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

doesn t: With half of the prewar population of 23 million displaced, the needs of Syrians are a mix of relief aid for survival, but also aid to ensure the ability to sustain themselves and rebuild their lives, said Peter Maurer, according to The Japan Times. This is my fifth visit to Syria and each time I come, I see more suffering, Maurer said. This doesn't mean suffering is decreasing. He arrived in Syria on Sunday. The humanitarian needs are enormous and in parts of the country affected by ongoing fighting these needs are in fact rising sharply. Nearly half of the population has been displaced and all are exhausted by conflict, he said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

league: Croatian team Medvescak Zagreb said in March it would withdraw to join the Austrian-based EBEL league, according to The Japan Times. Chernyshenko says the KHL widely considered the world's strongest league outside the NHL has been hit by unprecedented wage delays to players totaling over 1 billion rubles 17.7 million . Seven of the KHL's 29 teams are regularly late with salaries and some players have been waiting over six months for payment. KHL president Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that the league is removing the Metallurg Novokuznetsk team, which had a 14-46 record and small crowds this season, as it bids to become leaner and more commercially successful. The KHL will not stand for this, Chernyshenko said. A statistical rating system measuring teams' on-ice ability, their finances and crowd appeal will be used to determine who quits the league. From 27 teams next season, the KHL will cut three more for the 2018-19 season, Chernyshenko said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

debt crisis: The downgrade reflects Moody's expectation that China's financial strength will erode somewhat over the coming years, with economy-wide debt continuing to rise as potential growth slows, the agency said, according to The Japan Times. China's total outstanding credit surged to 260 percent of gross domestic product by the end of 2016 and the International Monetary Fund has warned that a debt crisis in the country could imperil global financial stability. The move comes as China tries to clean up a toxic brew of unregulated and risky lending that for years has fueled the economy's spectacular growth, though some analysts doubt Beijing's willingness to quit its debt addiction. The government has trimmed its 2017 growth target to around 6.5 percent after it expanded 6.7 percent in 2016, the slowest growth rate since 1990. But Moody's said it expects China's growth potential to decline to close to 5 percent over the next five years, citing diminishing investment, an accelerated fall in the working age population and a continuing dip in productivity. China's 13th Five-Year-Plan released in 2016 announced an average annual growth rate of above 6.5 percent for 2016-2020. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

hideyuki suzuki: On Tuesday, the key market gauge shed 65 points, according to The Japan Times. The Topix index of all first-section issues closed up 9.89 points, or 0.63 percent, at 1,575.11, after losing 2.43 points the previous day. The 225-issue Nikkei average gained 129.70 points, or 0.66 percent, to finish at 19,742.98. Investors took heart from the dollar's rise against the yen on the back of higher U.S. long-term interest rates, brokers said. But the Nikkei average failed to retake 19,800 line amid a dearth of buying incentives after major Japanese companies have finished releasing their earnings reports, said Hideyuki Suzuki, head of the investment market research department at SBI Securities. Rises in U.S. equities and crude oil futures in New York on Tuesday also spurred purchases of a wide range of issues in Tokyo Wednesday, they added. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

wage growth: The Reuters Tankan follows data last week that showed the economy expanded for a fifth straight quarter at the start of this year led by exports and private consumption, although sluggish wage growth weighed on households, according to The Japan Times. In the poll of 527 large and midsized firms, conducted between May 9-19 in which 243 responded, the sentiment index for manufacturers fell two points to 24 in May, dragged down by the food processing, precision machinery and chemicals industries. The monthly poll which tracks the Bank of Japan's key quarterly tankan showed confidence at service-sector firms hit a four-month high, a tentative sign of a pickup in domestic demand. This followed a score of 26 in April, which was the highest reading since August 2007, a year before the collapse of a U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers triggered the global financial crisis. The dollar has risen since bottoming in mid-April and such a recovery in market conditions should underpin business sentiment, Yuichiro Nagai, economist at Barclays Securities Japan, noted in a report. Sentiment remained firm in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

