Capital spending by Japanese firms climbed 4.2 percent in the January to March period from a year earlier for the 12th straight quarterly increase, but declining profits dampened prospects for business expenditure, government data showed Wednesday. Business investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes such ...
February machinery orders down 9.2% on weak manufacturing sector
The nation's core private-sector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 9.2 percent in February on a plunge for manufacturers, a reversal from the previous month that saw large orders from the steel industry, the government said Monday. The orders, widely regarded as a leading indicator ...
Automation doesn't always improve productivity
Common sense says a business that invests in automation will be more productive, but the statistics tell a different story.
Capital spending by firms rose 5.6 percent from a year earlier in the April-June period for the ninth straight year-on-year quarterly gain, the government said Tuesday, indicating a continued recovery in business investment. The 5.6 percent rise, however, missed economists' estimates for an 8.8 percent ...
China to extend economic diplomacy to EU infrastructure fund
China will pledge a multibillion-dollar investment in Europe's new infrastructure fund at a summit on June 29 in Brussels, according to a draft communique seen by Reuters — Beijing's latest round of checkbook diplomacy to win greater influence. While the exact amount is still to ...
Chided by Abe, Japan Inc. starts boosting investment at home
Pressured by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to share some of their record profits, and by increasingly obsolescent equipment, Japan's companies are starting to boost their investment spending. Policymakers have unleashed a public campaign to encourage the rebound, a new focus for the Abe administration after ...
Investment bust following historic pattern
Business investment has been slow to rebound during the weak economic recovery, but this is to be expected given past trends following recessions.
Despite signs of recovery, Japanese manufacturers resist Abe's call to spend
Growth expectations dented by a lack of structural reform are preventing most Japanese firms from investing in new equipment despite the BOJ-engineered rally in earnings and stocks.
Capital spending in the October-December quarter rose 2.8 percent from a year earlier to ¥9.71 trillion (about $81 billion), the government said Monday, signaling corporate willingness to keep increasing investment despite sluggish consumer spending. Data released by the Finance Ministry also showed pretax profit at ...
The third-quarter contraction that tipped Japan into recession may not be as sharp as first thought, with economists revising gross domestic product forecasts as the Lower House election campaign started Tuesday. The economy probably shrank an annualized 0.6 percent in the three months through September, ...
Capital spending by Japanese companies rose in the July-September quarter, logging six straight periods of growth and signaling that the April 1 consumption tax hike had little impact on their eagerness to invest, the government said Monday. Business investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes ...
U.S. consumer, business spending data point to slowing growth
U.S. consumer spending rose modestly in October and a key measure of business spending plans on equipment fell for a second straight month, suggesting some slowing in the pace of economic growth. Other data on Wednesday showed initial claims for jobless benefits broke above 300,000 ...
