Japan state-backed fund to support Toshiba's restructuring: Nikkei

 Toshiba is looking to merge its white goods segment with its counterpart at Sharp or another Japanese home electronics manufacturer.Toshiba is looking to merge its white goods segment with its counterpart at Sharp or another Japanese home ele... Read More A Japanese state-backed fund will help Toshiba rebuild its home electronics division and other operations by facilitating tie-ups with Sharp and others, the Nikkei reported. Toshiba is looking to merge its white goods segment with its counterpart at Sharp or another Japanese home electronics manufacturer, the newspaper said. Support would come from the industry ministry and public-private investment fund, the Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ), the report said. The fund could also help Toshiba restructure its nuclear power business as the manufacturer hopes to find a partner for boiling-water reactors, the paper reported. Toshiba was not immediately available for comment. Reuters reported earlier this month that INCJ was looking to inject funds into Sharp and was pursuing a broader restructuring of the troubled firm including a possible merger with Toshiba's consumer electronics arm.

Toshiba to forecast a highest-ever annual loss: Report

Toshiba is expected to forecast a record net loss of more than 500 billion yen ($4.13 billion) for the year ending March on restructuring costs, Nikkei reported on its website on Saturday. The company, whose businesses range from laptops to nuclear power, is in the throes of restructuring after revelations this year that it overstated earnings by $1.3 billion as far back as fiscal 2008. Toshiba is expected to report 200 billion yen in restructuring costs as it plans to cut workforce at its consumer electronics businesses, the report said. Toshiba also sold its image sensor business to Sony. Toshiba is also expected to forecast more than 200 billion yen operating loss for the same period, compared with 170.4 billion yen operating profit a year earlier, Nikkei reported. A Toshiba spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Asia's investors cheer the Fed's move to raise rates

Shares in Asia were all in positive territory on Thursday on news the US Federal Reserve had raised its rates for the first time since June 2006. The move takes the range of rates banks offer to lend to each other overnight to between 0.25% and 0.5%. Australia's stock exchange was the first major benchmark index in the region to open to the news - and investors cheered. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 was up as much as 1.6% in early trade. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 2.15% at 19,460.20 after marking one of its biggest daily gains in more than two months on Wednesday.