| Mar 13 | Wholesale prices up 0.6% on year |
| Wholesale prices stretched their gains to a 17th consecutive month in February by rising 0.6 percent year on year amid climbing crude oil prices, the Bank of Japan said Monday. For the next few months, a BOJ official said that moves in the international commodities market and the yen's recent weakness are expected to help push up the corporate goods prices index. (Japan Times) |
| Mar 12 | An uphill struggle for food exporters |
| For many people around the world, food from Japan used to have an image of being among the healthiest around, let alone safe to consume. That changed after March 11, 2011, when the massive earthquake and tsunami triggered the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, the world's worst nuclear crisis in a quarter of a century. The spread of radioactive materials and revelations that some beef cattle and crops grown in its vicinity were contaminated with higher than normal levels of radiation prompted more than 40 countries and territories to restrict imports of food and other agricultural products from Japan, where Fukushima Prefecture was an agricultural powerhouse. (Japan Times) |
| Mar 11 | A year on, Tohoku stuck in limbo |
 Located roughly 23 km from Fukushima's crippled nuclear plant, Hirono Station today is the northernmost stop on the JR Joban Line for passengers traveling up Tohoku's coast from Tokyo.
The exclusion zone around the Fukushima No. 1 plant begins just 3 km farther up the tracks. Before the nuclear disaster, trains continued past Hirono, traveling about 2.5 km west of the wrecked facility and all the way on to Sendai.
But Hirono has since turned into a nuclear crisis frontier town, and appears a fitting place to observe Japan's recovery from last March's quake and tsunami on the first anniversary Sunday. (Japan Times |
| Mar 10 | Hit by disaster, Japanese city sees spending soar |
 Convertibles are selling well at the Mercedes Benz dealership in Sendai in North Japan.
This seems odd, because Sendai is hardly the kind of place you imagine driving around with the top down. The temperature is in single-digits for five months of the year and it's even colder if you drive towards coast.
Yet Tsutomu Ishihara, the president of Mercedes dealership Yanase Tohoku, says he sold 16 cars in August and September. In fact, most of his models are selling well, with business up 50% over a year ago.
He's hardly alone. In the aftermath the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, business across Sendai is experiencing a reconstruction bounce. Thanks to an influx of construction workers, evacuees and government compensation money, Sendai has become the hub of Japan's recovery economy, the outlier in the midst of struggling coastal towns that are just beginning to rebuild. (CNN) |
| Mar 09 | Japan government keeps up pressure, BOJ seen on hold |
| Japan's government on Friday kept up pressure on the central bank to further support an economic recovery, but the Bank of Japan appears set to hold monetary policy steady at its regular policy meeting next week. With market jitters over Greek debt swap talks easing, the yen weakening and share prices rising, the central bank is unlikely to move again after last month's surprise easing, sources familiar with its thinking say. (Reuters) |
| Mar 09 | Analysis: Weak yen no growth tonic as Japan's fuel bill swells |
| Long preoccupied with the strength of the yen and its drag on the anemic economy, policymakers in Tokyo are now being served a warning about the risks posed by the currency's retreat. The yen's decline from record highs in recent months coincides with a major shift in the country's energy balance, a change that threatens to hasten its path to a perennial trade deficit. A record current account deficit in January reported on Thursday was probably a blip, a result of seasonal and one-off factors. But it serves as a reminder that the former export powerhouse may end up in the red and will need to import capital to fund its snowballing debt much sooner than earlier thought. (Reuters) |
| Mar 08 | Japan's economy shrinks at annual 0.7% pace, less than initially estimated |
 Japan's economy contracted less than the government's initial estimate last quarter, improving prospects for the recovery from last year's earthquake.
