See the clip below (re. cross shareholding) from an article discussing Japanese stocks at a 26-year low (as of Monday’s close) in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. Earlier this week I discussed cross shareholdings in Poisonous cross shareholdings may be helpful in reaching a quicker bottom. clipped from online.wsj.com Japan’s banks, in particular, had seemed to [...]
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RSS feed for this sectionUPDATE: Poisonous cross shareholdings may be helpful in reaching a quicker bottom
Media reports and eventual confirmation (by Mitsubishi UFJ) of contemplation of raising capital among Japan’s mega banks warrants far more discussion. As stated earlier, the reasoning of MUFJ (JP: 8306) [[MTU]] is understandable (growth at almost any cost), but unacceptable for existing shareholders. For Mizuho (JP: 8411) [[MFG]] and Mitsui Sumitomo (JP: 8316), however, it [...]
Gains unsurprisingly erased in Tokyo; patient buyers needed
Japanese stocks “rallied” a spectacular 14% last Tuesday, but in spite of that (and being surrounded by massive days of selling), I lacked the broader market’s bullish conviction and explained why in “Trying not to rain on the Tokyo stock parade.” Overnight, the Nikkei sold-off about 6.8% to fall back below 9,000 again to 8,674, [...]
Goldman forecasts recovery in Japanese stocks from mid-2009
In a report issued today and covered by Reuters (see below for clip and link to Japanese original), Goldman Sachs says it sees a possible full recovery for Japanese stocks from mid-2009. On one hand, GS warns that a further slowdown in the global economy represents further downside risk for Japanese stocks given the nation’s [...]
Milking Mitsubishi UFJ
Below are some additional thoughts on the latest MUFG-UB offer (these comments were originally posted in response to an article published by Reuters; edited for style/formatting). UB’s [[UB]] Special Committee is very opportunistic and knows what it is doing. It has effectively taken its minority stake hostage vis a vis its board representation and a [...]
MUFG Now Really Overpaying for Union Bank, Oh Well (Shikataganai)
$58 a share — no! $63 a share — no! $73 a share — oh, sure, might as well, especially in this market. Hats off to Mr. Farman and company for helping the little guys at Union Bank [[UB]] get paid. Still scratching your head about what Mitsubishi UFJ [[MTU]] is thinking? Keep scratching. For [...]
Mitsubishi UFJ Overpaying for UnionBanCal
This is not a bad deal, at all, for existing (non-MUFG) UnionBanCal [[UB]] shareholders: a decent premium pushing the stock to a new 52wk high, amidst ongoing market woes, and not to mention UB’s last quote of $65+, which is above the $63 bid by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group [[MTU]]. Now, as for MUFG shareholders, [...]
Orix-Saison: About Time or Atonomatsuri?
Shares of Credit Saison (8253) jumped 11%, while Orix [[IX]] (8591) rose a muted 3%, on the report of merger talks. (See Reuters clip below). HOWEVER, shares of both have fallen sharply over the past year (there’s even more red over the past two years) compelling one to wonder why an alliance wasn’t formed earlier. [...]
‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine’
Mixed signals, as always, from Japan. Activist investors are making some ground, most notably in Steel Partners v. Aderans (8170). Still, the climate for M&A and shareholder value unlocking investors is not made any easier by more expansive cross-shareholdings. A more concerted effort is needed by METI, FSA, TSE and the business lobbies. (See Reuters [...]
Nikkei Weekly Outlook: Testing Dubious Highs
Last week’s question of resiliency or reluctance at 14,000 for the Nikkei 225 Stock Average was answered, somewhat predictably, with another late-week rally. The Nikkei ended the week higher by 2.3% to 14,338.54 and the broader TOPIX, which rose by the same amount, recouped the 1,400-level (1,408.14) for the first time since January 10th. This [...]
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