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People walk along Wall Street in New York.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 11, 2024

Wall Street math wizards are decoding private-market returns

Decoding such illiquid investments is fraught with pitfalls, however, as many modeling mortgage bonds and derivatives before the financial crisis would testify.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump with the then-leader of Vietnam's Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi in February 2019
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 12, 2024

Vietnam may find it harder to profit from new U.S.-China trade war

Its growing trade surplus with the U.S. — which is fourth-largest, after China, Mexico and Canada — will likely put it in U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's sights.
Nojima will purchase about 93% of Vaio's outstanding shares from investment fund Japan Industrial Partners.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2024

Nojima to acquire PC company Vaio for ¥11.2 billion

Sony will continue to hold a 4.7% stake in Vaio.
Nissan’s filing said Suntera (Cayman) is the buyer of the 2.5% stake and listed Suntera as a trustee of ECM Master Fund.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2024

Nissan surges after firm linked to hedge fund takes 2.5% stake

The jump is a remarkable turnaround for Nissan’s stock, which plunged last week after the carmaker slashed jobs and said it would cut manufacturing capacity by a fifth.
Rakuten's sale of 15% stake in its credit card arm to Mizuho Financial Group would give the e-commerce pioneer a one-time gain of ¥159.4 billion in the current quarter.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 14, 2024

Rakuten sells Mizuho 15% of credit card arm for ¥165 billion

The sale would give the e-commerce pioneer a one-time gain of ¥159.4 billion in the current quarter, Rakuten said in a statement Wednesday.
Nissan and its group firms have about $1.6 billion of debt due next year, a slight decrease from 2024, but that figure will jump to around $5.6 billion in 2026, the most in Bloomberg-compiled data going back to 1996.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 15, 2024

Nissan faces record debt bill with one year left to fix finances

The automaker and its group firms are seen having about $5.6 billion in debt due in 2026.
Japanese companies lack the agility needed for the digital transformation, a new report says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2024

Japan ranked 31st in digital competitiveness, 92nd for English skills

In the 2024 EF English Proficiency Index, Japan was ranked 92nd, down from 87 the previous year. It was its worst showing yet.
Japan’s megabanks have resumed trading activities with Nomura Holdings, people with knowledge of the matter said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 18, 2024

Nomura's trading clients return after market manipulation probe

Many of the firms returned to Nomura after the brokerage explained measures it is taking to prevent a recurrence of the breach, sources said.
Sony already has a 2% stake in Kadokawa and a stake in Kadokawa subsidiary FromSoftware, the developer of Elden Ring.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 19, 2024

Sony in talks to buy media powerhouse behind Elden Ring, sources say

The talks between the two sides are ongoing and, if successful, a deal could be signed in the coming weeks.
Huawei’s struggles reflect how years of U.S. sanctions have scored initial success at freezing Chinese technology advancements at current levels, and deprived its national champions of the chance to graduate to the next level.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 20, 2024

China’s chip advances stall as U.S. curbs hit Huawei AI product

Huawei's hurdle has implications for China's broader ambitions, suggesting the country will lag further behind the U.S. in 2025 when newer chips emerge.
People walk near the entrance of the venue of the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2024

Development banks seek private money for climate change fight

Development banks committed to increasing their lending to poorer countries to $120 billion a year by 2030.
Tokyo Gas’ LNG terminal in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 20, 2024

Tokyo Gas shares jump most since 1987 after activist fund discloses major stake

Elliott Investment Management said it now owns more than 5% of Tokyo Gas and may make "important proposals” to the utility provider.
Korea Zinc Chairman Yun B. Choi, a grandson of a co-founder, last week agreed to scrap a controversial plan to issue new shares in the zinc refiner to help fend off a takeover attempt.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2024

Korea Zinc takeover battle tests Seoul's resolve on tackling 'Korea discount'

South Korean firms tend to have lower valuations compared to their overseas peers due to low dividend payouts and the dominance of family-run conglomerates.
A view of the city skyline and Huangpu river in Shanghai on Feb. 24, 2022
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 25, 2024

China's startups suffer as investors exercise redemption rights

The situation conflicts with the government's resolve to foster innovation and achieve technological self-reliance in systemically important industries.
The Google campus in Mountain View, California, on May 2
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 26, 2024