Gross domestic product shrank an annualized 0.7 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo today, compared with a preliminary estimate of a 2.3 percent contraction. The median forecast of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 0.6 percent contraction. (Bloomberg  ) |
| Mar 08 | China, TPP and Japan's future in Asia |
| For evidence of China's vision for an integrated East Asian political economy-binding China, Japan, and Korea-look at remarks of China's Commerce Minister yesterday in Beijing. Speaking at a press conference during the ongoing Chinese National People's Congress, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming's said of that Japanese entry into negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, if it happens, "Should not be allowed to influence progress on other types of cooperation in the East Asian region." Translation: Japan should give priority to and focus first on the talks being promoted by Beijing to create a regional Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which would closely bind China, Japan, and Korea. The next major negotiations of this FTA be held in Beijing in May. (AFP) |
| Mar 08 | Insight - Japan missed tsunami wake-up call for change |
| Japan's mammoth government debt keeps piling up while critical decisions get pushed back, referred to various panels, lodged in elaborate rituals of "consensus-building" or political horse-trading in a gridlocked parliament. Mainstream political parties, torn by conflicting group loyalties, proved incapable of setting aside their differences and providing the leadership for which the public longs. Instead, politicians reverted to business as usual: parliamentary trench warfare and the annual "ditch the prime minister" exercise that gave Japan its sixth leader in five years and now threatens to block vital tax and welfare reforms. (Reuters) |
| Mar 07 | Volcker rule may 'harm' sovereign debt markets |
| Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Kiyohiko Nishimura has voiced concerns that Washington's plan to introduce the so-called Volcker rule could negatively impact the liquidity of sovereign debt markets. "If the Volcker rule were to be strictly implemented as proposed, it could adversely affect the liquidity of overseas sovereign debt," Nishimura said in a speech Monday in Washington. While U.S. government bonds and most other government entity debts are exempt from the restrictions to be imposed under the proposed financial regulation, the government bonds of foreign countries are not, including Japan, and European nations, he said. (Japan Times) |
| Mar 07 | Japan's declining economy |
| Japan shows no signs of emerging from its recession, according to Hiromichi Shirakawa, chief economist of Credit Suisse in Japan. However, the government is attempting to make substantial steps to reverse the trend. Experts list high government debt, aging population and ongoing deflation for Japan's problems. "The government has been taking more serious steps trying to reverse the currency markets and try to weaken the yen," Shirakawa said. "The BOJ, the Central Bank, is printing money more aggressively." However, it seems that the yen will continue to be strong, with the Americans and the Europeans also flooding their markets with new money. (majirox news) |
| Mar 06 | Buyers of new bonds to get special coin at term maturity |
 Japan began selling special government bonds Monday aimed at raising funds for reconstruction from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, saying it will present buyers with commemorative gold coins imprinted with an image of the "miracle pine" that survived the killer tsunami when the bonds mature in three years.
The coins - worth ¥10,000 each, and silver coins worth ¥1,000 - are engraved with the design of the 30-meter-high pine in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, that was the only one of about 70,000 pines on a stretch of coast to survive the massive tsunami. (Japan Times ) |
| Mar 06 | Disasters cost $380 billion in 2011, says UN |
| Disasters led by the Japan earthquake cost the world a record figure of more than $380 billion last year, a UN official said Monday. While countries are managing to control the disaster death toll, economic costs are increasing more than ever before, said Margareta Wahlstrom, the UN special envoy on disaster risk reduction. She called the $380 billion figure "the minimum" cost, two thirds higher than the last record in 2005 when the United States suffered huge losses from Hurricane Katrina. (AFP) |
| Mar 05 | 1 year after Japan's quake, 20% of affected businesses closed |
| Of about 27,000 Japanese businesses in prefectures affected by last year's earthquake and tsunami, more than 20 percent have not resumed operations, according to a recent Yomiuri Shimbun survey. Some have decided to go out of business permanently, heightening the sense of crisis in the region, as local businesses should be a pillar of reconstructing the economy there. A total of 27,149 commercial and industrial businesses in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures have been affected by last March's disaster. Of them, 5,947, or 22 percent, have temporarily or permanently closed, the survey found. (bostonherald.com) |
| Mar 05 | More retailers look to S.E. Asia / Economic doldrums at home make fast-growing economies attractive |
| Domestic demand-oriented companies, such as supermarket chains, convenience store chains and food makers, are accelerating their moves into the markets of other Asian countries. Aeon Co. on Friday officially launched a project to operate in the Vietnamese market. Deflation, a declining birthrate and a rapidly aging population have been shrinking Japan's domestic market, making other Asian countries, whose economies and populations continue to grow, more attractive. (Yomiuri) |
| Mar 03 | There is still pent up consumer demand in Japan: expert |
| While economic data out of Japan on Friday showed that the country was still mired in deflation, with consumer prices falling 0.1 percent year on year in January, one expert thinks there still exists pent up demand among Japanese consumers. "Consumers in Japan are flushed with cash, waiting to spend the money," Glen Wood, Partner and Head of Sales at research firm Ji Asia, told CNBC. "Any sign of inflation [cnbc explains] and the Japanese consumer will spring back to life." He added that Japanese consumers were postponing their spending at the moment on the expectation that prices would fall further, but once there is an indication that prices are set to rise consumers could start spending again. (cnbc.com) |
| Mar 02 | Japan pension fund bounces back with $7.6 bln profit |
| Japan's public pension fund, the world's largest, posted a $7.6 billion investment profit in October-December helped by good returns on foreign equities after suffering its worst performance in three years in the previous quarter. The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), whose portfolio is nearly as big as Spain's economy, said its rate of return improved to positive 0.58 percent, or a profit of 618.7 billion yen. The fund, which needs to raise returns to help cover pensions for a rapidly ageing population, had total assets of 108.1 trillion yen ($1.33 trillion) at the end of December. (Reuters) |
| Mar 02 | Japan spending down as deflation persists |
 Japanese unemployment inched up and household spending fell more sharply than expected in January, latest government data showed, but analysts said the nation's economic recovery was still on track.
