If such a big network of post offices runs all services together, regional banks will be unable to fight back.

This downtrend in technology stocks is looking more serious than we had expected.

It was probably the first hostile takeover (attempt) of that size in Japan. It is true that the concept (of hostile takeovers) struck not only corporate managers but the public.

There is a huge cultural issue to overcome; if these account holders were the type of people who played the stock market, they wouldn't have done their banking in a safe haven like the post office to begin with. This may be a step in the right direction, but it will take many years before we feel it.

High-tech manufacturers aren't doing that badly in terms of fundamentals, but investors have decided that's all been factored in and are reacting only to the bad news.