Tag - boj

 
 

BOJ

The Bank of Japan's tankan survey showed that large nonmanufacturers saw improvement in their sentiment with the index reaching the highest level since 1991, helped by a surge in inbound tourists.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2024
Japan service firms’ optimism tempered by softer factory sector
The deterioration in manufacturing sentiment partly reflects the impact from scandals among some vehicle producers.
Officials from the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Japan and the Financial Services Agency hold an emergency meeting over the yen at the ministry on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 29, 2024
Japan brought forward emergency yen meeting to maximize market impact, source says
Meeting like these are considered a sign Tokyo is moving closer to intervening in the currency market.
Prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March in Tokyo, slowing slightly from 2.5% in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 29, 2024
Tokyo inflation slows but stays above BOJ target
Prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March from a year before, slowing slightly from 2.5% in February.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2024
BOJ summary hints at cautious approach to further rate increases
The summary indicates Gov. Kazuo Ueda and his fellow board members are in favor of taking a slow approach to rate hikes.
Signs of a decline in hedging demand suggest that local investors are less concerned the yen will rebound sharply.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 26, 2024
Lower hedging costs reveal Japan investors' confidence in weak yen bets
Three-month yen basis swaps, which indicate decreasing demand for hedging the more they rise, closed last week at their highest level since January 2022.
International bankers in Tokyo say their compensation remain a fraction of pay in other financial hubs despite booming markets in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2024
Bonuses at Japan's global banks underwhelm despite booming markets
Bonuses at international investment banks fell by about 10% on average in Tokyo for 2023, bankers and recruiters have said.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda takes questions during a news conference. The bank's monetary policy overhaul announced last week was known by some Japanese media before it was made public.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 25, 2024
The BOJ has sprung a leak. Japan must investigate.
The bank's policy of disclosing information selectively to certain media is harmful and needs to be looked into, as slip-ups in other countries show.
An electronic stock board in Tokyo on Thursday. Signs that deflation has ended are driving investors to bet ever more on Japan’s economic growth.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 23, 2024
Japan’s stock boom gets broader support than just exporters
Signs that deflation has ended are driving investors to bet ever more on Japan’s economic growth.
Hedge funds have been consistently short the yen since 2021, according to CFTC, with the trade remaining popular in recent months on expectations that the BOJ’s pursuit of policy normalization will nonetheless remain accommodative.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 23, 2024
Hedge funds boost bearish yen bets after BOJ’s dovish hike
The yen fell more than 1% against the dollar following the conclusion of the central bank’s meeting Tuesday, and is now set for a second weekly drop.
Shoppers in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2024
Historic day for BOJ will take some time to be felt by people in Japan
With future rate hikes likely, the yen and mortgages could still see a more substantial impact.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. More than a quarter of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the bank will raise the policy rate again in October while 23% said the hike will come in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2024
BOJ watchers see next rate hike by October and risk of faster moves
More than a quarter of 47 economists surveyed said the bank will raise the policy rate again in October, while 23% said the hike will come in July.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference on Tuesday after the central bank ended its ultra-aggressive monetary stimulus program and scrapped the world's last negative interest rate.
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2024
The BOJ's rate hike is both more and less than it seems
There are some fears that the BOJ's return to a positive interest rate environment threatens weak companies.
Consumer prices in Japan rose 2.8% in February from a year ago, with the pace speeding up from 2% in January, even though there have been pockets of weakness in consumer demand.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2024
Japan’s speedier inflation pace keeps BOJ’s next move in focus
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.8% in February from a year ago, with the pace speeding up from 2% in January.
The Bank of Japan's recent decision to abandon negative interest rates is seen more as a symbolic shift.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2024
BOJ finally ditches negative rates, but this is no liftoff
It's the end of an era for the Bank of Japan as negative interest rates are phased out.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. A survey by Bloomberg indicates a majority of analysts surveyed doesn’t expect another rate hike as a base case, but plenty of others are warning that the BOJ may not be finished.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 20, 2024
Investors and economists split on whether BOJ will raise rates again
By moving in March instead of the consensus view of April, Gov. Kazuo Ueda secured space to raise borrowing costs again if data supports the case.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) and Deputy Govs. Ryozo Himino (left) and Shinichi Uchida (right) attend a news conference at the bank headquarters in Tokyo in April 2023
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 20, 2024
How the Bank of Japan's plan for a smooth stimulus exit unfolded
The decision was complicated by differences between BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda's two deputies, as well as the governor's wavering on the exit timing.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2024
Japanese business groups welcome BOJ's first rate hike in 17 years
"I think the BOJ has caught the indications that a virtuous cycle between wages and prices has started," Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura said.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2024
BOJ introduces first rate hike in 17 years following pay gains
The negative rates policy, the last one in the world, had been a symbol of the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary stimulus lasting over a decade.
The Bank of Japan will decide whether to end its negative interest rate policy at its policy board meeting, which ends on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
BOJ’s Ueda faces decision time on rate hike
With the end of Japan's negative rate being a near certainty, the only question that remains is whether it comes on Tuesday or at the end of April.
Japan's core machinery orders fell 1.7% in January from the previous month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
Japan core machinery orders fall more than expected
Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a leading indicator of capital spending in the six to nine months ahead, fell 1.7% in January.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?