Tag - economy

 
 

ECONOMY

Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Apr 17, 2024
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Even though the yen has already far exceeded the level that prompted action in October 2022, an intervention seems far off.
Outside of some activist movements pressing governments for more climate action, global warming is not yet at the heart of the political agenda in most countries.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2024
Climate change is political and we must treat it that way
Climate action hasn't made its way onto mainstream political agendas in most countries, to the detriment of our collective ability to solve the crisis.
Japan's exports grew 7.3% year-on-year in March, up for the fourth straight month, showing that the economy continues to benefit from the effects of the sliding yen.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 17, 2024
Japan’s exports get boost from China aided by yen tailwind
Exports gained 7.3% in March from a year earlier, with growth slightly decelerating from February’s 7.8% gain.
Shoppers at the Dadar market in Mumbai, India. Indian equities now trade at around 23 times next year’s expected earnings, exceeding even the U.S.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 16, 2024
‘Expensive’ India lures investors avoiding China risks
Powerful rallies in Indian and Japanese equities during China’s slump have reset Asia’s financial-market landscape.
Yen traders are bracing for 160 to the dollar or even further declines.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 16, 2024
Yen traders brace for 160 level even as intervention risks rise
The yen weakened 1% last week alone as fears of higher-for-longer U.S. borrowing costs spurred a stampede to the dollar.
Some analysts say machinery orders are on track for a recovery as core machinery orders rose 7.7% in February from the previous month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2024
Machinery orders rise sharply, possibly easing domestic demand worries
Some analysts say machinery orders are on track for a recovery.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden during a joint news conference at the White House on Wednesday
BUSINESS / EXPLAINER
Apr 15, 2024
Biden-Kishida summit drives home U.S.-Japan economic union
The leaders used their meeting to bake economic cooperation into the allies' relationship in hopes of making it harder to pull out of in the future.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in November 2022. Scholz is travelling to China again this week with the goal of shoring up economic ties with Germany's biggest trading partner.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2024
An EV trade war with China would be an own goal for carmakers
As German Chancellor Scholz visits China this week, he should push for stronger ties between Chinese and European automakers, especially in the EV market.
Average age of Japanese chief executives increased for 33 consecutive years to 60.5 last year.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2024
Japan biz leaders' average age rises for 33rd straight year
As of December last year, the average age of company leaders stood at 60.5 years old. In 1990, the average age was 54.
Masayoshi Matsumoto
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2024
Osaka Expo legacy could bolster Kansai's economy
Kansai accounts for about 5% of Japan’s GDP, but by utilizing the new technologies to be showcased at the expo, it could possibly increase the size to 20%.
The departure hall at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Now with inflation at its strongest in decades, Japanese are starting to realize that years of static wages leave many of them budgeting each month before their next pay check.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Apr 13, 2024
Japan’s young workers head abroad as huge wage gap persists
The outflow is also a sign that many Japanese aren’t buying into the nation’s economic optimism as it exits from decades of deflation.
Sweden is known for its generous parental leave system, with parents allowed to share 480 days of leave per child and 90% of fathers taking such time off.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 12, 2024
Swedish-style paternity leave could unleash Japan’s potential
In Sweden, most new fathers take paternity leave, with direct benefits for the economy and families — an approach that holds important lessons for Japan.
Global banks are responding to increased demand for information about Japan’s companies and markets amid a resurgent stock market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2024
Global banks ramp up roadshows for clients eager to bet on Japan
Foreign investors bought the most Japanese equities since 2013, last week.
A brine pool at an SQM lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama Desert, Chile. The industry that deals with one of the world’s most important commodities is asking whether it's doomed to repeat a boom and bust cycle again and again.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 12, 2024
Lithium industry braces for long-term oversupply after price instability
Those involved with the commodity are asking whether they're doomed to repeat a boom and bust cycle again and again.
This video screen grab shows a refinery in Ryazan, Russia, that Ukraine attacked in a drone strike last month.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2024
Ukraine’s drone attacks light a fuse under global oil supplies
At least 10 refineries have been hit so far. About 13% of Russia’s capacity has been knocked offline, analysts at RBC Capital Markets estimate.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 10, 2024
Kishida’s U.S. trip highlights economic and political compatibility
Kishida has worked closely with Biden to enhance the Japan-U.S. alliance, with the countries labeling their bilateral ties a “global partnership.”
The problem many developing countries have in repaying their debts might be even bigger than the world realizes, as many sovereign debts are hidden.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2024
Tackling the world’s hidden debt problem
Low-income countries are struggling to repay their debts. Better transparency and accounting systems could help them tackle this challenge.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The central bank will probably discuss revising up its projection for growth in consumer prices for the current fiscal year, sources said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 10, 2024
BOJ said to mull raising inflation view on strong pay deals
Rising oil prices and the weak yen are spurring inflationary pressure that could fuel speculation of earlier moves by the BOJ.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway would be the first major non-financial overseas debt issuer to sell yen bonds after the Bank of Japan last month scrapped the world’s last negative interest rate.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 9, 2024
Berkshire plans to sell first yen bonds since BOJ move
The U.S. company last turned to the yen bond markets in November, with a ¥122 billion ($803 million) five-tranche deal.
NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg (left) and the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a news conference in Washington on Jan. 29
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2024
World rush to rearm could cost G7 countries $10 trillion over next decade
Security challenges include an aggressive Russia, a volatile Middle East, and the Chinese military tugging U.S. attention toward the Pacific.

Longform

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