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

As The BOJ Cuts Rates Japan Grits Its Teeth For Another Bout Of Deflation

Well, suddenly Japan's economy seems to be back in the news. The BOJ today lowered interest rates, inflation seems to have peaked (and deflation may be once more looming on the horizon), householding spending is in decline, employment is falling, exports are languishing as the yen hits one high after another against both the dollar and the euro, Prime Minister Taro Aso is (despite the perilously

Japanese Retail Sales Fall In September

Well, this blog is pretty quiet at the moment, for this my apologies to our readers. Claus is up to his eyes in math in Lausanne, and I am pretty overwhelmed by what is happening in Eastern and Southern Europe at the moment. But don't worry, the interruption in service is only temporary. We will continue, the really interesting part is only just about to start.Basically, most of the things that

Japan Machine Orders Fall For A Third Consecutive Month

Well, while most of the attention out there is justifiably focused on the dramatic events of recent days in the financial markets, the real economy is where the impact of what is happening all ends up, and news on this from in Japan continues to be pretty bleak.Today we learnt that a key barometer of corporate capital spending in Japan plunged in August to its lowest level in more than five years