Japan 01 (May 08 - Dec 09)

[winston]

Coffee is expensive in Japan. Tea is much cheaper

Despite your strong hatred of what they did during WW2 and how u feel about them, u r still a nice person inside...

[kennynah]

i guess....over time, i begin to see more open lah...life's but a fleeting dream....afterall....

[millionairemind]

Japan's Nikkei 225 slumps to worst year on record
Japan's stock market finished its worst year in history today after the world's second-largest economy was buffeted by the global financial crisis, a deepening recession and a soaring currency.
By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo
Last Updated: 8:17AM GMT 30 Dec 2008

The country's benchmark Nikkei 225 ends the year down 42 per cent, exceeding a 39pc drop recorded during the recession of 1990 when the economy was battling deflation. The Nikkei closed early this afternoon and does not re-open until January 5.

"This year was a total disaster," said Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo. "Nobody expected it to fall as much as it did."

Japan, which has spent much of the past two decades struggling to match the growth of other major economies, is failing to cope with plummeting demand for Japanese cars and gadgets having previously relied on exports to fuel growth.

Exporters such as Toyota, Honda and Sony have lead a string of companies which have been forced to slash profit forecasts, reduce production and lay off staff as orders drop. The yen, which has eaten away at profits for Japanese exporters, appreciated around 20pc against both the euro and the dollar over the past 12 months.

The outlook for both the Japanese economy and the stock market remains a source of concern among analysts. Toyota, Japan's largest carmaker, last week forecast its first operating loss in 70 years. With 80pc of its sales coming from outside Japan, consumer electronics giant Sony has seen its slides more than 60pc during the past year.

"Next year will be even tougher," said Akira Ishida, head of equities at Chuo Securities in Tokyo. He expects further redundancies and sharp falls in profit for the car industry .

However, the advent of a new US president combined with a series of economic stimulus packages across the globe were highlighted as a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered Japanese financial market during the coming year.

Mr Nomaguchi, of Daiwa Securities, added: "I think the economy will start turning a corner in the latter half of 2009."

[millionairemind]

December 30, 2008, 8.59 pm (Singapore time)

Japan Q4 GDP to post worst fall since 1974: BarCap

TOKYO - Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) has likely shrunk in the October-December quarter by 12.1 per cent on an annualised basis, in what would be its sharpest contraction in 34 years, Barclays Capital said on Tuesday.

Barclays downgraded its forecast for Japan's fourth-quarter GDP due to factors such as record falls in exports and industrial output in November, said Kyohei Morita, chief economist in Japan for Barclays Capital.

Japan, like the United States, is already in recession, with companies such as carmakers Toyota and Honda slashing output as customers close their wallets worldwide.

Data this month showed that industrial output fell 8.1 per cent in November from a month earlier, the largest fall on record, and that exports posted a record annual fall in November.

Barclays' latest forecast is for Japan's fourth-quarter real GDP to decline 3.2 per cent from the previous quarter, which would translate into an annualised fall of 12.1 per cent, Mr Morita said.

That would be the biggest contraction in GDP since a 13.1 per cent annualised drop in January-March of 1974, when Japan was reeling from the early 1970s oil shock.

The situation may be even worse now, he said.

Japan's GDP expanded in the quarters before and after the first quarter of 1974, whereas Japan may now be facing five straight quarters of contraction because GDP is also likely to shrink in January-March and April-June of next year, Mr Morita said.

Japan's GDP fell in both the April-June and July-September quarters of this year.

'I think you can say that it is a little more severe this time around,' he said. -- REUTERS

[winston]

Japan Inc. says recovery unlikely this year: polls

Major Japanese companies are bearish over the prospects for the country's crisis-hit economy, with a majority of them seeing a recovery as unlikely until 2010, surveys showed on Sunday.

The Mainichi Shimbun carried out a corporate sentiment survey in late December, covering 121 major companies across the nation, including leading names such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp.

The poll showed that 41 percent of the respondents said the Japanese economy would recover in the first half of 2010 and 24 percent said a rebound would come in the second half of next year.

None at all expected the economy to recover in the first half of this year, while 22 percent forecast that things will get better later this year.

According to a separate poll carried out by the Tokyo Shimbun, 68 percent of companies said the economy would pick up next year, while 14 percent said the recovery would be delayed until 2011 or later.

