ANALYSIS: Japan Faces Cost Inflation Amid Weak Yen, Slow Wage Growth
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Rising energy and commodities prices may help lift Japan’s near-zero inflation rate but a further rise in the costs for daily necessities would dampen already wobbly consumer spending and surging producer prices would hurt small businesses that cannot pass higher input costs on to customers amid uncertain growth prospects. Japan […]
<strong>Japan Sentiment Picks Up on Vaccine Rollout But Q3 GDP Seen Slower</strong>
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s sentiment surveys painted a rosier picture as the government has lifted its Covid-19 state of emergency on heavily hit regions, setting the stage for gradually reopening the economy, but global supply chain disruptions remain a major hindrance to recovery. The monthly Economy Watchers Survey, which was conducted by the […]
BOJ Sept Key Tankan Business Sentiment Up But Outlook Uncertain
— Higher Energy, Commodities Markets Support Some Producers— Automakers Report Worse Sentiment As Supply Constrains Linger— Face-To-Face Service Providers Suffer Amid Covid-19 Spike— BOJ Survey Also Shows Companies Revise Up FY21 Capex Plans By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Higher energy and commodities prices this year further boosted confidence among many manufacturers, big and small, while […]
MaceNewsViews – Commentary: Nihilism’s Dream – The US Defaults
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Those knowing think pieces and Op-Eds by veteran graybeards, scoffing at the super-hyped headlines about the dangers of a pending debt-limit impasse, should be reassuring. They’ve seen it all before, the six dozen or more times Congress allows the nation’s Treasury to start borrowing again, often at the last […]
BOJ Keeps Easing Stance, Sees Resilient Japan Economic Pickup Amid Pandemic
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Japan said Wednesday it is maintaining its stimulative policy, as expected, to support a gradual recovery from the pandemic-caused slump and continue its eight-year-old campaign to guide low inflation toward stable 2%. The central bank largely left its view on Japan’s resilient economic pickup amid the pandemic […]
Japan July Core CPI Posts 12th Straight Monthly Y/Y Drop Under 2020 Base Year
— Total CPI Marks 10th Straight Y/Y Fall, Also Reversing Slight Pickup — July’s Y/Y Declines in All Major CPI Measures Decelerate from June — Higher Energy, Some Food, Appliances Costs Ease Mobile Phone Downward Pressure By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s core consumer prices reversed recent modest gains backed by higher energy costs, posting […]
Japan Economic Sentiment Clouded by COVID Infection Spike; Inflation Pickup Slow
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese sentiment picked up slightly in July, thanks to a four-day weekend created for the Tokyo Olympics, but the uncertainty over the economic outlook grew amid a surge in cases caused by the more infectious Delta variant and public frustration over the government’s response to the pandemic, including the slow […]