Women-Prefer-Bond Investors Left With Lowest Yield: Japan Credit

Advertisements for Japanese government bonds last year said buyers could woo marriage-minded women with their investment savvy. Those who heeded that call were rewarded with the world’s lowest yields.

Now the Ministry of Finance is revising how it pays interest on so-called retail bonds amid concern households will cut holdings further as Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s government prepares to sell an unprecedented amount of debt. Individuals who bought floating-rate Japanese debt last year earned yields as low as 0.25 percent, while overall ownership slid for a seventh quarter, the longest streak on record.