Japanese stocks led gains across Asia on Friday 16th August 2024, poised for their best week in four years, with the Nikkei 225 climbing over 3% following a Wall Street rally. The surge came as new economic data alleviated concerns of a U.S. recession. In the U.S., retail sales sawRead More →
GDP increased by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter, surpassing estimates of a 0.5% increase. This marked a turnaround from the revised decline of 0.6% in the Q1 After the release of the GDP data, Japanese markets climbed, and the yen saw a slight appreciation against the U.S. dollar.Read More →
U.S. shares gained on Tuesday 6th August 2024, signalling a tentative stabilisation in global markets after a period of significant declines. The Nasdaq, known for its tech-centric portfolio, along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, all ended the day in more positive territory. This ‘lift’ cameRead More →
The Nikkei ended the trading day at 34675 on 6th August 2024, up around 10% hitting its largest daily gain since October 2008 and highest ever spike in terms of index points. This recovery came after experiencing its worst session in history just the previous day. The Nikkei index stillRead More →
Japanese stocks entered a bear market on Monday 5th August 2024 as the sell-off in Asia markets continued from the previous week. The Nikkei 225 fell over 12% These benchmark indices have now declined more than 20% from their peak on 11th July 2024 – the index then touched 42000.Read More →
Japan’s benchmark indices plummeted on Friday 2nd August 2024, with most Asia-Pacific markets lower after a sell-off on Wall Street created recession worries. The Nikkei 225 index plunged around 5.80% to close at 35909, its most significant fall since March 2020, dipping below the 36000 for the first time sinceRead More →
Japan’s Nikkei 225 surpassed the 42,000 threshold for the first time ever during a widespread increase in Asia-Pacific markets on Thursday 11th July 2024. This surge followed a rally in U.S. Big Tech stocks, fueled by optimism over a potential Federal Reserve rate cut moving ever closer. The Nikkei climbedRead More →
Asia-Pacific markets witnessed highs on Tuesday 8th July 2024, mirroring the gains on Wall Street where the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended at record highs. India’s Nifty 50 index also hit an all-time high of 24401.2 Investors are anticipating the forthcoming U.S. consumer price index release to discern the Federal Reserve’sRead More →
On 5th July 2024, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed above 41,000 before retreating from its record close of 40,913.65. The Nikkei 225 serves as a crucial barometer for the Japanese stock market, representing the performance of prominent companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It continues to stand at historicallyRead More →
Over the last weekend of June 2024, China released its official PMI figures, with the manufacturing PMI remaining at 49.5, the same as in May 2024, indicating a second consecutive month of contraction. On Monday 1st July 2024, Japan adjusted its first-quarter GDP figures, showing a contraction of 2.9% year-on-year,Read More →
On Friday 28th June 2024, the Japanese yen dropped to its lowest point in 38 years, surpassing the 161 threshold against the dollar reached for the first time since December 1986. The yen has faced challenges, slipping beyond the 160 mark again. Since the Bank of Japan concluded its negativeRead More →
For the first time, automotive companies in China surpassed their U.S. counterparts in car sales last year, driven by BYD and expansion in emerging markets, according to a data released Thursday 13th July 2024. Chinese brands such as BYD now at the forefront, reportedly sold 13.4 million new vehicles lastRead More →
Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest pension fund, is reportedly considering Bitcoin as a potential investment. With an impressive $1.4 trillion in assets under management, the GPIF’s exploration of Bitcoin represents a notable departure from its conventional investment approach. This development occurs during a significant increase inRead More →
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index briefly surpassed 41000, reaching a new all-time high on Friday 22nd March 2024, as the nation’s inflation rate reportedly accelerated in February 2024. Other Asia-Pacific markets experienced declines. The headline inflation rate in Japan for February 2024 was reported at 2.8%, an increase from the 2.2%Read More →
In a move that reverberated across global financial markets, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) recently bid farewell to its negative interest rate policy – the last of its kind in the world. This decision marks a pivotal moment in the realm of central banking and has far-reaching implications for economiesRead More →
According to the revised official data, the Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year. According to this revision, the economy avoided a technical recession, which is usually defined as two successive quarters of negativeRead More →
Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended some 90 points shy of breaching the 40000 level, leading gains in Asia stocks on Friday 1st March 2024. Japan’s Nikkei 225 hit a fresh record high, closing 1.9% higher at 39910Read More →
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index hit a new all-time high on Monday 26th February 2024. In contrast China markets slipped after a nine-day winning streak. The Nikkei 225 ended 0.4% higher at 39233 comfortably above its previous closing record of 39,098.68. The index breached its 1989 all-time high of 38915 on ThursdayRead More →
A U.S. company has gone to the moon – and creates a little piece of history Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C cargo lander, named ‘Odysseus’ after the mythological Greek hero, is the first U.S. spacecraft to soft land on the lunar surface since 1972. Japan, India and China have all had recentRead More →
Japan’s Nikkei 225 hit a record high of: 39098 on Thursday 22nd February 2024. The rally was propelled by electronics, banking and consumer stocks as robust earnings and investor-friendly measures fuel a blistering rally in Japanese equities. The Nikkei 225 jumped 2%, surpassing the previous record high of 38,915.87 reached in 1989.Read More →
It’s true. 2012 statistics show that citizens of Japan registered 21 million or so pets against 16.5 million children (under 15 years). This is a problem for Japan as it has a growing elderly population. It means Japan has one older person for every three citizens. 33% of the populationRead More →
Japan’s economy slipped into a technical recession, after the economy unexpectedly contracted again in the October-December 2023period, government data showed Thursday 15th February 2024. High inflation affected domestic demand and private consumption in what’s now the world’s fourth-largest economy. Provisional gross domestic product contracted 0.4% in the fourth quarter compared with aRead More →
After a decade-long bull run throughout the 1980’s, the Nikkei 225 index reached an all-time high of 38,915 on December 29, 1989, the last trading day of the year. Few could have imagined, on New Year’s Eve of 1989, that the index would be lower 34 years later. As the New YearRead More →
The highest coal using countries in the world These countries accounted for about 82% of the global coal production in 2021 according to 2021 data set. China alone produced more than half of the world’s coal, followed by India with nearly 10%. Global coal use in 2023 hits few high GlobalRead More →
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index set a new record in nearly 34 years last week, breaking the 35000 barrier for the first time since February 1990. Its all-time high of 38915 was hit in December 1989? That’s a 35 year old record! Some analysts think that the long-term prospects for theRead More →
This was the famous UK advertising slogan of a once famous and proud Japanese business that later fell from grace. It became a 1980’s advertising hit for Toshiba in the UK. There was a time when more than one of your TV’s, computers, laptop’s, Hi-Fi’s, speaker systems or other essentialRead More →