Not for the first time, Warren Buffett is swimming against the tide, says Mike Bird in The Wall Street Journal. Early this month his Berkshire Hathaway group spent $6bn acquiring stakes in five Japanese trading houses. Yet data shows that other foreigners have been souring on the world’s third-biggest economy.
However, Shinzo Abe, who took office in 2012 and has just resigned, leaves Japan’s markets better than he found them, says The Economist. Lower corporate taxes and a depreciating yen gave a much-needed boost to shaky corporate profits, while reforms to corporate governance have made Japanese managers more responsive to the needs of shareholders. The Topix index has gained more than 82% since he took office. Reforms in Japanese markets have been overshadowed by the dominance of US-listed tech stocks, says Andrew Bary in Barron’s. The country is “more like Germany than the US”, explains Masakazu Takeda of Sparx Asset Management. Japan’s real speciality is its “high-quality industrial businesses”, such as carmaker Toyota and air conditioning supplier Daikin Industries.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
-
Inheritance tax pension reforms will delay payments to grieving families and the taxmanThe government is pressing ahead with plans to charge inheritance tax on pensions but there are warnings that it will be harder for executors to administer an estate and pay HMRC
-
More than a million pensioners set to be hit by tax on savings accountsA combination of higher interest rates and frozen tax thresholds is dragging more people into paying tax on their cash savings
-
Albert Einstein's first violin sells for £860,000 at auctionAlbert Einstein left his first violin behind as he escaped Nazi Germany. Last week, it became the most expensive instrument not owned by a concert violinist
-
Who is Rob Granieri, the mysterious billionaire leader of Jane Street?Profits at Jane Street have exploded, throwing billionaire Rob Granieri into the limelight. But it’s not just the firm’s success that is prompting scrutiny
-
Emerging markets boast top-quality growth stocks at bargain pricesOpinion Lim Wen Loong, investment director at Ashoka WhiteOak Capital, selects three growth stocks where he’d put his money
-
Beware the bubble in bitcoin treasury companiesBitcoin treasury companies are no longer coining it. Short this one, says Matthew Partridge
-
Klarna leads a financial revolution – should investors buy?Klarna has ambitions to rewire the global payments system and has huge growth potential
-
New faces don’t solve old problems – why strategy also matters when it comes to investment trustsOpinion Changing managers often fails to boost a trust’s performance, says Max King
-
How to profit from silver’s record riseSilver often lets investors down, but there may now be room for further gains, says Dominic Frisby
-
Are venture-capital trusts worth investing in?Venture-capital trusts are a tax-efficient way to invest in early-stage companies. But are they worth the risk?
