financializer news A weblog highlighting financial topics making news in the international media.

future transgressions: His penalty was considerably lower nothing. ; William Tirrell, the former head of regulatory reporting at Merrill Lynch, negligently caused the firm to violate securities rules, the SEC said in an order Friday, according to The Japan Times. The regulator ordered Tirrell to cease and desist from any future transgressions. On Friday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finally got around to settling a case against the former bank executive who it said was ultimately responsible. The terms of the settlement no fine, no suspension, no penalty speaks for itself, Steven Witzel, Tirrell's attorney, said in an emailed statement. Tirrell is more than ready to put this matter behind him and move on with his life. After four years of investigation by the SEC, Mr. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

cabinet meeting: Foreign Minister Taro Kono is expected to accompany Abe, according to The Japan Times. The development came after Aso, who also serves as finance minister, said earlier this week that he would visit the United States to lay the groundwork for the second round of a bilateral economic dialogue expected in October. The decision was made as I was told by the prime minister to stay in Japan for thorough crisis management given the current security environment, Aso told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. ; Aso's visit from Monday could have coincided with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Russia from Wednesday to attend an economic forum and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on its fringes. Aso was expected to hold talks with Pence on Tuesday, while meeting individually with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council, during his visit. Tokyo and Washington launched the economic dialogue in April to discuss economic, trade and investment issues. Japan has already notified the United States of its decision, and the two countries will continue to prepare for the second round of the economic dialogue, the deputy prime minister said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

morning rise: On Thursday, the key market gauge rose 139.70 points. ; The Topix, including all first-section issues, finished up 2.18 points, or 0.13 percent, at 1,619.59, after gaining 9.76 points the previous day, according to The Japan Times. Stocks got off to a firm start as investors took heart from a continued advance of New York stocks, brokers said. The benchmark Nikkei 225 average climbed 45.23 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 19,691.47. After the morning rise, trading became slow as a wait-and-see mood spread in the Tokyo market before the release of the U.S. government's jobs data for August later on Friday, brokers said. As Friday was the first day of the month, market players were able to adjust their positions more easily for various reasons, said Hideyuki Suzuki, head of the investment market research department at SBI Securities Co. The overall condition of the market, however, was not bad, with investors hunting for undervalued stocks, brokers said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

policy board: Monetary policy, Inoue suggests, must support fiscal consolidation, according to The Japan Times. Inoue is general manager and chief researcher at the Nomura Research Institute, an economic think tank. Tetsuya Inoue, an economist auditing the BOJ for government bureaucrats, says those who worry about its finances miss the main point of much greater concern is the need to bring fiscal deficits under control. Before joining the NRI in 2008, he was an executive staff member of the BOJ's Policy Board. ; The BOJ already owns 41 percent of the Japanese government bond JGB market and 56 percent of the Japanese exchange-traded fund ETF market, assets worth a combined 490 trillion 4.4 trillion . To buy more assets, it must bid up prices. Speaking before the Diet, BOJ Gov. This exposes the bank to potential losses, especially to capital losses on its JGB holdings. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

population change: Now, in a new report, two economists claim that China's emergence explains a lot more, according to The Japan Times. Specifically, they say it fostered three major global trends low interest rates which also prop up stock prices ; weak or declining wages for workers; and growing economic inequality. Almost everyone knows that, in the past three decades, China has gone from a huge and poor nation to the world's biggest exporter and second-largest economy. The central cause of these massive side effects is population change, contend Charles Goodhart of the London School of Economics and Manoj Pradhan, formerly of Morgan Stanley. Lagging wages worsened inequality; surplus savings depressed interest rates. ; Here is the economists' crucial demographic arithmetic. The infusion of hundreds of millions of Chinese workers into the world economy weakened global wages and created a glut of global savings. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

cost-competitive hub: With a stable economic and political environment, good infrastructure and proximity to the large Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN and Asia-Pacific markets, Japanese firms have long found Malaysia to be suited for their activities as Malaysia is cost-competitive hub for investments in this region, according to The Japan Times. Since the 1980s, Japan has been among the country's top source of foreign direct investment. The country has a well-diversified economy resting on the back of solid economic fundamentals. As of the end of 2016, a total of 2,621 projects with Japanese participation have been implemented with investments valued at 27.8 billion. Bhd., Panasonic Corp., Nippon Electric Glass Co., Toray Industries Inc., Fuji Electric Co., Ibiden Co., Sony Corp., NEC Corp. and Honda Motor Co. These projects are mainly in the electronics and electrical product, chemical and chemical product, non-metallic mineral product, transport equipment and basic metal product areas. ; Malaysia is proud to host notable Japanese companies such as Rohm-Wako Electronic Sdn. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

