Japanese investors binging on foreign debt as JGB yields dwindle
Japanese investors were net buyers of major sovereign debt from overseas in January, except for U.K. debt, underscoring their appetite for higher returns as the Bank of Japan's unprecedented easing suppresses bond yields. Net purchases of Canada's sovereign bonds maturing in more than a year ...
Megabank dividends lure funds from bonds
As Japan's sovereign bond yields languish near zero, the regular payouts to shareholders of the megabanks are starting to appeal to a wider group of investors. The average dividend yield of the Topix Banks Index, the payout relative to the share price, was at 2.22 ...
Blackstone draws Tokyo junk investors amid warnings of froth
Blackstone Group LP filled a Tokyo ballroom earlier this month with locals seeking riskier U.S. loans as regulators in New York try and avert a credit bubble. The money manager's seeking to bring more Japanese investors into North American credit markets as one of its ...
Mitani sidelined by Abe as GPIF pension fund enters new era
When Takahiro Mitani's term as head of the world's largest retirement fund finishes in March, so too will the old era of Japanese pension management. The former Bank of Japan official saw his power ebb during a five-year reign at the ¥131 trillion Government Pension ...
The general account budget for fiscal 2015 is likely to reach a record high of about ¥98 trillion, exceeding the ¥95.9 trillion initial budget for this year, Finance Ministry sources said. With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe eager to shore up the flagging economy, policy spending ...
BOJ's assets hit record high in September on aggressive easing
The Bank of Japan said Wednesday its total assets stood at a record ¥277.10 trillion ($2.35 trillion) at the end of September, as the central bank continued its massive asset purchases from financial institutions to boost the economy. The assets, mainly Japanese government bonds, grew ...
Ebola raises airline bond risk, similar to SARS scare
The bond risk of ANA Holdings Inc. rose the most of any company in Japan as the spread of Ebola to two health workers in the U.S. rekindled memories of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2002 and 2003. The cost to insure ...
Japan's $1.2 trillion retirement fund will increase its allocation target for shares to about 25 percent from 12 percent, the Nikkei newspaper reported without attribution. The Government Pension Investment Fund will also boost its holdings of foreign bonds and stocks to about a combined 30 ...
Mori Building sells debt to fund projects in run-up to Olympics
Mori Building Co. sold its longest bond ever as Japan's biggest closely held developer plans ¥1 trillion ($9.8 billion) in projects in the decade that will include the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The company, whose Roppongi Hills complex houses Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Apple Inc., ...
Governance fix needed at GPIF before asset change, Shiozaki says
As the world's biggest pension manager moves closer to putting more money in risky assets, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's deputy policy chief says the fund needs to change its governance first. Japan should submit a bill in the next Diet session to overhaul the ...
Approaching reactor restarts encourage utilities to sell bonds
The Nuclear Regulation Authority is moving toward the first reactor restart under its new safety requirements since the Fukushima disaster started, giving impetus to bond sales by utilities as borrowing costs plunge. The regulator may submit a safety report on two reactors at Kyushu Electric ...
