China Increases Presence in Japan Debt Market China greatly increased its presence in the Japanese debt market last year, a move likely to give ammunition to those calling on Beijing to open up its own financial markets to outside investors.
Asian Markets Close Higher Asian markets rose on growing optimism over a debt deal in Greece, while an upbeat outlook from Toyota lifted car makers in Tokyo, where the Nikkei gained 1.1% to its highest close in three months.
India Shares End Higher Indian shares closed higher Wednesday, with gains in some index heavyweights and regional markets helping more than offset sharp losses in Bharti Airtel.
S&P Cuts Sony Rating, Warns of Further Action S&P lowered its long-term debt ratings on Sony to two notches above junk status and gave the Japanese electronics company a negative outlook.
Toyota Talks Up Despite Down Quarter Toyota lifted its full-year net income forecast, but expects its earnings to come in at nearly half the level of last year, and below the profitability projections of its smaller Japanese rivals.
Japan Confirms 'Stealth' Yen Intervention Japan continued to conduct "stealth" interventions in the currency market after its highly publicized yen-selling campaign on Oct. 31, data released by the Finance Ministry confirmed.
Cambodia's Developers Aim at Stars A high-rise building boom in Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh, derailed by the 2008-2009 financial crisis, is starting up again.
Investors Await Nomura Rating Decision Moody's was expected to announce this week whether it will cut Nomura's debt rating as the Japanese brokerage struggles to bolster its global business.
NAB Reviews UK Operations National Australia Bank said it is reviewing its operations in the U.K., where it owns more than 300 bank branches, after abandoning hopes of a near-term economic recovery there.
Asia Markets Slip Mainland Chinese shares tumbled, leading most major Asian markets lower, as investors expressed disappointment at monetary policy in the world's No. 2 economy; the Shanghai Composite slid 1.7%.
Tesco Fund Prepares for Thailand IPO Tesco Lotus Property Fund started premarketing its $500 million initial public offering, set to be Thailand's biggest IPO since 2006.
Asian Shares Rise in Early Trading Asian stock markets rose in early trading Monday after an upbeat jobs report from the U.S. suggested the recovery in the world's biggest economy was picking up pace, driving cyclical stocks higher and buoying the U.S. dollar.
China Accepts First HK Shares-Linked ETF China's securities regulator has accepted an application to launch the country's first exchange-traded fund linked to Hong Kong-listed shares, offering Chinese investors fresh access to securities overseas.
Indonesia Firm Wants to Buy State-Owned Bank Indonesia's newest private-equity firm, Yawadwipa Companies, has notified the government that it wants to acquire state-owned Bank Mutiara in a deal that could be worth more than $750 million.
TPG Raises 4 Billion Yuan Private-equity firm TPG has secured about 4 billion yuan so far as it raises capital for China investments.
U.S. Data Drive Some Asia Markets Markets in Japan and Australia rallied as exporter and resource shares got a boost from strong U.S. employment numbers, but Hong Kong stocks ended lower and mainland Chinese and South Korean stocks were little changed. Tokyo's Nikkei rose 1.1%.
Australia Forex Trading Volumes Slump Daily trading volumes in the Australian foreign-exchange market slumped 23% in October 2011 from April 2011 in U.S. dollar terms, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
TPG Raises 4 billion Yuan for China Investments Private-equity firm TPG said Monday it has secured about 4 billion yuan ($634 million) so far as it continues to raise capital for China investments.
Sunshine Oilsands Delays Hong Kong IPO Roadshow Sunshine Oilsands, a Calgary-based energy company backed by Chinese investors including China Life Insurance (Group), is postponing the roadshow for its up to $700 million initial public offering in Hong Kong, two people familiar with the situation said.
Cebu Pacific Reaches for the Skies Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific, which now flies around Asia, is planning a step that could vastly increase its customer base—but that has tripped up other budget carriers in the past: Running long-haul flights.
Emerging Markets' Long Road to Acceptance Ingrained habits can be hard to shift—and that definitely holds true for investing in emerging markets.
Earnings Drag on Tokyo, Seoul Asian stock markets ended mixed, with Japanese and South Korean shares losing ground as investors digested earnings reports while Chinese stocks managed to overcome a lower opening; the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8%.
Rinehart Now Biggest Shareholder in Fairfax Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart's company confirmed that she has become the biggest single shareholder in the country's oldest newspaper publisher, Fairfax Media.
Hutchison Whampoa to Buy Orange Austria Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa agreed to buy Austria's third-largest mobile operator for about €1.3 billion in a move that will enable the ports-to-telecom operator to expand its market share in the European country.
Japan Hardens Currency Rhetoric Japan's finance minister stepped up his warnings over the yen's renewed strength, which threatens to exacerbate the nation's trade shortfalls and economic slowdown.
India Shares End at Near Three-Month High Indian shares rose for a third day to end at their highest levels in nearly three months Thursday, with telecom operator Bharti Airtel leading the gains after a court cancelled licenses of some rivals.