market: On Wednesday, the key market gauge rose 143.99 points. ; The Topix index of all first-section issues finished up 9.76 points, or 0.61 percent, at 1,617.41, after gaining 9.89 points the previous day, according to The Japan Times. Tokyo stocks attracted purchases as the yen fell and U.S. equities rose on positive U.S. economic readings released Wednesday after the Tokyo market closed, brokers said. The 225-issue Nikkei average climbed 139.70 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 19,646.24. Revised gross domestic product data for April-June and Automatic Data Processing Inc.'s private-sector jobs data for August both turned out better than expected. The Tokyo market was a textbook case of rising prices Thursday, Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Naito Securities Co., said, attributing the market's firmness to the yen's drop rather than the rise in U.S. equities. On the back of the robust U.S. economic data, investors actively bought stocks, including export-oriented issues, throughout Thursday's session, brokers said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

support services: To be developed in phases, the PIPC covers both core and non-core downstream activities, according to The Japan Times. Included in the PIPC master plan are designated areas for related support services such as a plastic and fine chemicals park, a light and medium industrial park, a waste management center, an emergency response center, a logistics hub, a commercial hub and others. ; The striking attraction of the PIPC lies in the robust design of the PIPC master plan that strives to enable and promote future growth and sustainability, by offering a wide spectrum of investment opportunities targeted at downstream oil and gas players. The PIPC is designed to accommodate downstream oil and gas industrial facilities such as refineries and petrochemical plants, deep-water terminal and storage tanks, naphtha crackers, regasification plants and supporting facilities, as well as manufacturing plants and industrial parks. Being a project of national strategic importance, the PIPC is given perks with the government of Malaysia's prioritized support. It is under this purview that the JPDC provides guidance to potential parties seeking to invest in the PIPC. Further evidence of government support can be seen through the development of world-class infrastructure and public amenities for convenient mobility and connectivity, as well as improved quality of living for all dwellers of Pengerang. This can be seen with the establishment of the Johor Petroleum Development Corporation Berhad JPDC a dedicated federal government agency mandated to plan, coordinate, facilitate and promote the overall development of the PIPC. The JPDC covers the depth and breadth of a project manager role in making sure the development of the PIPC is on track, according to plan and with sufficient funds. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

conference board: On Tuesday, the key market gauge retreated 87.35 points. ; The Topix index of all first-section issues finished up 9.89 points, or 0.62 percent, at 1,607.65, after losing 2.36 points the previous day, according to The Japan Times. Stocks stayed in positive territory throughout Wednesday, staging a recovery from the previous day's setback caused by a risk-averse mood after North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean. The 225-issue Nikkei average climbed 143.99 points, or 0.74 percent, to close at 19,506.54. Investors took heart from Tuesday's rebound in U.S. stock prices thanks to better-than-expected results of the Conference Board's U.S. consumer confidence index for August, released the same day, brokers said. Although the impact of the missile firing seems to have diminished, it cannot be said that the market is completely free from concern over North Korea, an official of a bank-affiliated securities company said. The Tokyo stock market was also supported by the dollar's strengthening on the back of the U.S. data's positive readings, brokers said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

growth forecasts: The agency cut its forecast for the United States, however, to 2.2 percent in 2017 and 2.3 percent in 2018 from a previous 2.4 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, citing its weaker-than-expected first half performance and expectations of more modest fiscal stimulus than previously assumed, according to The Japan Times. The balance of risks is more favorable than it was at the beginning of the year, Moody's said. The ratings agency said surprisingly strong data in the first half of the year prompted it to raise 2017 growth forecasts for China to 6.8 percent from 6.6 percent, for South Korea to 2.8 percent from 2.5 percent, and for Japan to 1.5 percent from 1.1 percent. ; It also expected the euro zone to accelerate in the rest of the year as suggested by robust sentiment indicators, and revised upwards its forecasts for Germany, France and Italy. However, we note event risks related to conflicts in the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea, and the Middle East. The agency also said there appeared to be renewed momentum to address bilateral trade issues that the Trump administration deemed as unfair trade practices, which could hurt growth if wide-ranging measures were introduced. The test firing of missiles by North Korea, intensification of aggressive rhetoric on both sides, and a hardline stance from the Trump administration have raised the risk of a conflict in the Korean Peninsula. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

