Global investment banks are set to record income from fees from their debt, equity and mergers and acquisitions business, new research shows.
The Japanese economy is set to grow next year but could face problems in the
event of a slowdown in the US economy, the country's economy minister has predicted.
Hiroko Ota confirmed he expects Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by two per cent next year, Reuters reports.
However, he sounded a note of caution that should the US, which is Japan's largest export market, fail to shrug off the ongoing credit crunch, Japan could find its projected growth figure hard to attain.
Should oil prices continue to remain high, this would also mitigate the potential for growth, Mr Ota added.
He told a news conference: "If these risks [persist], the next fiscal year's growth rate may be lower than the projection."
News of Mr Ota's comments comes as the Japanese government recently downgraded its growth projection for 2007 from two per cent to 1.3 per cent.
