Japan Retail Traders Pile Bearish Nikkei Bets, Raising Doubts
The contrarian tilt, long embedded in the behavior of Japanese individual investors, is surfacing yet again. Some analysts trace the mindset back to decades of equity market underperformance driven by yen strength and deflation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Xiaomi's Revenue Rises 31% After Second EV Fires Up Consumers
(Bloomberg) -- Xiaomi Corp.'s quarterly revenue rose a slightly better-than-anticipated 31% after the successful launch of its second electric vehicle helped counter slowing demand for smartphones. Revenue climbed to 116 billion yuan ($16.2 billion), versus the average analyst estimate of about 115 billion yuan. Net income roughly doubled to 11.9 billion yuan. Xiaomi delivered 81,302 cars in the second quarter, taking the total to more than 157,000 over the first half — on track to surpass 2024's haul. A Photographer's Pipe Dream: Capturing New York's Vast Water System Chicago Schools Seeks $1 Billion of Short-Term Debt as Cash Gone A London Apartment Tower With Echoes of Victorian Rail and Ancient Rome Festivals and Parades Are Canceled Amid US Immigration Anxiety Princeton Plans New Budget Cuts as Pressure From Trump Builds Strong demand for the YU7 sport utility vehicle, which co-founder Lei Jun released at the end of June, is propelling Xiaomi's $10 billion gamble on a fast-growing but crowded EV arena. The company aims to take on Tesla Inc. and BYD Co. and become one of the world's top five carmakers, despite a production crunch that's testing its ability to scale up. Wait times for the SUV have stretched to more than a year. Lei said at an investor meeting in June that the carmaking venture is expected to turn profitable in the second half of this year. Xiaomi has gained some $120 billion of market value over the past year, galvanized by a drive into EVs that's gained momentum against much larger and more experienced rivals. The company seems to have shaken off a fatal accident involving one of its SU7 sedans in March, which had its Autopilot turned on. The crash prompted regulators to rein in the deployment of advanced driver assistance technology. The Chinese government also intervened in June to try to stop a long-running price war that has squeezed margins all along the auto supply chain. Xiaomi has avoided getting embroiled in the discounting as demand for its vehicles remains high. Still, the stock is now trading at more expensive valuations than BYD as well as global smartphone rival Samsung Electronics Co. What Bloomberg Intelligence Says Revenue from its Smart EV and other new-initiatives segment might have gained 11% sequentially, supported by continued ramp-up in production capacity. The internet of things division could have delivered 30-40% sales growth on share gains in white goods and government subsidies. However handset sales growth might have slowed to a mid-single-digit percentage. Gross margin could have expanded year-over-year to 22.5%, driven by greater scale in the EV business and an improved internet of things product mix. However, gross margin may have dipped slightly vs. 1Q due to promotional sales and rising input costs in the smartphone segment. - Steven Tseng and Sean Chen Click here for the research. Xiaomi is grappling with a slowdown in its core business and sluggish consumer spending. Xiaomi along with rivals Apple Inc. and Huawei Technologies Co. offered steep discounts over the big June shopping festival in an attempt to lure shoppers, pressuring margins. AI and chip design is another venture where Xiaomi is ramping up resources. The Beijing-based firm unveiled a 3-nanometer chip called the Xring O1 chip, designed to power devices including the Tablet 7 Ultra. Lei said the company would invest $7 billion this decade into its semiconductor. Foreigners Are Buying US Homes Again While Americans Get Sidelined What Declining Cardboard Box Sales Tell Us About the US Economy Women's Earnings Never Really Recover After They Have Children Americans Are Getting Priced Out of Homeownership at Record Rates Yosemite Employee Fired After Flying Trans Pride Flag ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China's iQiyi taps banks for up to $300 million Hong Kong second listing, sources say
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Chinese video streaming platform iQIYI has tapped Bank of America, CICC and JPMorgan to work on its Hong Kong second listing that could raise between $200 million and $300 million, said two people with knowledge of the matter. iQIYI, China's answer to Netflix, plans to file its listing application confidentially in the third quarter, said one of the people, adding a listing, pending regulatory approvals, could happen before the 2026 Lunar New Year which falls in mid-February. The people declined to be named as the information was private. Nasdaq-listed iQIYI, controlled by Chinese internet giant Baidu Inc, declined to comment. Spokespeople for Bank of America and JPMorgan declined to comment. Chinese investment bank CICC (China International Capital Corp) did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sign in to access your portfolio
Gizmodo
22 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
$11 Billion in 2 Weeks: AI Bets Mint Money for Masayoshi Son
Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son's fortune added $11 billion in just the first two weeks of August as his SoftBank Group's aggressive push into artificial intelligence buoyed shares to historic highs. Son's net worth now stands at $33.3 billion, solidifying his position as the second-richest person in Japan, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The resurgence comes amid a broader recovery at SoftBank's flagship Vision Fund, coupled with sizable payouts from asset sales, including stakes in T-Mobile US, that have bolstered Son's financial firepower. These gains are fueling further bets on AI hardware and technology companies, with Son's investments across chipmakers like Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. gaining ground in the recent quarter. At 68, Son's wealth has long been characterized by volatility. During the dot-com bubble of 2000, he briefly surpassed Bill Gates in fortune, only to see that wealth evaporate as tech stocks collapsed. His early investments in Alibaba and exclusive rights to Apple's iPhone sales in Japan helped him stage a dramatic comeback, reaching a peak of $38.3 billion in 2021 following record profits from SoftBank's investments in newly listed tech firms. But no one has been immune to routs in tech: the value of Son's fortune has waned in recent years amid the tech downturn and shifting global markets. Son's latest surge reflects his unwavering confidence in AI's potential. After years of caution highlighted by a sharp retrenchment in 2022 amid falling tech valuations, he has renewed his focus on AI hardware, increasing holdings in Nvidia and TSMC in the March quarter despite critics warning of a bubble and oversupply risks. These investments are now contributing significantly to SoftBank's earnings, with the company's stock serving as an on-the-ground proxy for what many see as a burgeoning AI infrastructure boom. Recent developments suggest Son's strategic moves aren't limited to chipmakers. SoftBank is also backing a major push into electric vehicles through its acquisition of Foxconn's Ohio plant. That effort is being seen as integral to the company's Stargate AI data center project, a $500 billion initiative aiming to partner with firms like OpenAI and Oracle. SoftBank's expanding digital footprint includes plans to list its payments unit, PayPay, in the U.S., hinting at potential future payouts that could further enhance Son's wealth. But questions around his personal stakes in these investments and the governance issues they raise have heightened scrutiny among investors, who question whether his interests are best for the company's long-term survival. As Son continues to bet heavily on AI's transformative power, his recent wealth sprint underscores his belief that the tide is turning, and that his vision for a future dominated by intelligent infrastructure is finally gaining momentum.
