Market watchers still upbeat after election

Jul 31, 2007

Market watchers still upbeat after election

Because it was anticipated and already factored in by market players, the defeat suffered by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday’s election will have little impact on stocks, experts say. Still, some analysts warned Monday that if the LDP’s defeat — ...

Jul 25, 2007

Nissan profit fell again in first quarter

Nissan Motor Co. reported Tuesday another year-on-year drop in consolidated operating profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2007, mainly due to falling sales of trucks in the United States and rising raw material costs. During the April-June quarter, Nissan’s operating profit fell 3.2 ...

| Jul 12, 2007

What is significance of Bull-Dog action?

Bull-Dog Sauce Co. on Wednesday became the first company in Japan to implement takeover defenses, issuing rights for new shares to block Steel Partners’ takeover attempt. Steel Partners Japan Strategic Fund (Offshore) L.P., which launched a tender offer for Bull-Dog shares in May, claims ...

| Jul 10, 2007

Chongryun never gets out from under a cloud

Chongryun has recently come under the spotlight in connection with an aborted sale of its Tokyo headquarters — North Korea’s de facto embassy in Japan — to an investment advisory firm led by former Public Security and Intelligence Agency chief Shigetake Ogata. Ogata was ...

Mazda revamps mainstay Demio

Jul 6, 2007

Mazda revamps mainstay Demio

Mazda Motor Corp. rolled out its fully revamped Demio compact Thursday, hoping that its best-selling car, remodeled for the first time in five years, will put the brakes on plunging domestic car sales. Mazda is also banking on the new Demio to help it ...

Doutor investors OK tieup with restaurant operator

Jun 29, 2007

Doutor investors OK tieup with restaurant operator

Doutor Coffee Co. shareholders voted in favor of the company’s proposed integration with Nippon Restaurant System Inc. on Thursday, undeterred by opposition from investment fund Harbinger Capital Partners, the largest outside shareholder in Doutor. At Doutor’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Tokyo, attended by a ...

Jun 27, 2007

Investors slam JAL's surprise '06 share issue

Japan Airlines Corp. shareholders Tuesday slammed the carrier’s top executives, saying they had deceived them by issuing new shares last July without consulting them at their 2006 meeting and for failing to restore profitability in the last business year. Speaking to a record 4,219 ...

Nissan shareholders grill Ghosn over profit drop

Jun 21, 2007

Nissan shareholders grill Ghosn over profit drop

YOKOHAMA — Nissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn took fire for the company’s disappointing 2006 earnings Wednesday as shareholders criticized his lack of a long-term vision, especially in environmental technologies. Ghosn told shareholders at the annual meeting not to be deceived by negative media ...

Jun 13, 2007

Steel Partners head sells investors on hedge fund

Confronted with takeover-defense measures adopted by Japanese companies, Warren Lichtenstein, the head of U.S. hedge fund Steel Partners, urged Japanese investors Tuesday to consider the downside of such “poison pill” tactics. “We believe that poison pill is illegal and discriminates against shareholders,” Lichtenstein told ...

In exile for six years, Burger King is back

Jun 9, 2007

In exile for six years, Burger King is back

To the sounds of a saxophone and keyboard fanfare, Burger King officially re-entered the Japanese market Friday with the opening of its first outlet in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward. Hundreds of customers waited outside the store in the early morning for the chance to buy ...