> Surprised at the lack of comment on the historical precedent of Japanese
> Central Bank buying equity shares from Japanese banks.
Taiwan has done the same thing for years, so has China in the Hong Kong market. Japan is immune to equity meltdowns, because the keiretsu are too deep, well-rooted and profitable to sell each other's cross-holdings. What's happening is that the JCB is shielding the markets from the pull-out of foreign money -- lots of Wall Street punters and Eurobourgies are liquidating to cover losses in their home markets.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy Japanese stocks, of course -- assuming you can wait the 30 years for the maximum rebound.
-- Dennis