Canon Inc. (ADR) (CAJ): Japan’s Public Debt Hits 1 Quadrillion Yen as the Nikkei Takes a Dive

Rival Nikon showed this week just how bad it’s getting for Japan’s troubled electronics firms. Nikon’s first-quarter profit fell 72% year over year, and the firm slashed its full-year profit forecast. Panasonic is facing trouble of its own, even as the firm’s stock has soared more than 45% year to date. The company announced its departure from the smartphone market this week, as foreign rivals have come to take the lead in Japan’s mobile sector. Panasonic’s failed to gain any mobile traction overseas, although considering the company’s smartphone division posted a 5.4 billion operating loss in the first quarter of the year, the move’s a smart surrender by Panasonic. Still, this capitulation won’t keep its stock soaring at the rate investors have become used to in the year’s first half.

The article Japan’s Public Debt Hits 1 Quadrillion Yen as the Nikkei Takes a Dive originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Carroll.

Fool contributor Dan Carroll has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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