Japanese Firms, Flush With Cash, Step Up Deals

True in my little slice of Japan, too. I work in Nagoya, The Town Toyota Built. People don't always understand when I say this, but I don't work for Toyota to the extent that anyone in Nagoya can be said not to work for Toyota.

Here's an example of how that works:

1) American car industry goes nearly bankrupt

2) Company supporting American car industry downsizes a plant.

3) A company supplying Toyota seizes the opportunity to expand to a new location and begins plans to integrate it into the Toyota borg

4) This includes them needing logistical support so a different company in the Toyota borg needs to open a new office in a middle American state

5) The new office needs software services and would prefer to get them locally but with people their managers can work with

6) My employers start making plans for our third American office

I appreciate your discretion in not asking me to name names.

When assets are available at fire sale prices, and you're holding a lot of cash, life is pretty sweet. (I've been plowing all the yen I can spare into investments, too. Of course I'm not a market timer so I'm always doing that but this appears to be one of the seasons which proves why the strategy works.)

My apologies to anyone who doesn't have a WSJ account. It's an interesting story given the current VC environment in the US.