From Mainichi Dialy:
Livedoor shares recoup losses as Japanese stock market rallies
Shares in troubled Japanese Internet company Livedoor rose 23 percent in Tokyo trading Friday, recouping some of the losses from its tumble after a surprise raid by criminal investigators nearly two weeks ago.
The recovery in Livedoor shares, which finished at 139 yen ($1.20), was a sign the Japanese market may be finally calming down from the jitters that followed the Jan. 16 raid and Monday's arrest of Takafumi Horie, Livedoor's former president. Still, the shares are down 80 percent from their levels prior to the raid.
The benchmark for Tokyo stocks rallied to a five-year high Friday, gaining nearly 4 percent to finish at 16,460.68 points -- the Nikkei's highest closing since Sept. 8, 2000 -- helped by better-than-expected earnings results from Sony Corp.
Prosecutors suspect Horie and three other Livedoor executives of giving false information about subsidiaries and covering up losses.
The arrest is a stunning fall for 33-year-old Horie, who had become a celebrity in Japan for his bold buyout attempts and had come to symbolize the possible new face of corporate Japan.
Horie, who now sits in a cell at the Tokyo Detention Center, has repeatedly said he is innocent.
Livedoor, which runs an Internet portal and grew through aggressively buying up other businesses, was a new kind of company for Japan, where manufacturers like Sony ruled the business world for decades.
Trading in Livedoor shares has been limited to an hour for the last two sessions and had been shortened to 90 minutes Wednesday to prevent confusion on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The bourse has been repeatedly plagued by problems dealing with surging trading volumes.
One of Horie's grow-rich tactics, now under scrutiny, was repeatedly splitting stocks in Livedoor and its subsidiaries. The move boosted the number of shareholders to an unusually numerous 220,000 people and is making trading volume in Livedoor shares massive recently, as people try to dump the shares. Friday's Livedoor trading volume totaled 106 million shares.
Kozo Hiramatsu, who replaced Horie as president at Livedoor this week, met with top executives at Fuji Television Network Inc. Friday, Fuji official Ken Mishima said, while refusing to elaborate. Fuji TV owns 12.7 percent of Livedoor under an agreement Fuji signed reluctantly last year after Horie tried to take over the media conglomerate.
Hiramatsu, who headed a software company that was bought out by Livedoor, is viewed as relatively untainted by the scandal. He has promised to turn Livedoor around and has said Horie will never return to Livedoor. Fuji TV Chairman Hisashi Hieda has said he is considering various options including "supporting" Livedoor, without giving specifics.
Hiramatsu told nationally televised news on NHK TV that he is asking Fuji TV to continue a partnership, and Japanese media reports said Hiramatsu is asking Fuji TV to keep its stake in Livedoor.
There has been some speculation investment funds may take over Livedoor if it declines enough to become a bargain. But others say takers are likely few for a company under criminal investigation for allegedly padding its books.
The scandal has prompted analysts and members of the public to say Japan needs clearer laws and heavier penalties overseeing securities.
Calls have been growing louder for setting up a Japanese equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Japan's markets, which lack an independent securities watchdog, are monitored by a unit in the government Financial Services Agency many say lacks authority and resources.
Doubts are growing about the monitoring system over white-collar crime as Livedoor's alleged dubious actions appear to have gone unchecked for years. (AP)
January 27, 2006
Livedoor shares recoup losses as Japanese stock market rallies
Shares in troubled Japanese Internet company Livedoor rose 23 percent in Tokyo trading Friday, recouping some of the losses from its tumble after a surprise raid by criminal investigators nearly two weeks ago.
The recovery in Livedoor shares, which finished at 139 yen ($1.20), was a sign the Japanese market may be finally calming down from the jitters that followed the Jan. 16 raid and Monday's arrest of Takafumi Horie, Livedoor's former president. Still, the shares are down 80 percent from their levels prior to the raid.
The benchmark for Tokyo stocks rallied to a five-year high Friday, gaining nearly 4 percent to finish at 16,460.68 points -- the Nikkei's highest closing since Sept. 8, 2000 -- helped by better-than-expected earnings results from Sony Corp.
Prosecutors suspect Horie and three other Livedoor executives of giving false information about subsidiaries and covering up losses.
The arrest is a stunning fall for 33-year-old Horie, who had become a celebrity in Japan for his bold buyout attempts and had come to symbolize the possible new face of corporate Japan.
Horie, who now sits in a cell at the Tokyo Detention Center, has repeatedly said he is innocent.
Livedoor, which runs an Internet portal and grew through aggressively buying up other businesses, was a new kind of company for Japan, where manufacturers like Sony ruled the business world for decades.
Trading in Livedoor shares has been limited to an hour for the last two sessions and had been shortened to 90 minutes Wednesday to prevent confusion on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The bourse has been repeatedly plagued by problems dealing with surging trading volumes.
One of Horie's grow-rich tactics, now under scrutiny, was repeatedly splitting stocks in Livedoor and its subsidiaries. The move boosted the number of shareholders to an unusually numerous 220,000 people and is making trading volume in Livedoor shares massive recently, as people try to dump the shares. Friday's Livedoor trading volume totaled 106 million shares.
Kozo Hiramatsu, who replaced Horie as president at Livedoor this week, met with top executives at Fuji Television Network Inc. Friday, Fuji official Ken Mishima said, while refusing to elaborate. Fuji TV owns 12.7 percent of Livedoor under an agreement Fuji signed reluctantly last year after Horie tried to take over the media conglomerate.
Hiramatsu, who headed a software company that was bought out by Livedoor, is viewed as relatively untainted by the scandal. He has promised to turn Livedoor around and has said Horie will never return to Livedoor. Fuji TV Chairman Hisashi Hieda has said he is considering various options including "supporting" Livedoor, without giving specifics.
Hiramatsu told nationally televised news on NHK TV that he is asking Fuji TV to continue a partnership, and Japanese media reports said Hiramatsu is asking Fuji TV to keep its stake in Livedoor.
There has been some speculation investment funds may take over Livedoor if it declines enough to become a bargain. But others say takers are likely few for a company under criminal investigation for allegedly padding its books.
The scandal has prompted analysts and members of the public to say Japan needs clearer laws and heavier penalties overseeing securities.
Calls have been growing louder for setting up a Japanese equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Japan's markets, which lack an independent securities watchdog, are monitored by a unit in the government Financial Services Agency many say lacks authority and resources.
Doubts are growing about the monitoring system over white-collar crime as Livedoor's alleged dubious actions appear to have gone unchecked for years. (AP)
January 27, 2006
