Japan March Jobless Rate Slides to Nearly 2-Year Low; Job Recovery Slow
–Number of Employed Up on Month in March but Continues to Fall on Year –March Unemployment at 2.6% Lowest Since April 2020 By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese payrolls shrank from year-earlier levels for the sixth straight month in March while the unemployment rate remained relatively low, improving slightly to a nearly two-year low […]
Japan Upgrades Economic View as Easing Covid Impact Supports Spending; Uncertainty Remains
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s government Thursday upgraded its overview for the first time in four months as the drag from an Omicron-led spike in coronavirus cases is easing to support consumption despite surging food and energy prices and uncertainty over the war in Ukraine, according to its monthly report released by the Cabinet […]
Japan March, Fiscal 2021 Exports Hit Record Highs, Imports Surge at Faster Pace
–Imports Also at Record High on Energy, Leading to 8th Straight Trade Deficit –Exports to China Slower in March, Volumes Down on Year –Auto Exports Slip in March After February Rebound Amid Supply Bottlenecks By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese exports hit a record high in March, marking the 13th straight year-on-year increase, on reopening […]
UPDATE: Bank of Canada Hikes Policy Rate by 50 Bps To 1% as Ukraine War Adds Fuel to Inflation, Supply Delays
–BOC Also Decides To Begin Quantitative Tightening, Gradually Trim BalanceSheet–BOC: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine ‘Causing New Economic Uncertainty’–BOC Repeats: Timing, Pace of Further Rate Hikes Set by Economic Assessment–BOC Governor Macklem: Prepared To Be ‘Forceful’ in Rate Hikes If Needed By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Canada on Wednesday jacked up its policy […]
Japan Economic Sentiment Picks Up in March but Uncertainty Lingers Over Costs, Ukraine
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese data and anecdotal evidence are pointing to a resilient economy after the number of Covid cases peaked in February, but households and business continued to face rising costs and uncertainty over the pandemic and geopolitical risks after an expected slump in the first quarter. Economic confidence in Japan partially […]
<strong>FOMC Minutes: Sentiment for 50 bp Rate Hike Deferred Due to Ukraine Concerns</strong><strong></strong>
– Future 50 BP Hikes Apt To Be On The Table – FOMC Made Ready For Balance Sheet Reduction With Expanded Caps By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve officials leaned heavily toward further increases in short-term interest rates at their mid-March Federal Open Market Committee meeting, but conditioned the size and pace of […]
ISM: US March Service Sector Activity Picks Up on Easing Covid Rules But Headwinds Remain 
–ISM: US Service Providers Continue Facing Surging Costs, Supply Bottlenecks –ISM’s Nieves: Fed Has to Tighten To Keep Inflation From Hurting Economy –ISM: Supply Delivery Delays Ease in March; Inventories Up but Still Too Low –ISM: War in Ukraine Pushing Up Prices, Creating Uncertainty for Many Firms By Max Sato (MaceNews) – US service sector […]
Japan February Household Spending Sluggish Amid Omicron, Snowstorms
–Spending Up Slightly on Year but Posts 2nd Straight Drop on Month –Ministry Drops ‘Flat’ Reference to Falling Spending; To Watch Covid Impact By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s household spending posted the second straight month-on-month drop in February as the worst spike in Covid cases in the two-year pandemic hit many regions and bad […]
Japan February Unemployment Slips to 2.7% But Job Creation Slow
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Job creation in Japan remained sluggish in February compared to a year earlier but the unemployment rate fell from January as job cuts eased and fewer people began looking for work, data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed. The seasonally adjusted average unemployment rate fell […]
Biden Admin Budget Proposals Hit Billionaires, Deficit
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – President Biden Monday afternoon formally unveils his fiscal 2023 federal government budget proposals, increasing military spending – which Republicans like – and inventing a new tax on unrealized capital gains aimed the the richest tier of Americans – which Republican pledge to kill as fast as possible. The White House fact sheet […]