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 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 […]

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 […]