World Business Briefing | Asia: Japan: G.E. Lending Unit Scaling Back
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The General Electric Companyâs Japanese consumer lending unit said it would close 60 percent of its branches and cut 15 percent of its employees as part of a restructuring plan. The GE Consumer Finance Company, a Tokyo-based lender, will shut 73 of its 115 branches and 200 of its 1,342 unmanned outlets, the firm said. The company said it would also cut as many as 400 employees out of 2,600 by the end of June.
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Japan&#39;s Supreme Court has ruled that UFJ bank can pull out of a deal to sell its trust business to rival Sumitomo. The ruling removes a key obstacle to a planned merger between UFJ and Mitsubishi Financial, which would create the world&#39;s biggest bank.
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Japan is trying to take the lead on climate change at this week's G-8 summit, but the world's second-largest economy is falling behind on its existing obligations to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
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The Nikkei average dipped 0.37 percent by the close on Wednesday as some major banks, including UFJ Holdings Inc., reversed gains they had made after approval by Japan's state turnaround body of a restructuring plan for troubled retailer Daiei Inc.
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Business sentiment among big Japanese manufacturers has sunk to a two-year low, a Bank of Japan survey showed on Friday, reinforcing expectations that any rise in interest rates will be delayed to late next year.
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Japanese shares fell Friday after Japanese banks reported larger-than-expected losses due to the subprime mortgage crisis. A slump in China's Shanghai Stock Exchange also weighed on Tokyo trade.
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Confidence at Japan&#39;s largest companies fell in the last quarter from a recent peak, but executives nonetheless said they planned to sharply increase capital investment in the
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Blames weak pound DCC Plc today scaled back its operating profit growth expectations for the year ended 31 March 2008, saying it had been hampered by weaker sterling.â¦
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Japan's financial regulator may suspend  or even end some private banking operations at the Japanese  commercial banking unit of U.S. financial services firm  Citigroup Inc. due to lost customer data and questionable  securities transactions, local media said on Thursday.
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Shares of Global Crossing Ltd.  GLBCE.O fell as much as 25 percent on Monday on concerns it  could face a second bankruptcy after it said it is cutting 600  jobs as it negotiates with lenders for much-needed financing.
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Japan's highest court removes a key obstacle to a proposed merger between UFJ bank and rival Mitsubishi Financial.
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Japanese firms cut capital spending by  4.9 percent in April-June from a year earlier, data showed on  Monday, confounding forecasts and adding to views that the Bank  of Japan will hold off from raising rates this month.
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TOKYO Daiei, Japan&#39;s third-largest retailer, will receive bank waivers, share write-downs and funds from sponsor companies worth Â¥707 billion to restore its finances, Japan&#39;s bailout agency said Tuesday.
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Japan is losing its appeal among international investors, the head of the Tokyo Stock Exchange warned Friday following a dire 2007 for Asia's largest stock market.
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Thailandâs central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for the fifth consecutive time this year to spur an economy blighted by slumping consumer confidence after last yearâs coup. The Bank of Thailand reduced its one-day bond repurchase rate to 3.25 percent from 3.5 percent. Lower interest rates may help the baht retreat from a 10-year high against the dollar, making exporters more competitive. âConsumption and investment remain weak,â said Usara Wilaipich, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Bangkok. âInflation is not a concern now because a slump in spending has curbed price increases.â
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Rising yen indicates carry trade no longer supporting prices.
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Losses at Japanese financial firms from the US sub-prime loan crisis more than doubled in the last three months of 2007.