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Howard Schneider
Reuters
For Howard Schneider's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell during a news conference in Washington on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 3, 2023
Global central banks mark a possible plateau
Policymakers in Frankfurt, London and Washington uniformly say rate cuts won't be on the table until price pressures are truly contained.
The U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 19, 2023
A strike, a shutdown and student loans may cool spending for Fed
Some economists say the resumption of student loan repayments for tens of millions of borrowers may already be reshaping behavior.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 27, 2023
Banking stress puts U.S. and Europe on lookout for credit crunch
Authorities around the world are on high alert for the fallout from recent turmoil at banks following the collapse of U.S lenders SVB and Signature and the rescue takeover of Credit Suisse.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2023
Silicon Valley Bank collapse puts Fed's faith in a strong, low-risk financial system to the test
The failure of the 16th largest U.S. lender threatens to morph into a systemic shock, undermining confidence in bank deposits and touching off more destabilizing runs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2023
After Silicon Valley Bank failure, U.S. acts to shore up confidence in banking system
The move will not lead to losses by American taxpayers and all depositors, including those whose funds exceed the maximum government-insured level, will be made whole.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2023
The 2% target: Central banks' inflation touchstone faces post-pandemic reckoning
By announcing an inflation goal, central bankers feel they build credibility for themselves and focus the planning of households and firms in ways that help keep inflation controlled.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Dec 16, 2022
No turning back: Global central banks vow to stay the course on inflation
It's a set of decisions that will shape the global economy in 2023, influencing exchange rates and terms of trade, and, risking a deeper-than-needed correction if they get it wrong.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2022
Inflation may be peaking, but doubts emerge about its decline
Officials are aligned on the idea that prices are still rising too fast and, increasingly, that solutions will need to be forged beyond monetary policy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 21, 2022
Fed set to hike rates as central banks adopt hawkish stance not seen in decades
The danger, according to former one International Monetary Fund chief economist, is that they collectively go too far, driving the world economy into an unnecessarily harsh contraction.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Jun 19, 2022
Once feted for pandemic heroics, world's central banks face an uneasy crowd
Faith has begun to erode that policymakers will hit their typical 2% inflation targets any time soon — a worrisome development that's begun shaping central banks' own reactions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2022
An oil shock is coming, but U.S. may have already paid for it
U.S. consumers may get gouged at the gas pump but will likely be able to maintain much of their expected spending on other items due to savings accumulated from pandemic spending programs.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2021
Pandemic debt adds to challenge of funding world's climate goals
Spending by governments kept the world economy afloat during the pandemic, but the resulting pile of debt will leave many nations with vulnerable finances.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 3, 2021
Can Joe Biden re-create the U.S. economy he grew up with?
The Democrat's jobs and infrastructure plan and the corporate tax increase to help pay for it contrasts with the deference to private markets begun by Republicans since 1980.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jun 27, 2020
A quick reopening, a surge in infections and a U.S. recovery at risk
When Texas reopened bars for the U.S.'s Memorial Day weekend last month, cooped-up millennials and Gen Zers took full advantage, flouting social distancing rules to pack clubs and pushing their credit card spending in the next two weeks back to 2019 levels.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 19, 2020
What did eight weeks and $3 trillion buy U.S. in fight against virus?
Many analysts fear the country has at best fought back worst-case outcomes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2019
'Modern Monetary Theory' may be Democrats' economic cure, but only Trump seems to have got the memo
From her home overlooking Setauket Harbor on Long Island's North Shore, a motorboat bobbing at the dock, Stephanie Kelton hopes to revolutionize how the U.S. government manages the economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2019
Under pressure in the Trump era, U.S. Federal Reserve faces an outlook clouded by trade wars and signs of weakness
U.S. President Donald Trump's attacks on the Federal Reserve have broken one set of precedents, his talk of stacking the central bank with political allies has strained another, and his on-again, off-again tariff threats have made the economic outlook harder than ever to predict.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2017
Foreign firms, maligned by Trump, have been a driving force for reviving U.S. manufacturing jobs
Years before U.S. President Donald Trump began promising to bring back good manufacturing jobs by getting tough with U.S. trade partners, such jobs have already been on the rise, largely thanks to foreign companies now cast as villains in Trump's narrative.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Feb 3, 2017
Criticism of Germany puts Trump administration on collision course with EU
For seven years, the United States has fought to keep the eurozone intact, urging European officials toward action and supporting international bailout programs to keep the 17-nation currency union from cracking apart.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Oct 30, 2013
Australia's 'plain packaging' stubs out cigarette branding, prompts backlash
Marlboro cigarettes' red-and-white box and distinct typeface created one of the world's most powerful brands — by some estimates, one of the 10 most recognized consumer products.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on