& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Japanese key indices move towards recovery

AFP, Tokyo
M A key index measuring the health of Japan's economy rose into positive territory in March for the first time in 15 months, indicating a recovery was well underway.
But the improvement in the index released Thursday was fuelled by a pick-up in exports rather than fresh domestic demand, the government said.
Despite some signs of a turnaround after the world's second largest economy slipped into recession last year, the government said its top economic council is pressing ahead with the drafting of a new revival plan, which will reportedly include tax cuts and further privatisation measures.
Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has warned Japan it must pursue efforts to halt deflation and clean up banks' bad loans to avoid another downgrade.
The coincident index measuring the state of the economy in March stood at 56.3 points against 40.0 points in February, climbing above the 50-point level seen as the
dividing line between growth and contraction, the Cabinet Office said.
"The fact the coincident index came above the 50-point mark reflects that Japan is benefiting from the robust recovery of the US economy seen earlier this year," said Masaaki Kanno, chief economist at JP Morgan Securities.
"The coincident index often moves in tandem with industrial output data, and we expect both to rise in April and May driven by the US recovery," he said.
Japanese industrial output was up 1.2 per cent in February from the previous month and a preliminary 0.5 per cent in March.
Further signs of a stirring in the economy were seen in the leading index of economic activity for the next three to six months, which soared to 80.0 points in March from a revised 54.5 the previous month. It was above the 50-point mark for the third straight month.
"Foreign demand for Japanese products is the main driving force pushing up the leading and coincident indices," said an official from
the Cabinet Office.
But weak domestic demand has shown no sign of improvement, he added.
"We are out of a critical economic situation. But various indicators show it is too early to say the Japanese economy is in a recovery stage."
Until Japan's domestic activity picks up, any recovery would be very slow, said Shuji Shirota, an economist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
"There is no factor apparent, apart from exports, that might be able to drag the economy out of its trough," he said.
The Council of Economic and Fiscal Policy, headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, is devising a new revival plan to be discussed at a meeting on Monday, said a Cabinet Office spokeswoman, without giving details.
Kyodo News agency reported the top panel was considering lowering taxes on bank deposit interest, profits from stock sales and the gift tax for parents who give their homes to their children.