Category: Data

Japan Aug Household Spending Slips Amid 5th Wave of Pandemic, Bad Weather

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s household spending plunged in August as people were cautious about shopping or traveling amid the fifth wave of pandemic that was causing hospital bed shortages in major cities, data released Friday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed. Heavy rains from mid-August caused damage and disrupted traffic […]

ANALYSIS UPDATE: Japan PM Kishida Inherits Thorny Economic, Social Change Targets

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is facing the same tough economic and social challenges that his predecessors tackled or created, leaving him no choice but to draw up longer-term plans to embark on a fundamental change. The soft-spoken former foreign minister, who leads the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, has […]

Japan Sept Tokyo Core CPI Posts 1st Y/Y Rise in 14 Months on Energy

— Electricity Charge Rise Picks Up Pace, Gasoline Keeps Double-Digit Gain  — Higher Processed Food Prices Also Easing Effects of Lower Mobile Phone Fees  — Total CPI’s Annual Rate Marks 1st Gain in 12 Months on Fresh Food Prices By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The core reading of consumer prices in Tokyo, a leading indicator […]

Eurozone Inflation Again Driven Higher by Energy Costs

ZURICH (MaceNews) – Pushed by continued double-digit growth for energy costs, consumer prices in the Eurozone rose more than forecast for September, the latest data from Eurostat showed. Consumer prices as measured by HICP rose 3.4 percent in September according to preliminary figures, exceeding the median of 3.3 percent in an Econoday survey of economists’ […]

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 […]

Japan Aug Retail Sales Slip on Rain Storms, Covid-19 Spike

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s retail sales posted the first year-over-year drop in six months in August as a resurgence in coronavirus cases and stormy weather from the middle of the month kept shoppers away, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released Thursday showed. Retail sales slumped a preliminary 3.2% on […]

Japan Aug Factory Output Slumps as Global Supply Chain Disruptions Continue 

— Japan’s METI Downgrades View: Factory Output Pausing Vs. Picking Up –METI Repeats: Watch Effects of Rising COVID Cases, Global Chip Shortages By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s industrial production posted an unexpectedly large decline in August as pandemic-caused lockdowns in Southeast Asia are straining parts supplies further and global semiconductor shortages lingered, preliminary data […]

MaceNewsViews: Commentary – Even With a Prisoner Exchange, China Seen as Heavy-Handed

By Eric Ham WASHNGTON (MaceNews) – Now that China has completed a prisoner exchange with Canada and the United States with high-stakes trade and economic ramifications, its international reputation as heavy-handed and clumsy has not necessarily been improved. Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor landed in Calgary, Alberta early Saturday in exchange for Meng Wanzhou, […]