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Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii spoke Tuesday with Wall Street Journal reporter Alison Tudor at the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo. Read excerpts from the interview.
On the Japanese economy:
"I'm not sure if the numbers are going to get worse but up until now we had an export-led economy. In the month of August exports had a 36% decline. I think the economic situation is reflecting the fact that we were heavily dependent on exports, so we believe we have to steer our economy into a domestic demand-led economy, so we are now working on a major economic policy shift.
"I think this policy change has only become possible with the change of government. In the past it was very difficult because it meant a major policy change to change this export-led economic management."
* * *
On U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner:
"The other day I met with [Timothy] Geithner, the United States Secretary of the Treasury, and I told him about our intended policy change and he said this policy direction matches well the course that American economic policy is pursuing, and indeed that world economic policy is pursuing.
"As you know, in the U.S., Geithner is trying to revert the U.S. economy into a savings-led economy, and he wants to see a strengthened dollar."
* * *
On structural changes:
"By fiscal means, we would like to implement the reallocation of resources to as many people as possible directly.
"We shouldn't be overly dependent on export growth. Recently 60% of Japanese GDP growth came from exports. That is quite abnormal, and something we have to correct.
"However, I'm not saying that exports altogether are wrong. Japan has an outstanding state-of-the-art technology. So through our state-of-the-art technology we can make a contribution to the international community."
* * *
On currency intervention:
"I for one do not believe that authorities should intervene in foreign-exchange markets in an excessive way. However, if forex market movements are outrageously reckless, or acting without any order, then I think some kind of measures are needed and I think that is the way it always is all over the world regarding foreign exchange policies."
* * *
On the yen:
"Looking at the current situation, I don't regard it as being extremely abnormal."
* * *
On the U.S. dollar:
"Looking at the economic competence and the economic prowess of the countries of the world, I see the United States by far exceeding other countries in terms of economic capability. I think currency is something that reflects the real economic prowess of any given country and therefore I have no doubt whatsoever that for the time being the key currency will be the U.S. dollar.
"The current situation stems from the fact that the dollar is weakened. The reason is that the U.S. is sticking to the consistent policy of low-interest rates. I respect the consistency of policy.
* * *
On China's advantages from a weakened dollar, because its currency is tied to the dollar and a weaker currency makes its exports attractive:
"This issue is not an issue of China alone. The U.S. dollar is involved. So saying something strong to China alone would not resolve the situation. This should be dealt with as part of the international currency problem."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has sought to calm fears in Latin America about a planned new military agreement with Colombia.

Some countries in the region have expressed alarm over the US plans to use Colombian bases to combat drug traffickers and rebels.

But Mrs Clinton said the accord would respect Colombian sovereignty and other countries would not be affected.

It would not lead to a significant increase in US troop numbers, she said.

Speaking after talks in Washington with Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez, Mrs Clinton said the agreement would not lead to the creation of US bases in Colombia.

"It does provide the United States access to Colombian bases but command and control, administration and security will be Colombia's responsibility," she said.

"Any US activity will have to be mutually agreed upon in advance. The United States does not have and does not seek bases inside Colombia."

She also said there would be "no significant permanent increase in the US military and contractor presence in Colombia" and that other countries would not be affected.

"This is about the bilateral co-operation between the United States and Colombia regarding security matters within Colombia," she said.

Regional benefit

Under the deal, the US military will be able to operate on Colombian soil to tackle drug-trafficking and terrorism.

Mrs Clinton said the threats were very real and that the US was "committed to supporting the government of Colombia in its efforts to provide security to all its citizens".

Mr Bermudez said developing "more effective mechanisms of co-operation" would benefit both Colombia and the region.

"We have suffered, and we have learned from the lessons as a result of this suffering," he said.

A number of countries in the region have condemned the plan and Argentina has called the agreement "not helpful".

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has expressed fears the move would amount to preparation for an invasion of his country by US forces.

