hitachi

It's hard to complain too much about how Japan "stole" the high-tech electronics business from the U.S. More accurately, they took a low-margin business off our hands. And you know what we should be saying to that? Good riddance!

Japanese shares are enduring a tsunami of their own as investors pull money out of a market that is becoming more and more unstable by the day. The Nikkei 225 Index plunged 10.6%. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index slid 2.9% and in China the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.4%.

Shares rose in Asia Wednesday. In Shanghai the Composite Index climbed 1.8% to 2,758 and in Hong Kong the Hang Seng rose 1.1% to 24,420. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.4%, ending the day at 10,557.

Hitachi is preparing an IPO for its Global Storage Technologies unit, looking to finally rid itself of an unprofitable hard drive business that has been an albatross around its neck for years. In its announcement Tuesday, Hitachi said it will list the shares on either the NYSE or Nasdaq.

Hitachi and General Electric's nuclear power unit will open five new sales offices around the world by the end of this year. Target markets include the U.S., Vietnam, the U.K., Spain and Poland.

For smaller companies trying to plant a stake in the ground of larger, more established companies, one strategy is simply to team up. That's what three small well-known players in mobile phones could soon announce in Japan, as NEC, Hitachi (HIT), and Casio Computer discuss combining their...