Asia

ASIA-PACIFIC - FTSE Group, the independent global index company, will expand its business activities in Asia Pacific throughout 2003 with a focus on Japan.

JAPAN - Normally placid Japanese pension funds have opened hostilities with failing companies in which they invest by threatening to vote against the re-election of management - and payment of their retirement allowances - if a firm suffers three straight...

KOREA - Funds managed by Korea's National Pension Fund Corporation, which currently equal 14% of GDP, may rise to equal 100%, says a new country report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

KOREA - Current weakness in the Korean markets is providing investors with several attractive long-term opportunities - but only if the war against Iraq reaches a swift resolution.

JAPAN - Fund managers have expressed their disappointment over the appointment of Toshihiko Fukui as the new Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor.

ASIA-PACIFIC - It is not that the Asia-Pacific had a lousy year...

JAPAN - Corporate restructuring remains the best route to reviving Japan's deflated equity sector, says one leading expert.

JAPAN - As Japanese institutions squeeze at the margins for profits in a struggling market, commission rates continue to decline, though there are signs that may change, according to a recent study by Greenwich Associates.

UK/JAPAN - The Ethical Investment Research Service is to offer research on almost 400 Japanese companies after a link-up with a Japanese research company.

ASIA - Investors looking for cheap, liquid growth assets should turn to Asia.