STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 13 January 2012

[Demeter]

20. Geithner Gets Japan’s Backing on Iran Oil Sanctions After Snub From China

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-12/japan-considering-gradual-cut-in-iran-oil-imports-as-sanctions-calls-rise.html

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner’s efforts to tighten economic sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program won backing from Japan after China rejected limiting oil imports from the country...“We want to take concrete steps to reduce our share in an orderly way as soon as possible,” Finance Minister Jun Azumi said at a joint press conference in Tokyo yesterday with his U.S. counterpart. “The world cannot tolerate nuclear development.”

Geithner’s meetings were part of a trip to Asia’s two largest economies aimed at building support for tighter Iranian economic sanctions after international monitors detected an acceleration in the nation’s nuclear development program.
China, which counts Iran as one of its top petroleum suppliers, snubbed the U.S. this week, with a vice foreign minister saying his nation “opposes imposing pressure and sanctions.”

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the government hasn’t made a final decision on cutting Iranian imports, and that Azumi’s pledge “is just one of several opinions.” Azumi later said he is seeking ways to make sure sanctions on Iran don’t hurt the Japanese economy...“Japan will try and seek a halfway solution where they’ll try and limit imports from Iran and boost imports from other Middle Eastern countries that are also U.S. allies,” said Razeen Sally, a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. Given its military alliance with the U.S., Japan “is much more susceptible to U.S. pressure than China,” he said.

The U.S. will send officials to Japan next week to discuss how the Japanese government will implement its plans, NHK Television quoted Geithner as saying in an interview. “We share a sense of urgency,” he told NHK.

THE JAPANESE POLITELY BLEW TIMMY OFF...HOW DELICIOUS!