Stocks

Japanese equity markets remain challenging for private investors, warn advisers, as the effects of the 1990 financial crisis linger on. But despite this, the top-performing UK-based retail fund of 2008 was Neptune’s Japan Opportunities fund, which returned 84 per cent. (FT.com)

Japanese shares edged down Friday in lackluster trade as investors turned cautious ahead of U.S. jobs data that's likely to point to a deepening recession in the world's largest economy. (AP)

If you thought things couldn't get worse for Japanese stocks after their poorest performance ever in 2008, a tongue-in-cheek research report forecast this year to be grim as well because of its Chinese zodiac animal. The report by private research company Daiwa Institute said that 2009 was an "Ox" or "Cow" year, which in the past has been disastrous for stocks. Japan's economy has been forecast to slow down this year, on the back of the global recession. (BusinessWeek)

The credit crunch has sapped investors' appetite for many things. In Asia, corporate debt isn't one of them. The volume of bonds issued in Asian currencies rose 18% in 2008, according to Dealogic. Excluding bonds denominated in yen, volume jumped 50%. U.S. dollar issuance by comparison fell 23%. (Wall Street Journal)

Tokyo stocks extended gains to a six-day winning streak on Tuesday in the first full trading day of 2009 as optimism about the impact of a large-scale U.S. economic stimulus plan to bolster the battered U.S. economy lifted investor sentiment, but gains were modest due to selling for quick profits. (AP)

Share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose on the first trading day of 2009 on Monday, buoyed by last week's stock rally in the US. Exchange employees in kimonos rang the opening bell for the year, followed by applause with wishes for active trading. (NHK)

(Kyodo)

(Yomiuri)

(Washington Post)

(Asahi)

(Bloomberg)

(Daily Times)

The global credit crisis may be taking the wind out of most financial markets but in Japan the retail corporate bond market has started to boom. Blue-chip companies spurned by portfolio-savaged institutional investors are turning to individuals, who in turn are attracted by the bonds -- seen as safer than stocks, with steady returns and without foreign exchange risks. (Reuters)

Tokyo stocks are expected to firm up in the latter half of 2009 after a tailspin in late 2008 amid the deepening global financial crisis while the U.S. dollar is likely to stay steady against the yen, bringing the Japanese currency's uptrend to a halt. (Kyodo)

(Reuters)

(elliottwave.com)

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(FT.com)

Japanese shares fell Friday as investors dumped exporters on a strong yen, while the market shrugged off the Bank of Japan's much expected rate cut, which followed a similar move by the U.S. Federal Reserve. (International Herald Tribune)

(Japan Times)