Tag - economy

 
 

ECONOMY

Hiromi Yamaji, chief executive officer of Japan Exchange Group, says the yen is too weak and its benefits for Japanese stocks are diminishing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2023
Yen’s too weak and benefits are waning, Japan bourse chief says
The yen has slipped below the levels where Japanese officials intervened last September to rein in the weakness in the currency.
Artificial intelligence is likely to help Big Tech companies cement their industry dominance as they are the ones with the resources to develop and maintain the most powerful AI models.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2023
Unlocking AI’s potential for everyone
The tech industry’s dominant players are now deploying artificial-intelligence models to reinforce their positions in the market.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on China in Washington last May.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2023
U.S. commerce chief to be latest Cabinet official to visit China
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit China next week at the invitation of her Chinese counterpart.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2023
Kishida under pressure to spend even as debt costs rise
The prime minister pivoted away from his previous stance Tuesday by scrapping September-end plans to stop subsidies that cap gasoline prices.
The income gap remained wide among Japanese households in 2021, but the labor ministry said measures to keep unemployment low helped prevent the gap from widening further.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2023
Japan's household income gap neared record high amid pandemic
A key parameter for measuring income inequalities, known as the Gini coefficient, came to 0.5700, worsening 0.0106 point from the previous study in 2017.
Robust demand from visitors for lodgings and rising prices in Japan create an ideal scenario to fuel a boom for investment in hotels.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2023
Goldman, KKR and Blackstone join investor rush for Japan hotels
Compared with before the pandemic, visitors to Japan are spending more, with most of that money going on lodgings and hospitality.
Leaders from the BRICS group of major emerging economies are set to meet this week in South Africa, but internal divisions are likely to slow any plans to expand the bloc, experts say.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 22, 2023
Divergent interests likely to slow BRICS expansion
Plans to expand the bloc and boost payments in local currencies will top the agenda at the group's summit this week.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks to reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2023
BOJ's Ueda meets Kishida but says yen volatility wasn't discussed
The talks took place after the dollar's recent ascent above ¥145, a level that last September triggered Japan's first yen-buying operation since 1998.
Kenya Koshimizu, senior executive at Mizuho Financial Group, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2023
Mizuho deferring JGB purchases as BOJ mulls policy exit: official
Banks face a looming inflection point as Japan's economy approaches policy normalization after years of little growth, weak spending and massive easing.
People look at job listings. A U.N. study has found that artificial intelligence is likely to change the intensity of work and the degree of worker autonomy than destroy jobs.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 22, 2023
AI more likely to change work than destroy jobs: U.N. study
The study found that 5.5% of employment in high-income countries was potentially exposed to impacts from generative AI, more than in low-income countries.
Washington is worried that Beijing’s struggles with high unemployment and an aging workforce make China “a ticking time bomb.”
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2023
America’s ‘new’ China narrative: A wounded dragon
The new China narrative is really about the West, its lead in technologies, the free market, wielding power and keeping all challengers at bay.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2023
BOJ adjustments show strain as record bond buying continues
Doubling the effective cap on benchmark yields in December and again last month has yet to significantly reduce the central bank's purchases.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a government task force meeting on coronavirus response on Jan. 27.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2023
Four-year outlays on COVID and inflation relief to hit ¥68.5 trillion
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces the urgent task of carrying out spending reforms as the world's third-largest economy recovers from the economic slump.
People work in an office where the majority of staff work remotely at the headquarters of Fujitsu in Tokyo in August 2020.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2023
Japan firms cut teleworking despite strong demand, survey shows
The ratio of workers using the telework system in Japan dropped to 22.2%, the lowest level since the coronavirus outbreak hit the country.
A meeting is held in Tokyo on July 28 to decide on the recommended minimum wages.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2023
Some minimum wage hikes in Japan to top government recommendation
The new minimum wages for fiscal 2023, which began in April, will take effect in stages beginning Oct. 1.
While the U.S. today accounts for only 25% of global economic output, the dollar remains involved in nearly 90% of all foreign-exchange transactions.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023
The real cost of de-dollarization
While there are currently no viable alternatives that could usurp the greenback, the biggest threat to its hegemony comes from the US government itself.
More investors in the Tokyo stock market are beginning to see higher pay as a useful barometer of a company’s strength.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 18, 2023
Stock pickers cheer for wage hikes in post-deflationary Japan
A group of companies that raised wages higher than many of their peers has outperformed the Topix index by 5 percentage points so far this quarter.
Japan's core consumer inflation slowed in July but remained above the Bank of Japan's price target for the 16th straight month.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2023
Japan’s 'sticky' inflation trend may keep BOJ on edge over prices
Prices excluding energy and fresh food increased 4.3% from the previous year, matching the record set in May, which was the fastest since 1981.
Pedestrians pass stores in Guangzhou. Economists say China needs measures to boost consumption and business confidence, but add that unlike previous slowdowns, there is no quick fix.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 18, 2023
Why is China not rushing to fix its ailing economy?
Even in a country known for opaque decision-making, analysts are pointing to signs that Beijing seems hesitant to deliver the bold policies needed.
The Inflation Reduction Act’s tax breaks for clean energy will help mitigate climate change but they will not meet the 2050 net-zero carbon goal.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2023
Biden’s climate bill was too tame
U.S. President Biden and the Democratic Party's Inflation Reduction Act was too tame on fixing the climate.

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