Tag Archives: investment

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: Olympus now under investigation by the British, FBI also invloved. Olympus officials beg banks for more money

Scandal with Japan’s Olympus only gets deeper.  Now the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) confirmed they are investigating.

The SFO, located in a building known as Elm House, says they’re getting help from a former Olympus CEO, Michael Woodford.  He’s already turned over corporate documents he kept after he was fired from Olympus last month.  The SFO also confirmed that the U.S. FBI is involved.

This comes as Olympus held an emergency meeting with 40 banks, to  essentially beg them for more money.

According to NHK, Olympus officials swear they’re actually going to make money this year, however overall sales are slightly down from last year.  Olympus stated they will release their accounting books by the government ordered date of December 14.  They will also reveal who’s responsible for the huge losses from securities investments, as well as buyouts of other companies.

NHK gave no indication of how the bank officials reacted to the emergency meeting with Olympus.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: Singapore sells off Olympus stocks, dumb U.S. investors holding on

The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation announced that it has disposed of almost all of its investments in Olympus.

Singapore held 2% of Olympus stocks.  They are the first major stock holder to announce they were dumping their shares in Olympus.  U.S. Olympus stockholders seem to be waiting for Olympus officials to provide an explanation as to where all their money went.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: United States involved with Olympus scandal, Olympus to be delisted from stock market

Japan’s NHK reporting that the incredibly bad investment deals Olympus made, were influenced by a U.S. financial advisory company.

The company was created in 1997 by former Japanese stock brokers.  The company charged Olympus outrageous mediation fees for their advise on taking over other companies.  Reports say at least U.S.$687 million in mediation fees were paid to what could be a bogus company.

Olympus officials are said to have spent a lot of time visiting their U.S. based, but Japanese run, financial advisory company.

The Japanese Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has ordered Olympus to present accurate financial reports by December 14.  If they do not, Olympus will be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.  If you have Olympus stocks, sell, sell, sell!

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Corporate Incompetence: Olympus made extremely stupid investment deal, or was it a conspiracy?

The latest revelation about Japanese camera maker Olympus is that they lost most of their money in what looks like a deliberately stupid stock buy back program.

On November 8 it was revealed that Olympus has been almost broke since the late 1990s, and was cooking their accounting books.  Now we have an explanation of how they finally lost most of their money.

The book cooking was just the beginning.  In 2008 Olympus bought a British surgical equipment maker, Gyrus Group.

Olympus paid a stock brokerage company, located in the tax haven Caribbean island of Cayman, to handle the buyout.  That company was called AXAM.  Total payment to AXAM was 17 billion yen (about U.S.$220 million), in cash and Gyrus stocks.

In 2010, Olympus bought back the stock for a total of 60 billion yen (about U.S.$770 million)!  AXAM closed up shop three months later!

Talk about corporate incompetence, Olympus officials violated the golden rule of investing: Buy low, sell high.  But was it incompetence or a conspiracy?  It’s very suspicious that Olympus used a broker in a known tax haven country, who then closed up shop after Olympus bought back the Gyrus stocks, at grossly inflated prices.

To add to the conspiracy theory, it has just been revealed by NHK in Japan, that Olympus fired its independent accounting auditors when they began to question the company’s accounting books.

In 2009 the independent auditors questioned Olympus officials’ buyouts of three Japanese companies between 2006 and 2008.  All the companies were considered bad investments.  To make it more questionable, the auditors pointed out that Olympus had a yearly revenue of 2 billion yen (about U.S.$30 million), at most.  The three Japanese companies cost Olympus more than 73 billion yen (about U.S.$940 million)!

The Japanese Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission claim it will investigate the Olympus scandal.

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Occupy the World, Corporate Incompetence: Camera maker Olympus never reported losses, for at least a decade!

November 8, scandal for Japanese owned camera and industrial equipment maker Olympus: They deliberately kept losses off their finance books since the 1990s.

More proof that corporations can’t be trusted. The scandal wasn’t the result of Olympus officials confessing, it was the result of a third party investigation!

The losses come from securities investments.  Company officials tried to cover up the losses by blaming it on consulting fees, and the purchase of three smaller companies.

Olympus stock is now crashing on the Japanese stock market.  Olympus Vice President Hisashi Mori was fired for his involvement in the cover up.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

60% of Chinese millionaires want to leave China

A recent survey of Chinese millionaires found that 60% want to leave China.  14% have already left, or are in the bureaucratic process of leaving.

And where do Chinese millionaires want to go?  40% said they plan on moving to the United States.  Canada and Singapore are also top choices.

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the number of Chinese applicants for ‘investment immigration’ has exceeded applications from any other country!

Investment immigration basically means you’re being allowed to immigrate into the U.S. because you’re investing your wealth into the U.S. (minimum $500,000 required).

What’s the main reason Chinese millionaires want to move to the United States?  They want better education for their children.  Hah, I hope they’re not disappointed, like so many U.S. parents.

The survey was conducted by Hurun Report and the Bank of China.