I think the bit at the end is more interesting
In the filing, Microsoft also said that it had guaranteed the repayment of yen-denominated bank loans for an undisclosed entity in which it has an investment. Microsoft said the guarantees, which continue until the loans and interest have been repaid in full, had a maximum amount of $559 million at Dec. 31. It also said it could recover a portion of the guarantees if the entity was liquidated.
Which Japan based company would MS be willing to risk that kind of money for? I'm guessing it's Sega, part of the deal for the recent XBox only games from Sega despite Playstation-2 having 5 times the market share. Sega had better watch their backs, because MS isn't beyond promsing money and then holding it back on some trivial pretext to kill companies they get a stake of.
Jay