change country: While trying to boost consumption, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is spearheading labor reform to change the country's deep-rooted culture of overwork, putting a binding cap on overtime hours and setting rules to eliminate discrimination between regular and nonregular workers, according to The Japan Times. The final document will be used to compile a budget for fiscal 2018 starting April. The government hopes to finalize the policy blueprint next month, which aims to address a series of challenges facing Japan such as enhancing child-rearing support, boosting sluggish consumption, revitalizing regional economies and changing work practices. Government data show that the economy has recorded its longest growth streak since 2006, but it has been largely driven by robust demand overseas. The blueprint is not expected to call for a revision of the government's goal of achieving a primary balance surplus in fiscal 2020, leaving the discussion to an interim target review next year. The country also needs to restore its tattered fiscal health. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

estate market: An American analyst stationed in Beijing points to an extraordinary expansion of personal debt as a major risk to the nation's economy, according to The Japan Times. After the economy started showing signs of a slowdown in 2014, the government took every conceivable step to revitalize the real estate market by easing housing loan regulations. As if to refute such optimism, however, concerns are mounting in international financial circles that the present status of China's economy is getting ever closer to what had existed in the United States when it was hit by the crisis triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. As a result, housing prices in major cities have shot up by 78 percent in Beijing and 50 percent in Shanghai compared with 2010 levels. A Japanese correspondent in Beijing sums up the situation by saying that the government is trying to shift the burden of keeping up the economy's growth from the debt-laden public and corporate sectors to households, by getting people to cough up their savings and spend more because the state-driven stimulus policies are nearing their limits. Household debt meanwhile kept expanding to account for more than 30 percent of fresh lending in the latter half of last year, up sharply from around 15 percent previously. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

germ-infested bills: And those that do should raise other concerns, according to The Japan Times. Proponents of moving beyond paper money cite several rationales. Yet the fact is, most arguments in favor of demonetization don't stand up to scrutiny. They say it'll make life harder for tax cheats, terrorists and other criminals, and speed up the flow of funds, thus reducing costs and enhancing economic efficiency. These arguments aren't terribly convincing. Some even suggest that it will improve hygiene, by eliminating crumpled and germ-infested bills. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

aids hepatitis: Despite introducing new rules to try to curb its expansive travel budget, senior officials have complained internally that U.N. staffers are breaking the rules by booking perks like business class airplane tickets and rooms in five-star hotels, according to The Japan Times. Last year, WHO spent about 71 million on AIDS and hepatitis. As the cash-strapped U.N. health agency pleads for more money to fund its responses to health crises worldwide, it has also been struggling to get its own travel costs under control. On malaria, it spent 61 million. Still, some health programs do get exceptional funding the agency spends about 450 million trying to wipe out polio every year. And to slow tuberculosis, WHO invested 59 million. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

police officers: It also found that the stolen gold was actually worth about 750 million, rather than 600 million 5.4 million . The Fukuoka police are pursuing other suspects, and the arrest total is expected to exceed 10, according to The Japan Times. According to investigative sources, a couple of men were approached by fake police officers in early July while transporting the bars in attache cases to a cash-for-gold store near JR Hakata Station. The Fukuoka Prefectural Police arrested the six in both Aichi Prefecture and Tokyo and sent them to Fukuoka. The bars weighed more than 100 kg. Earlier this year, police raided places associated with a man running jewelry shops on suspicion he aided the suspects to get cash for the gold bars. The fake cops are suspected of taking the cases to a car and leaving after pretending to take them to a police department. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