Commodity, Financial Shares Lead Asia Higher Asian markets joined in the global appreciation after the release of stronger manufacturing data from the U.K., EU and U.S.; the Shanghai Composite Index gained 2%.
Tokyo Tackles Trading Glitch The Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended trading of 241 issues for its Thursday morning session, including blue-chip stocks such as Sony and Hitachi, in a system failure that left traders trying to pacify clients unable to trade.
Nomura Profit Rises on Cost Cuts Nomura reported a 33% on-year gain in quarterly net profit, as its cost-cutting measures and an asset sale mitigated the effects of global market instability and the European debt crisis.
Japan Hopes Bond Buying Encourages Yuan Reform Some officials say Japan's plan to buy up to $10 billion of Chinese bonds reflects frustration with China's aggressive purchases of Japanese government bonds, and they hope it will encourage faster internationalization of the yuan.
New China Life Plans $2.4 Billion in Bond Sales New China Life Insurance said it plans to raise $2.4 billion through debt issuance, the latest Chinese insurer seeking to shore up its finances.
Taxes, Losses on Stocks, Hurt Japanese Bank Profits Japan's major banks reported a mixed bag of earnings results for the April-December period, as valuation losses from equity holdings and an incoming corporate tax shake-up prompted a number of firms to book charges.
Japan Banks Running to Stand Still Japan's megabanks are taking one step forward, snapping up higher-margin assets from deleveraging European banks, and one step backward with big losses on shareholdings in other Japanese companies.
India Shares End Higher Indian shares closed higher for the second straight session, helped by sustained buying from foreign funds and supported by positive cues from European markets.
Australia's Gillard Expects Dollar Strength to Persist Australia's manufacturing sector faces little respite from the strong Australian dollar, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said, just days after Toyota Motor cited the currency as a trigger for hundreds of job cuts at a local plant.
Asia Markets Finish Mixed Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note after choppy trading as Chinese manufacturing data undercut expectations Beijing will shortly ease its monetary policy; the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.1%.
Samsung, Daiwa Cut Jobs in Asia Japan's Daiwa Securities stepped up its job-cutting plans, while Korea's Samsung Securities is laying off staff in Hong Kong, the latest moves by brokers to scale back their overseas operations.
Europe Pact Helps Asia Stocks Most Asian markets climbed on cautious buying after EU nations endorsed a fiscal-discipline pact, with Japanese stocks squeezing a small rise out of some positive data and earnings news. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.1%.
Scaled-Down IPO Marks Weak Start in Shanghai China's IPO market it getting off to a slow start this year, with China Communications Construction slashing the size of its planned Shanghai listing.
Indian Shares End Higher Indian shares ended higher Tuesday, with bank stocks leading the charge after index heavyweight ICICI Bank beat estimates with strong quarterly earnings growth.
Mizuho Net Profit Falls by a Third Mizuho Financial Group said its group net profit fell by more than a third in the first nine months of its fiscal year on billion-dollar-plus valuation losses from its equity holdings and an incoming corporate tax shake-up.
Daiwa Securities Posts Fourth Straight Loss Japanese brokerage firm Daiwa Securities Group posted its fourth straight quarterly loss and said it would slash costs and jobs more aggressively as it reels from a risk-averse business climate amid the euro-zone debt crisis.
Margin Call for China Bank Investors In China, the rapid rise of wealth-management products means banks are forced to compete for funds by offering interest rates that exceed the benchmark deposit rate. That threatens to squeeze profitability. It may also lead to a buildup of risk in the Chinese financial system.
At Canon, Elder Gains Wider Leadership Role Canon's chairman and chief executive will also become president of the Japanese camera and printer maker in March. The company also posted a 14% increase in fourth-quarter net profit.
GF Securities Unit to Focus on Chinese Bonds GF Securities Co.'s Hong Kong arm will shun Chinese stocks when it launches its first yuan-based mainland fund for offshore retail investors.
China Sees Shanghai as Hub China's top economic body set new targets for Shanghai to grow into a global financial hub. But the blueprint doesn't say when foreign firms will be allowed to list there.
Sunshine Oilsands Gauges Interest in Hong Kong IPO The Calgary-based energy company began premarketing for its up to $700 million initial public offering in Hong Kong.
Japan's Biggest Bank Names President Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's core banking unit said it has appointed Deputy President Nobuyuki Hirano as president, effective April 1.
Japanese Steelmaker Forecasts First Net Loss JFE sharply downgraded its earnings outlook, forecasting its first ever net loss in a sign of how the nation's second-largest steelmaker is feeling the effects of the yen's strength and slack demand stemming from the global economic slowdown.
CIMB Optimistic in Indonesia Malaysia's CIMB Group Holdings is optimistic new regulations under consideration in Indonesia won't force it to dump its controlling stake in its Indonesian banking subsidiary.
