BOJ Dec Tankan Business Sentiment Mixed; Capex Plans Cautious

–Sentiment Among Major Manufactures Flat After Recent Gains –Non-Manufacturers Report Better Conditions on Eased Covid Rules –Major Firms Revise Down Capex Plans From Sept But Still Up From FY20 –Smaller Firms’ Capex Plan Upward Revision Smaller Than Expected By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Confidence among major manufacturers in Japan was unchanged in December from September […]

PREVIEW: BOJ Dec Tankan To Show Mixed Sentiment, FY21 Capex Plans

–Sentiment Among Manufacturers Seen Flat After Recent Gains–Non-Manufacturers Likely Report Better Sentiment on Eased Covid Rules–Major Firms Expected To Revise Down Their Capex Plans–Smaller Firms Tend To Revise Up their Capex Plans Later in Fiscal Year By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan business survey is expected to show confidence among […]

Japan Nov Producer Price Rise Remains 4-Decade High on Energy, Commodities

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Producer prices in Japan continued rising from year-earlier levels, staying at a four-decade high, as global supply chain disruptions, albeit easing slightly, as well as labor shortages are pushing up energy and commodities markets, data released Friday by the Bank of Japan showed. By contrast, consumer inflation in Japan remains […]

Japan Q3 GDP Slump Revised Down on Weaker Consumption, Exports

— Q4 GDP Rebound Expected Amid Uncertainty Over Covid Impact By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s economic contraction in July-September quarter was revised down sharply as consumer spending and net exports turned out to be weaker than previously estimated and a buildup in private-sector inventories was lower than thought, more than offsetting an upward revision […]

Japan Oct Household Spending Dip Slows on Eased Covid Restrictions

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s household spending posted the third straight year-on-year drop in October but the pace of decline decelerated from September as the government lifted its Covid-19 state of emergency restrictions on Oct. 1, data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed. The number of new Covid-19 cases […]

Italy-France Pushing for ‘Single EU Debt’ to Fund Post-Pandemic Growth; Germany’s Stance on Closer Fiscal Integration in Post-Merkel Era Uncertain – Sources

By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy and France are pushing for issuance of a ‘common European public debt’ to fund long-term pro-growth investments with the additional goal of strengthening the single currency and boosting European integration, Italian official sources say. Sources say Europe faces a turning point with the departure of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, […]

No US Government Shutdown

By Eric Ham WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Senate late Thursday agreed with an earlier vote in the House and successfully avoided a government shutdown Friday night. The Senate vote was a bipartisan 69 to 28 to extend the current federal budget to Feb. 18. An earlier Senate vote that could have demolished the plan of […]

Japan Oct Factory Output Shows Modest Rebound on Easing Supply Bottlenecks

— METI Keeps View After Recent Downgrade: Factory Output Pausing— METI Repeats: Watch Effects of Rising COVID Cases, Global Chip Shortages By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s industrial production posted a modest rebound in October amid easing disruptions of parts supply from Southeast Asia, which has forced automakers and other firms to reduce factory operations […]

Germany’s Consumer Prices Rose 5.2% From a Year-Ago; Energy Costs up 22.1%

ZURICH (MaceNews) – Consumer prices in Germany increased 5.2 percent in November from a year ago, up from 4.5 percent in October and exceeding economists’ expectations, according to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistics Office Destatis. Prices were driven higher by a 22.1 percent annual increase in energy costs, but Destatis also noted a […]