Japan market---Ron (slow)
>> new jersey’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against alliance dresdner asset management, charging the pimco group with allowing improper trades. according to the lawsuit, pimco allowed canary capital partners, a hedge fund, to make illegal trades. in return, canary made a long-term investment of $25 million in other funds, boosting fees and income for pimco.
>> the way they got away with it is they had an agreement with pimco. pimco’s own internal market timing police should have identified this conduct but they were told not to do so and they simply overlooked it.
>> a pimco spokesperson says the company has not seen the lawsuit. the new jersey complaint follows actions against other mutual fund firms. in go an hour, japan releases fourth-quarter g.d.p. figures. with a preview, we go to ron madison in tokyo for a report on that story. ron?
>> that’s right, bob. japan is expected to say its economy expanded at the fastest pace in three years in the last quarter of 2003. economists surveyed by bloomberg predict the world’s second biggest economy grew at an annualized 4.7% pace. japan shipped a record $518 billion worth of exports last year as companies, including matsushita electric, sold more d.v.d. players and digital cameras. vice president of japan airlines says he sees rise in cargo demand, as well.
>> the cargo industry is now in a period of recovery. at one time, weakening demand for i.t.-related goods led to a slow down in the i.t. industry. the i.t. sector is recovering, meaning cargo demand is growing.
>> analysts say the rising yen is hurting japan’s economy. japan has sold the yen at a record pace to ensure the nation’s export-led recovery. those numbers are coming out for you in about an hour at 850 o’clock a.m. japan time.
>> tell us the story regarding competing banks?
>> we’re hear from people familiar with the sail of koram bank. koram says it can’t confirm reports that citigroup agreed to buy it for as much as $2.6 billion. people involved in the talks say that citibank wants to buy all of koram. citigroup and standard chartered have declined to comment. south korea is the area’s fourth largest bank. the sale would increase competition for kook min.
>> and hynix semiconductors, i understand earnings will come out for that company. it makes memory chips and integrated circuits. what do analysts expect?
>> they say it will probably earn its first quarterly profit on record as demand for chips rebounds. it reports results. analysts surveyed help hynix will report a profit. the company lost $72 million just a year ago. ithynix is reaping the benefits of a recovering semiconductor industry. that will do it for me, bob.
>> thanks to our reporter, extrader narr, ron madison. when we return, warren buffett is satisfying his sweet tooth by taking a stake in a confectionery company. we’ll tell you what he’s buying and selling after the break.
