Japan's Central Bank Set to Inject $9.1 Billion to Help Stabilize Market

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http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA5UBZVNND.html

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's central bank said Monday it is prepared to inject $9.1 billion into the financial system to help stabilize markets unnerved by a weekend announcement that the government was nationalizing a regional bank.

The Bank of Japan is offering to buy yen in discount bills "to ensure stability in the financial markets" following news of the nationalization, an official at the bank's financial markets department told Dow Jones Newswire. It was not immediately clear whether the bank was going ahead with the purchase, or just trying to reassure investors.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi approved a decision Saturday to purchase all of Ashikaga Financial Group's stocks to temporarily put the bank under government control after it fell into insolvency. snip

Tokyo stock prices, reacting to the news Monday morning, plummeted in morning trading, with the benchmark Nikkei index off more than 1.5 percent after the first half-hour of trading.

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