The emergence of southeast Asia as an economic power in its own right has increasing appeal to investors. The region has a population of over 600m and collective gross domestic product greater than Brazil or India. It is also set to grow in importance as a manufacturing base as rising labour costs i
Japanese banks still take pride in their support of ailing clients. But that has a cost. It means that capital generally flows to yesterday’s firms rather than tomorrow’s – whether in Japan, or outside. To the extent that there is little demand for loans in Japan, the banks’ preference is to
More crucially, computer and chip makers that had been desperate to move whatever products they could in 2008 and 2009 are now eager to sell higher-priced and higher-margin machines. That explains the marketing blitz by Intel and others for very light and powerful computers with fast processors and
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Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the Olympus affair is the lack of shock. In most markets, events such as this would be spellbinding: the ousting of a chief executive in very strange circumstances, conflicting statements from his former colleagues, speculation about possible links to organised cr
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The US bank on Wednesday revealed details of the breach, which it said it discovered in early May through routine monitoring, after being questioned by the Financial Times. The bank said that about 1 per cent of its card customers were affected. Citi Cards has about 21m customers in North America, a
With great caution, if the behaviour of its founders is anything to go by. Mr Lefkofsky this week appeared to breach the SEC-enforced “quiet period” for IPOs by insisting to Bloomberg that Groupon would be “wildly profitable”. Barron’s reported that Mr Lefkofsky told employees of another o
Yet, however popular it has become to beat up central banks, Japan’s tragedy underlines their huge advantages. Relative to national output, the Japanese disaster may end up being two or even three times costlier than the San Francisco quake. However, thanks to monetary activism, Japan’s payment
In times of crisis, nations look to banks to provide stability. In Japan, though, banks’ equity exposures actually intensify stock wobbles. Domestic equity holdings account for 35 to 40 per cent of tier one capital for the three biggest lenders, giving their shares a beta (a measure of sensitivity
Both the government and private companies of Japan are far better organised than their counterparts in some other recently disaster-stricken countries. Recovery from this disaster is already under way. Nippon Steel, the country’s largest producer, has resumed shipments from all but one of its plan
was ¥69600 now ¥41749 for your first year. Make up your own mind. Build robust opinions with the FT’s trusted journalism. Offer available here until 24th October.
was ¥69600 now ¥41749 for your first year. Make up your own mind. Build robust opinions with the FT’s trusted journalism. Offer available here until 24th October.