investor meetings: BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Nomura Holdings Inc. are arranging investor meetings from Sept. 4 to discuss the sale, the person said. ; Asahi, based in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, has been strengthening its foothold in the European beer market since last year, according to The Japan Times. The company bought SABMiller PLC's Central and Eastern European assets, including brands such as Pilsner Urquell and Kozel, for 7.8 billion earlier this year. The beverage company, which produces beers such as Asahi Super Dry and Peroni, intends to sell senior unsecured notes due in four and eight years, according to a person familiar with the matter, who isn't authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified. The deal was designed to grow Asahi's overseas business, the company said in a statement at the time. The brewer has expanded its global brands in an effort to decrease its reliance on a faltering Japanese beer market, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

percent gain: Shares of the office-equipment seller have jumped 24 percent this year to their highest value since 2000, outperforming the Topix stock index's 5 percent gain, according to The Japan Times. Three of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg have a buy recommendation on the equity. Almost two decades later some investors are looking again at the Japanese company, and recent market moves suggest they like what they see. In the bond market, Hikari Tsushin sold its longest-ever notes this month, and the issuance amount was increased due to strong investor demand. ; Shigeta's company has come a long way. Now the market is bullish once again toward the seller of everything from copiers to office water servers to mobiles, as equity investors cheer its rising profits and regular shareholder payouts while bond buyers appreciate the extra yields on its notes. A darling of the stock market in the 1990s, Hikari Tsushin was considered one of Japan's promising new firms along with peers such as Soft Bank, until it faced a crisis in 2000 Its stock sank as its mobile phone sales business unexpectedly lost money. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

alphabet inc: The company's toe-stepping ways, overseen by co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick, helped the ride-hailing company grow to more than 600 cities and a 69 billion about 7.45 trillion private valuation. ; But the startup's aggressive approach left a trail of self-inflicted wounds along the way, according to The Japan Times. Those controversies including raising doubts about a passenger's rape, the use of software meant to evade law enforcement officials, an intense human resources investigation sparked by sexual harassment charges, and a fierce legal battle with Alphabet Inc. ultimately felled Kalanick after some of Uber's largest investors asked for his resignation in June. Since Uber's founding in 2009, the San Francisco-based company has tested the world's tolerance for disruption and rule-breaking. Following are some of the raging fires that Uber's new CEO will need to put out. A new chief executive is just the start for Uber. Fill the executive ranks with experienced leaders. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

asia-pacific shares: The Nikkei 225 stock average was down 0.9 percent to a four-month low at one point, then pared losses to close 0.45 percent off, according to The Japan Times. South Korea's Kospi shed as much as 1.6 percent, helping to drag down the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan by 0.6 percent. Gold extended a rally above 1,300 an ounce and oil rebounded as investors weighed the damage from Tropical Storm Harvey. ; Equities declined from Seoul to Sydney, though bounced back from the day's lows, and volatility jumped. All sectors are tumbling, which clearly shows that North Korea risks are the reasons behind it, said Cho Byung-hyun, a stock analyst at Yuanta Securities in Seoul. Japan said the missile landed off the eastern coast of Hokkaido in the Pacific Ocean. Japan's currency gained versus all major developed peers, while the Korean won and Australian dollar dropped in a classic risk-off move. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

cabinet meeting: Asked whether the two will discuss issues related to North Korea's missile launches, Aso said, I can't say at this point how it will be taken up, according to The Japan Times. Japan and the U.S. launched the economic dialogue in April to discuss economic, trade and investment issues. Aso told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that he will visit the U.S. from Sept. 4 to exchange views with Vice President Mike Pence. ; We believe there are some preparations to be made before the next round of economic dialogue, said Aso, who doubles as finance minister. Aso has said Tokyo's imposition in August of emergency tariffs on frozen beef imports from the U.S. and other countries may be discussed under the bilateral framework. Trump, favoring bilateral rather than multilateral trade deals, has taken issue with his country's massive trade deficits with major exporters such as China and Japan. Trade has become a sensitive issue since President Donald Trump took office. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