security issues: Trump has assailed Japan for allegedly devaluing the yen to boost exports, grouping it with countries he says are taking advantage of the U.S. Despite the rhetoric, Washington which cooperates closely with Japan on a range of global and security issues has yet to make a formal request for bilateral trade negotiations in specific sectors with Tokyo, according to The Japan Times. In April, Japan logged a trade surplus in goods of 481.7 billion, the Finance Ministry said, marking the third straight month in the black. U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to root out unfair trade practices around the world and target countries, including Japan, that contribute to America's nearly 50 billion a month trade deficit. Overall exports rose 7.5 percent thanks to brisk shipments of chip production machines, steel and motors, while imports jumped 15.1 percent on the back of growing domestic demand. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been trying for years to rejuvenate growth and end an extended period of on-and-off deflation through a policy blitz of easy money, stimulus and reform. The government said last week that the economy grew 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2017, its fifth straight winning quarter and the longest expansion in more than a decade. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

japan: Internet banking is another area where Japan can seem behind the curve, according to The Japan Times. This week's column features a recent email from reader S.D., who wanted to share her experiences with internet banking upon leaving Japan on a temporary basis. Many ATMs still only accept cards issued in Japan and some shut early, particularly outside of the bigger cities. This information may prove useful for residents facing a similar situation. At this point, they are unsure of their return date. S.D. and her Japanese partner have moved overseas to help care for elderly relatives in her home country. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

lot: But one thing is a lot less clear whether North Korea had anything to do with it, according to The Japan Times. Despite bits and pieces of evidence that suggest a possible North Korea link, experts say there is nothing conclusive yet and a lot of reasons to be dubious. It was the biggest in history, and it is a scary preview of things to come we are all going to have to get used to hearing the word ransomware. Why, for example, would Pyongyang carry out a big hack that hurt its two closest strategic partners more than anyone else And for what appears to be a measly amount of loot as of Friday, the grand total of ransom that had been paid was less than 100,000. Within days of the attack, the respected cybersecurity firms Symantec and Kaspersky Labs hinted at a North Korea link. North Korea's deputy U.N. ambassador, Kim In Ryong, dismissed allegations that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea DPRK the country's official name was behind the recent wave of global cyberattacks as ridiculous. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

media briefing: Elected this month after a graft scandal brought down his predecessor, Moon stressed the need to improve conditions for ordinary people, with his government needing to put more life into a sluggish economic recovery, according to The Japan Times. Our new government has begun work amid unprecedented low growth, economic polarization and economic hardships for the working class, Moon said. Moon told a media briefing that he had nominated former Vice Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon as deputy prime minister and finance minister, while a United Nations senior adviser on policy, Kang Kyung-wha, was tapped as the next foreign minister. Kim, the president's pick for the finance portfolio, is known for his attention to detail and humble personal background. The new administration also faces diplomatic challenges, soothing ties with China, the biggest buyer of South Korean goods, after they became strained by the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense THAAD anti-missile system, as well as increased tensions over North Korea's missile and nuclear threats. Two Finance Ministry officials said his appointment would be well received in the ministry. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

telecom conglomerate: With more than 93 billion committed, the fund which includes Qualcomm Inc., Foxconn Technology Group and Sharp Corp. aims to reach 100 billion within six months, Soft Bank said in a statement Saturday, according to The Japan Times. Mubadala committed 15 billion, according to a separate statement. The telecom conglomerate is investing 28 billion and has agreements with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Co. and Apple Inc. The Vision Fund will seek long-term investments in businesses aimed at innovation. By tapping outside investors, billionaire Son will be able to cut more ambitious deals than he could on his own. Soft Bank has relied on borrowing and earnings from its domestic telecom operations to pay for investments in startups in India, the United States and China while dealing with losses at U.S. subsidiary Sprint Corp. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

parking lot: The suspects, who fled by minivan, have been identified, according to The Japan Times. In late April, police found a white Honda Step WGN minivan they think was the getaway car, at a business believed to be unconnected to the culprits, the sources said Friday. The April 20 robbery in a parking lot near a Mizuho Bank branch in the city of Fukuoka involved two men who sprayed a 29-year-old employee of a precious metals shop in Tokyo and stole a bag filled with cash he had just withdrawn from the bank to buy gold bullion. None of the stolen cash nor the bag was found inside, and the stolen license plate attached to it was gone, they said. Police traced the change in cars via surveillance footage and are checking whether the robbers are based in or near Tokyo. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

