Warren Buffett is shaking Japan’s magic money tree
Huge gaps between American and Japanese interest rates offer opportunities
Shares in three of Japan’s five largest trading conglomerates reached record highs over the past week, following an announcement by Warren Buffett that he is keen to own more of their stock. It is just the latest good news for the firms. Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsui, Mitsubishi and Sumitomo Corporation have surged in value since Berkshire Hathaway, Mr Buffett’s investment firm, announced its first purchases on his 90th birthday in 2020. Since then, their share prices have risen by between 64% and 202%.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Of price and yen”
Finance & economics
April 22nd 2023
From the April 22nd 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionTrump’s tariff turbulence is worse than anyone imagined
Even his concessions are less generous than expected
Why silver is the new gold
Safe-haven demand and solar panels have sent its price soaring
Trump’s new tariffs are his most extreme ever
America targets its three biggest trading partners: Canada, Mexico and China
El Salvador’s wild crypto experiment ends in failure
Its curtailment is the price of an IMF bail-out. And one worth paying
America is at risk of a Trumpian economic slowdown
Protectionist threats and erratic policies are combining to hurt growth
India has undermined a popular myth about development
Extreme poverty in the country has dropped to negligible levels