chip firm: The development comes after a bitter feud over whether the Japanese firm needs the U.S. partner's consent for the deal. ; Western Digital, a joint investor in Toshiba's Yokkaichi flash memory plant in Mie Prefecture, is set to buy 150 billion 1.3 billion of the chip firm's convertible bonds, according to The Japan Times. Western Digital's voting rights will be limited to roughly 15 percent when it converts the bonds, the sources said. Toshiba and Western Digital, which are partners in a flash memory venture, are close to reaching a deal over Toshiba's sale of its chip unit, Toshiba Memory Corp. While the two companies plan to take the chip unit public in roughly three years, Western Digital's stake will still be limited to no more than one-third of all shares, even if the U.S. firm goes ahead with plans to buy additional shares, meaning it will not have veto power over management issues, the sources said. Toshiba President Satoshi Tsunakawa and Western Digital Chief Executive Officer Steve Milligan held talks Monday and reached a broad agreement on the sale of Toshiba Memory. Toshiba and Western Digital are still discussing when the U.S. firm will buy additional shares in the chip firm, the sources said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

recording device: Previte died Aug. 21 at a hospital in Galloway Township, New Jersey, according to Carnesale Funeral Home, according to The Japan Times. Philly Voice reported he had a heart attack. ; Previte, an imposing man who stood 6-foot-2 and weighed nearly 300 pounds, wore a hidden microphone beginning in 1997 and recorded hundreds of conversations for the FBI while leading a double life as a made member of the Mafia. He was 73. He freely admitted to a 30-year career in crime, including gambling, loan-sharking, extortion, drug trafficking and prostitution. Previte testified he would meet FBI agents in a hotel, get the recording device strapped to his body, attend a mob meeting and then return to the hotel to be debriefed and return the equipment. I was a crook, Previte testified at the 2001 trial of Philadelphia mob boss Joseph Skinny Joey Merlino and several other mobsters. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

yasuo fukuda: His father, Shintaro Abe, served as foreign minister and his mother was the daughter of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi who, though classified as a Class A war criminal, went on to become prime minister in the 1950s, according to The Japan Times. Abe has said that he carries Kishi's DNA. ; Similarly, in China, the core leader, President Xi Jinping, is the son of Xi Zhongxun, regarded as among the first generation of leaders of the People's Republic of China. At the very top, Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is the scion of a political family. China's ranks of senior officials are filled with princelings, including those who gained their status through marriage. Thus, when Yasuo Fukuda became Japan's leader in 2007, China rejoiced because his father, Takeo Fukuda, as prime minister, had signed a treaty of peace and friendship with China in 1978 and initiated economic aid for China. Chinese analyses of Japanese officials often take into consideration the political dynasty from which they spring. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

corruption scandal: The nation's only way forward, they say, is the release and redemption of Park, the daughter of a slain anti-communist dictator and conservative icon. ; What was it that she did so wrong Why is there so much hate against her a tearful Jang Hyeong-ryeol, 48, said outside the courthouse where Park appeared Friday, according to The Japan Times. This country is not normal. They lash out against politicians, judges and a government they never wanted, against media they accuse of lying to keep leftists, traitors and opportunists in power. It has lost all objectivity. Park was stripped of her presidential powers and jailed in March in South Korea's biggest corruption scandal in decades. It's dying. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

friday: On Friday, the key market gauge rose 98.84 points. ; The Topix index of all first-section issues closed up 3.13 points, or 0.20 percent, at 1,600.12, after gaining 4.79 points the previous trading day, according to The Japan Times. The Nikkei got off to a firmer start, with investors taking heart to see the U.S. Dow Jones industrial average rise on Friday, market sources said. The 225-issue Nikkei shed 2.71 points, or 0.01 percent, to end at 19,449.90. The Dow's strength came as expectations for an early interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve receded after Fed Chair Janet Yellen made no reference to the U.S. central bank's monetary policy in her closely watched speech Friday at an annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The index drifted without a clear direction in the afternoon amid a dearth of fresh incentives, brokers said. However, the Nikkei soon slipped into minus territory and finished the Monday morning session slightly lower. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

