Bloomberg (October 28)
“Political uncertainty will likely weigh on sentiment for investors in Japanese assets after the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party failed to win a majority in parliament for the first time since 2009.” Though this uncertainty was not priced in, there may still be buying on dips, and “global investors are still pinning hopes on Japan’s improving corporate governance as a factor to buy equities.”
Tags: Assets, Coalition, Corporate governance, Dips, Failed, Investors, Japan, LDP, Majority, Parliament, Political uncertainty, Sentiment
Reuters (September 23)
“Rebuffing a low-ball, unsolicited, $39 billion takeover proposal from Alimentation Couche-Tard was a straightforward task for Seven & i. But the resulting 20% surge in the Japanese target’s stock price puts it under pressure to lay out a compelling plan to improve its returns. That will be critical to shoring up its defence if its suitor tries to take an offer directly to shareholders.”
Tags: $39 billion, Compelling plan, Couche-Tard, Japan, Low-ball, Rebuffing, Returns, Seven & i, Shareholders, Stock price, Straightforward, Surge, Takeover, Target, Unsolicited
Fortune (September 18)
“Any prominent investor comparing China with Japan prior to its lost decades of stagnation ought to be alarming.” It’s even more alarming when it’s Ray Dalio, the founder of massive hedge fund, Bridgewater. Long known as China bull, he now “fears the property crisis in China has left local governments unable to service their debt by extracting equity through land sales” and that China’s economy now “faces problems as severe as Japan in 1990.”
Tags: Alarming, Bridgewater, China, Dalio, Debt, Economy, Equity, Founder, Hedge-fund, Investor, Japan, Local governments, Property crisis, Severe, Stagnation
Investment Week (September 6)
Japan was “historically seen as a ‘value trap’” where “the interests of minority shareholders were ‘subordinate to those of other stakeholders’” as summed up by one portfolio manager. But things have changed. “After a decade of reforms, ‘Abenomics’ and a push towards fairer corporate governance, investors have started to feel the Japanese market is turning a corner.”
Tags: Abenomics, Corporate governance, Interests, Investors, Japan, Market, Minority shareholders, Portfolio manager, Reforms, Stakeholders, Subordinate, Value trap
Bloomberg (August 11)
“Japanese equities shed $1.1 trillion in value as they kicked off August with a record three-day loss.” Having some of the froth knocked off, however, is providing bullish investors with “a fresh reason to buy what has been one of 2024’s hottest trades.”
Tags: $1.1 trillion, 2024, August, Bullish, Buy, Equities, Froth, Investors, Japan, Loss, Reason, Record, Shed, Value
Seeking Alpha (August 6)
The “market meltdown” on Monday “isn’t getting any less volatile, with things now moving in the opposite direction. Japan’s Nikkei ended the session up 10% overnight, marking its best session since 2008, following a plunge of 13% on Monday. Much of the volatility is said to have emanated in Japan, where a carry trade based on the yen went sour as the BOJ raised rates during the same week the Fed signaled its intention to cut.”
Tags: 2008, BOJ, Carry trade, Cut, Fed, Japan, Market, Meltdown, Nikkei, Plunge of 13%, Up 10%, Volatile, Yen
Markets Insider (August 3)
“Japan’s stocks took a hit on Friday, fueled by economic concerns in the US and the Bank of Japan’s interest-rate hike earlier this week.” Closing down 5.8%, the Nikkei marked “its largest daily decline since March 2020 after hitting record highs earlier this month.” The Nikkei was not alone. Amid signs of a cooling economy, U.S. stock indices “tanked across the board over the past two days due to a combination of discouraging economic data points, including rising unemployment and slowing manufacturing and construction.”
Tags: 2020, 5.8%, BOJ, Construction, Cooling, Decline, Discouraging, Economic concerns, Friday, Interest-rate hike, Japan, Manufacturing, Nikkei, Record highs, Stocks, U.S., Unemployment
Washington Post (July 4)
“Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index closed Thursday at a fresh record high of 40,913.65, pushing past its most recent record close set in March on heavy buying of automaker and technology shares…. Both foreign and domestic investors have piled into the Japanese market in recent months even as the economy has slowed.” The weak yen is “part of the attraction…. But changes to investment regulations have also lured many Japanese investors into the equity market.”
Tags: Automaker, Domestic, Economy, Foreign, Heavy buying, Investors, Japan, Market, Nikkei 225, Record high, Shares, Technology, Weak yen
Financial Times (June 5)
“India’s benchmark Nifty 50 rose 2.3 per cent following a sharp sell-off on Tuesday after a shock election result.” Meanwhile “Japan’s Topix index led losses as it dropped 1.4 per cent, driven lower by a decline in the financial and energy sectors. The yen was the region’s worst-performing currency as it fell 0.6 per cent against the dollar to ¥155.75.”
Tags: Benchmark, Currency, Decline, Election, Energy, Financial, India, Japan, Nifty 50, Sell-off, Shock, Topix, Worst-performing, Yen
OilPrice.com (May 24)
De-Dollarization has begun. In China, the majority of cross-border payments had always been in dollars. “In March 2023, the share of the RMB in China’s settlements surpassed the USD for the first time.” In other transactions, the currency’s progress may be masked. For example, “the Bank for International Settlements reveals that, in 2022, the USD remained the most-used currency for FX settlements. The euro and the Japanese yen came in second and third, respectively.” However, “the Chinese renminbi, though accounting for a relatively small share of FX transactions, gained the most ground over the last decade. Meanwhile, the euro and the yen saw decreases in use.”
Tags: BIS, China, Cross-border payments, De-Dollarization, euro, FX, Japan, Renminbi, RMB, Settlements, Transactions, USD, Yen
