May 17, 2023 (Bloomberg) - Japan's biggest lenders are predicting their highest profits in years. Still, a cautious outlook is holding them back from returning surplus capital to shareholders.
Source: ANNnewsCH
Japan's Megabanks Predict Bumper Profit, Resist Buybacks
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A 9-minute, 13-second drone video filmed inside Aeon Mall Kumamoto two days after the deadly explosion has provided a detailed view of the destruction, showing collapsed ceilings, heavy dust and widespread damage that may have affected between one-third and nearly half of the shopping center.
Strong Typhoon No. 18 was moving northwest through the East China Sea on the night of August 26, gradually pulling away from Okinawa and the Amami Islands as lingering rain, strong winds and high waves were expected to ease. As of 9 p.m. on August 26, the typhoon was over waters north-northwest of Kume Island and moving northwest.
A series of mysterious illegal dumping incidents involving about 39 kilograms of sliced bread has been reported around Mount Daisen and other parts of Tottori Prefecture in August, with officials investigating whether the food may have been deliberately placed to attract wild animals.
An 85-year-old couple have donated a combined 400 million yen to Osaka City with a request that the money be used to create a giant Myaku-Myaku statue about 20 meters tall at the former site of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, envisioning a landmark that could become a lasting symbol of the event and of renewed prosperity for Kansai and Japan.
Lawson plans to cut prices on its main line of onigiri rice balls by 10 yen from September 29 as falling rice prices begin to feed through to retail costs.
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Seven-Eleven Japan and Yamato Transport announced on August 26 that they will introduce self-service shipping machines allowing customers to send parcels without lining up at a staffed checkout counter.
Tokyo stocks rose on August 26, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,262.16, up 405.73 points, or 0.62%, as investors bought back selected semiconductor and financial shares, although trading was thin ahead of Nvidia’s earnings and uncertainty remained over artificial intelligence valuations, the yen and Bank of Japan policy.
Tokyo stocks fell on August 25, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 64,980.53, down 0.8%, as investors sold semiconductor and electronics shares ahead of Nvidia’s earnings while a weak yen, elevated bond yields and renewed U.S. pressure on Iran kept risk appetite subdued.
Japan's traditional neighborhood public baths are struggling with rising fuel, labor and operating costs, but unlike most businesses they cannot freely raise prices because admission fees remain regulated under a postwar price-control law introduced in 1946.
Tokyo stocks fell on August 24, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 65,528.09, down 488.27 points, or 0.74%, as global bond-yield pressure and caution ahead of Nvidia’s earnings triggered selling in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares, even as the broader TOPIX edged higher.
Suzuki has unveiled a prototype of its first kei-class electric vehicle, the e SKY, which is scheduled to go on sale during the current fiscal year with a driving range of 310 kilometers, among the longest offered by a domestically produced kei EV.
Following the fare revision, a labor union representing taxi drivers in the prefecture and other groups held a news conference calling for the proportion of operating revenue paid to drivers to be raised from its current level to at least 60%.
China's exports of rare-earth magnets to Japan fell by more than half in July from a year earlier, while shipments of tungsten carbide remained at zero for a sixth consecutive month, according to trade data released by Chinese customs authorities.