The yen hit its lowest level against the dollar since July on Tuesday, prompting a warning from Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato over speculative moves.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 7, 2025
Japan warns on speculative FX moves after yen hits six month low
Any further changes in expectations over the trajectory of rates in the U.S. or Japan could sharply ramp up speculation of renewed intervention.
Analysts believe the strength of the Japanese economy will help to push up domestic stocks, despite pressure from likely interest rate hikes from the Bank of Japan and uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s presidency in the U.S.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 6, 2025
Japan stocks look set for new highs in 2025 on earnings and reforms
Analysts see better corporate earnings as the country transitions to a growth economy from a deflationary one.
Stock market information on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Jan 1, 2025
Investors hope for U.S. stock market trifecta in 2025 after back-to-back boom years
Investors are more confident about the economy than this time a year ago, with consumers and businesses having absorbed higher interest rates.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the Nikkei stock average closing at its best year-end level ever, topping the previous high marked in 1989.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 30, 2024
Japan's Nikkei ends 2024 with nearly 20% rise
At 39,894.54, the benchmark index finished at its best year-end level ever, topping the previous high from the end of 1989 at the height of the country's bubble economy.
Thaleon Tremain, chief executive of Pachamama Coffee, holds a cup of coffee beans in Sacramento, California, on Feb. 27. Wholesale coffee prices are trading near a 50-year high because of shortages related to extreme weather and increased global demand.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 30, 2024
Why coffee prices are soaring (again)
The wholesale price of beans has jumped more than 30% just since the start of November.
The latest sale plan of Japanese government bonds reflects the government's efforts to fill a huge hole left by the BOJ's diminishing presence in the JGB market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 26, 2024
Government plans to sell more JGBs for first time in four years, draft shows
Much of the increase will be made in shorter-dated debt to tap demand from Japanese banks.
Cocoa beans are pictured next to a warehouse at the village of Atroni, near Sunyani, Ghana, on April 11, 2019.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 25, 2024
How a hedge fund exodus reshaped global cocoa markets 
The impact of hedge funds' exit illustrates how reliant trading has become on these lightly regulated funds that increasingly shape financial markets.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?