Tag - debt

 
 

DEBT

COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 8, 2014
Economics of 'memento mori'
The primary role of taxes — the redistribution of money for social security and welfare purposes — has been neglected, hidden by the more pressing need to reduce debt.
EDITORIALS
Dec 5, 2014
The elephant in the room
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to postpone the second phase of the consumption tax hike may be popular with much of the electorate, but it would be unfortunate if the decision diverts people's attention from the nation's real fiscal plight.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 4, 2014
S&P doubts Abe will have detailed fiscal consolidation plan
Standard & Poor's has cast doubt on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ability to repair Japan's tattered finances less than two weeks away from a snap election, after Moody's downgraded the country's sovereign debt rating.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 30, 2014
Gambling debt cripples Macau 'junket' model
Companies that connect China's wealthy gamblers to Macau's casinos are waiting as long as a year for gamblers to repay billions of dollars of loans, crippling the business model of an industry that sustains the world's biggest casino center.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 25, 2014
Abe consumption tax backfiring with more debt, not less
What started as a plan to reduce the national debt is turning into a reason to issue more bonds.
WORLD
Nov 12, 2014
U.S. urges IMF to cancel debt of Ebola-stricken countries
The United States on Tuesday proposed that the International Monetary Fund write off some $100 million in debt it is owed by Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to free up more resources for those countries, the hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2014
Pop-idol group debuts in debt
It's not unusual for nine young women to form a new pop-idol group in Japan. Contrary to other groups, though, members of The Margarines were chosen for their personal indebtedness.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2014
A little self-control can add up to big savings
An American economics columnist reports that having to spend cash out of an envelope rather than just pulling out the debit card has made her much more frugal.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2014
Skymark fears doom over Airbus A380 cancellation penalty
Skymark Airlines Inc., Japan's third-largest carrier, said it's at risk of going out of business should it have to pay Airbus Group NV a penalty after the planned purchase of six A380 superjumbos fell through.
EDITORIALS
Jun 30, 2014
The new squeeze on Argentina
Hopefully Argentina and the creditors who've held out on agreeing to a decade-old deal to restructure Argentine debt will redouble efforts to reach a settlement in the next month before a real default occurs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2014
Detroit rolls dice on casino-led comeback
Detroit's reliance on casino cash to help fund a recovery from the city's historic bankruptcy is a high-risk bet on an increasingly shaky source of income.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2014
Debt runup looms as next phase of euro crisis
The euro crisis has passed through six phases so far. The seventh phase of the crisis appears to be one of enhanced moral hazard, stemming from a runup in debt.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2014
How to run the euro area
To manage the eurozone, a multifaceted approach is required to prevent a vicious circle of public- and private-sector deleveraging leading to weaker economic activity that in turn results in a further deterioration in banks' asset quality.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2014
Host clubs: a hotbed of human trafficking
The Japanese host. You can see them on the streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho: the dapper thin men with colored, blown-dry hair, fake suntans, snazzy suits and charming smiles, chatting up passing females and trying to get them to come and have drinks. They've been the subject of documentaries, television...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 24, 2014
Monetize state debt when deflation risks persist
How will central banks achieve a final 'exit' from unconventional monetary policy and return balance sheets swollen by unconventional monetary policy to 'normal' levels?
BUSINESS / Economy / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 1, 2014
Economic figures reveal more than you see
The Cabinet Office's Economic and Social Research Institute on Jan. 17 released the finalized figures on the country's economy's stocks (the net value of accumulated assets at a balance date) and flows (net transactions, including income and expenditure, during an accounting period) that were recorded...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2014
China's credit boom raises flags on risk levels
The growth of credit in China at a breakneck pace, including the spike in local-government debt by 70 percent since 2009, is raising serious concerns about the level of risk in China's financial system.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 8, 2014
Railroading debt into Laos
The first time I decided to fly to Vientiane, I was faced with a tossup between a Lao Airlines twin-prop or Aeroflot Soviet Airlines.

Longform

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