Toshiba shares in freefall amid fears about US nuclear business
The company is selling assets and delaying expensive layoffs to boost its coffers
Tokyo — Toshiba shares went into freefall on Thursday, with the embattled stock down by nearly half since late December on concerns about huge losses at its nuclear power business in the US. The Tokyo-listed shares dived 16% to end the day at 242.3 yen after Japanese media said the vast conglomerate could book losses of as high as ¥700bn ($6.1bn) in the US unit. The stock fell as much as 26% earlier in the day, its biggest intraday decline in more than four decades, according to Bloomberg. The eye-popping loss would force the company, which has been struggling to move past an embarrassing accounting scandal, to seek support from a government-backed lender, the Nikkei newspaper said. Toshiba, one of Japan’s best-known firms, said exact figures were not finalised. "We are still discussing how to deal with this issue, and no concrete decisions have been made," it said on Thursday. Toshiba, which makes everything from nuclear reactors to laptops, has fallen more than 45% since it warned...
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