Negative outlook for Japan's NEC

RATINGS agency Moody's yesterday lowered its credit outlook on NEC to negative from stable, reflecting concerns about the Japanese technology giant's balance sheet.

Moody's said it kept its Baa2 rating on NEC's long-term debt unchanged, the agency's ninth best rating on a scale of 19, but warned that Japan's natural disaster last year and flooding in Thailand had taken a toll.

For the fiscal year through March, NEC booked a ¥110.3 billion loss, even as operating profit rose.AFP