visit japan: Moon has called for renegotiating the 2015 agreement the preceding administration struck with Japan to finally and irreversibly resolve the long-standing issue of Korean women forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, according to The Japan Times. Japan hopes Moon's administration will stick to the accord but remains cautious about the prospect, given the strong opposition from the South Korean public. While Abe will most likely seek a meeting on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Hamburg, Germany, in early July, Tokyo is also exploring the possibility of having Moon, who took office May 10, visit Japan on his way back from a planned trip to the United States in late June, they said. Under the accord, Japan disbursed 1 billion 8.9 million last year to a South Korean fund to help the surviving former comfort women and their families. The statue reportedly appeared in December, shortly after Defense Minister Tomomi Inada paid a visit to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine right after returning from Hawaii with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following his historic visit to the sensitive USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. A South Korean civic group set up a statue symbolizing the comfort women in front of the Japanese Consulate General in Busan last December, triggering a protest by Tokyo, which said the statue goes against the spirit of the agreement. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

japan: The competing group, which includes state-backed Innovation Network of Japan and Development Bank of Japan, plans to offer about 1.8 trillion and would benefit from support from the country's government, the people said, according to The Japan Times. Western Digital has been in talks to join the Japan group, but the parties haven't been able to agree on how to divvy up ownership. Broadcom, based in San Jose, California, is offering about 2.2 trillion 20 billion and would face simpler regulatory reviews than some rivals, said one of the people, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The company has been offered a stake of less than 20 percent, but it wants a controlling share, they said. Toshiba's future as a public company depends on selling the memory chip unit and raising cash to pay for losses in its Westinghouse nuclear business. Apple, which uses Toshiba memory chips in its products, is still considering whether to contribute capital to one or more bidders, they said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

topix index: On Thursday, the key market gauge tumbled 261.02 points, according to The Japan Times. The Topix index of all first-section issues ended up 4.72 points, or 0.30 percent, at 1,559.73, after losing 20.81 points the previous day. The 225-issue Nikkei average advanced 36.90 points, or 0.19 percent, to finish at 19,590.76. Stocks got off to a firmer start, following an overnight rebound in U.S. equities. After the initial buying ran its course, however, the Nikkei average sank into negative territory in line with a pause in the dollar's strengthening. The dollar's upturn above 111 also helped lift the Tokyo market, brokers said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

attack targets: Following the detection of the Wanna Cry attack on Friday, researchers at Proofpoint discovered a new attack linked to Wanna Cry called Adylkuzz, said Nicolas Godier, a researcher at the computer security firm, according to The Japan Times. It uses the hacking tools recently disclosed by the NSA and which have since been fixed by Microsoft in a more stealthy manner and for a different purpose, he said. The new attack targets the same vulnerabilities the Wanna Cry ransomware worm exploited but, rather than freeze files, uses the hundreds of thousands of computers believed to have been infected to mine virtual currency. Instead of completely disabling an infected computer by encrypting data and seeking a ransom payment, Adylkuzz uses the machines it infects to mine in a background task a virtual currency, Monero, and transfer the money created to the authors of the virus. They are said to mine for the currency and are occasionally rewarded with a piece of it. Virtual currencies such as Monero and Bitcoin use the computers of volunteers to record transactions. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

business confidence: The latest reading matched market expectations, according to The Japan Times. The world's No. 3 economy has been picking up steam on the back of strong exports, with investments linked to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics also giving growth a boost. Robust exports boosted gross domestic product, up from a 0.3 percent increase in the last quarter of 2016, the Cabinet Office said. The labor market is tight and business confidence is high. Looking ahead, the growth rate will slow a bit, if not turn negative, toward the second half of this year as China's economic indicators are weakening a bit. Exports have taken the lead in the recovery, and domestic demand wasn't bad, showing resilience with household spending turning positive, said Masaki Kuwahara, senior economist at Nomura Securities. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