One in four companies said they have already cut or planned to cut temporary contract workers, according to the survey carried out in December of 208 major companies.

Japanese companies have cut tens of thousands of jobs, mostly temporary contract workers, as demand for cars, cameras and other products wanes amid the global financial crisis.

[millionairemind]

Japan hit by exports slump
Its current account surplus plunges in November.

TOKYO - JAPAN'S current account surplus shrank 65.9 per cent in November from a year earlier as exports slumped due to weak demand in recession-hit overseas economies, official figures showed on Tuesday.

Asia's largest economy posted a surplus of 581.2 billion yen (S$9.7 billion) in its current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, according to the finance ministry.

Japan, which is in the midst of its first recession in seven years, logged a trade deficit of 93.4 billion yen, against a surplus of 907.6 billion yen a year earlier, the figures showed.

Exports dropped 26.5 per cent by value to 5.06 trillion yen due to falling shipments to the United States, the European Union and Asia.

Imports declined 13.7 percent to 5.16 trillion yen, the first drop in 14 months, as a result of falling oil prices.

Historically, Japan has run a large surplus in its current account thanks to brisk exports of cars, electronics and other goods.

But it has seen the surplus decline steadily in recent months as the global economic crisis prompts consumers to tighten their purse strings. -- AFP

[millionairemind]

January 15, 2009, 8.07 am (Singapore time)

Japan Nov core machine orders fall record 16.2%

TOKYO - Japan's core private-sector machinery orders, a key gauge of corporate capital spending, fell a record 16.2 per cent in November from the previous month, government data showed on Thursday.

That was far below a median market forecast for an 8.1 per cent fall and bigger than the previous record drop of 15.9 per cent in July 2006.

With global demand shrinking amid the financial crisis, orders plunged 27.7 per cent from a year earlier, against a median forecast for a 20.9 per cent decline.

Japan's economy slid into recession in the third quarter of last year, and economists say the world's second-biggest economy may be heading for its longest contraction ever. -- REUTERS

[millionairemind]

January 20, 2009, 7.44 pm (Singapore time)

Japan says economy 'worsening rapidly'

TOKYO - Japan said on Tuesday its economy was 'worsening rapidly', downgrading its assessment for a fourth straight month as output, exports and consumer demand weaken amid the global downturn.

The Japanese consumer confidence index slumped to a fresh all-time low in December as the economic crisis triggers a wave of layoffs in Asia's largest economy, a separate survey showed.

'The worsening trend is likely to continue for some time, and there are concerns that a rapid drop in production may lead to a drastic adjustment in employment,' the Cabinet Office said in a monthly report.

The economy faces risks from an escalation of the global financial crisis, a world recession and turmoil on world financial markets, it said.

The government downgraded its assessment of exports, production and consumer demand, following a raft of gloomy snapshots of the world's number two economy.

The government said its consumer confidence index fell to 26.2 in December, down from 28.4 in November and the lowest level since comparable records began 26 years ago.

'The direct impact of global financial system problems on Japanese households is muted, but it appears to have led to a confidence shock,' noted Richard Jerram, chief Japan economist at Macquarie Securities.

'There is not a lot that the government can do to directly turn around confidence, although the current chaos on economic policy probably does not help,' he added.

Many Japanese companies have reported drops in profit, or even warned of losses, and announced restructuring plans including thousands of high-profile job cuts, mostly among temporary workers. -- AFP

[winston]

Japanese was up about 5.5% in the last two sessions. However, it is down > 3% now. If one does not take windfall profits, somebody else will. I think this is a trading market. Nobody is buying and holding

[millionairemind]

Jialat...

January 30, 2009, 7.44 am (Singapore time)

Japan Dec jobless rate rises to 4.4%
TOKYO - Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.4 per cent in December from 3.9 per cent in November, government data showed on Friday, higher than a median market forecast of 4.2 per cent.

The jobs-to-applicants ratio for November fell to 0.72, matching a low hit in November 2003, from 0.76 in November.

The reading, which matched the median market forecast, means 72 jobs were available per 100 applicants.

The number of new job offers fell 12.0 per cent in December from a year earlier after a 23.7 per cent drop in November. -- REUTERS