Tag - economy

 
 

ECONOMY

Then yen strengthened on Monday beyond ¥140 per dollar ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week that is widely expected to see officials cut interest rates.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 16, 2024
Yen strengthens beyond ¥140 per dollar for first time since 2023
The currency appreciated as much as 0.6% versus the dollar to ¥139.96 on Monday, its strongest level since July last year.
While short-term disruptions like inflation are easing, the European Union faces long-term challenges including rising security risks, a widening productivity gap with the U.S. and an innovation deficit.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2024
Europe needs a new economic vision
The global economic shocks of the past few years have left Europe particularly vulnerable.
The construction site of the Rapidus chip factory in Chitose, in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. The Rapidus chip factory in Chitose is a collaboration with IBM and backed by billions of dollars in government funding.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 14, 2024
Japan tries to reclaim its clout as a global tech leader
To do this, Japan is working with foreign tech leaders — an outward-looking, collaborative approach that decades earlier would have been unthinkable.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Some 53% of economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the earliest timing for a rate change would be in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2024
Over half of BOJ watchers see next rate hike coming in December
The survey results show most analysts believe the market ructions after the July 31 rate hike didn't derail the BOJ from the normalization path.
Looming interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and a new hawkishness on the part of the Bank of Japan can make a claim for the yens recent movements.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2024
Epic yen rally is a lesson in the lost art of FX intervention
Japan's own proactive currency interventions have played a crucial role in the yen's recent recovery.
Pedestrians cross an intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Japan has experienced a postpandemic travel boom, with tourists pouring back in after restrictions closed the country’s borders to travelers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2024
Japan jumps to No. 2, from sixth place, in Best Countries index
It jumped from 6th place on the 2023 list as a post-COVID boom and reforms helped bump it up on the subindexes used to calculate the overall score.
Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2024
Seven & I takeover bid shows a shift in government, Suntory CEO says
The takeover bid has also left many CEOs in Japan nervous that their companies could be next.
Shoppers outside an office building in Beijing in August. China's overall public spending — which includes local governments — is shrinking, not growing. It contracted about 2% in the first seven months of 2024.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2024
China’s attempt to boost demand is stifled by wall of austerity
While finance chiefs in Beijing are testing new ways to boost the economy by encouraging demand, their counterparts in the provinces are in full belt-tightening mode.
Historical examples show that technological advances often lead to significant but gradual changes, sometimes accompanied by social and economic disruptions.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2024
Will the AI revolution lead to greater prosperity?
Historical examples show that technological advances often lead to significant but gradual changes, sometimes accompanied by social and economic disruptions.
Job-seekers take a Japanese class at an employment placement company in Hanoi in October 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 11, 2024
Is Japan an attractive option for foreign talent from Asia?
The uptick in young foreign workers is driven by growing interest in Japanese society and culture and difficulty in finding jobs at home.
The dollar fell to an eight-month low in Tokyo trading Wednesday morning, after a Bank of Japan policymaker signaled a willingness to raise interest rates further.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 11, 2024
Yen leads gains versus dollar as traders weigh BOJ and U.S. debate
The yen has been in a broad appreciation trend since hitting a multi-decade low of ¥161.95 on July 3.
Growing moves by companies to pass on higher costs to consumers amid accelerating inflation are believed to have led to the decrease in bankruptcies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2024
Japan business failures log first drop in 29 months in August
The figure stood below 800 for the first time in four months.
Global investors are expecting the yen may rise further since the Bank of Japan raised interest rates in July.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 10, 2024
Yen rally prompts an unwind of hedges in Japanese stocks but investors wary of earnings hit
Expectations that the yen may strengthen further have prompted strategists to recommend unwinding currency hedges on Japanese shares that have outperformed peers.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the Nikkei stock average tumbling on Monday morning.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 9, 2024
Tech leads Nikkei decline but yen's retreat caps losses
The drop follows a sell-off in U.S. equities on Friday, after monthly U.S. payroll figures confirmed that the jobs market was losing momentum.
Ashwini Vaishnav (left), the Indian minister of electronics and information technology, and N. Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, take part in the foundation stone laying ceremony for India's first AI-enabled semiconductor fabrication facilities in Dholera, Gujarat, India, on March 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024
Could India become an alternative to China in the ‘chip war’?
As decoupling from China gains traction, the U.S. and its allies are betting on India for supply chain restructuring and semiconductor development.
Japan's economy expanded in the April-June period at a slightly slower pace than initially reported, largely due to downward revisions in corporate and personal spending.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2024
Japan’s softer economic rebound still keeps BOJ hike in play
In noninflation adjusted terms, the economy advanced 1.8% from the previous quarter.
Former Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's remarks on Friday suggest the central bank has a long way to go since its latest rate hike took the key rate to just 0.25%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024
Kuroda indicates that BOJ is still a long way from neutral rate
A nominal neutral rate could be less than 2%, the former central bank governor told the Bund Summit in Shanghai via video link.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The BOJ was seen as having contributed to the global market meltdown in early August after its 0.25% hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024
BOJ’s hiking pace may be faster than expected, ex-official says
While almost no economists expect the BOJ to adjust its benchmark rate on Sept. 20, many BOJ watchers expect another rate hike by January.
Japan's household spending rose less than expected in July as consumers remained wary of loosening their purse strings in the face of higher prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024
Japan’s household spending stays flat in signs of tepid growth
Spending on housing and education jumped from June figures, while outlays on transportation and food declined.
Hajime Takata, Bank of Japan's board member, says the bank needs to proceed with a further rate hike if inflation continues to develop.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2024
BOJ to need more hikes if justified by data, board member says
The remarks reinforce the recent message by Gov. Kazuo Ueda that the bank will continue to normalize its policies as conditions allow.

Longform

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