Figures from the internal affairs ministry showed the unemployment rate crept up to 4.6 percent in January from a revised 4.5 percent in the previous month while household spending dropped by 2.3 percent year-on-year.
The inflation-adjusted fall in spending was far bigger than the 0.8 percent dip economists had expected.
However, analysts said the figures did not indicate Japan's economic recovery was in trouble because they were more than offset by upbeat production figures earlier in the week. (AFP |
| Mar 02 | Poverty in Japan: Shadowy figures |
 Poverty rarely stares you in the face in Japan. There is almost no begging, and the homeless hide in the shadows. In Osaka's Nishinari ward, where many destitute live, bottles and stones mark out sleeping spots on the pavement, but belongings are stacked away neatly during the day. Nearby hostels charge 1,000 yen ($12.50) a night for those one rung up the poverty ladder. Dozens of pairs of slippers in the porch are a stark indication of how many stay there.
In Saitama, a bedroom community north-west of Tokyo, the scourge of poverty is well concealed. But the discovery of a dead family of three-an elderly man crippled by a bad back, his wife, and their 39-year-old son-has again drawn attention to its existence. Their emaciated bodies had lain in their home for weeks. With only single-yen coins left, they had been unable to pay for heating, and may have died of hypothermia. (The Economist) |
| Mar 02 | Can Japan break the yen-won curse? |
 THE strength of the yen, especially against the South Korean won, has helped spatter Japanese electronics companies with red ink in recent years. Now it has spilled blood. On February 27th Elpida, a Japanese maker of DRAM memory chips, filed the biggest bankruptcy claim of any Japanese manufacturer since the second world war. The main beneficiary of its demise was South Korea's Samsung.
No one would accuse Samsung of thrashing Elpida on currency advantages alone. The electronics giant is nimbler and bolder than many of its Japanese competitors. But the yen/won exchange rate has worked spectacularly in South Korean exporters' favour since the start of the global financial crisis in mid-2008. (The Economist) |
| Mar 02 | Central banks' joint efforts sustain global system |
| Never before have the world's central banks sent so much money sloshing through the global financial system. From slashing interest rates and buying government debt to dangling cheap loans to banks and taking on their risky assets, central banks have taken extraordinary steps since the 2008 financial crisis to nurse the international banking system back to health. Over the past 3½ years, the central banks of the United States, Britain, Japan and the 17 countries that use the euro have pumped out so much money that their balance sheets have reached a combined $8.76 trillion. That's a record, by far. (AP) |
| Mar 01 | Creative use of land / Tokyo lags in attracting foreign companies |
| The downturn in foreigners visiting Tokyo after the Great East Japan Earthquake is well-documented. The number of foreign visitors staying overnight in Tokyo during summer to autumn last year was down 40 percent compared to the same period the previous year. Out of this concern, the metropolitan government responded to a proposal from the Cabinet Office and applied for status as an international strategy comprehensive special zone. The metropolitan government compiled a plan to make Tokyo the preferred regional base for U.S. and European multinational companies and emerging companies in Asia. Tokyo was awarded the special zone status in December. (Yomiuri) |
| Feb 29 | Nuclear-free summer looms over Japan's west in risk to recovery from quake |
| Japan's economic rebound from the deepest contraction among advanced nations after Greece and Portugal may be stunted this year as power shortages threaten its western region. The Kansai area, which accounts for about a fifth of Japan's economy and escaped the worst of electricity cutbacks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, last week lost its final operating nuclear plant. Power supply may be up to 25 percent less than peak summer demand if plants are not restarted, according to Kansai Electric Power Co. Shortages drive up costs and force manufacturers to shift work schedules to lower-use periods, disrupting supply chains and adding to reasons to go abroad. (Bloomberg) |
| Feb 29 | Japan's rubble economy |
| On March 11, a year will have passed since Japan was struck by the triple tragedy of an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident. According to figures announced by the country's National Police Agency, the Great East Japan Earthquake left behind 15,848 dead and 3,305 missing - the largest loss of life due to natural disaster in Japan since World War II. Searches for the missing - mainly at sea - are still continuing. The number of buildings affected by the earthquake or the tsunami include 128,582 completely destroyed, 243,914 partly destroyed, 281 completely or partly burned, 33,056 flooded (including 17,806 above the ground floor, and 674,641 with other types of damage. Approximately 320,000 people lost their homes, of which more than 90% continue to live in temporary housing. Where to rebuild their homes remains undecided. (project-syndicate.org) |
