Household spending takes 5.1% dive as Japanese tighten purse strings after tax hike
October’s larger than expected spending dip was the first in almost a year as disasters and the emergence of a 10 percent consumption tax prompted consumers to cut back.
Japan bank Sumitomo Mitsui says it takes more than changing dress code to shake things up
Japan's second-largest bank wants to change the mindset of its staff. It made a start by upending its dress code — a revolutionary move in an industry dominated by dark suits and formal wear. But that's not enough, according to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. President ...
Young and old march in unity and fear at French pension change
Anger, solidarity, tear gas and frozen noses. That pretty well sums up the atmosphere inside Thursday's mass Paris protest by demonstrators from across the generations against the government's retirement reform plans. The march through eastern Paris was a mishmash of social discontent, as disparate segments of ...
BOJ policymaker calls on banks to downsize for profitability
A Bank of Japan Policy Board member urged banks Thursday to downsize in number and asset holdings to become more profitable, pointing to structural factors, rather than the BOJ's easing policy, as being behind the deterioration in their profitability. In a speech to business leaders ...
Cabinet approves ¥26 trillion stimulus package to prop up slowing Japanese economy
Economists say the stimulus package could slow down Japan’s efforts to improve its fiscal health, which is the worst among major industrialized economies.
Japan preparing ¥13 trillion stimulus package as recession risks rise
The spending could further strain the industrial world’s heaviest public debt burden, which is more than twice the size of the Japanese economy.
Japan corporate sales drop for first time in three years on China slowdown
Corporate sales fell for the first time in three years in the July-September quarter, pressured by China's economic downturn and dips in petroleum product prices, government data showed Monday. Combined sales of domestic companies dropped 2.6 percent from a year earlier to ¥349.50 trillion ($3.19 ...
The government and ruling camp are discussing an extension of special tax cuts for companies in areas affected by the March 2011 disasters in Tohoku, according to informed sources. The tax breaks are set to expire at the end of fiscal 2020 through March 2021. Given ...
China's financial warning signs flashing nearly everywhere as policymakers scramble
From rural bank runs to surging consumer indebtedness and an unprecedented bond restructuring, mounting signs of financial stress in China are putting the nation's policymakers to the test. Xi Jinping's government faces an increasingly difficult balancing act as it tries to support the world's second-largest ...
October's 4.2% output drop poses risk of steeper economic slide in Japan
The plunge in industrial production signals that a steeper than expected contraction in economic growth might be ahead that will require even bigger government stimulus.
Japan's retail sales see deepest slump since 2015 as tax hike hits demand
The drop was the biggest since a 9.7 percent fall in March 2015, and was worse than a 4.4 percent decline predicted by economists.
