Darrel Whitten

Japanese Property: Fear Has Overcome Greed

Bill;
Mitsubishi Estate and Daibiru were mentioned because of Seeking Alpha's requirement to mention stocks that are traded in the US, which these two are in ADR (OTC) form. Personally, I like Sumitomo Realty (TSE Code: 8830) better because of its higher Beta to bull runs in real estate-related stocks. Mitsubishi Estate is the Cadillac (or Mercedes S550) of the Japanese real estate companies, being landlord of the some of the best commercial properties in Japan, such as the Marunouchi central business district around Tokyo station.

The Subprime Solution: Containing Global Contagion

Dear Ken;

Remember Y2K and all of the "smart guys" telling us how this would bring down the civilized world? The Fed and other central banks reacted by providing massive amounts of liquidity to ensure the "doomsday" scenario would not come to pass...what a great stimulous for global stock markets!

The Japanese political scene makes for greate media coverage and speculaton among foreign investors, but has precious little to do with what goes on in the realy economy--and therefore only has a passing impact on the stock market. This is because politics in Japan is largely irrelavent to
what is actually going on in the real economy! For a reality check, all you have to do is track what Japanese politicians actually do versus what they say. At the end of the day, political action in Japan inevitably gravitates toward what is considered the best solution for Japanese business and the financial markets, i.e., a very investor -friendly compromise...