WSJ: "As fears grow about a potential nationalization of Tokyo Electric Power Co..."

[brentspeak]

This is no early April Fool's Joke. Rupert Murdoch's Wall St. Journal's main concern is that a major corporation might be nationalized (because TEPCO appears clueless on how to stem its own plant's disaster), not that a brand-new Chernobyl is rupturing all over Japan and situated right along the Pacific.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703461504576230281188073102.html

Caution Over Holders of Tepco Debt

MARCH 29, 2011, 10:55 A.M. ET

TOKYO—As fears grow about a potential nationalization of Tokyo Electric Power Co., concern is mounting over some of Japan's leading institutions that have a high level of exposure to the troubled utility.

Life insurers, banks, pension funds—including Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, the world's largest—and individuals hold more than five trillion yen ($61.2 billion) in Tepco corporate bonds. As speculation increased over a Tepco nationalization Tuesday, the banking subsector on the Topix stock index tumbled 3% and the insurance subsector fell 2%, compared with a 0.9% drop of the overall Topix index.

Tepco's corporate bonds were popular among conservative institutional investors and individuals because they were seen as a safe haven and a proxy for Japanese government bonds. But the cost of credit protection on Tepco debt has soared. The annual cost of insuring $10 million of Tepco debt for five years using credit-default swaps now costs around $400,000, up from about $40,000 before the March 11 quake.

But some bond traders themselves aren't pessimistic, reasoning that with such a wide and deep investor base, the government would, in a worst-case scenario, let equity investors take the hit, while bondholders would receive a far more lenient punishment—if they are hurt at all. Tepco's three-year debt denominated in euros was seen trading at yield spreads of four percentage points over Libor, meaning the prices are extremely discounted from pre-quake levels.

[rdking647]

1. since th WSJ is primarily a buisness paper

not a general news paper id expect them to comment on that

[brentspeak]

3. You don't see the irony in worrying over nationalization on this issue?

TEPCO's investors are going to have a lot more to worry about -- both health-wise and financial -- if Fukushima doesn't get under control.

[Arugula Latte]

2. No, god, not that!

Who will think of the poor shareholders?! Oh, the humanity! :cry:

[marions ghost]

4. investors' "high level of exposure" to the utility

Save the investors! for god's sake. x(

NOT the high level of exposure the people care about...(let them eat plutonium).

Excellent example of what is at stake in this.

[w4rma]

5. The money people don't want to help pay for the disaster their company wrought. (nt)