Japan in a 'Mild Recession?' ... Sounds about Right to Me

During 2007, myself and especially Feldman and Takehiro Sato from Morgan Stanley have tended to move pretty much in unison when it comes to the economic analysis on Japan (non colluding!). Of course, this is very much due to the fact that I always make sure to read, at least, what the MS' Japan analysts have to say before saying anything myself on Japan. In this way, it is one thing to

Japan Consumer Confidence Index November 2007

Japanese households became the most pessimistic they've been in almost four years in November as fuel and food prices rose even while wage growth remained stationary, leaving consumers even less willing and able to spend. An index that measures confidence among households with two or more people slid to 39.8 last month from 42.8 in October, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo today. A reading below

Japan Economy Watchers Index November 2007

Well, even while machinery manufacturers ride on the back of strong export demand, the internal situation in Japan continues to deteriorate. The latest indication of this is the November edition of the Economy Watchers Index. This survey of barbers, shopkeepers and others who deal with consumers, fell for an eighth month to 38.8 from 41.5 in October, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo (

Japan Machinery Orders October 2007

Japan's October machinery orders rose at a rapid 18.7% year on year clip, signaling that companies have been increasing spending plans to meet Asian and European demand for chips, cars and electronics. Private sector orders climbed 12.7 percent to 1.08 trillion yen ($9.7 billion) from September, when they fell 7.6 percent, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo today. But the biggest push came from

Japan Q3 2007 GDP Revised Down

Japan revised down its third-quarter GDP growth estimate today, surprising both market participants and the great majority economic observers - although not, it should be noted, those of us who run the Japan Economy Watch Blog, or posters at Global Economy Matters (and remember Claus was writing this last piece back in January). Neither will the result exactly catch the ever readable MacroMan

Japan Index of Leading Indicators October 2007

Well, perhaps the only positive thing that can be said about the latest release from the Cabinet Office of the Index of Leading Indicators is that it is above last months zero reading. The index, which is Japan's broadest indicator of the outlook for the economy was in contraction mode for a third consecutive month, a signal that growth may well be stalling. The leading index was at 20 in

Japan Company Capital Spending Q3 2007 and Japanese Wages in October

Japan's companies cut spending for a second quarter between July and September according to data from the Finance Ministry today. Capital spending fell 1.2 percent in the three months ended 30 Sept 2007 (when compared with Q3 2006) after a 4.9 percent year on year drop in the previous quarter.Profit at the 24,000 companies surveyed fell for the first time in five years, giving them less cash to