Japan January Unemployment Edges Up To 2.8% Amid Covid Restrictions
— Job Cuts Y/Y Deeper in Wholesale, Retail, Education— Hospitality Jobs Up on January 2021, When Covid State of Emergency Imposed By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Job creation in Japan remained weak in January compared to a year earlier and the unemployment rate edged up from December as more people either lost their jobs or […]
Bank of Canada’s Macklem: Won’t Rule Out 50 bp Rate Hike in Future If Needed
–BOC Governor: To Tighten Policy ‘In a Deliberate and Careful Way’ By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said Thursday that he won’t rule out the possibility of the bank raising the policy interest rate by a faster pace of 50 basis points than its decision Wednesday to conduct the first […]
Fed’s Powell Will Ask for 25 bp Rate Hike March 16; First Of ‘Series’ of Rate Hikes
– But FOMC Will Withdraw Monetary Stimulus ‘Carefully’ To Avoid ‘Adding Uncertainty’ – Ultimate Aim is ‘Neutral’ Rate of 2-2.5%; Perhaps Higher; Must Act ‘With Care’ By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will not prevent the Federal Reserve from beginning to raise interest rates in two weeks, but it will make the Fed more cautious about withdrawing monetary […]
Bank of Canada Hikes Policy Rate To 0.50% From Record Low 0.25% To Fight Inflation
–BOC Keeps Reinvesting in Government Bonds on Its Balance Sheet –BOC: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine ‘A Major New Source of Uncertainty’–BOC: Expect Further Rate Hikes As Economic Growth, Inflation Pressures Continue –BOC: To Consider Start of Quantitative Tightening Based on Economic Assessment By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Canada on Wednesday raised its […]
Italy Government May Revise Fiscal Outlook, Cut Growth Forecasts Due to Ukraine Crisis – Sources
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s government could cut growth forecasts for this year and potentially raise deficit targets in the wake of the Ukraine crisis and its repercussions on the Italian economy, according to ruling coalition sources. “The extent of such impact is still to be fully weighed, but we might need to […]
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, […]
Toyota To Suspend Japanese Domestic Factory Operations as Suspected Cyberattack Hits Supplier
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Toyota Motor said Monday that it will suspend all domestic factory operations on Tuesday after one of its parts suppliers was hit by a suspected cyberattack, adding to challenges for the auto industry that is already suffering from global chip shortages and pandemic-caused supply bottlenecks. It is unknown who staged […]
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 February Tokyo Core CPI Rise Picks Up From January on Utilities, Processed Food
–Hotel Fees Slower After 2021 Double-Digit Gains Over 2020 Subsidized Discounts–Utilities Leading Energy Higher; Durable Goods Down As Stay-at-Home Demand Wanes–Most of Base Effect in Mobile Phone User Fee Cuts To Last Through March By Mas Sato (MaceNews) – The year-on-year rise in consumer prices in Tokyo, the leading indicator of the national average, picked […]
Analysis: Japan Economy Faces Headwind in Light of Russian Invasion of Ukraine
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s wobbly economic recovery faces downside risks from high energy and commodities prices, which have surged on tensions over Ukraine between Russia and the West and could rise further on supply concerns now that Russia has invaded its neighbour. The direct impact of economic sanctions against Moscow on Japan’s trade […]