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Alimentation Couche-Tard’s proposed acquisition of Seven & I Holdings, if successful, would be an extremely rare case of a foreign company's buyout of a major Japanese firm.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 20, 2024

Seven & I buyout would be a watershed moment for Japan takeovers

Until now, an attempt to acquire such a well-known Japanese business at such scale would have been dismissed as audacious and unlikely.
Tourists enjoy the beach in Malaga, Spain, on Aug. 14.
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2024

Package deals make comeback in Europe among budget-conscious sun seekers

The combination of a cost-of-living crisis and disruption from strikes and glitches has added to the appeal of a fixed-price package without unexpected add-on costs.
A Mitsubishi Electric employee prepares a robotic arm for a demonstration of the firm's artificial intelligence technologies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 23, 2024

Mitsubishi Electric fights to keep up with AI data center demand

The Tokyo-based maker of factory automation is a key supplier of optic fiber communication devices that link servers to one another.
A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
BUSINESS / Economy / Longform
Aug 26, 2024

Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?

Intense heat and an increase in storms, by-products of a changing climate, are altering consumer behavior.
Makoto Asai (right) works at his restaurant in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 1, 2024

Reconstruction demand aiding business recovery eight months after Noto quake

There is a long way to go before full-scale postdisaster reconstruction, with many businesses operating for shorter hours or at makeshift facilities.
An abandoned house in Urayama, Saitama Prefecture. Buying an <i>akiya</i>, which means empty house in Japanese, can be a rewarding experience that yields a unique space and a livable home, competitively priced. Or it could turn out to be a money pit.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2024

First lesson of Japan’s akiya gold rush: No such thing as a free house.

Renovations are usually the most expensive part of the journey and the laundry list of what needs to be done is long and tends to get longer after the process starts.
A Samsung high-bandwidth memory chip. South Korea is among a handful of semiconductor powerhouses that face a potential U.S. ban on exports to China of state-of-the-art chips, including high-bandwidth memory, used to train artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 2, 2024

South Korea wants U.S. ‘carrots’ for embracing China chip curbs

South Korean trade minister says incentives ‘would help U.S. policy be embraced more easily.’
Daikin's air conditioners for sale at a home appliances store in Mumbai
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2024

Daikin, world’s No. 1 air-conditioner maker, to expand capacity in India

The Japanese company has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire an additional 13.4 hectares to build a new plant near its current factory in southern India.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand in Wellington in 2017
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 3, 2024

New Zealand's data fog leaves its central bank flying blind

Years of tight funding by successive governments have left statisticians struggling to keep up with a rapidly changing economy.
Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel is opposed by politicians across the political spectrum, including both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 5, 2024

Japan miffed but reaction muted after shocking twist to U.S. Steel deal

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to reject Nippon Steel's acquisition of the American steelmaker, according to multiple unconfirmed reports released in recent days.
Seven & I Holdings, operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, said on Friday it has rejected Alimentation Couche-Tard's takeover bid as not being in the interest of shareholders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2024

Seven & I pans value of offer as it rejects Canadian takeover bid

Seven & I said that Alimentation Couche-Tard had “grossly” undervalued the target company and that the takeover attempt was timed “opportunistically.”
A new deal may mark a big step in China’s yearslong ambition to create an "aircraft carrier-sized" brokerage to take on Wall Street banks.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 6, 2024

China creates its largest brokerage to take on Wall Street

The deal would mark a big step in China’s yearslong ambition to create an "aircraft carrier-sized” brokerage.
A polygraph machine sits on a table in an office of AO Eurasian Bank in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2013.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 6, 2024

AI-powered lie detectors can help tell if you’re lying on a Zoom call

CyberQ is just one of a crop of new companies looking to build AI-powered lie detectors that could be used during work-related online meetings.
Economist and Former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 10, 2024

German opposition obscures Draghi’s vision for EU renewal through joint debt

Resistance to calls for the region to invest up to €800 billion extra a year and commit to issuing common bonds prolongs a history of stalemate between rival ambitions.
Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2024

Seven & I takeover bid shows a shift in government, Suntory CEO says

The takeover bid has also left many CEOs in Japan nervous that their companies could be next.
Nippon Steel argues that its acquisition of U.S. Steel would be a win-win.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2024

