Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StanX Long who wrote (61852)	3/10/2002 11:26:33 PM
From: StanX Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Toyota, Fast Retailing Lead Wave of Japanese Stock Buybacks By Miki Anzai quote.bloomberg.com Tokyo, March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., Fast Retailing Co., and other Japanese companies are buying back shares at twice the rate of a year ago to bolster their prices and store up stock for acquisitions and other uses. The surge in buybacks -- 245 companies repurchased shares in January and February, more than double the year-earlier pace --has helped Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index rise by more than a quarter since Feb. 6. With Japan mired in its third recession in a decade and banks forced to unload stock they hold in borrowers, companies are taking advantage of an October law change that allows them to buy back shares without retiring them. The move, a reaction to the Nikkei's halving in value over the preceding 18 months, allows companies to buy stock for everything from acquisition war chests to employee option grants. ``Buybacks are a good way to reduce the pressure on stock prices,'' said Michitaka Kato, who manages 15 billion yen ($116.6 million) in assets at Japan investment Trust Management Co. ``The buyback trend will continue.'' That's especially true for cash-rich companies whose shares have fallen, making their stocks more affordable.