Tag - inflation

 
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May 10, 2024
 

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INFLATION

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda listens to a question during a news conference after a two-day monetary policy meeting at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on March 19.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2024
Ueda's first year as BOJ chief marked by smooth handling of policy shift
But the central bank governor now has to balance various factors, including how further rate hikes might affect not just the yen but also households.
Real cash earnings for Japanese workers in February dropped 1.3% from a year earlier, government data has shown.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 8, 2024
Japan’s decline in real wages likely to keep BOJ on hold for now
The latest decline in real wages comes as growth in consumer prices accelerated to 2.8% in February, the quickest pace since November.
Japanese household spending fell 0.5% in February from a year earlier, down for a 12th straight month, indicating the impact of persistent price increases on spending patterns.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 5, 2024
Japan’s households continue to cut outlays as inflation hits
Outlays decreased 0.5% in February from a year ago, sliding for a 12th consecutive month.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. While some BOJ watchers flag the risk the BOJ could move quickly to raise interest rates again, Tsutomu Watanabe, who was a potential governor candidate last year, says he doesn't think the move will come so soon.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2024
BOJ’s next hike likely in October at earliest, ex-official says
The views of Tsutomu Watanabe contrast with those of some BOJ watchers who flag the risk the BOJ could move quickly as the yen slumps near a 34-year low.
A worker stands on a pile of rice sacks as the other worker carries a sack of rice at the warehouse in Jakarta on Feb.13. Dry weather fueled by El Nino has led to a rice shortage and sent prices to record highs.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 1, 2024
As El Nino bites, Indonesians struggle with record-high rice prices
Rice has been an integral part of Indonesian history and culture since ancient times, and is one of the country's most important agricultural commodities.
Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, mayoral candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), celebrate following early results in front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in Istanbul on April 1.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 1, 2024
Inflation delivers shock defeat for Erdogan in Turkey’s municipal vote
Higher lending costs have dented consumer sentiment but have yet to reverse the trajectory of price increases running at an annual rate of just under 70%.
Major beef bowl chain Sukiya will introduce an additional 7% late night fee starting Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 30, 2024
Popular beef bowl chain Sukiya to introduce late night fees
The restaurants will from Wednesday charge an additional 7% to the bills of late-night customers coming between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
A man works at a supermarket in Tokyo last month. Price increases backed by higher ingredient costs have started to come back due to unstable weather, Teikoku Databank has said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 30, 2024
Japan to see prices of 2,806 food items raised in April
The figure exceeds 2,000 for the first time since October last year, though down 48.1% from April last year, when prices increased for 5,404 items.
Prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March in Tokyo, slowing slightly from 2.5% in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 29, 2024
Tokyo inflation slows but stays above BOJ target
Prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March from a year before, slowing slightly from 2.5% in February.
The land price for the premise of Yamano Music in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district as of Jan. 1 was the highest among surveyed locations across Japan for the 18th straight year at ¥55.70 million ($368,000) per square meter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 26, 2024
Japanese land prices up for third year, returning to prepandemic levels
Residential land prices in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya grew 2.8%, while prices rose 7.0% in the four big regional cities and 0.6% in regional areas.
International bankers in Tokyo say their compensation remain a fraction of pay in other financial hubs despite booming markets in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2024
Bonuses at Japan's global banks underwhelm despite booming markets
Bonuses at international investment banks fell by about 10% on average in Tokyo for 2023, bankers and recruiters have said.
The record high, which reflects rising prices, was the worst since the subject was added to the poll in 2008, according to a Cabinet Office official.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 23, 2024
Record 63% in Japan feel financially uncomfortable, government survey finds
The result, which reflects rising prices, was the worst since the subject was added to the poll in 2008, according to a Cabinet Office official.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference on Tuesday after the central bank ended its ultra-aggressive monetary stimulus program and scrapped the world's last negative interest rate.
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2024
The BOJ's rate hike is both more and less than it seems
There are some fears that the BOJ's return to a positive interest rate environment threatens weak companies.
Consumer prices in Japan rose 2.8% in February from a year ago, with the pace speeding up from 2% in January, even though there have been pockets of weakness in consumer demand.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2024
Japan’s speedier inflation pace keeps BOJ’s next move in focus
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.8% in February from a year ago, with the pace speeding up from 2% in January.
The Bank of Japan's recent decision to abandon negative interest rates is seen more as a symbolic shift.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2024
BOJ finally ditches negative rates, but this is no liftoff
It's the end of an era for the Bank of Japan as negative interest rates are phased out.
Global demand for the hardware that underpins AI has sparked an economic recovery in Taiwan, giving policymakers room to focus on battling inflation.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 21, 2024
AI frenzy gives Taiwan central bank room to battle inflation
Taiwan’s exports and benchmark stock indexes have gained over the past few months, even as growth in major overseas markets remains weak.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) and Deputy Govs. Ryozo Himino (left) and Shinichi Uchida (right) attend a news conference at the bank headquarters in Tokyo in April 2023
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 20, 2024
How the Bank of Japan's plan for a smooth stimulus exit unfolded
The decision was complicated by differences between BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda's two deputies, as well as the governor's wavering on the exit timing.
The Bank of Japan will decide whether to end its negative interest rate policy at its policy board meeting, which ends on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
BOJ’s Ueda faces decision time on rate hike
With the end of Japan's negative rate being a near certainty, the only question that remains is whether it comes on Tuesday or at the end of April.
Keidanren chief Masakazu Tokura addresses the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention in Tokyo on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2024
Japan business lobby chief hopes for government efforts to end deflation
The BOJ may end negative interest rates at its two-day monetary policy meeting through Tuesday, in what could be the first hike in 17 years.
Visitors look at cherry blossom trees in Tokyo's Ueno Park.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 16, 2024
Inflation dents budgets for cherry blossom viewing in Japan
People planning to go to see the flowers will likely spend an average of ¥6,872 ($47) per person, down 0.9% compared with last year.
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
Nearly 6 million elderly people in Japan will have dementia by 2040
The latest figure is significantly less than a previous projection released in 2015 that said more than 8 million people would have dementia by 2040.
Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
Is Modi’s party heading for a stunning election loss?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign tactics have escalated, including anti-Muslim rhetoric and fearmongering, reflecting his ruling party's desperation.
Man arrested over fatal stabbing of young woman in Shinjuku
A 51-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of stabbing a young woman to death in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.
Stormy seas ahead as Beijing and Manila trade barbs over secret deal
Philippine Marines wave to Philippine Navy personnel and the media during a resupply mission at their military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship run aground in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999, in the South China Sea, in March 2014.
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
Xi bristles as Macron and von der Leyen urge China to do more on Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen walk after their meeting in Paris on Monday.
How a Japanese scientist is turning the climate crisis into music
A screencap of a performance of Hiroto Nagai's “String Quartet No. 1 ‘Polar Energy Budget’” by the PRT Quartet

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