Japan Chart Pack Tax hike-related slump should be short-lived Unsurprisingly, consumer spending plunged in April after the consumption tax hike, and industrial production weakened as well. But machinery orders have climbed to a fresh high, which suggests that... 4th June 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack It's all about the consumption tax For now, Japan's economy is following the script of the 1997 consumption tax hike. Consumer spending surged in a last-minute shopping spree before the tax was raised, and inflation soared in the... 7th May 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Investors’ verdict may be too harsh The enthusiasm with which Abenomics was first greeted seems to have given way to a more sober assessment in recent months. While the US stock market has scaled new heights, the Nikkei is down around... 3rd April 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack The calm before the storm Recent economic data have mostly been positive, with industrial production and retail sales climbing to multi-year highs, and corporate profitability exceptionally strong. However, investors are... 5th March 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Equity market slump unlikely to derail the recovery January’s sell-off in the equity market and the strengthening yen are unlikely to have much impact on the Japanese economy. Equities have regained some ground over the past week and the Nikkei is... 12th February 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Can we get much higher? The Japanese economy is entering 2014 on a strong footing. Retail sales are at their highest level since the late 1990s, business surveys and the Nikkei have climbed to multi-year highs, and... 8th January 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Optimism likely to fade as tax hike looms Preliminary data show that the recovery slowed last quarter, but this follows unsustainably strong growth in the first half of the year, and is thus no cause for concern. Indeed, several business... 6th December 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Impact of tax hike starting to be felt There are tentative signs in recent data of an increase in spending that we suspect is linked to April's consumption tax hike. In particular, construction orders have soared as homebuilders seek to... 7th November 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack As good as it gets? Japan’s export-oriented manufacturing sector is benefiting from the recovery in the global economy and the weakness in the yen, but the signals on domestic demand are mixed. Business spending does... 10th October 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Business and household prospects diverging The preliminary estimate of Q2 GDP only added to the uncertainty about the planned consumption tax hikes. The latest monthly data have mostly been favourable, notably the buoyancy of business... 4th September 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Recovery entering a slower phase Japan’s economy likely continued to grow at a solid pace in the second quarter of the year, even though the recent wide divergence between various measures of consumer spending raises question marks... 6th August 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Recovery still on track despite market turmoil The recovery in Japan’s economy seems to have maintained its pace in the second quarter. Survey measures of business and consumer confidence have risen further, shrugging off the recent volatility in... 3rd July 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Jury still out on sustainability of recovery After a strong start to the year, the early signals for the second quarter have been mixed. Business and consumer confidence is still at high levels, although it remains to be seen whether this will... 5th June 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Equity market surge continues The yen fell sharply against the US dollar immediately after the Bank of Japan announced its aggressive monetary easing on 4th April, while equity markets surged. Equities have continued to rise over... 7th May 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Hard data continue to disappoint For all the optimism engendered by “Abenomics”, the recent hard data on Japan’s economy have been disappointing. Of course, it is too soon for the arrival of a new group of policymakers to be having... 3rd April 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Returning to growth The second estimate of Japan’s Q4 GDP, due on Friday (8th), is likely to show that the economy was not quite as weak as initially thought at the end of last year. In fact, there is a good chance that... 6th March 2013 · 1 min read