The dollar rose slightly against the yen in Asia Thursday amid some optimism about the U.S. economy and better-than-expected earnings reports.
The dollar was trading at 102.08 yen in Tokyo, up from 102.04 yen overnight in New York.
Dealers said the dollar may rise against the yen because earnings reports so far from large U.S. companies were turning out to be not as bad as expected. Among companies reporting earnings later in the day include Merrill Lynch.
"The dollar may even strengthen after the release of the report since banks usually announce at the same time a plan to increase their assets. A Bear Stearns-like crisis is unlikely," said Toru Tanaka, a senior dealer at Mitsubishi Corp.
The dollar also got a boost from a Wall Street Journal report that Freddie Mac is expected to announce an agreement with Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup aimed at making more funds available for large home loans. That could ease problems in the U.S. housing sector.
The dollar was mixed against other regional currencies, rising to 991.4 South Korean won from 989.4 the previous day, and to 9,200 Indonesian rupiah from 9,191.(**)
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