TOKYO (AP) — The ousted chief of Olympus, the Japanese camera-maker under investigation for hiding investment losses for years, is confident about making a comeback — a return he vows will clean up the companys scandal-tainted management for good.
Michael Woodford, the former President and Chief Executive at Olympus Corp., said Thursday he was lining up shareholder support and talking to other influential people in the Japanese establishment for his return to the company.
Woodford, in town this week for such meetings, declined to give specifics, saying the discussions were delicate. But he was clearly upbeat about the prospects, claiming he had enough support to call a general shareholders meeting — a key move for managerial change.
I wouldnt be putting myself through this enormous physical and emotional effort if I didnt think it could be successful, he told The Associated Press, weary but exhilarated from the flood of email from Olympus employees cheering him on.
This is uncharted territory. You h
TOKYO, Dec 9, 2011 (AFP) _ Japan said Friday the economy grew at a slower pace in the third quarter than initially estimated, with the fragile post-quake recovery weighed by a strong yen and the eurozone debt crisis.
The Cabinet Office said the economy expanded by an annualised 5.6 percent in the July-September quarter — lower than the 6.0 percent announced last month — with a government spokesman saying growth was “moderating.”However, the figure represents Japan’s first economic expansion in three quarters, as the country recovers from the March 11 quake and tsunami disaster with manufacturers ramping up production.And the monthly outcome still beat analysts’ expectations for a revised 5.2 percent gain, according to Dow Jones Newswires.On an quarter-on-quarter basis, gross domestic product growth was 1.4 percent in July-September, revised down from 1.5 percent, the figures showed.Authorities have been cautious about the prospects for Japan’s economy, saying weakness in key US and European export markets could dash hopes for a sustained recovery.“The data confirmed that business sentiment has been dampened by a stronger yen and uncertainties about the global economy,” said Satoshi Osanai, economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research.The downward revision was expected after the government said last week it was lowering its capital spending estimate, a key figure in calculating gross domestic product.On Thursday, official data showed Japan’s core private-sector machinery orders, a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, fell 6.9 percent in October from the previous month.Economists were also concerned that private consumption, which accounts for about two-thirds of Japan’s GDP, was revised down to a 0.7 percent on-quarter rise, from an initial estimate for a 1.0 percent increase.Rising inventories were also “worrisome” for the world’s third-largest economy, said Mizuho Research and Consulting senior economist Norio Miyagawa, as they suggest a manufacturing slowdown.A worsening situation in debt-strapped Europe would “pose a great downside risk to Japan,” he said.Last month, Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa warned the country would continue to face a “severe situation” and that Europe’s sovereign debt crisis was the biggest risk factor in any recovery.The crisis has also been a key issue behind Japan’s surging yen, which investors have flocked to as they seek a safe-haven currency.The yen’s rise to post-World War II highs against the dollar has prompted the central bank to intervene in foreign exchange markets to bring down the unit’s surging value, which erodes exporters’ profits and makes Japanese goods less competitive.Japan fell into a trade deficit in October, reversing a year-earlier surplus, as the eurozone crisis and strong yen weighed on exporters, while record flooding in Thailand pounded the operations of Japanese automakers and electronics firms with plants in the country.The flooding came as Japanese firms were near to restoring output to normal levels at home after the quake-tsunami shattered component supply chains.
An aboriginal band has been granted an injunction preventing Taseko Mines from conducting exploration work around its proposed gold and copper mine in B.C.’s central Interior.
In the same court hearing, Taseko failed in its bid for an injunction forcing the Tsilhqot’in First Nation to stop blocking the company’s access to the site outside Williams Lake, B.C.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Grauer ruled Friday the band wasn’t properly consulted on two permits granted to Taseko by the provincial government.
Justice Grauer said the First Nation will suffer greater harm than Taseko if the exploration and trail building work for the proposed New Prosperity mine continues.
The injunction will be in force until the First Nation can launch a judicial review over the provincial government permits.
“Obviously this is the result we were looking for,” said Jay Nelson, the band’s lawyer.
“I think it’s the right decision. It give
India’s Cabinet decided Thursday to allow more direct foreign investment in the nation’s huge retail industry, a move that could strengthen the country’s food supply chain and open India to giant global retailers such as Wal-Mart.
The Cabinet approved 51 percent foreign direct investment in multibrand retail and increased the FDI cap in single-brand retail to 100 percent despite resistance from both allies and opposition parties.
India currently allows 51 percent foreign investment in single-brand retailers and 100 percent for wholesale operations.
Top retailers like Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Tesco and IKEA have long lobbied to free the policy further. Foreign multibrand retailers have Indian partners in wholesale operations now but have no retail presence in the country of 1.2 billion people.
The spokesman for the ruling Congress party, Abhishek Manu Singhvi called the decision “centrist and reasonable.” He was speaking to NDTV news channel.
The main opposition, the rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party, decried the move.
“The government has clearly bowed to international pressure,” Chandan Mitra, a spokesman told the same TV channel.
Wal-Mart, British-based Tesco PLC and French-based retailer Carrefour welcomed the decision.
“We believe that allowing 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail is a first important step,” Raj Jain, president of Walmart India, said in an e-mailed statement.
MF Global Inc.’s workforce of 1,066 broker-dealer employees was fired as the failed brokerage closes its New York office and liquidates in an attempt to return assets to customers under the guidance of a trustee.
The broker-dealer, winding down since Oct. 31, will pay employees through Nov. 15, according to a statement today from the office of the trustee, James Giddens. As many as 200 former employees are being hired to assist in the liquidation of the broker-dealer, Giddens said.
Some employees of MF Global Inc., the broker-dealer unit of bankrupt MF Global Holdings Ltd., learned they were being fired from news reports, a person familiar with the matter said. The press release was distributed to and reported by the news media before all MF Global employees who were losing their jobs were notified, according to the person, who declined to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly on the firings
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