Latest news with #SMBCNikkoSecurities
.JPG%3Fwidth%3D780%26fit%3Dcover%26gravity%3Dfaces%26dpr%3D2%26quality%3Dmedium%26source%3Dnar-cms%26format%3Dauto&w=3840&q=100)
Nikkei Asia
22-07-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Ex-SMBC Nikko deputy president convicted over market manipulation
Crime Four other former employees of Japanese brokerage also convicted According to the indictment, SMBC Nikko placed large buy orders to stabilize the prices of 10 stocks. All five former employees pleaded not guilty in the case. © Reuters TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Japanese district court on Tuesday convicted a former deputy president of SMBC Nikko Securities over his role in market manipulation involving the illegal purchase of shares to stabilize stock prices. Toshihiro Sato, 63, was sentenced by the Tokyo District Court to two years and six months in prison, suspended for five years, for violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act while working for the major Japanese brokerage. Four other former employees were also convicted on the same charge. All five had pleaded not guilty. According to the indictment, between December 2019 and April 2021, SMBC Nikko placed large buy orders to stabilize the prices of 10 stocks. The trades were part of "block offering" transactions, in which the firm purchased significant volumes of shares from major shareholders outside normal trading hours and resold them to investors. Trials for SMBC Nikko as a corporation, which admitted to the charge, and for another former executive were held separately. The court handed down guilty verdicts in 2023, and those rulings have since been finalized.
Japan Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Former SMBC Nikko managers found guilty in market manipulation case
Five former executives at Japanese brokerage SMBC Nikko Securities were found guilty for their roles in a market manipulation case, marking the culmination of a scandal that rocked Japan's financial industry. The Tokyo District Court handed down suspended prison sentences for the firm's ex-head of equity Trevor Hill and his deputy Alexandre Avakiants, as well as three Japanese former executives. Prosecutors had sought multiyear prison terms for their alleged roles in trying to support stock prices ahead of what are known as block trades. When the allegations surfaced in early 2022, they shone a spotlight on Japan's financial sector and led to regulatory penalties against the brokerage. The subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan's second-largest banking group, posted losses and cut costs in the wake of the revelations as clients took their business elsewhere. The firm's top executives took pay reductions to shoulder responsibility. Former general manager Makoto Yamada was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, suspended for five years, the court ruled on Tuesday. Hill and ex-deputy president Toshihiro Sato received two and a half years, suspended for five years. Another former general manager, Shinichiro Okazaki, and Avakiants got shorter suspended sentences. The case underscores the legal risks for foreign professionals working in Japan. The country's justice system has faced criticism for its conviction rate of more than 99%, suggesting to organizations including Human Rights Watch that trials are practically foregone conclusions. Still, criminal proceedings against foreign business executives are relatively rare in Japan. The most high-profile case in recent years was against Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan Motor chairman, who was accused of financial misconduct and fled the country before he was tried. It has been more than two and a half years since prosecutors brought charges against the former SMBC Nikko managers and the firm. Ex-manager Teruya Sugino received a suspended prison sentence in 2023 after admitting to the accusations. SMBC Nikko itself pleaded guilty. SMBC Nikko resumed block offers in April after renaming them retail offers and introducing a tighter internal monitoring of the transactions.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Japan's exports drop as US tariffs hit automobiles, pressure set to intensify
