Toshiba cash gives only half-life to nuclear plant 12 Jun 2017 The Japanese company’s $3.7 bln settlement shores up Southern’s finances but leaves a cloud over its troubled reactors. Construction continues for now yet the utility is still on the hook for overruns. It may yet decide to pull the plug on the plant, and nuclear’s U.S. future.
SoftBank gets robotic leg-up from Alphabet 9 Jun 2017 The Japanese group is buying U.S. robot-maker Boston Dynamics. The undisclosed price was probably not high, since Alphabet was a keen seller. Boston’s dog-like automatons are scarier than SoftBank’s cutesy android Pepper. But both help SoftBank prepare for a robot-heavy future.
Hadas: Misbehaving wages keep economists baffled 7 Jun 2017 Conventional economic theory says wages start to rise when labour markets tighten. It isn’t happening in the U.S., Britain, Japan or Germany. Many semi-plausible excuses and partial explanations have not solved the mystery. That leaves central bankers in a quandary.
Art world upstart sprays tech fortune on canvas 2 Jun 2017 Japan's Yusaku Maezawa is building a collection of Basquiats and other masterpieces. The soaring value of his fashion portal vividly illustrates how investors are enchanted by the tech industry’s fast growth and fat margins. It also means he can afford to paint the town red.
Twin aims push Toshiba, Western Digital to a deal 24 May 2017 The Japanese firm needs cash quickly while its U.S. partner hopes to buy its chip unit on the cheap. Yet Toshiba wants certainty and Western can’t afford to see a rival steal the prize. An $18 bln bid by Western shows the forces pushing the two sides toward an agreement.
Clarity missing from SoftBank’s $100 bln Vision 22 May 2017 Japanese maverick Masayoshi Son has closed the first round of his huge tech fund. If he can find more gems like Alibaba, this could be a bonanza for SoftBank investors. For now, he has kept them in the dark without crucial details on everything from fees to profit sharing.
Saudis place $20 bln bet against U.S. dysfunction 21 May 2017 The Kingdom's pledge to Blackstone may turn into $100 bln of firepower aimed at upgrading American infrastructure. The problem is finding states and cities that want private cash. Riyadh will need a lot more patience than with its equally huge SoftBank-led tech venture.
Japan’s job market is more brittle than it looks 19 May 2017 Unemployment is 2.8 pct and the country is on its longest growth streak in a decade. But some can only find part-time work, unions speak for just a minority, and productivity is patchy. So wage growth is anaemic - thwarting Premier Shinzo Abe's push for more inflation.
SoftBank tests India’s taste for foreign finance 18 May 2017 The Japanese company is investing $1.4 bln into the parent of Paytm, India's top digital payments provider. The trick will be to square it with rules requiring local control of such businesses. Luckily, China's Jack Ma, an existing investor, is an expert in pushing boundaries.
SoftBank’s $100 bln fund looms over satellite deal 18 May 2017 The Japanese telco's OneWeb unit is offering creditors in rival Intelsat slightly better terms, while giving its shareholders less. Boss Masayoshi Son had to find a way to get this merger done, without making it so costly it could not be folded into his new mega-fund.
Toshiba and Western Digital need to get along 9 May 2017 The ailing Japanese giant has warned its U.S. partner not to derail the auction of a key chip unit. Toshiba needs a full price to offset its nuclear losses while Western Digital wants to buy the business in a fire sale. There's not much common ground.
DoCoMo spoils in India not enough to go around 2 May 2017 Another multinational is set to leave India with its shirt and little else. A local court upheld a London arbitration order for Tata Sons to pay the Japanese telco $1.2 bln owed for a JV gone awry. But the win against Indian authorities is scant comfort to foreign investors.
Toshiba axing PwC would be ugly bid to stay listed 26 Apr 2017 The Japanese group may ditch its recently hired Big Four auditor for a smaller firm, the Nikkei reports. That won't win back trust from regulators and investors. But Toshiba is desperate to retain its stock market presence, and the impasse with finicky PwC put that at risk.
Activist in Japan ups the ante and gets results 24 Apr 2017 Hong Kong hedge fund Oasis forced Panasonic to change tack and sweeten its offer for the rest of subsidiary PanaHome. Floating its own counterbid made the difference. But the new $839 mln cash offer is still far from a knockout. There could be more moves and countermoves ahead.
Markets are wary of new blot on Japan Inc’s image 21 Apr 2017 Fujifilm has discovered dodgy accounting in its Kiwi unit. It is merely a $200 mln flub. But investor anxiety is understandable. What looked like a manageable accounting problem at Toshiba spiralled out of control. The photocopier-maker's mediocre governance is unhelpful too.
Toshiba pays price for bad Japanese habits 11 Apr 2017 The energy-to-electronics giant says there is doubt about its survival, with shareholders' equity going negative and further huge exposure to bankrupt nuclear-construction unit Westinghouse. Conglomerate sprawl, weak governance and ill-judged overseas M&A all played their part.
Foxconn’s offer to Toshiba is too rich to ignore 11 Apr 2017 The Taiwanese giant is reportedly dangling a $27 bln offer for Toshiba's memory unit. This could be bluster: Foxconn must bid high to offset political concerns, and may end up cutting its price. Still, Toshiba owes it to long-suffering investors to take this seriously.
7-Eleven owner steps on the gas in Texas 6 Apr 2017 Japan's Seven & i will pay $3.3 bln for most of Sunoco's gas stations, building on its lead as America's top convenience-store chain. Financial details are scant, but there is a good geographic fit. The buyer has also clearly moved on from last year's sensational boardroom coup.
Toshiba’s $18 bln sell-off breaks the mould 3 Apr 2017 Foreigners rarely get to buy big Japanese outfits. Even when they do, the company is either in deep trouble or at least needs some attention from a new owner. Toshiba's memory chip unit is a huge, healthy business in a concentrated market. No wonder bidders are queuing up.
Utilities to pay price of Westinghouse bankruptcy 28 Mar 2017 A Chapter 11 filing would jolt the company’s key clients, Scana and Southern. Continuing with their nuclear plants could leave the utilities exposed to further cost overruns, while pulling the plug won’t end liabilities. Either way, the firms’ earning power will be cut.