Global Economics Update Is this the start of a major central bank divergence? We held an online Drop-In session last week to discuss the outlook for interest rates in major advanced economies as the Fed hit the pause button while the ECB cut again. (See a recording here .) The... 4th February 2025 · 7 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Structural labour shortages point to more rate hikes The Tokyo CPI suggests that the Bank of Japan’s Board will need to revise up their inflation forecasts yet again at the May meeting. And with the expansion in employment running on fumes as the... 31st January 2025 · 5 mins read
Japan Rapid Response Japan Activity & Labour Market (Dec. 24) & Tokyo CPI (Jan. 25) The end-month data rush vindicates the Bank’s decision to lift its policy rate last week and suggests that further tightening over the coming months is likely. 31st January 2025 · 2 mins read
Japan Economics Update Japan’s labour market to remain tight despite rate hikes The experience from other advanced economies is that there’s no hard and fast rule for how long it will take for the labour market to loosen in response to rate hikes by the Bank of Japan. But with... 27th January 2025 · 4 mins read
Bonds Update How much yield divergence can we expect this year? We forecast bond yields to fall over the rest of 2025 in Germany, the UK, and New Zealand, even though we think the relief rally in US Treasuries is over. And we anticipate yields to rise in Japan. 24th January 2025 · 5 mins read
Capital Daily BoJ hikes could push Japan’s 10-year yield past China’s We think further tightening by the Bank of Japan will see the 10-year Japanese government bond yield rise above that of the 10-year Chinese government bond, for the first time in more than two decades... 24th January 2025 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan will lift rates to 1.25% by mid-2026 The Bank of Japan signalled further tightening when it lifted its policy rate to 0.5% today. With inflation set to remain above its 2% target this year, we expect the policy rate to reach 1.25% next... 24th January 2025 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Japan Weekly: Bank of Japan will lift rates above 1% next year The Bank of Japan signaled further tightening when it lifted its policy rate to 0.5% this week and we expect rates to climb further than most expect over the coming year. Meanwhile, the budget deficit... 24th January 2025 · 5 mins read
Japan Rapid Response Japan Flash PMIs (Jan. 25) The continued rise in the composite PMI to its highest point since Q3 last year supports our view that activity will pick up again this quarter. Today’s flash estimate showed that the manufacturing... 24th January 2025 · 2 mins read
Japan Rapid Response Japan Consumer Prices (Dec. 24) The acceleration in headline inflation and strength in underlying inflation in December should add to the Bank’s confidence that it can resume rate hikes today and over the coming months. In December... 23rd January 2025 · 2 mins read
Japan Economics Update Higher bond yields not a threat to fiscal health yet We aren’t overly worried about the impact of higher bond yields on Japan’s public finances because rising interest rates are a direct consequence of higher inflation. With the effective interest rate... 21st January 2025 · 4 mins read
Capital Daily Recent stock market patterns may not set the tone for 2025 Equities in Europe have done well so far this year, but we expect them to trail those in the US over the rest of 2025, as the US imposes universal tariffs and enthusiasm about AI returns. This would... 17th January 2025 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Japan Weekly: January rate hike now looking likely A flurry of communication by the Bank of Japan this week suggests that a rate hike at next week's meeting is very likely. And whereas the financial markets foresee just one additional 25bp rate hike... 17th January 2025 · 5 mins read
Capital Daily Are we on the cusp of a renewed rally in the yen? The Japanese yen has been boosted by the dip in US Treasury yields, and we think it will rally a bit further against the US dollar over 2025. 16th January 2025 · 4 mins read
Bank of Japan Watch BoJ will lift policy rate this month The Bank of Japan has signalled that it will raise rates at its January meeting. And with inflation set to remain above the Bank’s 2% target for a while yet, we’re sticking to our forecast that the... 16th January 2025 · 8 mins read
