Japan Chart Pack Growth returning, price pressures still weak After a period of uncertainty and disappointing data, which contributed to Prime Minister Abe’s decision to postpone the sales tax hike, the clouds have started to clear. There are good reasons to... 3rd December 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Stock market cheers policy moves The Nikkei has soared following the Bank of Japan’s decision to step up the pace of monetary easing. The yen has also weakened, which is good news for exporters. Less widely noticed is that, after a... 6th November 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Economy skirting recession The ongoing slide in industrial production and the weakness of the Tankan have raised concerns that Japan’s economy is in recession. It will be a close-run thing, but more important is what happens... 8th October 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Weak activity data increase pressure on BoJ The latest data have done little to assuage doubts about the strength of the recovery. The economy contracted sharply in Q2 and industrial production and retail sales remained sluggish at the start of... 3rd September 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Doubts creeping in about the strength of the recovery While the economy initially seemed to bounce back quickly from the shock caused by the consumption tax hike, recent data have already cast doubt on the strength of the recovery. Machinery orders have... 6th August 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Chart Pack Economy proving resilient to tax hike The latest data suggest that the tax hike has not had a lasting impact on Japan’s economy. Business surveys have mostly rebounded, spending has too, and manufacturing output has stabilised. What’s... 3rd July 2014 · 1 min read
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
