Preview: Forecasters See Japan Jobless Rate Flat in January as Labor Shortages Persist
Tuesday, March 3, 2026 0830 JST (2330 GMT/1830 EST Monday, March 2) The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications releases January jobs. Mace News median:2.6% (range: 2.5% to 2.6%)vs. 2.6% in the previous five months, over 5-year low of 2.3% in July, 2.5% from March to June By Chikafumi Hodo TOKYO (MaceNews) – Japan’s seasonally […]
US ISM Services Sector Afloat over Optimism for Better Business in 2026 but AI Boom Causing Capacity Concerns; Overall Cost Pressures Remain High
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The U.S. services sector posted a 19th straight month of expansion in January on general optimism that things will turn around in 2026 in the aftermath of Trump tariff storms but the pace of activity was flat on the month as data center expansion is causing capacity concerns and rising […]
Preview: Forecasters See Japanese Unemployment Rate Flat at 2.6% in Jan.
Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 0830 JST (2330 GMT/1830 EST Thursday, Jan. 29) The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications releases December jobs. Mace News median:2.6% (range: 2.5% to 2.6%)vs. 2.6% in the previous four months, over 5-year low of 2.3% in July, 2.5% from March to June By Chikafumi Hodo TOKYO (MaceNews) – Japan’s seasonally […]
US ISM Rpt Shows a Greater-Than-Expected Improvement for the Services Economy But Hiring Still Softened in October
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The momentum of the dominant services sector of the economy showed improvement beyond expectations in October, at 52.4 reading after September’s 50.0 index level, but hiring had continued to soften and suggests more of that to come. The chief of the purchasing managers survey, Steve Miller, told reporters that in the context […]
TRANSCRIPT: Fed’s Powell Says Quarter-Point Cut ‘Risk Management’ Rather Than Reaction to Actual Jobs Deterioriation
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is a transcript of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s post-FOMC news conference Wednesday: Recent indicators suggest that growth of economic activity has moderated. GEP rose at a pace of around one and a half percent in the first half of the year, down from 2.5 percent last year. The moderation […]
Japan Weekahead: Export Values Set to Post 3rd Straight Y/Y Drop as Trump Tariffs Forcing Carmakers to Cut Prices for US Customers; Inflation to Ease Further on Fuel Subsidies
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Here are the key Japanese economic events for the coming week. President Trump’s high import duties have prompted Toyota and other carmakers to trim sales prices for U.S. buyers in a bid to protect their market share in the world’s largest economy. This has led to a fall in overall […]
US TARIFFS STATE OF PLAY: New Reciprocal Tariffs Don’t Dispel Uncertainty, Confusion
–Trump Fires Head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because of alleged manipulation By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – With new reciprocal levies raising America’s average tariff rate to above 18% and the latest jobs and ISM reports raising stagflation fears, the overall era of uncertainty seems to have intensified, not diminished. The environment of […]
ISM: US Services Sector Posts 1st Contraction in 11 Months in May as Trade War Sparks Supply Chain Chaos
–ISM Services Index 49.9 Vs. 51.6, Well Below Consensus (52.0)–ISM’s Miller: Weak PMI Not Indicative of Severe Contraction but Caused by Uncertainty–Miller: Firms Cautious About Placing Orders Until Trade Tariff Impact Becomes Clearer By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The U.S. services sector slipped into contraction in May after growing for 10 months, hit by significantly […]
TRANSCRIPT: Fed’s Powell Says Wait and See Effects of Tariffs on Inflation, Unemployment
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Wednesday said in several different ways the Fed has to wait and see whatever effects on inflation and unemployment come from whatever the ultimate tariff rates are imposed on China and other countries – and beyond that, he said very little more. A transcript of the post-FOMC […]
ISM: US Services Sector Slips in March on Surging Costs amid Trump Trade War, Controversial Massive Federal Spending Cuts, but Clings to Growth
–ISM Services Index at 9-Month Low of 50.8 Vs. 53.5 in February, Below Consensus (53.0)–Employment Subindex Plunge by 7.7 Points Sharpest Since Early Pandemic Phase of April 2020–ISM’s Miller: More Industries Are Concerned About Impact of Tariffs–Miller: Canadian Boycott of US Goods, Services Having Immediate Impact–Miller: Services Sector Shows Some Strength from Overall Viewpoint By […]