Japan Wages and Housing Starts December 2007

Well the storm clouds really seem to be gathering over Japan at the moment, and as I commented to Claus this morning, it seems that Japan could now enter quite a protracted recession. No one is expecting this I feel.Bloomberg quote the official BoJ view from central bank policy maker Kiyohiko Nishimura that the cycle of profits feeding into wages and spending by Japan's consumers remains intact

Japan Unemployment December 2007

Japan's job vacancies fell to a two- year low and the jobless rate was unchanged, adding to evidence that consumer spending may slow. The jobless rate remained at 3.8percent in December, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. The number of positions available for each applicant slipped to 0.98.Job seekers outnumbered positions available last month for a second consecutive month, with the

Japan CPI December 2007

According to the Japanese Statistics Office this morning consumer prices in Japan rose in December at an annual rate of 0.8 per cent according the so called "general index", double November’s pace, as higher oil prices pushed up the index up another time. As David Pilling in the Financial Times:The faster-than-expected inflation rate is causing a dilemma for the Bank of Japan, which is coming

Japan Exports and Trade Surplus December 2007

Japan's export growth slowed for the second consecutive month in December as a decline in U.S. demand reduced sales of items like cars and electronics in what is still the country's largest overseas market. Exports, which were the key factor responsible for almost all of Japan's third-quarter GDP growth, rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier, after climbing 9.7 percent in November, according to

Japan Consumer Confidence Index December 2007

Japan's consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level in more than four years in December as a combination of falling wages and rising prices continued to squeeze households. The sentiment index slid to 38 last month from 39.8 in November, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. There isn't that much more to say about this at the present time, since it is unfortunately now all too predicatble.

Japan Machinery Orders Fall in November 2007

Japan's machinery orders fell last November as companies seem to have cut back on spending in anticipation the U.S. slowdown will spread to Europe and Asia and hurt Japanese exports. Orders fell 2.8 percent from October, a month in which they rose 12.7 percent, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo today. The Topix stock index also fell 3.5 percent today, following an unexpected drop in U.S. retail

Economy Watchers Index December 2007

This post is more to keep the data set up to date than to register any real sense of surprise about the fact that Japanese merchant sentiment fell to a five-year low in Decemebr, as stagnant wages and record petrol prices left consumers with less cash to spend at restaurants and shops. Unfortunately, as I said yesterday, this is now becoming - at least in the short term - all too predictable.

Japan Leading Indicator November 2007

Japan's broadest indicator of future economic activity was down again this month, the fourth cosnecutive weak showing, suggesting that the what has been the longest expansion in more than 60 years may well now be coming to an end. The leading index was at 10.0 percent in November, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. A reading of below 50 signals slower growth in the next three to six months

Talking Japan

I am sure most of our readers are already familiar with the other big Japan watching site out there run by Ken Worsley and its timely analysis of the economic and political situation in Japan. Now Ken, alongside co-host Albrecht Stahmer, has also decided (the podcast has been running since March 2007 actually) to bring the Japan economic/business news and commentary to the podcasting media over