Jess,
OT (kind of)
This is going to be the test case. If all hell breaks loose, you can bet the Japanese are going back to the drawing board while sitting on their hands indefinitely.
Ramsey
TOKYO (Nikkei)-The stock of Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan went
limit down to 62 yen on Monday in trading on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange, a drop of 50 yen from its Friday close at 112 yen.
Institutional and corporate investors sold off shares of the bank -
which is considering restructuring plans, including a merger - in large
volume.
The stock of Daiwa Bank (8319), which has been rumored a possible
LTCB merger partner, also dropped, reaching its lowest value of the
year. Other bank issues showed similar declines.
In addition, the stock of Dai-Ichi Securities Co. (8612), in which LTCB
is the second largest shareholder, fell to a record low.
The Nikkei Stock Average, however, showed little reaction to the
falling prices. Shares of corporations in other industries, including
such troubled sectors as real estate and construction, remained
comparatively sound, suggesting confidence that Japan will make
reconstruction of the financial system a priority.
As a result of the declining bank stocks, the yield on interest-bearing
bank debentures rose. The yield on June-issued five-year bonds by
Industrial Bank of Japan (8302) reached 1.71% in trading between
dealers, making the yield about 0.7% higher than that on comparable
government bonds, the largest yield gap ever recorded.
(The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Tuesday morning edition) |