T-Mobile UK has inked a five year outsourcing deal with the Indian firm Infosys BPO for its finance operations. Infosys will support T-Mobile’s core processes in its finance directorate, covering customer finance, commercial finance and accounting (F&A) and procurement operations. The move will leave T-Mobile to concentrate on financial issues that are “strategically important or which deliver competitive advantage”.

T-Mobile is under a burden of cost cutting as the parent company, Deutsche Telekom, posted a goodwill writedown of €1.8b

n for the UK operation in Q1, after which there have speculations that T-Mobile is looking to offload its UK business.

T-Mobile UK has inked a five year outsourcing deal with the Indian firm Infosys BPO for its finance operations. Infosys will support T-Mobile’s core processes in its finance directorate, covering customer finance, commercial finance and accounting (F&A) and procurement operations. The move will leave T-Mobile to concentrate on financial issues that are “strategically important or which deliver competitive advantage”.
T-Mobile is under a burden of cost cutting as the parent company, Deutsche Telekom, posted a goodwill writedown of €1.8bn for the UK operation in Q1, after which there have speculations that T-Mobile is looking to offload its UK business.

Those who felt that there was a chance the outsourcing industry would die out, may not be too happy with this recent survey by KPMG. According to the study Strategic Evolution, outsourcing is increasing and almost all the organizations that are involved in this practice want to maintain their sourcing level. And quite a few of them even want to increase the sourcing levels. This survey which collated responses from nearly 700 organizations from 32 countries proves that the only path open to this industry goes forward.

Contrary to the belief in certain quarters that outsourcing is creating new problems, most respondents believed that service providers made positive contributions to the success of their organizations. Oh, and it was not only services that had improved. The financial baseline of most firms was also showing an improvement and as they became more lean and mean, their competitiveness increased. Too much good news for a day. What do you say?

Projecting India's small towns and cities as better investment destinations, an Indo-UK trade body said Pune, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh among others are more likely to produce economic miracles on the back of a growing middle-class.


India is increasingly seen as a source of value-added goods and services and an important business partner, the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), which promotes trade between the two countries said in a report released here.

The report, "Emerging Cities of India", identifies Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Jaipur as the top four emerging cities followed by Vadodara, Goa, Indore, Kochi and Nagpur.

While India's urban giants may dominate the business agenda in the short-term due to the sheer size of their human capital clusters...We believe it is the country's lesser known small towns and cities that are more likely to produce the economic miracles.

Finding new customers is an expensive business which is why it pays to invest in hanging onto your existing clients. Good service can also give small companies a lead over their bigger rivals. Great service can do wonders for your business.

Talk to your customers

Research shows that businesses spend six times as much on recruiting a new customer as they do on retaining an existing one. Every business - no matter how small - should have a strategy for dealing with customers. Listening to customers can help in all areas of your business from developing new products to finding out more about your competitors.

• Decide how and when to communicate with customers - by newsletter, telephone, e-mail or questionnaire, at point of sale or delivery, or as a post-sale follow-up;
• Encourage staff to record feedback from customers;
• Keep talking to your customers - their opinions will alter over time;
• Tell customers of any important changes that will affect them. If you warn them of a possible problem in advance they will be able to adapt more easily.

According to the Government's Small Business Service some of the things customers find most annoying include:

• Talking to a recorded telephone message, being held in a queue or paying premium rates for advice;
• Having their consumer rights ignored - such as being refused a refund for faulty goods;
• Bureaucracy;
• Rude or over-friendly staff - both are equally irritating;
• Staff who refuse to tell you their name;
• Broken promises;
• Inflexible delivery times.

Let staff take control

Have a measurable standard of service and make sure that staff work towards it. Invest in training so that everyone is aware of the importance of customer care. Remind staff to put themselves in the customer's shoes: would you like someone you've just met to call you by your first name, how would you feel if your order went missing?

Encourage employees to use their initiative and let the rest of the business know when something has worked well - or if it hasn't. Taking immediate action - for example sending a disgruntled customer a bottle of champagne - can prove more cost-effective than waiting to write them a formal letter