Japanas cash-rich companies are buying up foreign firmsTHE credit crunch has reduced merger and acquisition (M&A) activity around the world. Banks have tightened their purse-strings and the cheap credit that financed deals during the private-equity boom has dried up. This year the value of deals has fallen by 15% in America and 30% in Europe. But there is a bright spot amid the gloom: Japanese companies are on a spending spree, capitalising on the distress to buy firms abroad. The number of....
The Economist: Business
