Japanese government plans stock market action

Japan plans to buy $227 billion in shares to boost marketBy Michael Kitchen8:11 a.m. EST Dec. 18, 2008NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- "Japan's government said Thursday it is submitting a bill to parliament allowing for the purchase of 20 trillion yen ($227 billion) in stock to help stabilize the Japanese stock market, Kyodo news reported.Under the bill, the Banks' Shareholding Acquisition Corporation,

Thoughts on deflation in Japan

The benefit from the negative energy price shock should provide some boost to domestic consumption. On the other hand, the rise of the yen versus the dollar to more realistic levels is no doubt more than offsetting the benefit from the fall in oil prices. At this point, I think the Japanese authorities are unable to do anything meaningful to weaken the yen. Also, the bulk of Japan's exports are

Japan's Contraction Is Evidently Far Worse Than Previously Estimated

Today's comments by Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa that conditions in Japan's economy are severe and that monetary conditions are rapidly tightening should not be taken lightly in my opinion. Viewed alongside last weeks data revision which showed that Japan’s gross domestic product contracted much more rapidly in the third quarter than initially thought, and the recent admission by

Japan Deflation Risk Grows As Industrial Output Falls Sharply

Japanese industrial output was down again sharply in October as manufacturers forcecast further record falls in the months to come, leading to warnings that Japan’s recession may well be much deeper and even longer than originally anticipated. This rather bleak news on Japanese factory output may also be a pointer to a longer and deeper global recession, as Japan's main customers - the euro zone

Exports Drop Sharply As Japan Officially Enters Recession

The Japanese cabinet officially recognised this week that Japan's economy has entered its first recession since 2001, following a second quarterly contraction in Q3 2008. Claus Vistesen has already analysed (in this post) the key issues which lie behind the present recession data, and has also, in this post today, attempted to place Japan's renewed deflation alert in a somewhat broader context.

Some Random Thoughts On The Deflation Problem

by Claus Vistesen: LausanneToday it is precisely one month ago that yours truly noted that he was swamped. He still is, but even though your author is still struggling to meet the quantitative demands of neo-classical graduate economics (especially, the statistical vintage) he still thinks that now might be as good a time as ever to jump back into the saddle and practice some economic punditry.

Japan Machinery Orders Fall As Small Business And Consumer Sentiment Hit Record Lows

Well, the outlook for the coming months in Japan looks none too positive, with machinery orders and small business sentiment both plumming the depths right now.Japanese machinery orders fell by 10.4 percent in the third quarter, equalling the biggest drop on record, as manufacturers cut their investment plans in anticipation of the impact of the global slowdown on overseas demand. The decline in