Mortgage and Business News » Japan

Japan sinks into recession: Stocks tumble 42 percent

Nikki — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:42:02 +0000

Its official Japan is now in recession, according to government figures the Japanese economy contracted in the third quarter by 0.4 percent following the second quarter decline.

Japan the world’s second biggest economy declined months after large companies announced warnings regarding their profits falling and their stocks tumbling.

Since the beginning of 2008 Japanese stocks have fallen by 42 percent, with the Yen strengthening and the demand for export goods weakening.

Economists predict that Japans downwards slope into recession will continue as global growth slows, Japan could see its recession as bad as the Japanese recession from 1997 to 1998 according to analylists.

Source: Telegraph

Nikkei 225 crashes down in Japan

Nikki — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:49:29 +0000

Japans Nikkei 225 plunged seeing its biggest weekly fall in more than 50 years, as investors fear company failures amid the deepening global credit crunch. The decline prompted a suspension in future trading.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 9.6 percent or 881.08 to 8,276.43 at close in Tokyo with the broader Topix Index losing 7.4 percent or 64.25 closing at 840.86. This week being Japans steepest declines in stocks in over 35 years.

Mitsubishi UF J Financial Group Inc tumbled 8.5 percent, as Japanese banks took a battering after Moody’s Investors Service said it may cut Morgan Stanley’s credit rating. Japans biggest publicly traded life insurer T&D Holdings slumped 11 percent after news that an insurer and real-estate investment trust filed for bankruptcy protection. Also Japanese property developer Mitsubishi Estate Co. retreated 8.1 percent.

Source: Bloomberg

Nikkei 225 plunges: Loses $250 billion

Nikki — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:30:37 +0000

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled to its third largest decline resulting in a sell-off that erased more than $250 billion in equity value.

At the close of trading in Tokyo the Nikkei 225 Stock Average sank 9.4 percent or 952.58 at 9,203.32 this is the largest fall since October 1987. Also the broader Topix index saw its biggest loss in 21 years falling 8 percent or 78.60 at 899.01.

Losses increased throughout the day’s trading as Indonesia’s exchange suspended trading and markets across Asia sank.

Mizuho Financial Group took a hammering and fell 7.7 percent as bankruptcies surged to the highest since May 2003. The world’s second largest car maker Toyota Motor Corp fell the most in 21 years.

Read the full article: Bloomberg