tyb/s
Japanese Gov't being cautious in steps for new era name
(this is going to heat up very soon-and it appears it is being done to not raise the alarm bells however, like here, there will be some who do not accept this)
Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers The government has instituted procedures to decide and announce the new era name “in a more careful manner” than those that were taken when the era name changed from Showa to Heisei 30 years ago, so that the new name can be accepted by the people without trouble.
At a press conference on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who chairs the government’s council to discuss the procedures, said emphatically: “Preparations have been made for Monday [when the new era name will be decided]. We’d like to tackle the issue resolutely with a sense of tension so that the government will be able to announce the new era name without a hitch.”
When it comes to the procedures, from the launching of an expert panel to the announcement of the new era name on Monday, the government will follow almost exactly in the footsteps of the procedures for choosing Heisei.
However, the time spent on the procedures will be about two hours, which is 30 minutes longer than the about 1½ hours taken for the Heisei procedures.
The experts the government is expected to seek opinions from will be confined to the Prime Minister’s Office until the announcement of the new era name, to prevent the information leaking. There is the constraint of not closeting the experts for too long, but a senior government official said that the government has created an environment in which the experts can discuss the matter as carefully as possible.
Another senior government official, who attended the council to discuss the procedures, said, “[The government] achieved a balance at the eleventh hour.”
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0005641923
not the baker
ECB extends mandate for Italian bank Carige's administrators to September 30
MILAN (Reuters) - Banca Carige said on Saturday the European Central Bank had extended until Sept. 30 a mandate to three temporary administrators who have been put in charge of the troubled Italian bank.
The bank said the ECB wanted to give the three administrators enough time to complete actions needed for Carige to comply with capital requirements in a sustainable manner.
The ECB has also extended the mandate of a three-member supervisory committee, the bank said.
Carige was placed under special administration at the start of the year after its top investor in December blocked a planned capital raising, derailing a rescue plan financed by the industry.
The bank has said it needs to fill a 630 million euro ($707 million) capital shortfall and the temporary administrators are seeking offers from potential buyers by mid-April.
Sources have told Reuters that Minnesota-based Varde Partners and a specialist fund affiliated with BlackRock plan to submit bids.
Sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday that Lazard and consultancy AlixPartners were working with Varde on a possible offer while Mediobanca was advising the BlackRock fund.
No final decision on submitting bids has yet been taken, one source said. A second source said the tight April deadline made things difficult.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-carige-idUSKCN1RB08
(taken in context with last night's article from italian site-BIS re: having gold declared as a cash equiv. this is interdasting the deadline is being pushed out)