Auto manufacturers offer bright spot in Japan gloom

Negative news continues to pour out of Japan. A report compiled by the OECD forecast growth of -0.75% in 2001 and -1% in 2002, with modest positive growth only returning in 2003. Companies also continue to go bankrupt, with the demise of Aoki bringing the total number of bankruptcies of listed companies to 13. High unemployment (5.6%) and the prospect of more bankruptcies to come add to the gloom, according to Steve Adams, investment manager at Clerical Medical. While inventories have already been affected by the slowdown in international and domestic demand, Tetsufumi Yamakawa, ...