Japan Wages May 2008 and the June Tankan

Japan's wages grew at the slowest pace in five months in May, suggesting that households will continue to reduce spending as inflation rises faster than workers' paychecks. Monthly wages, including overtime and bonuses, climbed 0.2 percent from a year earlier to 275,815 yen, according to the Japanese Labor Ministry. Due to the impact of inflation this becomes a 1.2% fall in real terms.Households

"Good" and "Bad" Inflation in Japan

Well, one good turn deserves another. Claus and I are currently doing a spell of guest posting on the RGE Europe EconoMonitor at the moment (here, and here, for example), and true "just in time" fashion RGE Analyst Mary Stokes has a piece today about Japan's inflation issue.Inflation is rearing its ugly head around the world, keeping many central bankers awake at night. In Japan, by contrast, it

Japan Consumer Prices, Household Spending and Industrial Output May 2008

Japan's household spending fell in May, job vacancies dropped to a three-year low, the inflation rate almost doubled and the government downgraded its assessment of industrial production despite a report issued today, which showed output rose 2.9 per cent in May from April, the first increase in three months. As might be imagined opinions are now pretty divided about what happens next in Japan,

Japan Machinery Orders, Leading Indicator, Economy Watchers April 2008

Japanese machine orders rose in April after falling for two consecutive months, however Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota stressed that demand for machinery still remains weak. Machinery orders, which give an indication of likely capital spending in the coming three to six months, were up by 5.5 percent in April after declining 8.3 percent in March and 12.3 percent in February,

Japan Capital Spending Q1 2008

Japanese businesses investment fell less than previously anticipated during the last quarter according to the latest data from the Ministry of Finance. Capital spending (excluding software) fell 5.3 percent in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier. While business investment has now fallen in each of the last four quarters, the pace of decline is less than half that recorded during

Japan Wages and Employment April 2008

Average total cash earnings rose in Japan rose in April for the fourth consecutive month as companies added full-time workers to comply with new labor regulations. However the arrival of inflation has meant that in real terms (ie allowing for inflation) contractual wages actually fell year on year. Monthly wages, including overtime and bonuses, were up 0.6 percent from a year earlier to 281,246