Official figures today from the finance ministry showed Japanese exports surged 40.4% in April to 5.9 trillion yen (£45 billion). Exports were boosted by global demand for Japanese cars and high tech products and factory parts. Global demand for Japanese cars, electronics and other goods are recovering after a slump during the global economic downturn. [...]
After a two-day policy board meeting, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has elected to keep interest rates at 0.1%, as widely expected. Interest rates in the world’s second largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 in a bid to fight off deflation. Deflation remains a problem for the economy. Japanese core [...]
The Cabinet Office has today announced that the world’s second largest economy expanded by 1.2% between January and March compared with the previous quarter – marking the fourth straight quarter of expansion. The growth was boosted by exports, while on an annual basis, growth was 4.9% – however, analysts had expected growth of between 5.4% [...]
The strength of the recovery in the world’s second largest economy should lead it to start reducing its massive debt from 2011, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF is urging Japan to increase consumption tax, while containing its growth in spending, in order to deal with its debt which currently stands at [...]
After a two-day policy board meeting, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has elected to keep interest rates at 0.1%, as widely expected. Interest rates in the world’s second largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 in a bid to fight off deflation. Deflation remains a problem for the economy. Japanese core [...]
After a two-day policy board meeting, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has elected to keep interest rates at 0.1%. Interest rates in the world’s second largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 in a bid to fight off deflation. Deflation remains a problem for the economy. Japanese core consumer prices fell [...]
The Bank of Japan’s closely watched quarterly Tankan survey has revealed an improvement in business confidence in Japan. The Tankan index revealed business confidence among major manufacturers had picked up for the fourth consecutive quarter, rising to -14 in March from -25 in December and significantly higher than the record low of -58 seen this [...]
The recovery in the world’s second largest economy appears to be faltering after figures today revealed a fall in industrial output. Japan’s industrial output has fallen for the first time in a year, by 0.9% in February, following strong growth in the previous month, according to official figures. “The first decline in the past year [...]
The Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry has today revealed a sharp rise in Japanese retail sales for the month of February, boosted by Government stimulus measures which have been put in place to encourage spending. According to official figures, retail sales surged by 4.2% from a year earlier – beating analysts expectations and represented [...]
Official figures today revealed Japanese core consumer prices fell 1.2% in February from a year earlier – representing the 12th consecutive monthly decline that the world’s no.2 economy has been in deflation. The latest figures suggest that ongoing deflationary pressure could ultimately threaten Japan’s fragile economic recovery. The economy was one of the first to [...]
Official figures today from the finance ministry showed Japanese exports surged 45.3% in February to 5.13 trillion yen (£37.3 billion, $56 billion), the fastest year-on-year growth in 30 years. However, exports are still around 25% lower than levels seen in 2008 but the situation has improved significantly since shipments slumped a year ago. Global demand [...]
The Labor Department today revealed the world’s largest economy appears to be under no inflationary pressure as consumer prices remained flat in February, as widely expected. According to the Labor Department, the consumer price index remained unchanged during the month, although prices were 2.1% higher than in February 2009. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes food [...]
After a two-day policy board meeting, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has elected to keep interest rates at 0.1%. Interest rates in the world’s second largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 in a bid to fight off deflation. It is anticipated that the central Bank will leave rates at the [...]
The Cabinet Office today revealed the world’s no.2 economy grew at a slower rate in the fourth quarter than previous estimates showed. According to official figures, the Japanese economy grew by 0.9% between the October and December period, rather than the 1.1% previously estimated. On an annual basis, the Japanese economy grew at a rate [...]
The recovery in the world’s second largest economy appears to be gathering strength after figures revealed a rise in industrial output and retail sales. Official figures have today revealed retail sales rose last month for the first time since August 2008. According to the Economics Ministry, retail sales were up 2.6% from a year earlier. [...]
The Bank of Japan has again elected to keep interest rates on hold at the low level of 0.1%, as widely expected. It is anticipated that the Bank will leave rates at the low rate until around 2012 as a result of deflationary pressures. The world’s no.2 economy exited recession in the second quarter of [...]
There have been fears that the return of deflation within the world’s second largest economy could stall growth. A short period of deflation (where prices fall rather than increase) could be a serious threat to the economy because it deters consumers and businesses from spending in expectation of falling prices. Deflation was a problem for [...]
The Japanese economy grew at a better than expected 1.1% in the last three months of 2009, meaning it retains its status as the world’s second largest economy. Meanwhile, official figures show that GDP grew at an annualised pace of 4.6% in the fourth quarter of 2009, cementing a strong recovery from its worst recession [...]
Japan’s exports jumped for the first time in 15 months in December to reach 5.4 trillion yen (£37 billion) – up 12% compared with a year ago. Shipments to Asia, which account for more than 50% of Japan’s total shipments, soared by almost a third (31.2%) to 3 trillion yen. Japan’s exports to China surged [...]
The Bank of Japan has again elected to keep interest rates on hold at the low level of 0.1%, as widely expected. It is anticipated that the Bank will leave rates at the low rate until around 2012 as a result of deflationary pressures. The world’s no.2 economy exited recession in the second quarter of [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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