| Feb 28 | Japan's sovereign credit rating has yet to reach downgrade point: Moody's |
| Japan's sovereign rating has yet to reach the point at which it should be downgraded, a senior vice president at Moody's Investors Service said. "There has to be an accumulation or critical massive negative developments to happen before we lower the rating," Thomas Byrne, who is responsible for the ratings of Japan and other major Asian economies, said in Tokyo on Friday. "We haven't reached that point yet." Moody's lowered Japan's credit grade to Aa3 in August with a stable outlook, citing a buildup in government debt. (Japan Times) |
| Feb 28 | Japan and the importance of the yen |
 I've been tracking Japan intently since the Bank of Japan decided to follow in the Federal Reserve's footsteps to target inflation and wanted to bring up an important point for those who are of the opinion (as I am) that Japan's stock market may begin to outperform. First, let's go over the reasoning. A few weeks back the Bank of Japan not only expanded its asset purchases (their own form of Quantitative Easing), but also explicitly stated that they wanted to achieve 1% inflation. The policy change may be just enough to get animal spirits in Japan's markets moving again, as it could result in increased inflation expectations in the world's third largest economy. (SeekingAlpha) |
| Feb 27 | Japan's economy going into trauma: Expert |
| The Japanese economy is headed for a major trauma given its high government debt, ongoing deflation and aging population, says Russell Jones, Global Head of Fixed Income Strategy at Australia's Westpac Institutional Bank. "Japan has had an incredibly slow car crash, it's been going on for 20 years. There is a sense that perhaps it`s economic problems may accelerate a bit," Jones told CNBC on Monday. He adds that because of a rapidly aging population the Japanese economy is not growing and as a result deflation has persisted for over 15 years. "There's just the possibility that when an economy like that also has a very, very high level of government debt, about 220% of GDP, all the considerations are coming together for some sort of trauma, some sort of crisis," Jones said. He also warns that Australia, which has strong trading ties with Japan, could feel the heat if Japan`s economic crisis deepens. (moneycontrol.com) |
| Feb 27 | Fiscally hobbled Japan nears multiple-currency era: Is yen's demise nigh? |
| Japan is actually becoming an increasingly Tokyo-centric economy. Tokyo is super rich. Osaka, the second-largest city in the country, pales visibly against Tokyo's dazzling performance. A somewhat Tea Party-like group lead by a maverick and rather alarming politician is trying to play on the frustrated sentiments of the Osaka public to make its way onto center stage in national politics. It could well be argued that even at the very height of its equal society days, it is doubtful whether Japan met the conditions to justify a single-currency area in terms of economic convergence. In the absence of economic convergence, it is of course the presence of a central income transfer mechanism that holds Japan together as a single-currency area. (Japan Times) |
| Feb 24 | Japan completes first preliminary talks with all 9 TPP countries |
| Japan held preliminary talks with New Zealand in Wellington on Thursday over bid to join negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade initiative, completing the first round of such talks with all of the nine TPP countries. New Zealand welcomed Japan's interest in joining TPP negotiations but refrained from declaring its support, as did Australia, during bilateral talks with Tokyo on Tuesday in Canberra, Japan's Parliamentary Senior Vice Foreign Minister Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi said at a press conference in Tokyo. (Mainichi) |
| Feb 23 | Govt in talks with U.S. to import natural gas |
| The government has asked the U.S. government to grant permission for the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced in the United States to Japan, according to sources. The government is trying to diversify energy supply sources to cope with shortfalls in energy supply after the shutdowns of nuclear reactors in the nation and the recent decision to reduce imports of Iranian oil. The United States regards LNG as a strategic material and restricts exports of the product. (Yomiuri) |
| Feb 23 | Dollar rises to 7-month high against Japanese yen |
 The dollar rose to a seven-month high against the Japanese yen, a week after the Bank of Japan announced a surprise increase of its economic stimulus program.
