Inthe past, wewouldthink thatifa firm was having problems they wouldshow a higherdebtratio, butnowif they are performingpoorly, the debt is going to be goingdown in value.
For instance, the recent guideline on fair-value accounting, which decrees that companies must show equity holdings at their market value, also contains a provision that allows them to avoid writing down shares if they think that they will soon recover in value.
The figures from the Tokyo Stock Exchange show that individuals accounted for 36% of the total value of trades in Japan's major stock markets, down from 39% the week before.