WIRE REPORTS

BRIEF-Moody's changes Sharp's (P)A3 rtg otlk to negative Reuters Feb 06 (Reuters) - Sharp Corporation, Sharp International Finance (UK) Plc * Moody's changes Sharp's (P)A3 rating outlook to negative from stable. Newspaper: Panasonic to Post US$9 Billion Loss Anime News Network ... predicted a loss of 420 billion yen (US$5.4 billion), after posting a net profit of 74 billion yen (US$971 million) during the last fiscal year. The loss would follow similar loss reports from Sony Corporation and Sharp Corporation this week. and more » Sharp® Imaging and Information Company of America Expands Direct, Local Sales ... EON: Enhanced Online News (press release) To keep documents safe from unauthorized users, Sharp is a leader in the MFP industry in security by offering the most secure suite of MFP applications Sharp Electronics Corporation is the US subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corporation, a worldwide ... and more » Nikkei in Tokyo Gains; Itochu, Konami Earnings Rise, Sharp Plunges 123Jump.com Sharp Corporation declined daily limit of 100 yen to 528 yen after it estimated annual loss of 290 billion yen in the year ending in March. Sony Corp decreased 36 yen to 1324 yen, Panasonic Corp fell 25 yen to 592 yen and Canon Inc closed up 10 yen to ... and more » Sharp® Imaging and Information Company of America Expands Direct, Local Sales ... Business Wire (press release) To keep documents safe from unauthorized users, Sharp is a leader in the MFP industry in security by offering the most secure suite of MFP applications Sharp Electronics Corporation is the US subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corporation, a worldwide ... and more » Sharp(R) Imaging and Information Company of America Expands Direct, Local ... MarketWatch (press release) To keep documents safe from unauthorized users, Sharp is a leader in the MFP industry in security by offering the most secure suite of MFP applications Sharp Electronics Corporation is the US subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corporation, a worldwide ... and more » Talk of Japan Inc's demise may be premature 4-traders (press release) Early earnings results for the fourth quarter do paint a depressing picture, with electronics group NEC Corp (>> NEC Corporation), major brokerage Daiwa Securities (>> Daiwa Securities) and electronics firm Sharp (>> Sharp Corporation) all bleeding red ... and more » Natural disasters hit Sharp Corporation hard: projected $3.5 billion loss Current.com.au By Patrick Avenell The Sharp Corporation overnight projected an annual loss for its 2012 financial year of over AUD$3.5 billion (¥290000 million). This announcement was made as part of Sharp's Consolidated Report for the nine months to 31 December 2011 ... Research and Markets: Organic Electronics - Global Strategic Business Report Business Wire (press release) ... Plastic Logic, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd., Seiko Epson Corporation, Sharp Corporation, Solvay SA, TDK Corporation, Tohoku Pioneer Corporation, and Univision Technology, Inc. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research. Sharp Corporation Blames Falling LCD TV Prices, Increase In Yen For Forecast ... Huffington Post By James Topham TOKYO (Reuters) - Sharp Corp forecast a record 290 billion yen ($3.8 billion) net loss for the year to March after posting surprise quarterly losses as a slump in TV sales forced it to halve output at a western Japan LCD plant. and more »

DAILY REPORTS

Feb 7 As Japan's tech sector struggles, the winner is... Hitachi? Sony Corp., Panasonic Corp. and Sharp Corp. all said last week that they now forecast hundreds of billions of yen in net losses for the current fiscal year through March. Toshiba Corp.'s outlook was much brighter: It only expects net profit to tumble 53%. But Hitachi Ltd. stood out from its peers: In an industry wracked by overcapacity, the strong yen and cheaper competition it didn't cut its net profit outlook, sticking to a forecast of Y200 billion this fiscal year, which would be a 16% drop from a year earlier. It wasn't always like this. In the wake of the global financial crisis, Hitachi, whose operations span everything from consumer electronics to electric power infrastructure, posted an eye-popping Y787.34 billion net loss for the fiscal year through March 2009 - over $10 billion at current exchange rates and the biggest loss ever reported by a Japanese manufacturer. (If Panasonic's loss forecast of Y780 billion for this fiscal year proves accurate, it would be the second biggest after Hitachi's 2009 