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Seven & I had been under pressure from activists and other investors for years to narrow its focus on its crown jewel: 7-Eleven and other convenience stores.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 10, 2024

Seven & I to embrace 7-Eleven name as it sheds noncore businesses

The plans accelerate restructuring efforts in the face of an unsolicited ¥7 trillion takeover proposal from Alimentation Couche-Tard.
The Finance Ministry plans to suspend Nomura from the primary group of Japanese government bond dealers for a month from Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 11, 2024

Japan suspends Nomura from bond auctions after manipulation

The action is another setback for Nomura after the revelations led several companies including Toyota Finance to take their bond underwriting business elsewhere.
Thursday night's electronic dance music-infused event had the signature trappings of Elon Musk's salesmanship, but some Tesla investors and experts said they were hoping for more concrete details.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 12, 2024

Tesla's robotaxi event was long on Musk promises. Investors wanted more details.

Concrete details on how the company plans to transform from an automaker into an autonomous driving and artificial intelligence titan were missing.
Starship's Super Heavy Booster is grappled at the launch pad in Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, on Sunday, during the Starship Flight 5 test.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 14, 2024

SpaceX captures booster rocket in step toward Musk’s Mars dream

The successful test underscores the astonishing progress SpaceX is making with its launch capabilities.
As banking's behemoths gather at the COP16 summit, there is much talk about monetizing nature and biodiversity.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 15, 2024

Global banks want to monetize biodiversity

Opportunities to invest in funds that target biodiversity are currently limited
Renault R4 E-Tech electric cars are displayed during the media day at the 2024 Paris Motor Show on Monday.
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2024

China-Europe rivalry heats up at Paris car show as EV tariffs loom

Struggling European automakers need to prove they are still in the game, while Chinese rivals are aiming to get a foothold in a competitive market.
ASML shares slumped 16% on Tuesday after third-quarter figures were mistakenly released earlier than scheduled.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 16, 2024

ASML shares plunge as bookings miss signals chipmaker woes

Its 16% tumble — the biggest decline since 1998 — also triggered a broad downturn in chip-related stocks.
The Saudi Aramco logo at the Hyvolution exhibition in Paris on Feb. 1
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 16, 2024

Aramco cancels Saudi chemical project as it focuses on Asia

Aramco is pursuing a series of deals in China that would guarantee long-term demand for Saudi crude.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 16, 2024

Bank of Japan policymaker calls for 'very moderate' pace of rate hikes

There are doubts about whether Japanese firms will keep sufficiently raising wages next year due to lingering global risks.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2024

Big wage increase sought by Japan’s largest union slightly underwhelms

For the 2025 spring wage negotiations, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation is aiming for a wage hike of "over 5%," the same goal as this year.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. logo at the TSMC Museum of Innovation in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on May 29. Analysts say TSMC's longer-term outlook, which hinges on demand for the high-end chips used to train and host artificial intelligence models, should remain intact.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 17, 2024

TSMC bulls expect strong results to support record-high shares

TSMC is seen as more resilient than its key equipment supplier, ASML Holding, whose outlook cut sparked a slide in global chip stocks.
The Bank of Japan’s historic shift this year from radical monetary easing to two interest-rate hikes has sparked volatility in the nation’s securities market as investors speculate on the BOJ’s next move.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 17, 2024

Japan Post Insurance markets chief sees Nikkei setting new records after votes

The Nikkei's all-time high, set in July, will probably be "just a passing point,” said Kenichi Kuga, head of global equity and fixed income investment.
Washing stations at a hot spring bath at Hoshinoya Tokyo, operated by Hoshino Resorts, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2024

Luxury Japan hot springs brand to open first U.S. location in New York state

The president of Hoshino Resorts had made it his personal goal to bring Japanese hot spring resorts to North America.
Gantry cranes at the Yantian International Container Terminals in Shenzhen, China, on April 15
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 21, 2024

World economy fault lines shift from prices to politics and debt

The U.S. presidential election, soaring government debt and the escalating conflict in the Middle East all hang over the global economic outlook.
Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of Mt. Gox, speaks at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Oct. 11.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 21, 2024

The unsinkable Mark Karpeles is willing to give Tokyo another shot

The former CEO of Mt. Gox, which once processed the majority of bitcoin transactions globally before it blew up in 2014, is looking to set up shop in Japan again.
Komainu, the cryptocurrency custodian backed by Nomura Holdings, is buying Singaporean rival Propine Holdings.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2024

