But the services provided by microenterprise programs offer borrowers a strong foundation in the fundamentals of running a business and give their businesses a better chance to grow and flourish in a competitive marketplace. These services benefit the lender by making the borrowers more creditworthy, but providing these services to budding entrepreneurs is labor intensive and requires considerable expertise.
In the foreign exchange market, the yen strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar in mid-April but generally weakened thereafter. The yen is currently being traded in the range of 108-110 yen. With regard to corporate finance, private banks have basically retained their cautious lending attitude. However, constraint that had been caused by severe fund-raising conditions and insufficient capital base has eased considerably.