figure.) (Wall Street Journal) Feb 6 Govt expands use of FX reserves / Economic diplomacy used to assist Eurozone, stem Asian currency declines The government is strengthening its economic diplomacy by utilizing foreign exchange holdings to help stem Europe's ongoing financial crisis and prevent sharp declines in the value of Asian currencies. The expanded use of the foreign exchange reserves is also aimed at addressing criticism that the huge amount of funds are not being used effectively, observers said. The government had used most of its foreign exchange reserves to buy U.S. Treasury bonds, which are regarded as a safe investment. But faced with increasing international requests for the nation's contribution to resolve the European sovereign debt crisis, the government has started using its foreign exchange pool to contribute to the International Monetary Fund's plan to expand financial resources. (Yomiuri) Feb 3 Panasonic joins ailing Japan giants Japan's Panasonic Corp warned of a record annual $US10.2 billion net loss, joining beleaguered rivals Sony and Sharp in a sea of red ink as they struggle to fix their broken TV businesses and show they have not lost their way. Panasonic's forecast loss of 780 billion yen ($US10.2 billion) for the year to March dwarfed expectations, and is almost all due to restructuring charges and writedowns for its Sanyo Electric unit. Sony on Thursday pressed its reset button after warning of a bigger-than-expected annual loss, announcing that Kazuo Hirai will take over from Stringer as CEO in April, triggering an 8 per cent jump in its share price on Friday, its biggest one-day per centage gain in almost a year. (Sydney Morning Herald) Feb 3 Japan Inc. suppliers cut jobs as yen batters tv, chip profit Japan Inc. is suffering and the supply chain is bearing the cost. Sumco Corp., a supplier to Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., said yesterday it will cut 1,300 jobs. Auto windshield maker Nippon Sheet Glass Co., which sells to Mazda Motor Corp., said it will cut 3,500 jobs. They join NEC Corp., a Japanese maker of telecom equipment and components, which said last month it would eliminate 10,000 positions. The yen's 7 percent surge against the dollar in the past 12 months has widened losses at Panasonic Corp. Sony, Mazda and Sharp Corp., which plans to halve TV production at its biggest factory to reduce inventory. Manufacturers have been forced to both relocate production outside of Japan and to press their suppliers for cost cuts. (BusinessWeek) Feb 3 Panasonic projects record annual net loss Panasonic on Friday nearly doubled its projected net loss for the fiscal year to a record 780 billion yen ($10.2 billion) amid weak TV and mobile phone sales and ongoing restructuring costs after acquiring smaller Sanyo Electronics Co. Panasonic joins Sony and Sharp as the latest major Japanese electronics maker to predict huge losses for the year through March. That reflects the battering these brand name companies have taken from the yen's surge, a weak global economy, last year's tsunami disaster as well as flooding in Thailand, which disrupted supply networks. For the October-December quarter, Panasonic reported a net loss of 197.6 billion yen ($2.6 billion). A year earlier, it had a net profit of 40 billion yen for the same quarter. (AP) Feb 2 Tokyo stocks close up 0.76% Tokyo stocks have closed up 0.76 per cent as hopes for the global economy offset heavy sell-offs in individual companies including Sharp, which sank to its lowest level in more than three decades. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 67.03 points to 8,876.82 on Thursday and the Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.59 per cent, or 4.49 points, to 762.45. The bourse halted trade in 241 issues for the whole morning due to a technical glitch. The suspension was lifted when the afternoon session started and its impact on overall market volatility was minimal, brokers said. (tradingroom.com.au) Feb 1 Sharp forecasts $3.8 billion loss Japanese electronics maker Sharp said Wednesday it expected a full-year net loss of $3.8 billion, blaming falling prices, a high yen and the global economic slowdown. The firm expects to lose 290 billion yen for the year to March, reversing an earlier projection of a six billion yen net profit. For the nine months to December it made a net loss of 213.5 billion yen, compared with a 21.83 billion yen profit in the corresponding period in the previous year, it said. During the same period, operating losses came to 9.1 billion yen, reversing operating profit of 66.5 billion yen in the previous year, while sales fell 18.3 percent to 1.9 trillion yen, Sharp said. (AFP) Jan 26 Tokyo Shares End Down; Profit-Taking Hits Fanuc, Machinery Stks Tokyo stocks posted a modest loss Thursday, largely on profit-taking following the market's recent bullishness, with Fanuc Corp., along with Komatsu Ltd. and other overbought machinery shares, falling sharply on earnings- and China growth-related jitters. