Tag - economy

 
 

ECONOMY

While Donald Trump and Joe Biden are both highly unpopular, key economic indicators and recent polls suggest that Biden should be worried about the coming election.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2024
The anatomy of the Biden-Trump rematch
Trump has an energetic base whereas Biden’s re-election bid generates almost no enthusiasm. Still, many Americans strongly oppose a second Trump term.
Business sentiment among major Japanese companies in the January to March period deteriorated to record its first negative reading in four quarters.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
Big Japanese firms' sentiment shows first negative reading in four quarters
The business sentiment index for large companies stood at minus 0.018, according to the joint Finance Ministry-Cabinet Office survey.
Some 38% of Bank of Japan watchers in a survey believe the central bank will end its negative rates next week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
Half of BOJ watchers still see April rate hike while bets on March move jump
The proportion of 50 economists forecasting an end to the world’s last negative rate in April slipped to 54% in the latest survey from 59% in January.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said consumption was weakening for food and daily necessities amid higher prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
BOJ chief Kazuo Ueda slightly tones down optimism on economy
Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said consumption was weakening for food and daily necessities amid higher prices.
Zensho Holdings, the operator of Sukiya and other restaurant chains, will raise salaries of regular employees by 12.2% on average.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
Japan firms across sectors offer pay hikes of up to 12% in spring talks
Early wage deals with unions reflect a recovery in earnings from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a sense of crisis over labor shortages.
Japan revised economic data higher, reversing a quarterly contraction in October-December 2023 into positive growth and avoiding a technical recession.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2024
Japan’s economy avoids recession one week before BOJ meeting
The government made an upward revision to capital investment figures to reflect 2% growth, which in turn sent the country's GDP into positive territory.
Anti-capitalist protesters with Occupy San Francisco take part in a demonstration on the streets of the Californian city in October 2011.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2024
The economic future of our overworked grandchildren
While John Maynard Keynes predicted a future of leisure and abundance, the world has seen an increase in wealth disparity and a culture of overwork.
Many countries including the U.S. and China are prioritizing domestic production and shortening supply chains to enhance economic self-reliance — but they are doing so at the  risk of fueling systemic instability and intensifying great-power tensions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2024
Economic self-reliance is a dangerous delusion
Countries around the world have given high priority to shortening supply chains, rebuilding domestic production capacity and diversifying suppliers.
Climate protesters interrupt a campaign event for former U.S. President Donald Trump in Indianola, Iowa, on Jan. 14.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2024
What would a Trump win mean for the climate?
Even if Trump wins and tries to take a wrecking ball to climate policies, he ultimately can't derail the renewables revolution gaining momentum in the U.S.
Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan, speaks at a fintech summit in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2024
Bank of Japan leaning toward exiting negative rates in March
Many BOJ policymakers are closely watching the outcome of big firms' annual wage negotiations with unions on March 13.
A man looks at electronic boards displaying stock prices of companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Monday. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average has surged at an unexpected pace of about 20% this year
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 8, 2024
A stock rally but sluggish growth: What’s the deal with Japan’s economy?
The Nikkei is benefiting from companies' strong earnings, but wider economic indicators are much less positive.
Kathy Matsui in 2019
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2024
Ex-Goldman executive Kathy Matsui says womenomics needs work
Matsui said the effort to increase women in leadership positions is "a matter of trial and error to find the best fit” for companies.
Japan's economy stumbled into a recession in the October-December quarter last year on weak domestic demand, preliminary estimates have shown.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2024
Japan household spending logs biggest drop in 35 months in January
Household spending in January decreased by 6.3% from a year earlier and was down for the 11th straight month.
Research from the International Monetary Fund suggests that gains from fully closing the gender gap in labor markets could increase gross domestic product in developing economies by 23% on average.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 8, 2024
The economic power of gender equality
There is ample empirical research demonstrating that gender equality delivers better results for people, for the planet and for profits.
A representative from Honda's labor union submits a demand for spring negotiations to management last month in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2024
Japan Inc. set to offer bumper pay hikes, paving way for stimulus end
Economists see negotiations resulting in an average increase of around 3.9% in pay for union workers at major firms.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in Sao Paulo in February.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2024
BOJ bets swing toward March rate hike
Bets on the March 18-19 meeting are gaining traction.
Junko Nakagawa, a member of the policy board at the Bank of Japan (BOJ), in Tokyo in January
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2024
BOJ policymaker upbeat on stimulus exit amid encouraging wage news
"We can say that prospects for the economy to achieve a positive cycle of (rising) inflation and wages are in sight," said board member Junko Nakagawa.
The Bank of Japan in January. The BOJ is monitoring wage trends closely for signs of a virtuous cycle linking higher pay with demand-led price gains.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2024
Japan wage growth beat forecasts in January, in fastest rise since June
The data comes as annual wage negotiations between firms and unions are reaching their climax, with the first results expected next week.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 7, 2024
Possible Trump return causing concern for Japanese firms
Trump has already said that he would impose a 10% tariff on all imported products.
Beyond factors such as the "motherhood penalty," Japanese women struggle to advance in their careers due to the structure of the workforce, including the two-tiered clerical versus managerial track.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024
Why is it taking so long to break the glass ceiling?
Japan isn't unique in having a thick glass ceiling, but some factors don't apply to other countries, like the U.S., where many more managers are women.

Longform

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