SECURITIES

Japanese Brokerages Penalized: Japan’s Big Four brokerages took another blow to their pride and possibly their profits when Finance Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced that they would be asked to suspend underwriting government bonds for one month. The brokers are expected to comply with the request, industry sources said. Hashimoto’s announcement came after figures were released showing the Big Four--Nomura Securities Co., Daiwa Securities Co., Nikko Securities Co. and Yamaichi Securities Co.--improperly compensated clients with a total of $327 million (43.5 billion yen) in the year that ended March 31.