The “Bad Habit” Asian Firms Just Can’t Seem to Shake
Jul 31st, 2008 | By Martin Hutchinson | Category: Financial News, International InvestingAs investors, we can rejoice in the work ethic of Asian companies, as well as their inventive technology and presence in some of the world’s greatest growth markets. But there’s one “bad habit” that Asian management just can’t seem to shake and it’s one investors need to look out for: Trying to build businesses in the United States, and devoting huge amounts of shareholder resources in the process.Nomura Holdings Inc. (ADR: NMR), the Japanese investment bank, is a good example of this bad habit. On Tuesday, Nomura reported a loss for the quarter ended June 30 of $770 million (84.3 billion yen) due to a write-down of $575 million (63.1 billion yen) on its exposure to monoline insurance companies. Nomura…