June exports down 0.5% yr/yr vs forecast rise of 0.5% Japan's exports fell for a second straight month as sweeping U.S. tariffs took a toll on the country's manufacturers, with its fragile economy exposed to greater risks from the global trade war in coming months. Japan failed to clinch a deal with the U.S. before the July 9 expiration of the temporary pause on the country-specific tariffs after it focused on eliminating the existing sectoral 25% tariffs on automobiles, a mainstay of the export-reliant economy. Washington now plans to impose tariffs of 25% on Japanese imports, unless a trade deal is struck by August 1. "The tariff impact is likely to intensify in coming months, when the tariff rate is finalised and Japanese companies begin to fully pass on costs to consumers in the U.S., which would hamper competitiveness of Japanese products there," Daiwa Institute of Research economist Koki Akimoto said. Exports from the world's fourth-largest economy dropped 0.5% in June year-on-year in value terms, compared with a median market forecast for a 0.5% increase and a 1.7% decrease in May, the first decline in eight months. Exports to the United States tumbled 11.4% in June from a year earlier, the largest monthly percentage decline since February 2021, dragged down by a 26.7% plunge in automobiles, a 15.5% fall in auto components and a 40.9% plunge in pharmaceuticals. But the volume of automobile shipments rose 3.4%, indicating Japanese automakers are cutting prices on exported cars and absorbing tariff costs to stay competitive. "Japanese automakers have so far kept production levels by sacrificing margins, so the tariff impact on their production activities has been limited," Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities , said. But Daiwa's Akimoto said Japanese companies would be forced to raise prices eventually, as trade negotiations drag on and the yen stays relatively strong. Japan exported 21 trillion yen worth of goods to the United States last year, with automobiles representing roughly 28% of the total. Japan's trade surplus with the U.S. in June fell 22.9% to 669 billion yen ($4.51 billion). Exports to China were down 4.7%, the data showed. Total imports grew 0.2% in June from a year earlier, compared with market forecasts for a 1.6% drop. As a result, the trade balance stood at a surplus of 153.1 billion yen ($1.03 billion), compared with a forecast for a surplus of 353.9 billion yen. U.S. tariffs are adding to pressure on the Japanese economy which is struggling due to lacklustre domestic consumption. Japan's economy shrank in the first quarter as rising living costs hurt demand. Prolonged uncertainties over the impact of the tariffs and the course of trade negotiations will likely force the Bank of Japan to keep focusing on downside risks to the economy and to put rate hikes on hold for the time being, analysts say.
Business Recorder
17-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Japan bonds tread water as wary investors await weekend election
TOKYO: Japanese government bonds held steady on Thursday as the market turned calm in the final run-up to potentially pivotal upper house elections, following a selloff earlier in the week that sent long-term yields to record peaks. Recent polls suggest the ruling coalition is seen as increasingly unlikely to retain its majority, ceding more power to opposition parties backing consumption tax cuts as a way to ease the burden from rising consumer prices. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration has so far eschewed that option in favour of cash handouts. The fiscal implications of a defeat for Ishiba in this Sunday's vote saw 20- and 30-year yields surge to record highs on Tuesday of 2.65% and 3.20%, respectively. Those yields retreated sharply on Wednesday, though, and in the latest session, the 20-year yield remained flat at 2.57%, while the 30-year yield increased by 0.5 basis point (bp) to 3.07%. The 10-year yield eased 0.5 bp to 1.565%. It vaulted to its highest level since October 2008 at 1.595% earlier this week. 'The possibility of the ruling coalition losing its majority in this weekend's upper house election has already been mostly priced in, but it is unclear what the coalition framework will be after that,' said Miki Den, a senior rates strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities. 'Investors are reluctant to take on new positions.' Benchmark 10-year JGB futures were flat at 137.96, after pushing to the lowest since March 28 at 137.70 on Wednesday. Bond yields move inversely to prices. The five-year JGB yield and two-year yield each declined by 0.5 bp to 1.075% and 0.78%, respectively.
Bloomberg
15-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Japanese Bonds Risk Liz Truss Moment as Election Jolts Market
Japan's bond market is facing a potential Liz Truss moment as the risk of a ruling coalition defeat in Sunday's election fuels concerns over fiscal policy, according to SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. Yields on bonds with maturities of 20 years and beyond have risen at least 20 basis points this month, part of a wave of selling in global bond markets as investors increasingly worry about government finances. That has put the spotlight on a weekend election for Japan's upper house, which local media think may end in disappointment for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner.