The dollar rose to 80.24 Japanese yen late Wednesday from 79.71 yen late Tuesday. The dollar rose as high as 80.40 yen, its highest point against the yen since July 11.
The Bank of Japan said on Feb. 14 that it would buy more government bonds while keeping short-term interest rates close to zero to boost the country's economy. (Seattle Times ) |
| Feb 23 | Australia refrains from declaring support for TPP bid |
 Australia refrained from declaring support for Japan's participation in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade initiative during the two countries' first preliminary talks Tuesday in Canberra, sources said.
While Australia indicated it would welcome Japan's participation in the multilateral negotiations, it demanded Tokyo introduce a high level of farm market liberalization, the sources said.
Australia, a major agricultural exporter, has called on Japan to eliminate tariffs on beef, dairy products and sugar during separate talks over the past five years on concluding a bilateral free-trade agreement, while Japan wants the items exempted from tariff elimination. (Japan Times ) |
| Feb 22 | Current account deficit feared / Jan. trade figures portend account blowout, analysts say |
| While the Finance Ministry reported Monday that Japan suffered a record trade deficit of 1.475 trillion yen in January, views are growing the nation will also post a current account deficit in January. It is feared the trade deficit will continue if exports remain sluggish, as imports are expected to continue to hover at high levels. The increase in the January trade deficit was due to an ongoing increase in imports of liquefied natural gas--a fuel used for thermal generation of electrical power--to make up for reduced nuclear power generation following the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1. nuclear power plant. (Yomiuri) |
| Feb 20 | Japan's AA- credit rating may be cut if economic outlook weakens |
| Standard and Poor's affirmed Japan's sovereign-debt rating at AA- while maintaining a negative outlook and warning that a downgrade is likely if medium-term growth prospects weaken. The ranking is supported by an "ample net external asset position, relatively strong financial system, and diversified economy," S&P said in a statement today, also citing the yen's role as a "key international reserve currency." S&P has cut the ratings of European nations including France and Italy this year, along with reducing both the U.S. and Japan last year. Moody's Investors Service cut Japan by one step to Aa3 on Aug. 24, citing "the build-up in Japanese government debt since the 2009 global recession." Fitch Ratings has the nation at AA- with a negative outlook. (Bloomberg) |
| Feb 20 | Japan logs record trade deficit in Jan |
 Japan posted its biggest ever trade deficit in January, topping the previous record seen during the financial crisis in 2009, Ministy of Finance data showed On Monday, underlining concerns that a persistent trade gap may undermine the country's ability to finance its debt.
