BOJ March Tankan Business Sentiment Slips on Covid, Ukraine; Capex Plans Revised Down

–Fall in Sentiment After Recent Improvement Not As Bad As Forecast –Major Firms Revise Down FY21 Capex Plans, See Small Rise in FY22 –Smaller Firms Unexpectedly Revise Down FY21 Capex Plans; Cautious of FY22   By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Confidence among many sectors in Japan slipped in March after improving for the sixth straight quarter […]

Japan February Industrial Output Posts Small Rebound on Easing Covid Spike, Supply Shortages

–Carmakers, Electric/Telecom Makers See High Output in March, April –METI: Forecast May Be Revised Down; Survey Taken Before March 16 Earthquake  –METI Keeps View: Factory Output Shows Signs of Pickup –METI Repeats: To Watch Effects of Pandemic, Parts Shortages, Ukraine  By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s industrial production posted a slight rebound in February, marking […]

Japan’s Eastern Areas Face Power Shortages After Quake Amid Winter Weather

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Japanese government issued a rare warning of power shortages in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures, urging businesses and households to cut electricity use by 10%, starting Tuesday, as heating demand is rising and supply is falling after last week’s major earthquake. The Japan Meteorological Agency is forecasting cold weather with […]

Analysis: Japan PM Kishida to Face Bad Economic News After Omicron Storm

–Economists Revise Down Forecasts to Show Slight Contraction in 1Q By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is likely to face bad news on the economic front after barely surviving voter frustration over public health restrictions imposed about two months ago aimed at fighting a surge in Covid infections caused by the […]

German Economic Sentiment Plunges on Ukraine, Sanctions, ZEW Reports

ZURICH (MaceNews) – Economic sentiment in Germany fell by a historic margin in March, as the war in Ukraine and resulting sanctions against Russia pushed the ZEW institute’s measure of economic sentiment into sharply negative territory. The ZEW measure of economic sentiment plunged 93.6 points in March to a reading of -39.3 from the February […]

US ISM Manufacturing Index Rebounds in February on New Orders

–ISM: Conflict in Ukraine Unlikely To Hurt US Manufacturing Expansion  –ISM Concerned Rising Energy Prices To Provide Headwinds To US Economy  –ISM Survey Shows Supply Chain Constraints Remain, Backlogs Grow  By Max Sato (MaceNews) – US manufacturing activity rebounded in February after Covid restrictions caused by the Omicron variant slowed the sector’s growth in January, […]

Japan January Industrial Output Dips As Covid Infections Hit Auto Factories

–METI Keeps View Output Shows Signs of Pickup As Firms See Rebound in Feb –METI To Watch Effects of Spread of Pandemic, Parts Shortages, Ukraine  By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s industrial production posted the second straight drop in January, slipping after a surge in November, as a spike in Omicron-led coronavirus cases caused some […]

Japan January Exports Post 11th Straight Rise on Reopening Demand but Pace Slows

–Import Gain Remains High on Energy, Leading to 6th Straight Trade Deficit –Exports to China Slip Leading to Lunar New Year Holidays –Auto Shipments Slide After Recent Pickup on Easing Supply Bottlenecks By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese exports rose from a year earlier for the 11th straight month in January but at a slower […]