Google arguments draw skepticism from judge in ad tech case

The case is one of several against Google over antitrust issues.
Two glasses of alcohol-free wine are pictured in a bar in Frankfurt on Nov. 20.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024

German family winery taps into zero-alcohol trend

The company produces about 17 million bottles of alcohol-free wine a year, with sales up by around 35% annually.
A Shiseido at a consumer products exhibition in Haikou, China, in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2024

Shiseido profit outlook squeezed by China downturn, president says

Shiseido joins other luxury brands that have been hurt by slowing growth, increased competition and weaker consumer confidence in China.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting in Tokyo on Oct. 31.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 30, 2024

BOJ's Ueda says rate hike timing 'approaching,' Nikkei reports

The remarks reinforce growing market expectations that the BOJ will raise its short-term policy rate from the current 0.25% as soon as its next meeting on Dec. 18-19.
Hiroyuki Fukuda is due to become the new president of Nippon Television Holdings in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 30, 2024

Four Nippon TV affiliates to integrate management in April

The aim of the merger is to stabilize their business base and address the increasingly tough business environment resulting from media diversification.
Nomura Holdings plans to rebuild its IT architecture, promote digitalization and automation as well as review office locations as the company tightens its belt.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2024

Nomura CEO to seek $186 million in extra cost reductions

The move highlights Nomura Holdings' continued focus on curbing expenses even as earnings rebound.
Female company presidents are mostly found at small businesses in Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 2, 2024

8.4% of Japanese companies led by women in 2024

Female presidents tend to be found at smaller companies, with 11.9% of companies with less than ¥50 million in annual sales having a female boss.
Nomura’s reputation has taken a hit after it admitted to a bond market manipulation in October and following charges brought against a former employee in November on suspicion of robbery, arson and attempted murder of an elderly couple during a customer visit.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 2, 2024

Nomura’s Japan corporate bond market rank slips after probe

Japan’s biggest brokerage saw its position fall to sixth place in November and its market share shrink to 2.1%, the latest data shows.
Rakuten Group is targeting the sale of as much as $550 million of subordinated notes with price talk for the deal at around 8.375%.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 4, 2024

Rakuten targets its lowest-cost junk bond sale since 2021

The e-commerce giant is targeting the sale of as much as $550 million of subordinated notes that can be called after five years.
Japan's base salaries grew at a 32-year-high pace in October, offering statistical support for the prospects of a central bank rate hike this month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 6, 2024

Record base pay gains keep door open for BOJ hike

Base pay for full-time workers increased by 2.8% in October from a year ago, the biggest gain for comparable data back to 1994.
A Nippon Express facility in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 7, 2024

Fraudulent transport insurance claims found at Nippon Express

The offices falsified data and documents related to insurance contracts and claimed insurance money for cargoes without insurance contracts.
Dining habits have changed since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, with alcohol consumption experiencing a drop.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 9, 2024

Hundreds of izakaya going bust as prices rise and customers change

In the first 11 months of this year, 203 of these establishments went out of business, more than the entire year of 2020 when COVID-19 became a pandemic.
Rupert Murdoch arrives for a probate court hearing in Reno, Nevada on Sept. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2024

Murdoch loses 'Succession' battle for son's control of media empire

The media mogul sought to make Lachlan, his eldest son who is understood to share his worldview, as the controlling player in the family empire after his death.
Ryozo Himino, deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, is scheduled to give a speech on Jan. 14, a rare step for the bank before its policy meeting later in the same month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 10, 2024

BOJ plans a rare January speech that may lift rate hike views

By scheduling the speech before the January meeting, the BOJ will have a solid opportunity to telegraph its thinking on monetary policy.
Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui are enjoying record earnings and they are determined to fund overseas expansion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2024

Japan's megabanks are flush with cash and hunting overseas deals

The primary focus is on the U.S. and India, respectively the world’s largest economy and the fastest-growing.
Keidanren chief Masakazu Tokura speaks to reporters in the city of Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture on Nov. 20.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 10, 2024

Keidanren urges tax hike for rich with eye on ¥1 quadrillion GDP

Such a move will help the nation achieve a “virtuous cycle of growth and distribution,” Keidanren chief Masakazu Tokura says.

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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