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Japanese Techno-Sheep Investors?

I'm going to do something dangerous, which is comment on something from far off press reports, but on my drive home, BBC Radio (which, for those who are wondering how I hear the BBC in California, is carried by NPR public radio here) was reporting that the Tokyo Stock Exchange is on the verge of stopping trading. The cause? A massive sell-off of technology stocks because of allegations of financial wrong-doing by Livedoor, a well-known Japanese Internet company.

While the jury is out on what Livedoor did or didn't do, its hard to believe that one company could really tar a whole industry, and it does seem that Japanese investors are really acting in a panic. Internet and technology, while not the answer to all economic ills, is here to stay and is not about to collapse because of one company. A convicted monopolist, Microsoft, has shown that here in the US. Might be a good time to buy Japanese tech stocks.

Of course, I'd be interested in hearing if there's something deeper here then what I'm hearing here in the US via a British news service about Japanese markets.

Posted by Phillip Keys : 03:37 PM | Comments (0)