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BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 21, 2022

Why the BOJ chose the final weeks of the year to shift policy

The BOJ has apparently been keen to shore up its easing policy's side effects, but such a shift needed to catch market participants off guard to prevent speculative moves.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 21, 2022

Liz Truss defied the markets, and they ruthlessly sealed her fate

World leaders buffeted by economic challenges are watching the turmoil in Britain, hoping that Liz Truss' woes won't be their own.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2022

Fed hikes rates while signaling more tightening to come

Policymakers have raised the benchmark lending rate another 75 basis points to a range of 2.25% to 2.5% and said they anticipate 'ongoing increases” will be appropriate.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2022

Traders face showdown with Kuroda as BOJ policy rips every asset

Selling the yen remains one of the hottest macro trades after BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda rammed home the message at the last policy meeting in June that it's too early to cut back on stimulus.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2022

Can Japan keep the lights on? The Ukraine war upends a big energy bet.

Liquefied natural gas was seen as a crucial transitional fuel in Japan's gradual shift to renewable energy. But then came the pandemic and the Ukraine war, which caused prices to soar.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 18, 2022

Global investors flee China fearing that risks eclipse rewards

A growing list of risks is turning China into a potential quagmire, with the central question being what could happen when the country goes to great lengths to achieve its leader's goals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 31, 2022

An army of faceless suits is taking over the $4 trillion hedge fund world

Clients are increasingly willing to pay high fees — outsized even by hedge fund standards — to gain access to a whole new universe of investments.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead: Reckonings
Jan 7, 2022

China bets on a common prosperity

China's leaders believe their country is on the verge of a transformation into a truly “modern socialist economy.” They're not alone.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 30, 2021

How will China change under Xi Jinping’s 'common prosperity?' Citizens respond.

Comments from up-and-coming voices in some key areas of the economy were broadly optimistic, but many Chinese people feel much less upbeat about the future.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2021

China’s regulatory crackdown is already hurting the economy

Beijing has signaled there's more regulation for businesses in years to come, but economists say authorities will need to carefully manage its pace and intensity.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Aug 17, 2021

Valuing China assets no easy task after $1 trillion regulatory wipeout

Analysts who were bullish on Chinese stocks heading into the tumult are now assessing the damage.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2021

China’s ‘small giants’ lure investors hunting for big returns

With question marks over the strength of the Chinese economy, investors are turning toward secular growth stories in a hunt for exceptional earnings upside.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 17, 2021

Fleeing Wall Street, bankers head home to virus-free Australia

For the first time since World War II, more Australians are returning home than leaving.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 1, 2021

The Reddit army bailout: Desperate companies get new lifelines

It’s the kind of rescue that the most indebted companies in America can only dream of: a fresh injection of cash that doesn’t hurt their already depressed stock price or load even more costly debt onto their balance sheet.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 27, 2021

Short sellers crushed like never before as retail army charges in

Following a more than 350% surge this year alone, one hedge fund has already endured big losses on its bearish bet against the consumer electronics firm Gamestop.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 23, 2020

Reconsidering post-coronavirus China investment strategies

With China enjoying an ever-increasing position in the global market, Japan has the opportunity to benefit.
The yen's slide to the cusp of ¥150 per dollar has put investors on high alert for the risk of intervention.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 29, 2023

Yen intervention a hard sell even as 'red line' beckons

To make even a ripple in the $5 trillion currency market, the BOJ would need to draw down massive amounts of dollar reserves.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda told lawmakers in parliament that his job was about to get even more "challenging” from the end of the year, adding to speculation of looming action by the central bank.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2023

BOJ set to stay outlier as 2024 hike seen in contrast to Fed

The Bank of Japan has become used to being a policy outlier over its decades-long quest to vanquish deflation. It’s likely to be no different in 2024.
Some analysts believe Japan's stock market will be fragile in the coming months due to such factors as weak consumer spending and political instability.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 20, 2023

Japanese stocks expected to face early hurdles in 2024

Analysts see the nation’s equities indexes struggling over the next few months due to factors such as a stronger yen and weak consumer spending.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Apr 17, 2024

Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?

Even though the yen has already far exceeded the level that prompted action in October 2022, an intervention seems far off.
The yen’s slide has pushed up import bills in Japan, keeping domestic consumer spending tepid, with analysts saying any gains in real wages may evaporate if the yen depreciates further.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 24, 2024

Investors loved weak yen boosting shares until it went too far

Concern is growing that the currency is becoming a liability for Japan’s economy and stocks.
The rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar is displayed in the trading room at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.com in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2024

Yen inches closer to intervention point as BOJ meeting starts

For the first time in over 30 years, the yen weakened beyond ¥155 per dollar, sending traders on the alert for possible intervention.
Kazuto Oku, CEO of Norinchukin Bank, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on May 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2024

Norinchukin sounds warning as higher-for-longer rates inflict losses

Signals from central banks that they are in no rush to cut rates have caught out many investors who'd been betting on more aggressive moves.
Employees work at a copper smelter in Yantai, Shandong province, in China, on April 26, 2023.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 15, 2024

Inside China's bid to build sway over global metals pricing

After buying mining assets around the world, China wants a bigger say in how the prices of the metals mined are determined.
Flames leap out of an oven where rare-earth-based chemicals are roasted for more than 20 hours, in Changshu, China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 27, 2024

China tightens its hold on minerals needed to make computer chips

The country already produces nearly all the world’s supply of these materials. The new restrictions solidify that market dominance.
The close for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Asia’s second-biggest equities market, will be moved back to 3:30 p.m. from Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 1, 2024

High-frequency traders get an extra 30 minutes for Japan stocks

The extra half-hour is raising concerns among market participants who fear the shift will give rise to machine-driven price moves.
Bitcoin has risen to $100,000 for the first time amid optimism in the market that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's administration will provide support to the digital-asset industry.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 5, 2024

Bitcoin hits $100,000 in highly anticipated crypto milestone

A price of $100,000 pushes the market value of Bitcoin to just shy of $2 trillion, making it a larger investment asset than all but a handful of public companies.
Coils of rolled steel sit in an industrial yard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 12, 2025

U.S.-Canada trade war heats up as Trump doubles metals tariffs, then backs off

The switch came after a Canadian official also backed off his own plans for a 25% surcharge on electricity.
A screen displays rising share prices outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 8, 2025

Japan stocks rebound on hopes of Trump tariff deal and weaker yen

Major shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended Tuesday's session at 33,012.58, up 1,876 points, or 6.02%, from Monday, when it suffered its third-biggest daily point loss.
The yen strengthened dramatically this month — hitting ¥139.9 to the dollar on Tuesday — and could become a topic of conversation in trade talks between the United States and Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2025

Yen on the march as Plaza Accord 2.0 debate grows

The U.S. has claimed that Japan's currency is undervalued, with some in the administration of President Donald Trump calling for a Plaza Accord 2.0.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami