WIRE REPORTS

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP | IBM $2.5 Billion Notes Offering Linex Legal (press release) (registration) Davis Polk advised Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Mizuho Securities USA Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC as underwriters in connection with ... and more » The Japan Times Bubble era's aviation legacy: Too many airports, all ailing The Japan Times By MIZUHO AOKI Japan has 98 airports, and most of them are operating in the red as a result of exaggerated demand forecasts and rampant, costly and arguably pork-barrel construction projects. Terra firma: People crowd an arrivals lobby at Narita ... and more » Financial News Japan looks to muscle in on global loan market Financial News In the fourth quarter of last year, Mizuho Financial Group jumped nine places and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group rose seven in the Thomson Reuters rankings, which reflect the bookrunner role of banks in global syndicated loan financing. Related fund data links HedgeWeek Beside the two major Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse, ten foreign banks (Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, HSBC Holdings plc, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Rabobank Groep NV, ... and more » Japanese banks under investigation by Swiss authorities Mainichi Daily News GENEVA (Kyodo) -- Switzerland's Competition Commission has opened an investigation against 12 banks, including the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., after receiving information about possible ... and more » The Japan Times Record lows recorded at 38 locations The Japan Times By MIZUHO AOKI The country experienced severe cold weather Friday and morning temperatures dropped to record lows at 38 locations nationwide, the Meteorological Agency said. From Tohoku to Kyushu, 16 prefectures recorded their lowest temperatures ever, ... and more » Scientists say contamination of ocean fish minimal so far The Japan Times By MIZUHO AOKI The massive radioactive fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has sparked fear in seafood lovers and commercial fishermen both at home and abroad, and some worry the contamination could pass through and even become more ... and more » Layoffs Keep A'Comin FINS Mizuho and Daiwa, two Japanese firms, also announced layoffs, though they aren't counted in Challenger's report because they're not based in the US Last month, John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, predicted the bloodbath would continue ... and more » Banks lose legal fight over ABC Learning Brisbane Times Westpac, NAB, ANZ, Bank of America, Citibank, Mizuho Corporate Bank and Bank of Western Australia had fought an application by ABC Learning's liquidators, Peter Walker and Greg Moloney, to hand over 10000 bank documents to IMF so it could consider ... and more » Banks lose battle over documents Sydney Morning Herald Westpac, NAB, ANZ, Bank of America, Citibank, Mizuho Corporate Bank and Bank of Western Australia had fought an application by ABC Learning's liquidators, Peter Walker and Greg Moloney, to hand over 10000 bank documents to IMF so it could consider ... and more »

DAILY REPORTS

Jan 11 Nikkei edges up; euro debt crisis limits gains Japan's Nikkei stock average edged higher on Wednesday, taking comfort from a rise on Wall Street, though the debt turmoil in the euro zone capped gains. Spain and Italy, which are now at the forefront of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, will test investor appetite this week with bond auctions, while the European Central Bank is due to hold a rate-setting meeting later in the day. A trader, however, said the U.S. KBW banks index, which advanced 1.9 percent on Tuesday, was a good indicator of risk appetite for Japanese stocks. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose between 0.9 and 1.6 percent. (Reuters) Jan 5 Nikkei retreats from 3-wk high as euro worries nag Japan's Nikkei stock average pulled back on Thursday from a three-week closing high, weighed down by concerns that the euro zone debt crisis would keep the single currency weak against the yen and hurt Japanese exporters. "The strong yen against the euro is not seen as a temporary, short-term problem and it is pressuring the market," said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities. "The focus this year is whether Europe's debt problems will settle and when those problems will begin to impact the United States. There are no other themes this year except Europe. Market participants are watching how much longer the yen will continue to rise against the euro and the dollar." The euro was trading just above 99 yen on Thursday, near an 11-year low. (Reuters) Jan 2 Japan's future could be in mums' hands Public dismay with the Japanese government's response to this year's triple disaster - earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown - is driving some to become more politically engaged, helped by social and alternative media. While still fledgling, it is the kind of grassroots activism that some say Japan needs to shake up a political system that has allowed the country's problems to fester for years. Mrs Mizuho Nakayama, for example, is one of a small but growing number of Internet-savvy activist mums. Worried about her two-year-old son and distrustful of government and television reports that seemed to play down radiation risks, she scoured the Internet for information and started connecting with other mothers through Twitter and Facebook, many of them using social media for the first time. (todayonline.com) Dec 29 Can Web-savvy activist moms change Japan? Japan's nuclear crisis has turned Mizuho Nakayama into one of a small but growing number of Internet-savvy activist moms. Worried about her 2-year-old son and distrustful of government and TV reports that seemed to play down radiation risks, she scoured the Web for information and started connecting with other mothers through Twitter and Facebook, many using social media for the first time. The 41-year-old mother joined a parents group - one of dozens that have sprung up since the crisis - that petitioned local officials in June to test lunches at schools and day care centers for radiation and avoid using products from around the troubled nuclear plant. "It's the first time for anyone in our group to be involved in this type of activism," said Nakayama, who now carries a Geiger counter with her wherever she goes. (AP) Dec 12 Nikkei gains on Europe deal; stops short of 75-day avg The Nikkei average gained on Monday after European leaders agreed to draft a new treaty for deeper economic integration, but market players said the short-covering bounce may not last as the deal was no panacea for the region's long-term debt worries. The Nikkei closed just below its 75-day moving average and trading volume was thin, in a sign investors were still not confident that the worst for the debt crisis is over in Europe. "Europe is about one month behind the schedule they announced in October, in terms of putting the bailout fund to work and reinforcing banks capital. The European crisis will continue to be a burden on the market," said Mamoru Suzuki, chief economist at Mizuho Research & Consulting. (Reuters) Nov 14 Mizuho to merge units, cut workforce Japan's Mizuho Financial Group said Monday that it planned to merge its retail and corporate banking units by the end of the first half of fiscal 2013 in a move that will mean 3,000 job cuts. Japan's second-largest bank by assets also said net profit for the fiscal first half ended September dropped by 25 percent from a year earlier. In merging Mizuho Bank and Mizuho Corporate Bank, the parent company said that it would downsize staff levels at the units by more than 10 percent by fiscal 2015 as it looks to reduce expenses and streamline operations. (AFP) Oct 5 Japan offers $43 billion credit to megabanks Japan's three biggest banks received a combined $43 billion credit line from the government to help finance domestic companies' overseas takeovers as businesses seek to counter the strong yen. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation, known as JBIC, is offering a $15 billion credit line to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.'s banking unit, the state-run lender said in a statement on its website today. Units of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. each received $14 billion in credit under the pact. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is under pressure to help Japanese companies weather the yen's 11 percent rise against the dollar in the past six months, which has hampered the nation's recovery from a record earthquake in March. The deal is aimed at helping banks to procure dollars and offer loans to companies planning acquisitions abroad, the statement said. (BusinessWeek) Oct 2 Japan, Vietnam banks in deal Japan's Mizuho Corporate Bank on Friday said it would buy a 15 percent stake in Vietnam's largest bank by market capitalisation to take advantage of economic growth in the Southeast Asian nation. Mizuho Corporate (MHCB) signed the deal, worth about $567 million, with the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) in Hanoi. "As a result, MHCB will be Vietcombank's largest private shareholder and only next to the government of Vietnam," the Japanese institution said in a statement, adding that Vietcombank had total assets of more than $16 billion as of June 30. (AFP) Sep 5 Mizuho bank unit opens in Malaysia Mizuho Corporate Bank, a unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc., said Monday that its wholly owned subsidiary in Malaysia began operating in Kuala Lumpur the same day. Mizuho Corporate Bank (Malaysia) Berhad will provide a diverse range of services, including ringgit-denominated deposits, loans and foreign exchange. It also plans to engage in Islamic finance. Mizuho Corporate Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., acquired licenses to operate commercial banks in Malaysia in June 2010. SMBC began operations in Malaysia in April. (Japan Times) Sep 4 Soccer: Japan beats South Korea 2-1 at Olympic women's qualifier Japan beat South Korea 2-1 here on Saturday night at the women's soccer Asian qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Midfielder Sakaguchi Mizuho lifted Janpan to the 1-0 lead by a header.South Korean Ji So Yun equalized the score 20 minutes later. Japan took the lead again with Ohno Shinobu's long shot just before the halftime whistler. (Xinhua) Sep 4 Radiation-free Fukushima rice hits Tokyo Rice harvested this year in Fukushima Prefecture went on sale in Tokyo on Sept. 3, with farmers reassuring customers that the grain is free of radioactive contamination from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Two brands of rice, Gohyaku-gawa and Mizuho Kogane, went on sale at Fukushima Marketplace, a shop specializing in products from Fukushima Prefecture located in an Ito-Yokado supermarket in Edogawa Ward. (Asahi) Jun 27 Y350 billion crisis loan eyed for Chubu Electric Chubu Electric Power Co., operator of the suspended Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, may receive emergency loans worth ¥350 billion from government and private lenders. State-owned Development Bank of Japan Inc. will offer ¥100 billion this month to the Nagoya-based utility, trade minister Banri Kaieda said Monday at a news briefing. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. plan to provide ¥250 billion, Kyodo News reported, without citing anyone. (Japan Times) [ More... ]