market gauge: On Wednesday, the key market gauge shed 104.94 points, according to The Japan Times. The Topix index of all first-section issues finished down 20.81 points, or 1.32 percent, at 1,555.01, after falling 8.41 points the previous day. The 225-issue Nikkei average lost 261.02 points, or 1.32 percent, to close at 19,553.86. Heavy selling hit the Tokyo market from the beginning of Thursday's trading after U.S. equities plunged overnight, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing down 1.78 percent. Stocks resisted further falls in the afternoon in line with a pause in the yen's rise, but the market stayed deep in negative territory throughout the day. Export-oriented stocks and other mainstay issues suffered sharp losses as the dollar briefly retreated below 111, pushing down the Nikkei average over 360 points in the middle of the morning session. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

commerce industry: The 2,400-hectare economic zone already boasts nine rental factory spaces of 1,500 sq. meters, of which seven are now occupied, according to The Japan Times. The latest move adds diversity to the tenant base and is expected to further boost Thilawa SEZ's contribution to Myanmar's economy, MJTD said. The OCCI, which is comprised of businesses around Osaka, and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish rental factory spaces of 500 to 750 sq. meters in rental factories inside the zone, Myanmar Japan Thilawa Development said in a statement Tuesday. The economic zone, located southeast of Yangon, has been a solid success since it officially opened for business in 2015, with more than 95 percent of its Zone A already occupied. The expansion of Zone B is slated for completion by the middle of next year and is expected to create up to 40,000 new jobs. A total of 78 companies, of which 39 are from Japan, have opted to locate their production, assembly or logistic facilities in Thilawa, with total investment amounting to over 1 billion, according to an earlier release from MJTD. Of the 78 companies, 24 have already begun operations. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

ftse index: In Europe, Germany's DAX was down 0.3 percent at 12,768 while the CAC 40 in France fell 0.4 percent to 5,387, according to The Japan Times. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.1 percent lower at 7,519 and near all-time highs. Though the White House has denied the allegation, there's mounting unease in markets over the developments in the U.S. government. U.S. stocks were poised for a lower opening with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures down 0.4 percent. A day barely passes without some new report about the president and his team. Traders appear to be growing concerned over the outlook for the Trump administration both politically and economically. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

mainstay issues: On Tuesday, the key market gauge gained 49.97 points, according to The Japan Times. The Topix index of all first-section issues closed down 8.41 points, or 0.53 percent, at 1,575.82, after rising 4.23 points the previous day. The 225-issue Nikkei average shed 104.94 points, or 0.53 percent, to finish at 19,814.88. Selling took the upper hand from the outset of Wednesday's trading as the dollar dropped below 113 due partly to sluggish U.S. economic data released on Tuesday, brokers said. Mainstay issues, such as export-oriented names and financial institutions, met with selling, pushing down the Nikkei average more than 150 points early in the morning session. Weak investor sentiment also reflected growing concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's ability to implement policy measures amid confusion following news reports that he has leaked to Russia highly classified information related to the Islamic State militant group, according to brokers. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

parties prostitutes: Robert Gilbeau was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in San Diego after pleading guilty to one count of making false statements, according to The Japan Times. This is the first time our nation will incarcerate a Navy admiral for a federal crime committed during the course of his official duty, and it is truly a somber day, Acting U.S. Attorney Alana W. Robinson said in a statement. U.S. Navy Rear Adm. When tempted by parties and prostitutes, one of our most respected leaders chose karaoke over character, and cover-up over confession, and in doing so he forever tarnished the reputation of a revered institution. Francis has admitted to bribing Navy officials with more than 500,000 in cash, prostitutes, and others gifts in exchange for classified information to help his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia. Gilbeau admitted that he lied when he told federal agents that he had never received any gifts from Leonard Glenn Francis, nicknamed Fat Leonard because of his wide girth. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.