Nomura-backed crypto custodian Komainu makes first acquisition

Komainu will also apply for a so-called Major Payment Institution license in Singapore, which will allow the firm to fully offer payment services.
James Gorman, who was named to the Disney board this year and later put in charge of succession planning, will become Disney’s chairman on Jan. 2, 2025, the company said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2024

Disney taps Morgan Stanley's Gorman as chair and will name CEO Iger's replacement in 2026

Morgan Stanley veteran James Gorman will become chairman of Disney's board on Jan. 2, and will lend a helping hand in the decision-making process.
Asako Osaki attends the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, in New York in March.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Nov 3, 2024

How global lessons can improve prospects for women in rural Japan

Through motherhood, education and work, Asako Osaki worked to bring global standards to the front lines of gender issues.
Apple CEO Tim Cook
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2024

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s other job: Helping Nike turn things around

Cook has carved out a role as one of Nike’s closest outside advisers over the last 19 years and is the company’s lead independent director.
Abercrombie & Fitch chairman and CEO Mike Jeffries addresses stockholders during the company's annual meeting at the company's headquarters in New Albany, Ohio, on May 22, 2003.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 23, 2024

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries charged with sex trafficking

If convicted, Jeffries faces a possible life sentence and mandatory minimum 15-year prison terms for the sex trafficking charges.
Trump has threatened blanket 60% tariffs on China, forcing some companies to consider shifting their supply chains to Southeast Asia.
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2024

China's exporters run for cover as U.S. election nears

A Trump trade war 2.0 would be a moment of reckoning for many Chinese exporters, whose profits are dwindling under heavy deflationary pressure.
Taiwanese chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has halted shipments to a client after discovering semiconductors delivered to them found their way into Huawei products.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 24, 2024

TSMC cuts off client after discovering chips sent to Huawei

It’s unclear whether the TSMC client was acting on Huawei’s behalf, or where it’s based.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange. Rigaku Holdings' shares fell on debut, even after the results of its offering suggested that investors still have an appetite for big Japanese stock deals in a busy primary market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 25, 2024

Rigaku shares fall 10% in market debut after IPO priced at the top

Rigaku shares closed at ¥1,130 after the initial public offering had been priced at the top end of a ¥1,230 to ¥1,260 indicative range.
A custom-made split keyboard at Yusha Kobo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 29, 2024

Make a one-of-a-kind mechanical keyboard at this Akihabara shop

At Yusha Kobo, customers pick switches, keycaps and all the other components needed to fashion one-of-a-kind keyboards that meet their exacting needs.
Traffic in the Yeouido financial district of Seoul
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2024

Ex-Goldman banker-turned-billionaire takes on South Korea’s chaebol

While private equity’s involvement in South Korea's economy has grown over the last two decades, few have taken on the powerful, family-run conglomerates.
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra on stage during its launch in Beijing on Tuesday. The Chinese tech company made its foray into the EV industry earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2024

Xiaomi launches faster version of flagship EV in a challenge to Tesla

Xiaomi entered China's crowded EV market in March with the launch of its hit SU7.
The number of female directors among firms in the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s prime market will need to more than double in the next six years to meet the government target of having women make up 30% of board members at major firms by 2030.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2024

Rush for female directors stumbles on weak pipeline in Japan

With almost no women rising to become internal directors, companies will have no choice but to recruit them from outside.
Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 31, 2024

Trump factor bringing uncertainty to Asian firms' U.S. investment outlook

The former president has criticized the Inflation Reduction Act as a "scam” and the CHIPS and Science Act as a bad deal.
Nomura Holdings said it paid the penalty on Thursday and apologized to clients and concerned parties.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2024

Nomura fined by Japan regulator for bond market manipulation

The fine, while small, may hurt Nomura’s reputation at a time when it is refocusing on Japan as a key growth area for its trading and investment banking operations.
A subcommittee of Japan's Fiscal System Council proposed Friday that the government provide efficient support over multiple years to the sector, which is growing in importance from the perspective of economic security.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 2, 2024

Japan panel calls for medium-term chip sector aid strategy

The subcommittee said the government provide efficient support over multiple years to the sector, which is growing in importance.

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami