from today's Nikkei

日本企業１００社　中国向けネット通販　三井住友カード決済、銀聯と連携　家電など２万点　来月から販売

About 100 Japanese companies of major retailers and manufacturers likely will begin to sell their products on the Internet in China starting in January,2009.Specifically,using the Chinese settlement network called "Ren-gin" and Japanese credit card company Mitsui-Sumitomo's network,they set up a virtual shopping mall on the Internet and sell as many as some 20,000 items of products,such as hosehold appliances,cosmetics and clothes.For Japanese companies facing stagnant sales in their domestic markets,this will certainly be a good chance for them to be able to sell their products directly to many Chinese consumers.

from today's Nikkei

来年度予算政府案決定　社会保障費負担重く　一般歳出最大の５１兆円　税収減、国債で補う

The government approved at the December 24th Cabinet meeting the state draft budget for fiscal 2009. General expenditure able to be used for various government's policies has become a record high 51.731 trillion yen on an initial budget basis,which is up 9.4 percent from that of the 2008 intial budget for the third consecutive increase. Among them, social security expenses have risen by some 14 percent to 24.8344 trillion yen mainly because of the state's increased contribution to the public pension starting next fiscal year,which makes the two-digit increase for the first time in 30 years. The expected decrease of tax revenues will be covered by new issuance of the national bonds totaling 33 trillion yen.As a result, the primary balance's deficit will expand to 13.1 trillion yen.

from yesterday's Nikkei

トヨタ、営業利益赤字１５００億円　今期戦後初　生産体制　抜本見直し　販売減と円高直撃

Toyota Motor Corporation is worsening its business performance. On the 22nd,it announced its estimate for the business result in the term through the end of March,2009.It revealed that it will decline to about 150 billion yen loss in its consolidated operating profit and loss account.This resulted from cars' sales decline across the world triggered by the global financial crises and strong yen,and will make the company the deficit this business term in its operational activity for the first time after World War Ⅱ,while it attained the record high profit in the previous term. It is obvious that the company will have to drastically revise its production scheme in these circumstances.

from today's Nikkei

国際協力銀の融資範囲拡大　途上国ビジネスを支援　財務省が特例措置　金融危機に対応

The Finance Ministry has recently decided to extend its financial support to Japanese companies which are engaged in exports to developing countries or the businesses there.Specifically,the ministry will expand the activity area of Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the international division of Japan Finance Corporation,with an exceptional treatment, and then allow JBIC to extend loans until the end of fiscal 2009 to Japanese export-related comapnies or Japanese major firms advancing into developing countries,which is at present not permitted under the present rule.This is aimed at preventing domestic firms engaged in developing countries' businesses from shrinking due to the fund problems,affected by the current global financial crises.

from today's Nikkei

今年の日本株売買　個人、１８年ぶり買い越しへ　高配当割安感　株安下で積極姿勢　外人は売り越し　企業業績懸念も

Recently,in domstic stock market individual investors have been conspicuosly (positively) buying stocks.According to the data on the selling and buying trends of the stock by the type of investors from the begining of the year,individual investors' total amount of buying on balance has become more than 1.2 trillion yen,which will make the year buying on balance for the first time in 18 years since 1990.While many foreign investors have been selling Japanese companies' stocks midst the global financial crisis,Japanese individual investors have likely turned their stances towards positive attitudes,buying stocks positively, because of stocks' high yields and a sense of inexpensiveness for their prices.But in reality,in the circumstances that there have occured many concerns about companies' business performance,the outlook is unforseeable.