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 34.22 points, or 0.4%, to 8849.47 following the prior session's 1.1% rise to a 12-week closing high. The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues also lost 2.79 points, or 0.4%, to 764.61, with 22 of 33 subindexes ending in negative territory. Trading volume totaled 1.95 billion shares, down from Wednesday's 2.2 billion-share pace. (Wall Street Journal) Jan 22 Japanese stores go extra mile to attract Chinese during New Year holidays A visitor to the VenusFort shopping mall in Tokyo's Odaiba district over the weekend could be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled into Chinatown. Posters in Chinese celebrating the Lunar New Year have been prominently displayed around the mall since Friday. Red--a color Chinese consider auspicious at this time of year--dominates window displays, and seven Chinese-speaking staffers will be stationed at the mall until Sunday to help customers shop. VenusFort is not the only commercial entity that has launched an intensive sales campaign targeting Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year holidays, which run from Jan. 22 to 28 this year. The number of Chinese tourists to Japan has rebounded following a sharp drop after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, and department stores and retailers in Japan are eager to cash in. (Yomiuri) Jan 20 Tokyo shares hit 10-week high as weaker yen sparks exporters Tokyo stocks posted strong gains Friday, as a sharply higher euro on the back of easing tension over euro-zone financial issues, helped exporters such as Honda Motor Co., Canon Inc. and TDK Corp. to push the Nikkei Stock Average to a fresh 10-week high. The Nikkei added 126.68 points, or 1.5%, to 8766.36 following the prior session's 1.0% advance. The closing mark was the highest for the benchmark index since Nov. 7. For the week, the Nikkei added 3.1% and is now up 3.7% for the year so far. The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues also added 14.79 points, or 2.0%, to 755.47, with 31 of 33 subindexes ending in positive territory. Volume continued to look brisk, as 2.59 billion shares changed hands--the highest total since Aug. 9. It was the third straight session that the figure exceeded 2.0 billion, underscoring the return of robust investment flows. (Wall Street Journal) Jan 20 Moody's lowers rating on Japan's Sony, Panasonic Ratings agency Moody's on Friday downgraded Japanese electronics titans Sony and Panasonic, giving both companies a negative outlook. The agency lowered its assessment on debt issued by Sony to Baa1 from A3, citing "weak and volatile" earnings. It downgraded Panasonic to A2 from A1, saying its analysts were concerned "that the weakness in Panasonic's profile will continue". Moody's said around $5 billion worth of long-term debt issued by Sony was affected by its announcement, which it said was due in large part to "its loss-making TV business, which is grappling with severe competition, sharp price declines, and a strong yen". (Daily Star) Jan 19 Euro-yen intervention an option for Japan, but not now Japanese authorities, while reluctant to act now, may consider engaging in a rare intervention to stem yen rises against the euro if the moves appear to be driven by speculators and sharp enough to severely hurt business sentiment. If they were to act, authorities will step directly into the euro-yen market despite its low trading volume and may twin it with dollar-yen intervention to maximize the effect, say sources with direct knowledge of government tactics and market players. "Technically it's possible. People talk about the euro-yen market being too small, but that's not an obstacle," said a policymaker with direct knowledge of the matter. Another source expressed a similar view. Both declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject. (Reuters) Jan 18 Rakuten eyes cheaper e-readers / Lower-priced devices may help boost domestic e-book sales The domestic market for electronic book readers is likely to sharply expand as Rakuten Inc. plans to market cheaper e-readers as early as this spring, aiming to increase e-book sales by popularizing