Japan’s top brokerage firm Nomura Holdings Inc is likely to log a record net loss of ¥700 billion (US$7.1 billion) in the year to last month, a report said yesterday.
The loss stemmed partly from evaluation losses on commercial real estate, loans and shareholdings, as well as write-downs on inventories of securities for sale to investors, the Nikkei Shimbun said.
HIGHER LABOR COSTS
The group’s labor costs also increased after it bought major chunks of fallen Wall Street titan Lehman Brothers, the paper said.
Nomura did not confirm the report, saying it would announce results today for the fourth quarter as well as the full year to last month.
Eyeing a global presence, Nomura last year snapped up Lehman’s operations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East after the Wall Street investment bank became the most visible corporate casualty of the financial crisis.
Nomura incurred a net loss of ¥342.9 billion in the third quarter to December because of the impact of the financial crisis and the cost of buying the Lehman Brothers units.
MIZUHO
Meanwhile, Japan’s second-largest bank, Mizuho Financial Group Inc, said yesterday it had suffered an estimated net loss of ¥580 billion (US$5.9 billion) in the financial year to last month.
Mizuho, which made a net profit of ¥311.2 billion in the previous year, has been badly hit by the global financial crisis and losses on toxic mortgage-backed securities.
The group missed its forecast for a ¥100 billion profit last year, blaming increased losses related to weak financial markets as well as the impact of low interest rates and rising bad loan costs.
The bank said it would book a loss of ¥618.8 billion on securities, including stocks and bonds. Mizuho is expected to release its final results next month.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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