Japan's ruling party has unveiled its biggest-ever stimulus package to
try to protect the world's second largest economy from a deepening
recession.
The $154 billion plan outlined by the Liberal
Democratic Party Thursday includes emergency spending to protect jobs
and boost corporate financing.
It also calls for lower taxes on
gifts of financial assets. The cut aims to encourage older Japanese to
give some of their savings to younger generations likely to purchase
expensive items like houses.
Japan's fourth stimulus package is worth about three percent of gross domestic product.
The economy is suffering its worst recession since World War II, due largely to a collapse in demand for Japanese goods.
The
global slump in demand has also taken a toll on Germany, Europe's
largest economy. The Economy Ministry announced Thursday that
industrial production dropped for a sixth straight month in February.
The
ministry had some positive news, however. Germany's industrial output
fell 2.9 percent in February, far less than its 6.1 percent crash in
January.
The German government, meanwhile, offered Thursday to
take over the troubled Hypo Real Estate bank to try to stabilize the
financial markets.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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