The Japanese Government has spoken of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the 13-foot tsunami which hit the northeast coast of Japan last week. Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, described it as the worst crisis since the Second World War. The disasters are set to cause “considerable” economic impact as the country faces a massive clean-up operation, [...]
Asian shares and the yen have dropped after a 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan. The earthquake hit the northeast coast of Japan, followed by a 13-foot tsunami wave sending shares tumbling. Shares had already lost ground following weak economic data and the Middle East turmoil. Japan’s Nikkei index was 1.7% lower, but Nikkei futures lost [...]
The Cabinet Office has today revealed the Japanese economy contracted by 1.3% in the October to December period – slightly worse than the first estimate of 1.1%. Today’s estimate is the second reading, a third and final estimate will be available next month. The downward revision was attributed to an expired Government incentive for low-emission [...]
Japanese core private-sector machinery orders – a highly volatile series seen as an indicator of corporate spending – rose 4.2% in January on a monthly basis – easily beating expectations of a 3.1% increase. The increase in orders represented the second consecutive monthly rise, according to the Cabinet Office, and follows December’s 1.7% rise and [...]
The Trade Ministry has today reported a further rise in Japanese industrial output. Output grew 2.4% in January on a monthly basis – its third consecutive rise and compares with a 3.3% increase in December. According to the Ministry, growth was fuelled by demand for transport equipment, machinery and metals. However, January’s figure was slightly [...]
Official figures show Japanese core consumer prices fell 0.2% in January compared with a year ago – representing the 23rd consecutive monthly decline that the world’s third largest economy has been in deflation. A short period of deflation (where prices fall rather than increase) could be a serious threat to the economy because it deters [...]
The Ministry of Finance has today revealed Japan posted its first trade deficit since March 2009 in January, due to slower exports. The world’s third largest economy posted a trade deficit of 471.42 billion yen (£3.52 billion) in January, with exports rising just 1.4% – analysts had forecast a rise of closer to 7%. Meanwhile, [...]
Official figures have today revealed Chinese imports soared by 51% in January compared with a year ago – far exceeding forecasts of a 28% increase. Meanwhile, exports grew 38% in January on an annual basis, according to the customs authorities. Again, this easily beat expectations of a 22.4% rise. The strong rise in imports led [...]
Official data today revealed a contraction in the Japanese economy for the final three months of 2010. The latest figures mean China has now officially become the world’s second largest economy – taking over from Japan, which slides into the third place. At the end of 2010, Japan’s economy was worth $5.474 trillion (£3.414 trillion), [...]
Official data today revealed Japan’s economy, which is now the world’s third largest, contracted by 0.3% in the final three months of 2010. While it was marginally less than the 0.5% fall expected by analysts, it still represented the first contraction in five quarters. However, despite the contraction, analysts expect an export-driven recovery this year. [...]
Japanese consumer confidence grew for the first time in seven months in January, the Cabinet Office said today. The closely-watched consumer sentiment index climbed to 41.1 in January, from 40.1 in December. The figures suggest consumers are now more optimistic about the economic prospects after all four sub-indices of the sentiment index saw an improvement [...]
Japan’s industrial production rose in December by 3.1% – beating expectations of a 2.9% gain. The rise also represented the strongest in 11 months – boosted by global demand for the nation’s goods. As a result, The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said production is now “showing signs of an upward movement” compared with [...]
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has today cut Japan’s credit rating from AA to AA-, the first time in nine years such measures have been taken. The credit rating agency cited the country’s mounting debt worries for the downgrade. Japan’s debt currently stands at almost twice the country’s annual economic output – this compares with 136.8% [...]
Despite being one of the first major economies to emerge from recession – in the second quarter of 2009 – Japan faces many risks to its recovery. Not only is it battling with deflation, it struggling with a strong yen, which continues to weaken demand for exports and threatens the economic recovery. A short period [...]
Japan’s industrial production rose in November for the first time in six months, increasing by 1% on the previous month, boosted by higher car production. The rise was also attributed to Government incentive programmes and will undoubtedly ease concerns about the recovery of the world’s third largest economy. The figures, published by the Ministry of [...]
Government data has today revealed Japanese exports picked up in November – for the first time since February. Exports grew 9.1% to 5.44 trillion yen in November on an annual basis, against the 7.8% reported in October. However, the figure was still short of expectations for a 10.8% gain. The improvement was attributed to strong [...]
Official figures have today revealed the Japanese economy grew faster than estimated in the third quarter due to stronger corporate spending. The world’s third largest economy grew by 1.1% in the July to September period, up from the first estimate of 0.9%. On an annual basis, the economy expanded by 4.5% from an earlier estimate [...]
Official figures today showed the Japanese economy continues to battle with deflation. Figures revealed Japanese core consumer prices fell 0.6% in October compared with a year ago – representing the 20th consecutive monthly decline that the economy has been in deflation. Last month, the Bank of Japan cut interest rates to almost zero. The move [...]
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 [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