The trade deficit stood at 1.475 trillion yen ($18.59 billion), against median market forecast for 1.468 trillion yen, marking a fourth straight month of deficit, as weak global demand and a strong yen hurt exports and robust fuel demand boosts imports. (Reuters ) |
| Feb 18 | Japan slowly wakes up to doomsday debt risk |
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| Feb 18 | The Japanese yen: Handle with care |
| One of the strongest major currencies in the world since the onset of the 2008 crisis has been the Japanese yen. This is a dramatic change of fortune for what had long been - and what should be - a weak currency. Click to Enlarge Take a look at this chart, which tracks the dollar/yen exchange rate. In late 2008, a dollar would buy you 110 yen. Today, a dollar will not buy you even 80. And remember, the dollar has been relatively strong over the past four years. The yen's performance against the euro or British pound would be even more dramatic. Anyone who follows Japan must legitimately be scratching their heads in confusion right about now. In a market in which investors have been shunning risk for the past four years, why would the currency of the most heavily indebted major country in the world rise? (investorplace.com) |
| Feb 17 | Economy at a standstill |
| Real gross domestic product (GDP) in the October-December period of 2011 decreased 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, or an annualized 2.3 percent - the first dip in two quarters. This shows that the Japanese economy, which had been on a path of slow recovery after having been hit by the March 11 disasters and the Fukushima nuclear crisis, is now at a standstill. The 2011 annual GDP in real terms dropped 0.9 percent - the first negative growth in two years - mainly because exports were stagnant due to the severe damage to supply chains caused by the March 11 disasters and floods in Thailand. (Japan Times) |
| Feb 17 | Japanese manufacturing: From summit to plummet |
| In Tokyo's posh Ginza shopping district the Apple Store is packed, but the nearby Sony showroom is as lifeless as a mausoleum. In recent days the largest Japanese gadget-makers said they expect to lose a combined $17 billion in the financial year 2011. Panasonic alone expects to lose $10 billion. Meanwhile South Korea's Samsung enjoyed profits of $15 billion and America's Apple hauled in $22 billion. Since 2000 the big five Japanese electronics firms have lost two-thirds of their value (see chart). What ails them? High costs and a strong yen don't help. Nor does a recent legal change that bars them from claiming certain tax credits they had counted on. But the sickness runs deeper. (The Economist) |
| Feb 16 | Is Japan next? |
| With the European sovereign debt imbroglio taking a breather for the moment, there is increasing concern on Wall Street that Japan could be the next major flashpoint in the ongoing global financial crisis. It appears that the country's economic reckoning, some 20 years in the making, could finally be coming to a head in the near future as the economy weakens and its debt, relative to its economic output, balloons to a level that makes Greece look like a responsible steward of capital. Wall Street is buying protection in the form of credit default swaps to prepare for that day Japan implodes. Trading of swaps on Japanese sovereigns has been highly volatile in the past year -- they are currently being sold at around 135 basis points, 100 basis points above Japan's debt yield, credit traders in New York and London tell Fortune. Credit default swaps provide a way for investors to make money in the event of a default. (Fortune) |
| Feb 16 | Japan economy picking up, consumer spending firm |
| The government stuck to its assessment that Japan's economy is slowly picking up on Thursday and raised its view on consumer spending for the first time in six months, after a resumption of subsidies for fuel-efficient cars boosted sales. It said consumer spending was holding firm, with incomes flat and a recovery in consumer confidence. But it remained cautious over risks from a further slowdown in overseas economies stemming from Europe's debt problems and the impact on financial markets, as well as power supply constraints following the Fukushima radiation crisis triggered by the March earthquake and tsunami. (Reuters) |
| Feb 14 | BOJ signals more aggressive policy, sets inflation goal |
| The Bank of Japan boosted its asset buying program by $130 billion on Tuesday and in the face of political pressure set an inflation goal of 1 percent, signaling a more aggressive monetary policy to pull an ailing economy out of deflation. Bond futures jumped and the yen fell as the decision pointed to much faster asset buying in the central bank's most determined effort to date to reinflate an economy that shrank last year and which has struggled with deflation for most of the last two decades. The central bank kept its policy rate in a range of zero to 0.1 percent and pledged not just to maintain zero rates but to continue buying assets until 1 percent inflation is foreseen. (Reuters) |
| Feb 14 | OECD hints at developed-economy recovery |
 The world's developed economies may be set to emerge from several months of slowdown, led by the U.S. and Japan, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The Paris-based think tank Monday said its leading indicator of economic activity in its 34 members rose to 100.4 in December 2011 from 100.2 in November, the first rise in the measure since February 2011.
The tentative recovery will likely be led by the U.S. and Japan, with the leading indicator for the world's largest economy rising to 102.0 from 101.3 for a second straight monthly gain, and the leading indicator for the third largest economy rising to 101.9 from 101.7, its first rise since February 2011. There were similar signs of a possible recovery in Russia and India. (Wall Street Journal ) |
| Feb 13 | Japan's economy shrinks more than forecast |
 Japan's economy contracted more than economists forecast in the fourth quarter as exports slid on weakness in global demand and strength in the yen.
Gross domestic product shrank an annualized 2.3 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, following a revised 7 percent expansion in the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. The median forecast of 26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 1.3 percent decline.
