Japan's Nikkei Drops, Paced by Nomura on Subprime Concern; Olympus Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average
slipped after Germany's IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG said losses
on subprime loan investments will ``significantly'' lower profits.

Brokerages such as Nomura Holdings Inc., with similar
investments, led declines on concern they will also be affected.


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Japanese Stocks May Climb on Higher Earnings; KDDI Corp., Toshiba May Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese shares may gain on optimism
companies will report higher earnings for the fiscal first quarter.

KDDI Corp., Japan's second-biggest mobile-phone carrier, may
gain after saying its profit rose 9 percent from a year earlier
after winning customers from its rivals. Toshiba Corp. may advance
after the Nikkei newspaper said the company, which had forecast a
profit decline, may report a 3 percent increase in net income.


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Japan's Small-Cap Stocks Rally as Tougher Accounting Rules Buoy Confidence

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Japan's smallest listed
companies, Asia's worst performers last year, are staging a
comeback as tougher accounting standards revive confidence in
earnings reports and consumer spending rebounds.

The Russell/Nomura Small Cap Index, whose 1,332 members
have an average market value of $630 million, has outperformed
the Nikkei 225 Stock Average in six of the last seven weeks. The
measure trailed the Nikkei in all but two of the previous 17
months after executives of Internet provider Livedoor Co. were
arrested in January 2006 for fabricating profits, sparking
investor concern about the finances of second-tier companies.


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Asia stocks tumble, dollar at lows on s

(Reuters) - Global markets were rattled on Tuesday after two leading rating agencies started to slash ratings for more than $17.3 billion of U.S. mortgage-related debt, raising concerns that the sector's woes are worse than previously thought.




Tokyo's Nikkei dropped more than 1 percent by the market's midday break on Wednesday, retreating further from a seven-year closing high reached on Monday.


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Yen climbs on risk aversion, carry trade unwinds

(Reuters) - Weak stock markets, due partly to concerns about the exposure of U.S. lenders to subprime mortgages, have reduced investor interest in risky assets around the world. The Nikkei share average fell 1.2 percent.




Market players were also on edge after Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi warned the previous session that markets should be aware of the risks of one-way bets, an apparent reference to carry trades funded in the low-yielding yen.


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Toshiba Shares Rise on Report It Won $4.9 Billion U.S. Nuclear Plant Order

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Toshiba Corp. rose after a
Nikkei report said the company beat General Electric Co. and
Hitachi Ltd. to win a 600 billion yen ($4.9 billion) contract to
supply nuclear plant equipment to NRG Energy Inc.

Toshiba, Japan's biggest maker of nuclear power reactors by
capacity, gained 1.2 percent to 1,036 yen as of 10:56 a.m. on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange. Toshiba Plant Systems & Services Corp., its
power construction unit, rose 6.6 percent to 1,033 yen.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Japanese Exporter Stocks May Drop, Led by Sony, on U.S. Housing Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese exporter stocks may drop,
extending the Nikkei 225 Stock Average's longest streak of
declines since early March. Sony Corp. may pace losses amid
signs the U.S. housing market is worsening, curbing demand.

Commodities-related shares such as Mitsubishi Corp. may
fall after prices of oil, copper, gold and other raw materials
slumped.


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Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average, Topix Fall; Toyota, Canon Lead Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average
fell 103.87, or 0.6 percent, to 18,107.81 at 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo.
The broader Topix index dropped 8.97, or 0.5 percent, to
1774.75.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Canon Inc. led the declines.


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Citigroup offers biggest ever Samurai bond issue

(Reuters) - Combined with the latest Samurai issuance, the total amount
of Citigroup's yen-denominated bonds is expected to be 400
billion yen and the biggest yen-denominated issue, topping
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.'s 300 billion
yen issue in 2002, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.




The Samurai bonds consist of 30 billion yen in three-year
fixed-rate bonds with a 1.51 percent coupon, 35 billion yen in
five-year bonds with a 1.86 percent coupon, 80 billion yen in
seven-year bonds with a 2.13 percent coupon, 65 billion yen in
10-year bonds with a 2.38 percent coupon, 30 billion yen in
three-year floating-rate bonds and 30 billion yen in five-year
floating-rate bonds, Nikko Citigroup said.


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Japan's Nikkei Stock Average, Topix Fall; Honda, Nippon Yusen Lead Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average
fell 58.50, or 0.3 percent, to 17,995.31 at 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo.
The broader Topix index dropped 3.13, or 0.2 percent, to
1773.43.

Honda Motor Co. and Nippon Yusen K.K. led the declines.


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Japanese Stocks Rise; Nikkei Closes Above 18,000 for First Time Since Feb.

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose, with the Nikkei
225 Stock Average closing above 18,000 for the first time since
February. Automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp. led gains as
concern eased a slowdown in the U.S. economy will drag on the
companies' profit growth.

Energy producers advanced after the price of crude oil
climbed above $66 a barrel in New York.


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Japan's Stocks May Gain After Household Spending, Jobs Data Beat Forecasts

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks may climb after a
measure of household spending beat forecasts and the jobless
rate fell to a nine-year low. Domestic demand-related shares
including Fast Retailing Co. may pace gains.

Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures expiring in June last
traded in Chicago at 17,585, down from the close of 17,600 in
Osaka and 17,605 in Singapore yesterday.


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Japan's Bonds Decline as Gains in Stocks Reduce Demand for Debt Securities

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's 10-year bond yields held near
the highest since February after the Nikkei 225 Stock Average
rebounded from the biggest decline in a month.

Two-year yields were at the highest since 1997 before
reports this week that are forecast to show Japanese industrial
production rose and U.S. hiring increased. Signs of faster growth
in the world's two biggest economies may encourage the Bank of
Japan to raise interest rates again this year.


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European stocks track global markets lower

(Reuters) - European stocks eased early on Friday, led by lacklustre miners, as investors took their lead from losses on global markets as fears about U.S. growth and Chinese equities weighed.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 0.3 percent to 1,592.7 points, its lowest level in a week, following a 1.2 percent slide for Tokyo's Nikkei index.


Read more at Reuters Africa