This possibility triggered a plunge in Japanese shares, sending the Nikkei 225 index to its lowest close since August 1983.Mr Kimura's appointment came three days after Junichiro Koizumi, the Japanese Prime Minister, named Mr Takenaka to replace Hakuo Yanagisawa as the top bank regulator. Mr Yanagisawa had been opposed to the use of public money to bail out banks.Using public funds would be unpopular with some groups in Japan at a time when its economy is struggling with deflation.But Mr Koizumi and his allies are keen to address the fundamental problems at the heart of the banking industry in the hope it would kick-start growth in Japan.The country's banks are in a parlous state because they have ended up with far more bad debts than other sections of the Japanese economy. This is because almost all of the extra financing needed to drive Japan's growth in the 1980s was provided by the banks and very little was funded through capital raising in the market.The banks' massive bad debts have not been addressed until now because the issue is politically sensitive, with fears of huge numbers of job losses.. The head of Network Rail, the not-for-profit organisation which took control of the railways yesterday, said passengers will have to wait five years to see sustained improvements in services. Over the next five years it plans to raise about £20bn in bond finance.Mr Armitt said his key priority is to improve the safety and reliability of the railways free of the "tension" of having to deliver dividends to shareholders.

But he admitted that whilst some improvements should become visible in the next 12 to 18 months it would take three to five years to achieve a "sustainable" railway.Mr Armitt is paid £450,000 and is eligible for a 50 per cent bonus depending on his success in improving the punctuality of train services. The target for the year to next April is to reduce delays by 20 per cent. But so far he has only achieved 11 per cent which, with autumn and winter to come, means he is unlikely to receive this year's bonus.Apart from the £10bn in short-term financing, Network Rail also has £7bn in medium-term finance to cover the costs it has inherited from Railtrack and a further £4bn "contingency buffer" which lasts for 50 years. Adrian Montague, Network Rail's deputy chairman, described the £4bn as "rainy day, last resort" money that it expected never to draw on.The Rail Regulator, Tom Winsor, has agreed to an interim review of the network's financing requirements, which is expected to lead to a new five-year agreement governing track access charges starting in April, 2004.Mr Winsor has said that "conceptually" the review could result in a reduction in track access charges, but Mr Montague said he expected it to lead to a "substantial increase" in funding. For the three years up to April 2004, Network Rail calculates it needs £13.7bn for the operation, maintenance and renewal of the network – £3.6bn more Railtrack was allowed.The new performance targets that Network Rail must meet will be announced in mid-November ahead of the first meeting of its "member council" – the 100-strong group of industry executives, Strategic Rail Authority officials and "public interest" members who will act as Network Rail's shareholders.. Aberdeen Asset Management, the beleaguered fund manager, saw its shares suffer their biggest one-day drop ever yesterday as the market took fright due to fears about its exposure to the split-capital investment trust crisis.

The fresh lows have increased pressure on Charles Irby, the chairman of Aberdeen, to try to stem the losses by forcing those most associated with split caps at the company to resign.Most vulnerable is Christopher Fishwick, who oversaw the development of Aberdeen's split-cap department and sits on 10 of its split-cap boards. But the situation looks like it has passed the point where, guilty or not, the City wants a new management banner to be raised over Aberdeen."The area of concern is whether or not certain fund managers, including people at Aberdeen, colluded in order to maintain artificially the value of their funds The Financial Services Authority is investigating this. It has already ruled that some of the marketing literature for split caps was inappropriate because it did not spell out the potential risk in the funds, which include both shares for growth and shares for income.Aberdeen's shares were hammered as the City realised that if the regulator forced it to compensate more investors, such as holders of zero-dividend preference shares, the bill could be £270m – three times its current market capitalisation.Rumours were circulating among City institutions that the FSA has decided to force Aberdeen to offer more compensation. The watchdog would not comment and is thought to have not yet decided whether there was collusion between a "magic circle" of fund managers.. The US tools maker Black & Decker dealt the UK job market a serious blow yesterday by unveiling plans to axe 950 workers by the end of next year and move operations to the Czech Republic in the face of cheap imports from the Far East. A further 400 temporary workers, employed through an agency to manufacture for seasonal demand, will not have their contracts renewed."Due to increasing numbers of low cost imports from the Far East, Black & Decker is transferring labour-intensive assembly and packaging operations from Spennymoor to a new plant in the Czech Republic," the firm said.After the move, the plant, which will focus on manufacturing motors and components as well as the design and engineering of new products, will have a workforce of about 450."Global competitive pricing pressures have been a key factor in our decision to make these changes at Spennymoor," Barry Bloomer, plant manager at Spennymoor, said. "Although the next 12 months will be challenging we will provide full support to those affected by the changes.