Search - financial-news

 
 
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2012

Citigroup selling fund for regional banks to hedge their JGB exposure

Citigroup Inc. has started selling a fund for regional banks to hedge against the risk of a decline in the value of their government bond holdings as the national debt swells.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2012

BOJ maintains rate as eurozone worries grow

The Bank of Japan maintained its zero interest rate policy Wednesday while offering a somber assessment of global financial markets, saying close attention is needed "mainly due to concern about the European debt problem."
BASKETBALL
May 18, 2012

Ryukyu star Newton set for seventh straight Final Four

This is arguably the most remarkable statistic in the bj-league's seven-year history: Center Jeff Newton's teams have advanced to the Final Four every season.
EDITORIALS
May 11, 2012

More than slogans needed

Former Democratic Party of Japan chief Ichiro Ozawa is likely to strengthen his political activities after his April 26 acquittal by the Tokyo District Court of a charge of conspiring with his secretaries to falsify reports of Rikuzankai, his political funds management body.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 6, 2012

'Hidden children' of politicians no hurdle to success

Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa was acquitted last week of conspiring to file false financial reports for his political group. He can now return full-time to the job he was elected to do, but the sense you get from the mainstream media is that he's through as a politician. The press has...
COMMENTARY
May 1, 2012

Hands behind Sudan's war

Once again Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir waved his walking stick in the air. Once again he spoke of splendid victories over his enemies as thousands of jubilant supporters danced and cheered. But this time around the stakes are too high.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2012

BOJ boosts asset buys to tune of ¥5 trillion

The Bank of Japan on Friday eased monetary policy by boosting the size of its asset purchase program by ¥5 trillion, saying the move will "better ensure the return of Japan's economy to a sustainable growth path with price stability."
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2012

'Disaster' foreseen if BOJ declines to keep easing

Any failure by the Bank of Japan to expand its asset-purchase program at Friday's board meeting will sow confusion over its policy, a former policymaker said.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 17, 2012

Retail power slow to make inroads despite nuclear crisis

Regional utilities have long dominated the power market, but companies and local governments are starting to get interested in new retailers offering much cheaper rates.
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2012

Kono's BOJ nomination slammed

The government on Friday nominated BNP Paribas economist Ryutaro Kono to join the Bank of Japan's Policy Board, drawing criticism from lawmakers concerned that he won't support bolder action to end prolonged deflation.
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2012

Diversifying LNG supply sources

As Japan's reliance on thermal power generation increases following the Fukushima nuclear crisis, and as the possible blockade of the Strait of Hormuz cannot be ruled out due to the conflict between the West and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program, Japan must strive to diversify sources of liquefied natural...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 18, 2012

Quake insurance is but a token offering

As the government continues to push for an increase in the consumption tax, a question related to last year's disaster is still being debated: How much of the burden for rebuilding should be shouldered by taxpayers? We live in a resolutely capitalist country that stresses personal responsibility, and...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2012

Public acceptance of high salaries for athletes contrasts with low regard for finance superstars

The biggest news around Cambridge in recent weeks has been Jeremy Lin, the Harvard economics graduate who has shocked the National Basketball Association by rising overnight from "nowhere" to become a genuine star, leading a losing New York Knicks team to an unlikely string of victories.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 12, 2012

Pointing out good deals

Billions of yen are piling up in unredeemed loyalty points. Use them, lose them or donate them.
COMMENTARY
Mar 6, 2012

Hamas' perilous maneuvers

Despite all of Hamas' assurances to the contrary, a defining struggle is taking place within the Palestinian Islamic movement. The outcome of this struggle — which is still confined to polite political disagreements and occasional intellectual tussle — is likely to change Hamas' outlook, if not fundamentally...
EDITORIALS
Mar 6, 2012

Increase pension oversight

The news that AIJ Investment Advisors Co. lost most of ¥210 billion entrusted to it by corporate pension funds is causing great worry to many salaried workers. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has found that 84 corporate pension funds entrusted their assets to AIJ. The effect of the loss is serious...
JAPAN
Feb 29, 2012

Noda tax quest one dimensional?

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has cleared numerous political hurdles since taking office in September, but his goal of raising the consumption tax and reforming the social security system may prove insurmountable as he wages a two-front battle.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2012

Pedigree, big returns lured investors to AIJ

A pension fund based in Nagano Prefecture said it invested with AIJ Investment Advisors Co., whose business has been suspended by regulators, because it was run by a former Nomura Holdings Inc. manager and offered 7 percent returns.
BASKETBALL
Feb 26, 2012

Aomori delays entry into bj-league

The Aomori Prefecture expansion franchise will push back its entry into the bj-league until 2013-14, the league announced on Friday, confirming a report The Japan Times published several weeks ago.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2012

Citigroup picks Bakhshi for top job

Citigroup Inc. has appointed a new head for its Japanese markets business as Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit seeks to rebuild there after drawing a third bout of regulatory punishment in seven years in December.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2012

Romney: the right's cup of tea

"Many tea party folks are going to find me, I believe, to be the ideal candidate," the Republican presidential contender said in a news conference in December. "I sure hope so."
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 7, 2012

Bubble era's aviation legacy: Too many airports, all ailing

Japan has 98 airports, and most of them are operating in the red as a result of exaggerated demand forecasts and rampant, costly and arguably pork-barrel construction projects.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2012

Five myths about China's power

As China gains on the world's most advanced economies, the country excites fascination as well as fear, particularly in the United States, where many worry that China will supplant America as the 21st century's superpower. Many ask how China has grown so much so fast, whether the Communist Party can...
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Jan 31, 2012

Iwakuma may thrive in shadows with spotlight on Darvish

It's doubtful Hisashi Iwakuma's debut in the major leagues with the Seattle Mariners will make a big splash in many locales outside Seattle, unless of course it comes against the Oakland A's at Tokyo Dome in March. Though in that case, outfielder Ichiro Suzuki will be the player in the spotlight.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2012

Olympus would be perfect partner in medical device field: Fujifilm

Fujifilm Holdings Corp. proposed a partnership Monday with Olympus Corp., the camera and endoscope maker that lost more than half of its market value last year amid an accounting scandal.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person