a low-priced e-reader. Rakuten said Thursday it completed the purchase of Kobo Inc., a Canadian firm that operates an e-book business in about 100 countries. The main reason behind the acquisition is to introduce the Kobo e-reader into the Japanese market. The Kobo e-reader allows Japanese text layouts such as vertical writing. Rakuten plans to sell the device for less than 10,000 yen. (Yomiuri) Jan 18 Welfare ministry to make new poverty index The welfare ministry has decided to create a new poverty index in response to the sharp increase in the number of people living on welfare benefits and problems related to the working poor, it has been learned. The new index will help clarify Japan's poverty situation and rate by measuring factors such as health, food, clothing and living conditions. Although there are existing international poverty indexes, they are considered difficult to use and do not properly reflect Japan's actual situation, according to the ministry. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to create the index within the next fiscal year, and will measure poverty rates continuously to provide data for the government when making new policies, such as reviewing welfare benefit criteria. (Yomiuri) Jan 16 Tokyo Shares End Down As S&P Action, Weak Euro Rekindle Fears Tokyo stocks fell sharply Monday, as Standard & Poor's credit rating downgrades on several European nations and fresh weakness in the euro translated into a selloff for financial shares such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Dai-ichi Life Insurance, as well as prominent exporters such as Sony. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 121.66 points, or 1.4%, to 8378.36 following Friday's 1.4% rise. The benchmark index came within a few ticks of setting a fresh 2012 intraday low. The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues also fell 9.36 points, or 1.3%, to 725.24, with 31 of 33 subindexes ending in negative territory. As U.S. markets are on holiday tonight, trading volume wasn't very active considering the underlying volatility, totaling just 1.35 billion shares. (Wall Street Journal) Jan 12 Record number of new convenience stores to open in FY12 Three major convenience store chains will open a total of about 3,000 outlets in fiscal 2012--a record annual number--bringing the total number of convenience stores in the nation to over 45,000, according to the chains' operators. All three operators--Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Lawson, Inc. and FamilyMart Co.--recorded their highest-ever total operating revenues and operating profits for the March-to-November period last year, according to their respective consolidated settlement of accounts. The three companies saw a sharp rise in sales because of an increase in new customers--mainly homemakers and the elderly--following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. (Yomiuri) Jan 6 Recovery predicted for April / Business leaders confident, but press for reforms, sales tax hike The economy will begin recovering in April thanks to rising demand for reconstruction projects in areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, leaders of the nation's three major business organizations have predicted. At the same time, they expressed anxiety about the European fiscal crises and the sharp appreciation of the yen, and called on the government to quickly implement integrated reform of the social security and taxation systems, including a consumption tax hike. The leaders of the three organizations --the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI)--presented their opinions about the economy this year at a joint press conference. (Yomiuri) Jan 1 Japan spent over 14 tril. yen on forex interventions in 2011 Japanese monetary authorities spent a total of 14.30 trillion yen (about $184.5 billion) on currency interventions in 2011, the third-biggest amount on record, according to Finance Ministry data released by Friday. The ministry said Friday that it and the Bank of Japan did not step into the foreign exchange market between Nov. 29 and Dec. 28. The authorities conducted publicly announced market interventions three times this year -- in March, August and October -- to stem the sharp rise of the yen against the U.S. dollar and other major currencies. (Mainichi) Dec 30 Sony PlayStation Vita sales fall sharply after Japanese launch Sales of the PlayStation Vita have fallen by nearly 80 percent during the week that ended on December 25 according to tracking firm Media Create. Sony sold approximately 325,000 Vita units on December 