Also...

* Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group said it expects its three banks to post combined losses of about $1.1 billion for the recently completed fiscal year in contrast to earlier forecasts for a profit of about the same amount because of an aggressive effort to shed massive bad debts. Japanese banks are under intense pressure to clean up their bad debts, which have ballooned over the last decade as a result of plunging stock and property prices while Japan entered its worst economic slump in 50 years. The government is expected to unveil an emergency economic plan today, requiring banks to dispose of their riskiest loans over the next two years.