TOKYO, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The incoming chief of Japan’s
Sony Corp will face the enormity of his task to turn
around the electronics icon on Thursday when the firm is likely
to forecast a fourth straight annual loss as it loses ground to
rivals Apple and Samsung.

Kazuo Hirai, the Sony veteran who revived its PlayStation
gaming business, was named on Wednesday as the company’s new
chief executive. He will replace Howard Stringer on April 1.

TOKYO, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Nomura Holdings,
Japan’s largest brokerage, returned to profit in the last
quarter thanks to a big revenue increase in its fixed income and
equities businesses.

The upswing in profits still leaves Nomura vulnerable to a
possible credit downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service, which
put Nomura’s debt on review in November, citing losses in its
overseas capital markets operations. A decision is expected
within days.

TOKYO, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Nomura Holdings,
Japan’s top brokerage, is expected to show on Wednesday that it
roughly broke even in the latest quarter despite a big one-off
investment gain, exposing its weak earnings power and
underscoring fears of a credit downgrade.

The results will come three weeks after the abrupt departure
of two senior ex-Lehman Brothers bankers, which highlighted the
poor performance of its wholesale operations and raised
questions over its overseas strategy.

TOKYO, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Daiwa Securities Group
, Japan’s second-biggest brokerage, booked its fourth
consecutive quarterly loss on Tuesday on a drop in trading
commissions and the firm expanded a cost-cutting plan to a total
of 500 overseas jobs.

The loss underscores the challenges facing Daiwa as it
scrambles to cut costs to cope with dwindling revenues in Japan
and establish a niche in overseas markets where it lacks the
scale to go head-to-head with the biggest banks.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Private equity firm TPG Capital TPG.UL is willing to invest about $1 billion in Japan’s Olympus Corp (7733.T: Quote, Profile, Research) in a joint deal with Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) or another suitor circling the scandal-hit firm, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

TPG has informed executives at Sony, Canon Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research), Fujifilm Holdings (4901.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Panasonic Corp (6752.T: Quote, Profile, Research) of its interest in providing capital and expertise to help revive the maker of medical equipment and cameras, the person said.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Private equity firm TPG Capital is willing to invest about $1 billion in Japan’s Olympus Corp in a joint deal with Sony Corp or another suitor circling the scandal-hit firm, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

TPG has informed executives at Sony, Canon Inc, Fujifilm Holdings and Panasonic Corp of its interest in providing capital and expertise to help revive the maker of medical equipment and cameras, the person said.

TOKYO/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Jasjit Bhattal, the highest-ranking ex-Lehman executive at Nomura Holdings (8604.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), resigned on Tuesday after the wholesale division he led suffered heavy losses and forced the Japanese investment bank to scale back its global expansion.

The departure of Bhattal is the latest blow to Nomura’s ambitions to join the elite ranks of global investment banks following its acquisition of Lehman Brothers’ European and Asian operations after the storied Wall Street firm collapsed in 2008.

TOKYO (Reuters) – A panel reviewing the auditing of Olympus Corp after its $1.7 billion (1.1 billion pound) accounting scandal said it had so far not found any wrongdoing by the Japanese arm of Ernst & Young and questioned the accuracy of a separate investigation critical of auditors.

But the panel, set up by Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC earlier this month, acknowledged that its powers of investigation were limited. The hurdles include an inability to question prior auditor, KMPG AZSA LLC, which does not want to participate in a competitor’s probe.

TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) – A panel reviewing the
auditing of Olympus Corp after its $1.7 billion accounting
scandal said it had so far not found any wrongdoing by the
Japanese arm of Ernst & Young and questioned the accuracy of a
separate investigation critical of auditors.

But the panel, set up by Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC
earlier this month, acknowledged that its powers of
investigation were limited. The hurdles include an inability to
question prior auditor, KMPG AZSA LLC, which does not
want to participate in a competitor’s probe.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Michael Woodford, the ousted boss of Japan’s Olympus Corp, has won the battle to force his former employer to admit to more than a decade of accounting fraud. His bid to return as chief executive officer, however, appears doomed.

Woodford has said major lenders to the maker of cameras and medical equipment will decide its fate – and those banks are already lined up behind Olympus managers, seemingly intent on slamming the boardroom door shut on him for good.