JAPAN GOVT SEES CONTINUED ECONOMIC PICKUP AMID MIXED DATA, UPGRADES VIEW ON CHINA

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s government Friday stuck to its recent assessment that the domestic economy is showing signs of a pickup from the pandemic-caused slump, pointing to a mixed bag of data – more cautious consumer spending against brighter spots in business investment and housing construction, according to its monthly report released by […]

UK AGREES TO EUROPEAN UNION BREXIT DEAL

–Few Details But UK Claims Tariff/Quota-free Access for Goods Exports to EU By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – With just a week left to run on the current transitional arrangement, the UK has agreed a trade deal with the European Union that will officially end Britain’s membership of the European Union. The UK left the […]

JAPAN GOVT SEES PANDEMIC-CAUSED SOFT SPOTS IN SPENDING, DOWNGRADES VIEW ON EUROPE

By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s government Tuesday warned that consumer spending, which accounts for over half of domestic output, is showing soft spots despite its overall improvement from the pandemic-caused slump, according to its monthly report released by the Cabinet Office. While noting increasing export volumes, particularly of automobiles and semiconductor-producing equipment, the government […]

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 […]

PREVIEW: FOMC TO REAFFIRM EASY MONEY POLICY; EXTEND FORWARD GUIDANCE TO BOND BUYING

By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – For the Federal Reserve these days, it’s all about shaping and managing expectations – expectations for indefinite continuation of ultra-accommodative monetary policy. That effort will continue at the Fed’s Dec. 15-16 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The FOMC heads toward its final meeting of 2020 amid very unusual circumstances […]

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 […]