Japan core machinery orders rise in August for second straight month
Japan's core machinery orders rose for a second straight month in August, handily beating market expectations, signaling a pickup in capital expenditure that should encourage Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of a general election this month. The premier hopes to convince voters in the Oct. ...
Japan's machinery orders continue decline amid service sector weakness
Core private-sector machinery orders defied expectations and fell in May, the second consecutive month of decline, due to weakness in the service sector, the government said Monday. As a result, the government downgrading its assessment of the key gauge for companies' future capital spending. The orders, ...
World Bank lifts Japan growth forecast to 1.5% on exports and Olympics spending
Economic growth in Japan this year will rise to 1.5 percent, thanks to exports and capital spending related to the 2020 Olympics, the World Bank says.
Japan's January-March business investment highest in nine years, Finance Ministry says
Capital spending by Japanese companies rose 4.5 percent year-on-year in the January-March quarter, reaching the highest level in nine years, the Finance Ministry said Thursday, providing evidence that the economy has been picking up momentum. Business investment by all non-financial sectors for purposes such as ...
Capital spending by the nation's companies increased 3.1 percent in the April to June period from a year earlier, the 13th straight quarterly rise, as a firming yen continued to hurt corporate profits, government data showed Thursday. Business investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes ...
Too many countries have been short-changing infrastructure for decades, resulting in everyday inconveniences and, worse, creating roadblocks to economic growth.
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 ...
