Seconds count for investors watching Japan’s leadership contest

Investors were on tenterhooks for weeks over the outcome of a leadership election for Japan’s ruling party, a race that was too close to call but that would determine if Prime Minister Naoto Kan would keep his job, or whether Democratic Party of Japan power broker Ichiro Ozawa would seize the top post. The men differed over fiscal policies and how to stem the yen’s rise, so the outcome was closely watched by financial markets. Reuters was first with a partial result on Sept 14 that put Kan ahead, beating Dow Jones by one important second. The yen started rising from the moment of that first alert, while Japanese government bond and Nikkei futures fell. Reuters again beat Dow Jones, this time by three seconds, on a second partial result. Bloomberg flashed nothing to investors during these crucial two minutes, waiting until the final result from the vote, and when they did Reuters still beat them by two seconds to the punch.