BOJ EXTENDS ASSET BUYING, SPECIAL FUNDING OPS UNTIL SEPT 2021 TO FIGHT COVID DRAG; TO REVIEW EASING TOOLS
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Japan Friday offered an early Christmas gift by extending the period of increased financial asset purchases and special funding operations aimed at promoting more lending to cash-strapped small businesses by six months until the end of September 2021. After a regular two-day policy meeting, the bank’s nine-member […]
JAPAN NOV CPI DROP DEEPER ON WEAKER ENERGY, GOVT-FINANCED HOTEL DISCOUNTS EASE AMID COVID SPIKE
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese consumer prices posted a sharper drop in November as energy costs continued falling but a spike in coronavirus cases later in the month appeared to have slowed the use of hefty government-financed discounts on hotel and transport charges, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication released Friday […]
US LABELS SWITZERLAND, VIETNAM CURRENCY MANIPULATORS; NOT CHINA
–Tracking China Interventions ‘Closely’ By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The U.S. Treasury Department Wednesday signaled that Switzerland and to a much lesser extent Vietnam are manipulating their currencies, in part at least, for a competitive advantage in trade while China, having briefly been so designated up until January, was not included. Switzerland renewed its […]
JAPAN NOV EXPORTS UNEXPECTEDLY SLUMP, WEAK ENERGY PRICES KEEP TRADE IN SURPLUS
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese exports took one step back from the recent pickup trend and posted an unexpected fall in November, remaining below year-earlier levels for two years as the global economy faces pandemic-caused uncertainty, data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Finance showed. The outlook for domestic growth and a return to […]
BoA FUND MANAGER SURVEY: GLOBAL INVESTORS EYE POST-COVID-19 RECOVERY IN 2021, PUT CASH TO WORK IN DEC
By Vicki Schmelzer NEW YORK (MaceNews) – In anticipation of a post-COVID-19 economic recovery in 2021, global investors began more markedly to put cash to work in December, according to the findings of BofA Global Research’s monthly fund manager survey, released Tuesday. In December, a net 89% of fund managers looked for global growth […]
JAPAN: BOJ DEC TANKAN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE JUMPS BUT BIG FIRMS REVISE DOWN CAPEX PLANS
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese firms nearly across the board reported their sentiment improved substantially in December from three months earlier, thanks to Chinese and U.S. economic recovery as well as a gradual pickup in domestic demand, according to the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan business survey released Monday. But the survey also showed […]
JAPAN Q3 GDP REVISED UP TO +5.3% Q/Q, +22.9% ANNUALIZED, ON FIRMER CONSUMPTION, CAPEX
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s economy for the July-September quarter surged an upwardly revised 5.3% on quarter, or an annualized 22.9%, from the initial reading of +5.0% (+21.4% annualized), as a rebound in consumer spending turned out to be stronger than previously estimated and the decline in business investment was smaller than initially believed, […]
JAPAN OCT HOUSEHOLD SPENDING POSTS 1ST Y/Y RISE IN 13 MONTHS IN REACTION TO TAX HIKE SLUMP
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s household spending in October marked the first year-on-year increase in 13 months as the base-year effects of the October 2019 sales tax hike faded, while a third wave of coronavirus infections around the world is likely to continue restricting some expenditures, data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Internal […]
JAPAN MOF SURVEY: Q3 CAPEX REMAINS WEAK; REVISION TO GDP CAPEX DATA SEEN LIMITED
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Business investment in equipment by many Japanese companies remained depressed in the July-September quarter, compared to year-earlier levels, but the pace of decline decelerated from the previous three-month period, a quarterly survey by the Ministry of Finance released Tuesday showed. This may prompt the Cabinet Office to make only a […]
JAPAN OCT FACTORY OUTPUT POSTS 5TH STRAIGHT M/M RISE, REMAINS ON PICKUP TREND
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s industrial production continued chugging along in October for the fifth consecutive monthly rise, recovering much of the pandemic-triggered slump as solid demand for general machinery and automobiles more than offset lower output of electronic parts and devices, preliminary data released Monday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry […]