Dollar gains against yen in Asia on US mortgage bailout

TOKYO, Sept 8 (AFP) The dollar gained against the yen in Asian trade today after US authorities bailed out two mortgage finance giants, easing investor worries over the future of global markets, dealers said. brThe dollar firmed to 108.74 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 107.67 in New York late Friday. But the euro gained to 1.4407 dollars from 1.4260 and to 156.66 yen from 153.57. brThe US Treasury Department announced Sunday, when markets were closed, that it will put Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae under strict federal control and may invest up to a total of 200 billion dollars in them, dealers said. brThe companies have lost some 90 per cent of their value on fears of further losses from mortgage defaults by subprime customers, who were given loans despite patchy credit histories. brThe US government plan could potentially cost taxpayers billions of dollars and Washington's decision to buy back preferred stock would mean common shareholders still risk losing millions of dollars, dealers said. brThe market was further relieved by reports that South Korean and Japanese banking companies were considering investing in Lehman Brothers, one of the Wall Street banks worst-hit by the subprime debacle. The euro firmed against the dollar as market players raked in profit from the single European currency's recent one-year lows against the greenback, dealers said. brThe pound firmed to 1.7923 dollars from 1.7653 in Tokyo afternoon trade. The Canadian dollar slipped to 1.0572 US dollars from 1.0591 after Prime Minister Stephen Harper called snap elections Sunday. brIt slipped to 1.4184 Singapore dollars from 1.4318, to 31.60 Taiwan dollars from 31.88, to 46.31 Philippine pesos from 46.80, to 34.44 Thai baht from 34.57 and to 1,089.15 South Korean won from 1,118.30. brThe greenback firmed to 9,255 Indonesian rupiah from 9,227.