| Headline: Where vultures merely circle Source: Euromoney Date: October 2001 Author: Chris Cockerill Having bailed out loss-making companies, Japanese banks are bereft of capital. Their losses will become even more glaring now that they have to implement mark-to-market rules. And though the latest Nikkei slump was prompted by the attacks on the US, the adjustment is widely seen as fully justified. Selling out to foreign predators is one way out for ailing Japanese corporates but few buyers will be willing to pounce until targets are on their knees. Vodafone’s move to capture Japan Telecom has proved an interesting exception.
Japan was holding its breath waiting for the inevitable. The Nikkei after all, had been teetering on the 10,000 brink for some time. But now that it has finally plunged, people are numbed by how far it has fallen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||