Friday, September 29, 2006

Japan: Good News or Bad?

The presentation of the latest set of industrial production figures from Japan is interesting. The consensus is basically upbeat (and here). But read between the lines and things aren't so clear. And if you look at my post here, Japan certainly seems to have been slowing for the best part of a year now.As Bloomberg have it:Japan's industrial output rose to a record last month and inflation

Japan: Bulls or Elephants?

Lex has a column on Japan in the FT today. Basically it reflects the growing attention which is likely to be focused on Japan's fiscal situation. One interesting point which can be seen in the graphic he provides is the fact that Japan seems to have peaked in early 2005. This may be the longest running expansion Japan has had in many a long year, but we definitely seem to be in the downswing at

Monday, September 25, 2006

Once More On The Yen ...

Here's another guest post from Danish Blogger Claus Vistesen:Once More On The Yen ... Talk Is In Fact CheapSome days ago I reported on how policy makers at the G8 summit in Skt Petersbourg were trying to talk up Yen in the midst of the recent weakening of the currency relative to the Dollar and Euro. The Japanese Finance Minister called the recent drop in the Yen a 'little rough' whereas others

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Japan's Trade Surplus

The recent drop in oil prices and the low value of the Yen seem to be sending Japan's trade balance once more spiralling into surplus:Japan’s trade surplus rose nearly 100 per cent in August, showing that net exports were still contributing to overall economic growth and that the effects of high oil prices were slowly waning.Although the leap was smaller than expected, economists said the numbers

Monday, September 18, 2006

Japan, At Last Some Sense

This article about the extent to which the Japanese treasury is dependent on company profits for income is interesting, but beyond that I'm not sure how to interpret the fact since I am not sufficiently knowledgeable about the Japanese fiscal system.However, a number of points do stand out. Corporate profits now fund the revenue:Japanese corporate profit tax receipts are poised to overtake

Monday, September 11, 2006

Crunchtime in Japan?

Here's another guest post from Danish Blogger Claus Vistesen:Crunchtime in Japan?Well I have pointed to this several times and most recently as the CPI index was revised bringing Japan dangerously close to the 0% inflation mark amidst talks of business cycles topping and whether the BOJ should indeed raise rates any further. This is of course very unlikely now and the future road for Japan might

Japan Machinery Orders Slump

Wow, get this from Bloomberg today:Japan's Machinery Orders Drop Most in Almost 20 Years Japan's machine orders fell the most in almost 20 years, dashing expectations that the central bank will raise interest rates before the end of the year.Non-government orders excluding shipping and utilities dropped a seasonally adjusted 16.7 percent in July from a month earlier, the largest slide since

Friday, September 8, 2006

Yen Up, Yen Down

This one in Bloomberg brought a smile to my face:Yen Jumps After Mirow Says IMF to Discuss Currency's Weakness The yen jumped after German Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Mirow said the currency's weakness will be discussed when finance ministers and central bank governors meet in Singapore next week.``The yen has clearly weakened against the dollar but also against the euro, and in so far this