Nippon Steel, Japan's biggest steelmaker, on Wednesday said it expects its net profit for the year that ends in March to increase sharply to 220 billion yen ($1.4 billion) as the effects of one-off losses fade from its results. Nippon Steel, which bought U.S. Steel for $15 billion last year and pledged massive investments into the firm, also posted a 95 per cent drop in profit for the previous financial year to 17.2 billion yen. In February, the company said it expected to post a loss of 70 billion yen for the year that ended in March due in part to a fire at a blast furnace and costs related to the U.S. Steel deal. ... (full story)