Quiet assurances mooted as U.S. Steel deal shakes global order

Analysts and informed observers have been gaming out the possible outcomes and adding up the potential damage.
An MUFG Bank branch in Tokyo. The bank is stepping up its electronic trading capabilities.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2024

MUFG pushes to bring its trading into electronic age, except JGBs

MUFG is catching up to rivals, vying to become more competitive across fixed income and equities where electronic trading has taken hold.
People walk past the AstraZeneca booth during the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on Nov. 28, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 16, 2024

AstraZeneca’s blockbuster drug scores major win in combatting bladder cancer

In patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, the drug Imfinzi reduced the risk of disease recurring by 32% when given alongside the current standard of care.
The core issue holding back the quicker adoption of electric vehicles is the high cost and complexity of installing DC fast chargers, essential for quick EV refueling.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2024

EV charging faces deeper problems than we realize

The core issue holding back the quicker adoption of electric vehicles is the high cost and complexity of installing DC fast chargers, essential for quick EV refueling.
7-Eleven's parent company this month rejected a $38.5 billion offer from Circle-K owner Couche-Tard, citing concerns about price.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 17, 2024

7-Eleven parent's new security rating won't affect a buyout, minister says

The finance minister's comments appeared aimed at easing investor concerns about the move.
Sony last month officially unveiled a digital ledger, Soneium, while other Japanese firms like Toyota explore various blockchain-related initiatives.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 18, 2024

Sony joins a crypto push in Japan as calls grow for looser rules

The question for the government is whether to heed requests from the crypto industry for less onerous rules to lower costs and spur growth.
Google's lucrative ad tech business attracted EU regulatory scrutiny last year following a complaint from the European Publishers Council.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2024

EU publishers snubbed Google's offer to sell part of ad tech biz: sources

The European publishers deemed Google's offer to divest its advertising marketplace AdX as insufficient.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture. The chipmaker is building a second plant in the prefecture that is scheduled to commence production in 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2024

Third TSMC plant in Japan remains up in the air 

Taiwan Minister of National Development Liu Chin-ching, who is on TSMC’s board, says it hasn't been decided yet.
Southeast Asian cities like Bangkok are benefiting from an influx of global trade and investment following years of deteriorating commercial relations between the U.S. and China.
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2024

Thai scion bets U.S.-China feud will ease office glut

Thailand approved over $13 billion in investments in the first half of the year, up 35% from the same period in 2023, driven by Chinese and Singaporean investors.
A tugboat passes shipping containers being unloaded and stacked on a pier at Port Newark, New Jersey, in 2021.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 30, 2024

U.S. East Coast port strike set to start on Tuesday, union says

If union members walk off the job, it would be the first coast-wide strike since 1977, affecting ports that handle about half of the U.S.' ocean shipping.
Couche-Tard isn’t giving up on its takeover effort of Seven & I Holdings, the owner of 7-Eleven stores.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2024

Couche-Tard reportedly sent higher price of $47 billion for Seven & I

The fresh attempt to enter talks shows that Couche-Tard isn’t giving up on its takeover effort.
Mindbody ClassPass CFO Tom Aveston speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2024

ClassPass lands in Japan with eye on domestic fitness market and visitors

The company, which provides access to gyms on a membership basis, started operating on Sept. 19 with 200 partner gyms and fitness studios, mainly in Tokyo.
Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
BUSINESS / Tech / Longform
Oct 12, 2024

Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep

After years of sleep deficits and drowsy mornings, a growing number of products and services are being developed to help us rest easier.
Boeing factory workers and supporters gather on a picket line near the entrance to a Boeing production facility in Renton, Washington, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2024

Boeing to cut 17,000 jobs and delay first 777X delivery as strike hits finances

CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a message to employees that the significant downsizing is necessary "to align with our financial reality."
FamilyMart's net profit nearly doubled to ¥65.4 billion in the first six months of its fiscal year, though its operating revenue fell 1.4% to ¥257.5 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2024

Lawson and FamilyMart post higher first-half profits

FamilyMart's net profit nearly doubled to ¥65.4 billion in the first six months of its fiscal year, though its operating revenue fell 1.4% to ¥257.5 billion.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear