Europe and Britain
A rather upbeat week was spoiled on Friday as investors decided to rake in some profits on recent advances. All three indexes followed here sank on Friday. But they still managed to complete another week on the plus side as they continue to make in-roads into their June/July losses. Since July 23rd when both the FTSE and CAC hit their lows, the indexes have bounced up over 16 percent. The DAX has rebounded by almost 15 percent since its low on August 5th. However, all three are facing a third yearly decline in 2002.

Asia
With the exception of the Hong Kong Hang Seng, Asian indexes followed here finished on the positive side. Asian stocks rose after U.S. Federal Reserve officials said interest rates are low enough to fuel an economic rebound in the U.S., Asia's largest overseas market. Anything that shows that the U.S. is recovering continues to be good news for Asia. Both the Nikkei and Topix were affected by fluctuations in the value of the yen. When the yen falls in value, equities investors are cheered. A lower value of the yen means that repatriated profits increase - as do the level of exports.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said that it will tighten its listing standards beginning in October in a bid to force excessively troubled companies off the stock exchange and strengthen investor confidence. The TSE said it will de-list firms if their market capitalization falls and stays below ¥1 billion ($8.4 million) for nine months. Also, a firm will be de-listed if consolidated liabilities exceed assets for two straight financial years, rather than three years under current rules. The decision follows a series of bankruptcies by listed firms. The TSE will also require listed companies to file quarterly earnings reports to improve the transparency of their business activities. The quarterly earnings rule takes effect in April 2003 (the new fiscal year in Japan).

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