The Nikkei 225 lost 446 points or 2.7% last week (Sept 3 - 7). Nikkei 225 September futures trading in Chicago lost 1.8% to 15,805 on Friday — falling with the broader U.S. market on the “surprisingly” weak U.S. employment data — versus a 16,122.16 close for the Nikkei 225 and 16,100 close for the N225 Sept. futures in Osaka and 16,105 in Singapore. Making matters worse, Japan’s Q2 (April - June) GDP is expected to be downward revised on Monday. Also, the yen jumped 1.5% against the U.S. dollar on Friday in NY to about the 113.5 level, as the weak employment data increased expectations of a rate cut by the Fed on the 18th of September. A Nikkei Shimbun weekly outlook says a re-testing of the calendar year low of 15,273 set on August 17th is unlikely, due to the possibility of a Fed rate cut; which is widely expected to boost stocks or at least create a level of support for stocks around current levels. Meanwhile, the U.S. subprime mess continues to loom over global markets.