Yamato Life Insurance First Casualty of Market Collapse

Earlier in the week, I told some Americans that the U.S. financial crisis had not directly impacted Japan. This morning, Yamato Insurance went into bankruptcy procedures under the Corporate Rehabilitation Act. Falling stock prices had already put its finances at risk. Subprime exposure plus the most recent stock market freefall pushed it over the edge. That’s about as close to a direct hit as it can get.

Will there be others? How many? Are going to have worry about the Japanese banks’ asset ratios again? Shades of the 90s.

I’ll be responding to comments on recent posts no later than tomorrow. Hope to make something out of the latest twists and turns in the Diet too.

How Does the Subprime-Triggered Financial Crisis Resemble the Japanese Post-Bubble Collapse?

The authorities and the financial industry have consistently understated the problem, that's how.

Now, this. It looks like the investment banking equivalent of a bank run.