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Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Wednesday, March 7, 2001
Weakness in yen expected to worsen
The yen weakened to a 20- month low against the dollar after Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said he isn't opposed to a "natural" decline in Japan's currency.After the remarks, the yen fell as far as 120.21 per dollar, from 118.74 yesterday, and then recovered to 119.97. It hadn't traded weaker than 120 per dollar since July 19, 1999.
The decline to "120 is not the end," said Ram Bhagavatula, chief economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Financial Markets. "The yen is going lower," as the central bank will likely ease monetary policy soon, which will drive down interest rates and the currency as well.
Nasdaq halts trading of Yahoo stock
Shares of Internet portal Yahoo Inc. fell sharply early today before trading was halted on the Nasdaq due to news pending.Prior to the stock's halt, shares of Yahoo had fallen $1-13/32, or 6.3 percent, to $20-31/32, its lowest level since September 1998.
The company was not immediately available for comment.
Merrill Lynch analyst Henry Blodget, once one of the biggest Internet bulls, questioned the company's decision to cancel the appearance of Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker at Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Internet Conference tomorrow.
The move prompted speculation the world's most-popular Web-search service may announce management changes or that its quarterly profit will miss forecasts.
In other news . . .
Driven by a heavy debt load after a bad holiday season, Internet retailer eToys Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in advance of a liquidation expected to start tomorrow. In papers filed on today in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, eToys and three affiliates listed assets of $416.9 million and debts of $285.0 million.