Japan Data Response Bank Lending & Broad Money (Mar.) Just as the surge in bank lending in late 2008 was hardly evidence of strength in Japan's economy, the recent year-on-year declines may not be a sign of renewed weakness. What's more, in contrast to... 12th April 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response EWS (Mar.) & Machinery Orders (Feb.) The sharp improvement in the main balances of Japan’s Economy Watchers Survey (EWS) in March is further evidence of an increasingly broad-based recovery. This trumps the bad news of a fall in... 8th April 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Tankan Survey (Mar) The Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey revealed little that was not already clear from the improvements in the monthly data. The relative pessimism of small firms is a concern, but the Shoko... 1st April 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Pay & Housing Starts (Feb), SME & Manuf. PMI (Mar) Today’s data on labour cash earnings and housing starts in February continued this week’s run of generally disappointing news on the Japanese economy. The timelier Shoko Chukin survey for March did at... 31st March 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Spending, Unemployment & Ind. Production (Feb.) Today’s data on household spending suggest that the recovery in consumption may have faltered in the first quarter. Nonetheless, other evidence from the consumer sector is reassuring and we do not... 30th March 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response CPI (Feb.) February’s CPI data were not quite as bad as some of the subsequent commentary has suggested. Nationwide prices did at least rise month-on-month on all the main measures. In the meantime, household... 26th March 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response External Trade (Feb.) Japan’s exports are predictably booming in year-on-year terms as the post-Lehmans slump in world trade drops out of the annual comparison. More revealingly, the volume of exports is heading for... 24th March 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Consumer Confidence (Feb.) The second successive monthly increase in consumer confidence in Japan suggests that household spending will remain strong in the current quarter even after last year's initial boost from government... 15th March 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response GDP (Q4, Revised) Despite the small downward revision to growth in the fourth quarter, from 1.1% to 0.9% q/q, Japan has still recorded the biggest increase in GDP of any G7 economy since activity bottomed out in Q1... 11th March 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Economy Watchers Survey & Bank Lending (Feb.) The continued improvement in the main balances of Japan’s Economy Watchers Survey (EWS) in February is further evidence of a strong and increasingly broad-based recovery. We would pay less attention... 8th March 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Household Spending & Unemployment (Jan.) Household spending dropped back in January, but the labour data were better than expected. Unfortunately, there are good reasons to question the sustainability of the sharp falls in unemployment. 2nd March 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response Output, Housing, CPI (Jan.) & Manuf. PMI (Feb.) The latest activity and survey data support our view that Japan’s GDP growth will continue to surprise the markets on the upside in the first half of the year, but the CPI data do nothing to ease... 26th February 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response External Trade (Jan.) & Small Business Confidence (Feb.) The annual growth of Japan’s exports predictably soared in January due to favourable base effects. More revealingly, exports continued their gradual recovery in month-onmonth terms. Today’s upbeat... 24th February 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response GDP (Q4, Preliminary) Japan recorded strong, broad-based growth in the final quarter of last year, laying a solid foundation for 2010. We continue to expect the strength of the recovery to surprise the markets for a few... 15th February 2010 · 1 min read