uber spokespeople: Hewlett-Packard Enterprise chief Meg Whitman had been seen as the favorite, according to several media outlets, but the Times said the situation changed on Sunday in the 48-year-old Tehran-born Khosrowshahi's favor, according to The Japan Times. Former GE CEO Jeff Immelt, whose name was on the shortlist, on Sunday removed himself from the running for the top job. Khosrowshahi emerged as the leader among three finalists for the job during company board meetings over the weekend, the Times reported, citing two people familiar with the decision. ; Uber spokespeople were not immediately available for comment. I have decided not to pursue a leadership position at Uber, Immelt said on Twitter, without explaining his reasons. The Wall Street Journal reported that Immelt had opted not to pursue the CEO post after observing disorder and divisions among different factions of Uber's board, according to an unnamed source familiar with the matter. I have immense respect for the company & founders. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

wage growth: This month, the period of growth is believed to have matched the 57-month Izanagi boom between November 1965 and July 1970. ; But economists say private consumption lacks vigor as wage growth is sluggish for regular workers, who account for 60 percent of the total workers in the country, according to The Japan Times. A Cabinet Office team determines peaks and troughs in the nation's business cycle. The expansionary phase began in December 2012, when Abe returned as prime minister touting his Abenomics reflationary policy. In June this year, the team effectively confirmed that the latest expansionary phase reached its 53rd month in April, beating the 51-month asset bubble boom between December 1986 and February 1991. Japan's real gross domestic product grew at an annual pace of 4.0 percent during the April-June period this year. The longest postwar period of growth lasted 73 months from February 2002 to February 2008. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

university students: The J-1 program also includes visas for university students, but the WSJ said those were not under examination for cuts, according to The Japan Times. A U.S. State Department fact sheet says the J-1 visa program has 15 categories that provide opportunities for around 300,000 foreign visitors per year to experience U.S. society and culture. Trump, a former New York real estate magnate who has relied on seasonal workers at his hotels and resorts, campaigned on promises to restore American jobs. ; The Wall Street Journal said the U.S. government was eying major reductions for five of the employment-based cultural exchange visas in the J-1 visa program, citing unnamed sources. The State Department said it did not have an immediate comment on the report on Sunday evening. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

charlottesville incident: But, he said, he felt compelled to voice my distress over the Charlottesville incident, adding, Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK. Trump initially said both sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, according to The Japan Times. He later blamed the media for the condemnation of his response to the violent protests, saying in Phoenix he had openly called for healing unity and love in the immediate aftermath. White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said in an interview with the Financial Times, As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job. ; Cohn said he also was reluctant to leave because he feels a duty to his job. Cohn told the newspaper that the Trump administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities. He said the bill could be passed in the House and Senate in 2017, pushing back the administration's timetable for a bill to reach the president's desk. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, outlined the administration's upcoming push to overhaul the nation's tax code in the interview. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

increase pressure: These measures will undermine Maduro's ability to pay off political cronies and regime supporters, and increase pressure on the regime to abandon its disastrous path, according to The Japan Times. The financial sanctions drew quick rebuke from Venezuela's government, with Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza calling them the worst aggression against the country in two centuries. The sanctions, which President Donald Trump signed by executive order, prohibit American financial institutions from providing new money to the government or the state oil company, PDVSA. They also restrict the Venezuelan oil giant's U.S. subsidiary, Citgo, from sending dividends back to Venezuela and ban trading in two bonds the government recently issued to circumvent its increasing isolation from Western financial markets. ; Maduro may no longer take advantage of the American financial system to facilitate the wholesale looting of the Venezuelan economy at the expense of the Venezuelan people, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at the White House. What do they want they want to starve the Venezuelan people Arreaza told reporters at the United Nations after meeting with Secretary General Antonio Guterres. We are also victims, as he is, of fake news, Arreaza said in a rare show of solidarity with Trump. He said his government would fight the measures with all of its diplomatic and economic strength, but also blamed members of the opposition some of whom expressed satisfaction with the U.S. action for conspiring to bring further hardships on the Venezuelan economy. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

fuel prices: The vapor then enters a condenser. ; The product is very similar in properties to pure diesel and the carbon or black coal is just left inside the container, said Mohamed Saeed Ali, one of 12 students who worked on the machine as a graduation project, according to The Japan Times. The students are currently searching for investors for their project. The device heats the tires until they reach evaporation point. Instead of polluting the environment, we recycle them the tires properly in an eco-friendly manner, Saeed said. Egypt raised fuel prices by up to 50 percent in June as a condition of a 12 billion International Monetary Fund program the country signed last year. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.