A pick-up in earthquake reconstruction work may aid a return to growth this quarter even as gains in the currency pare export earnings, worsening losses for companies such as Sony Corp. (6758) The Bank of Japan may refrain from additional easing tomorrow as officials assess a mixed global picture, from improved U.S. employment to weaker Chinese trade and Europe's progress in taming its debt crisis, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists. (Bloomberg ) |
| Feb 12 | Rebuilding Japan |
| Within months after after the hoffific quake, Japan's government approved three supplementary spending budgets totalling some 18 trillion yen ($20 trillion) for the reconstruction of disaster affected areas -- the most severely hit being the Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures in the Tohuku region of northern Japan. A fourth extra budget, of 2.5 trillion yen ($2.75 trillion), primarily aimed at boosting business, was recently approved. Funds were earmarked to help small businesses obtain loan guarantees to rebuild, and finance green vehicle promotion programmes as the country stares down energy challenges due to the meltdown of the Fukishima nuclear power plant during the tsunami. But there is still a mountain of challenges. The traditional patience of the Japanese people has been tested, as evacuees have been forced to endure tough living conditions. In the dilapidated coastal area of Tohuku, 23,600 hectares of prime farmland was left uncultivable by the tsunami, and the agriculture and fisheries industries, a major source of jobs, have been destroyed. What's worse is that Japanese exports now face the scrutiny of an international community which remains wary of possible radiation exposure. (jamaicaobserver.com) |
| Feb 11 | DPJ unveils 'hidden' tax estimate of 17.1% to sustain pension system in 2075 |
| 2075 scenario: The consumption tax is 17.1 percent just to keep the pension system afloat. This is according to apparently leaked provisional calculations made by the Democratic Party of Japan-led government as part of pension reforms to get the top opposition forces, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, to discuss the tax hike bugbear. The DPJ hopes to sell the public on phasing in consumption tax hikes until the levy is 10 percent by fiscal 2015 to meet the mounting social security costs of the graying and dwindling population. (Japan Times) |
| Feb 11 | Malaysia, Singapore back TPP bid |
| Malaysia and Singapore expressed support for Japan's plan to join the U.S.-led trans-Pacific free-trade agreement. Japanese foreign affairs and trade officials met with their Malaysian counterparts Friday for over three hours to gather input on the Trans-Pacific Partnership initiative. Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed told reporters Thursday that Malaysia welcomes Japan's participation in the TPP process. Meanwhile, on Thursday, a Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry representative said after a preliminary meeting between Japanese and Singapore trade officials on the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks that the country welcomes and supports Japan's interest in the TPP. (Japan Times) |
| Feb 10 | Japan finmin makes rare remark on intervention level |
| Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Friday that he had decided to intervene to weaken the yen last year when it hit 75.63 yen against the dollar, making a rare reference to a currency level that prompted authorities to take action. His remarks before parliament stunned market players as policymakers usually refrain from discussing specific levels to avoid giving markets levels that they can test and to keep them guessing about triggers for intervention. The minister said he had instructed his staff in October to intervene when the dollar hit 75.63 yen as the level was judged "perilous" to the Japanese economy and stopped the intervention at 78.20 yen early in November. (Reuters) |
| Feb 10 | Japan GDP likely to show contraction in Oct.-Dec. |
| Japan's economy likely shrank in the final three months of last year, contracting for the fourth quarter in the past five as the effects of the strong yen, weak overseas demand and flooding in Thailand put the brakes on a nascent recovery. The figures, to be released Monday, are expected to show real gross domestic product shrank 1.6% on an annualized basis in the three months ended Dec. 31, according to the median forecast of 10 economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. The most pessimistic forecast said GDP contracted 2.1%, while the most optimistic predicted the economy shrank 0.6%. (MarketWatch) |
| Feb 10 | Core machinery orders plunge 7.1% |
 Key machinery orders dropped a sharper than expected 7.1 percent in December to ¥733.2 billion, the first decline in two months, affected by weakness in some technology sectors, government data showed.
Core private-sector orders, excluding those for ships and from utilities, marked a downturn following a strong 14.8 percent expansion of in November, the data showed Thursday.
The seasonally adjusted figure for orders, an indicator of future capital spending by companies, logged a 5 percent fall, also weaker than market forecasts. (Japan Times ) |