Italy’s Parliament Battle Against the ‘Citizenship Wage’ Will Open Further Cracks in Ruling Majority – Sources
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s parliament attempt to ‘dismantle’ the controversial citizenship wage will open further cracks in the governing coalition and is likely to raise political instability, according to ruling party sources. The citizenship wage – a monthly income granted to the jobless as long as they have an Italian passport – […]
US House-Passed Infrastructure Bill Gets Presidential Signature in Coming Days
By Eric Ham WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – After months of wrangling and tense back-and-forth negotiations, the House of Representatives finally passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending bill shortly before midnight Friday. Saturday morning President Biden hailed it as an inflection point toward winning “the competition of the 21st century., The legislation passed 228-206 with 13 Republicans […]
FOMC: Tapering to Begin This Month at the Expected Pace
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Open Market Committee Wednesday fulfilled expectations that tapering will get underway, starting the process this month while making no reference to the timeline of eventual liftoff other than the usual goals of maximum employment and 2% inflation. The policy announcement follows: With progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators […]
Japan Oct Tokyo Core CPI Posts Only Small Gain, Led by Higher Energy Costs
— Electricity Charges, Gasoline Prices Pick Up Pace of Y/Y Gains— Mobile Communication Fees Show Deeper Drop, Limiting CPI Rise By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The core reading of consumer prices in Tokyo, a leading indicator of the national average, posted the second consecutive but small year-over-year gain in October as higher electricity bills and […]
Japan Sept Factory Output Slumps; Autos, Others Hit by Supply Delays
–Output Posts Larger-than-Expected M/M Drop, 1st Y/Y Fall in 7 Months–METI Keeps View After Downgrade Last Month: Factory Output Pausing–METI Repeats: Watch Effects of Rising COVID Cases, Global Chip Shortages By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s industrial production posted the third straight monthly decline in September, coming in weaker than expected, as protracted global semiconductor […]
US FCC Targeting More Chinese Telecom Companies
By Eric Ham WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The United States continues its crackdown on Chinese Telecom companies that began with severe U.S.restrictions imposed on commerce with Huawei. China Telecom, the largest Chinese telecommunications company, Tuesday had its license revoked by the Federal Communications Commission after operating in the United States for almost 20 years. The FCC […]
BOJ Kuroda: Current ‘Slight’ Yen Fall Beneficial for Japan’s Economy
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Thursday that the recent depreciation of the yen has been limited in scope, and thus it is still good for Japan’s gradual economic recovery as its benefit of supporting exporter profits outweighs the cost of surging import prices. He also downplayed the risk […]
Eurozone Economic Sentiment Unexpectedly Rose in October
ZURICH (MaceNews) – Economic confidence in the countries sharing the Euro rose unexpectedly in October, up 0.8 points to 118.6 from 117.8 in September, according to the latest date from the European Commission. Economists had been expecting a pullback in sentiment according to the median forecast of 117.1 in an Econoday survey of economists’ forecasts. […]
BOJ Keeps Easing Stance; Covid Risk Remains, Public Inflation Views Picking Up
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Japan said Thursday it is maintaining its stimulative policy, as expected, to support economic recovery from the pandemic-caused 2020 slump and continue guiding near-zero inflation toward its elusive 2% target. The central bank remains optimistic about the medium-term outlook for steady recovery following short-term weakness, but also […]
Japan Sept Retail Sales Dip on Pandemic Restrictions, Slashed Car Output
(MaceNews) – Japanese retail sales came in firmer than expected in September but they still posted the second straight year-on-year drop as Covid-19 restrictions remained in place until the end of the month and supply chain disruptions choked new car deliveries, data released Thursday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. The ministry […]