17 and 18, but only sold about 10,000 units a day during the following week. Sales of the PlayStation Portable beat sales of the PlayStation Vita by approximately 25,000 units. In addition, Nintendo saw massive sales of the 3DS during the same week and nearly sold half a million units. That pushes Nintendo over four million units sold for the entire year, a fact that Nintendo officials mentioned in a recent press release. (Digital Trends) Dec 22 Inflated yen a magnet for Koreans selling spring in Japan Jitsuwa Taiho (January) reports that just as the exchange differential between the South Korean won and Japanese yen is helping appliance makers like Samsung and LG to drastically undersell Sony, Sharp and other Japanese competitors, this has also spurred opportunities for Korean females to penetrate Japan for the purpose of peddling pussy. "Recently there was a police bust in the red-light area adjacent to the east exit of Kawasaki station," says a reporter who's knowledgeable about such things. "About 20 foreign women were found working there, nearly all of them from South Korea. The main reason they're working here is that they're drawn by the exchange rate, but one more thing that can't be overlooked is that there's been a major police crackdown on prostitution in Korea." (Tokyo Reporter) Dec 21 Budget carrier Star Flyer launches successful IPO Star Flyer Inc. listed its shares Wednesday on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange as it aims to start up international services in 2012. The stock fetched an initial quote of ¥5,500, up sharply from its IPO price of ¥3,180. Star Flyer is the second startup air carrier to go public since Skymark Airlines Inc. was listed on the TSE's Mothers market in May 2000. Star Flyer, founded in 2002, issued 140,000 shares in its initial public offering and also put up for sale 90,000 already issued shares held by securities houses and other stakeholders. (Japan Times) Dec 20 Japan says arrests China boat captain for illegal fishing Japan's coastguard said on Tuesday it had arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing boat operating illegally in Japanese waters, though China's response to the incident has so far been muted. Ties between the two countries deteriorated sharply last year following the detention of the captain of a Chinese trawler that collided with Japanese patrol boats near disputed islets in the East China Sea. The latest arrest also comes as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is scheduled to visit Beijing for a bilateral summit on Dec 25-26. (Reuters) Dec 14 Govt to slash U.S. air base move outlays The government plans to slash its fiscal 2012 spending on the planned relocation of about 8,000 U.S. marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam by about 80 percent from the 2011 budget, government sources said Wednesday. This comes after recent U.S. congressional moves to freeze funding for the relocation in its fiscal 2012 spending. Japan's government will set aside less than 10 billion yen, a sharp drop compared to the 52 billion yen outlay in the initial budget for fiscal 2011, the sources said. (Yomiuri) Dec 14 Nikkei falls after Fed, clings to 25-day average Japan's Nikkei share average dipped on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave no hints of new stimulus measures, but managed to close above key support at its 25-day moving average, raising cautious optimism over the market's outlook. Shares of online gaming firm Nexon Co slipped on its trading debut following a $1.2 billion IPO, Japan's biggest this year, hurting other Internet and game company shares, while scandal-hit Olympus Corp slipped in volatile trade as it restated its earnings. "Most market players don't expect the Nikkei to move sharply in any direction ahead of the year-end," said Naoki Kamiyama, chief strategist at Deutsche Securities. (Reuters) Dec 13 Recovery boosted pollution by 3.9% Greenhouse gases equivalent to 1.256 billion tons of carbon dioxide were emitted in Japan in fiscal 2010, up 3.9 percent from the year before and the first surge in three years amid an economic recovery, the Environment Ministry said Tuesday. Compared with the 1990 level, the base year under the Kyodo Protocol, emissions were down 0.4 percent, but by including emissions rights bought from abroad, a 10.3 percent reduction was attained in the year through last March, the ministry said in a preliminary report. Emissions could rise sharply in the current fiscal year, however, as reliance on nuclear power fell amid the Fukushima crisis. (Japan Times) [ More... ]