ECONOMY

Japan, Germany Urged to Cut Interest Rates: Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen appealed to the two nations to help prop up the battered dollar. Lower rates would make those nations’ currencies less lucrative and thus could lure investors back to the dollar. It was the first time Bentsen publicly called on those nations to cut interest rates since the dollar’s rout began this month. His comments heightened speculation that leaders of major industrial nations may hatch a strategy to underpin the dollar.