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Finbarr Flynn
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2015
Toshiba default risk surges most in Japan on accounting probe
An accounting probe of Toshiba Corp.'s infrastructure and energy projects caused its default risk to jump the most in Japan, just as the creditworthiness of Sharp Corp. and Sony Corp. had been improving.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 30, 2015
Investors seek out risky U.S. loans in throwback to pre-crisis days
Japanese investors are plowing back into the same types of risky U.S. corporate-loan investments that caused them losses during the 2008 financial crisis.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2015
Bubble-era missteps shape Tokio Marine's property strategy
Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., one of the nation's oldest insurers, is joining its Chinese peers in investing in property overseas — but with a twist.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 23, 2015
Blackstone draws Tokyo junk investors amid warnings of froth
Blackstone Group LP filled a Tokyo ballroom earlier this month with locals seeking riskier U.S. loans as regulators in New York try and avert a credit bubble.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 27, 2015
Nomura says 'Abenomics' more likely to derail amid doubt over tax pledge
Nomura Holdings Inc. says the probability that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies will end badly is increasing.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 22, 2014
Refiners Idemistu and Showa Shell in talks for tie-up
Shares in Japanese refiners surged on Monday after two of the largest said they were discussing a tie-up, as falling demand for fuels spurs the industry to consider consolidation.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 22, 2014
Ebola raises airline bond risk, similar to SARS scare
The bond risk of ANA Holdings Inc. rose the most of any company in Japan as the spread of Ebola to two health workers in the U.S. rekindled memories of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2002 and 2003.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2014
'Abenomics' at risk as firms put brakes on spending, hoard their cash
Japanese companies from NTT Docomo Inc. to Honda Motor Co. are putting the brakes on spending as they pile up cash, showing the challenge Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new Cabinet faces in reviving the economy.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2014
Yen at 120 needed to fuel inflation, UBS exec says
The new chief investment officer for Japan at UBS AG's wealth management division likens the nation to a man with $1.2 million in debt who is spending all his $53,000 salary and still borrowing $40,000 a year.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 21, 2014
Deutsche Bank lays seeds for future with warrants in Japan
Deutsche Bank AG is helping smaller Japanese companies less able to access the bond market raise money using warrants, as it searches for investment banking clients to generate future business.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 31, 2014
Loan funds lure companies missing out on Abe rebound
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stimulus helps push banks' lending rates under 1 percent, funds are targeting a debt market paying 10 times that.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 14, 2014
Automakers luring Japan's interest-hungry banks to Mexico
Investments by Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. that look set to make Mexico the biggest car exporter to the U.S. are giving Japanese banks a chance to escape from the world's lowest yields.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2014
BOJ misfire seen in regional banks' turn to aircraft loans
Chugoku Bank Ltd. wants to get into the global airline debt market after loans to local businesses fell for a fourth straight year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2013
Tepco bonds a safe bet now: Nomura
Nomura Holdings Inc. is urging investors buy Tokyo Electric Power Co. bonds after a report that the government plans to cap the utility's cleanup costs at the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2013
Probe launched after Anglo Irish execs' calls leaked
A former executive at Anglo Irish Bank Corp. said it would be "fantastic" if the state took over the lender, as "we'd all get to keep our jobs" and sang "Deutschland uber alles" as the bank won German deposits, according to tapes of 2008 conversations released last Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2010
Goldman, Morgan, Nomura units face increased scrutiny over risk
The Financial Services Agency picked Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Nomura Holdings Inc. as initial subjects of a new unit to scrutinize risk-taking among investment banks, a source said this week.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2009
Funerals a growth undertaking
Death is a growth industry in Japan and everyone from railways to retailers wants a slice.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2009
Credit Saison to maintain independence
Credit card firm Credit Saison Co., 14.3 percent owned by Mizuho Financial Group Inc., will remain independent of the bank as its rivals join up with the country's biggest lenders.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2009
Banks should cut stock holdings: FSA's Mikuniya
Banks should use a government-backed share purchase program to reduce stock holdings that caused $10 billion of losses at Japan's three biggest lenders last year, the country's top financial regulator said.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2009
Regional banks brace for mortgage defaults
Smaller regional banks may need to brace for an increase in mortgage defaults as unemployment rises and the contagion from the recession spreads.

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