Retreat from dealmaking

Bloomberg

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Foreign mergers and acquisitions, or M&As, in the U.S. totaled $365 billion so far this year, up from $312 billion during the same period in 2007. Many Western European countries reduced their share of U.S. dealmaking relative to last year, while some Asian countries, with only $16.5 billion in writedowns, have done the opposite.

"Developed Asian economies have pounced on opportunities," said Saikat Chaudhuri, an assistant professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "They have the funds and are sophisticated enough to invest in these markets."

Among the Asian deals, Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group invested $9 billion in Morgan Stanley last month, and Citigroup and Merrill Lynch announced plans in January to raise more than $20 billion from investors such as the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., the Kuwait Investment Authority and Korea Investment Corp.