bailout Friday that underlined the depth of the nation's economic troubles while raising questions about the government's commitment to reforms.
The $3.2 billion bailout of Daiei from its three major lenders came with the blessing of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has made cleaning up the bad debt crisis at Japanese banks the centerpiece of his reform program.
The three-year plan obliges Daiei, which is mired in $14 billion of debt, to sell off hotels, restaurants and other noncore businesses. In return, the banks will forgive some debt, swap debt for equities and other measures.
Daiei President Kunio Takagi, above, said, "We want to be reborn as a company that will satisfy our customers so they will tell us, 'Thank you."'
Internet: Eli Lilly settles privacy suit
The government settled charges Friday against Eli Lilly and Co., ending an investigation into whether the drug maker violated its own privacy policies when it mistakenly released the e-mail addresses of more than 600 people taking Prozac.
The case is the first time the Federal Trade Commission has prosecuted an unintentional violation of a Web site's privacy policies. Privacy advocates say such lapses are an ongoing problem as companies seek information from consumers on the Internet.
The settlement requires the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant to create better safeguards for sensitive information. The security program must be reviewed every year and the company will be fined for any more violations.
Energy: Oil prices likely to stay down for time being, survey finds
Terror attacks, sluggish economies and mild winter weather limited growth in global demand for oil last year, and crude prices are likely to stay weak for the next few months as a result, a respected survey said Friday.
However, a coordinated cut in oil output by OPEC and non-OPEC producers that took effect this month could help nudge prices higher later in 2002, the International Energy Agency said.
Oil demand increased last year by a mere 100,000 barrels a day or 0.13 percent to 76 million barrels a day, making last year's growth the weakest since 1985. Relatively high prices for crude contributed to the paltry growth by causing some consumers to switch to cheaper forms of energy.
Economy: Oil import decline leads to narrower trade deficit
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $27.9 billion in November as oil imports fell to the lowest level in more than two years, the government said Friday.
The Commerce Department reported that the deficit in goods and services narrowed by 4.9 percent from an October imbalance of $29.3 billion.
The gap in goods alone narrowed by 3.1 percent to $33.97 billion, the smallest goods deficit since January 2000. Much of the improvement in that area came from a dramatic 17.4 percent plunge in oil imports, which fell to $6.5 billion in November, the lowest level since July 1999.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.