Economy of Asia | GlobalPost

BOJ starts 2-day meeting, to mull upgrading economic assessment

Kyodo News InternationalMay 21, 2013 02:01

The Bank of Japan started a two-day policy meeting Tuesday, with policymakers likely to consider upgrading the central bank's economic assessment on the strength of recent data showing recovery in consumption and exports. The central bank is also expected to maintain its current aggressive monetary easing policy decided under Governor Haruhiko Kuroda in April and examine the effects of a recent surge in long-term interest rates on the Japanese economy.

Tokyo stocks rally on renewed policy hope, US data

Agence France-PresseMay 20, 2013 02:30

Tokyo stocks gained 1.47 percent Monday as investors took a positive view of Tokyo's growth policy while strong US data and the weaker yen continued to add fizz. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index soared 222.69 points to 15,360.81, the best close since December 2007. The Topix index of all first-section issues climbed 1.30 percent or 16.27 points to 1,269.51. The headline index rallied as the dollar continued to look strong, while the market digested Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's speech on Friday encouraging businesses to spend.

Tokyo stocks rise 1.38% by break

Agence France-PresseMay 19, 2013 23:45

Tokyo stocks gained 1.38 percent Monday morning, with investors encouraged by strong US data and the weaker yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index soared 208.89 points to 15,347.01 by the break while the Topix index of all first-section issues climbed 1.38 percent or 17.29 points to 1,270.53. Kenichi Hirano, a market analyst at Tachibana Securities said the market mood was lively.

Weak yen helps drive Japan earnings, but no cure-all

Agence France-PresseMay 19, 2013 00:15

Japan's earnings season has drawn to a close with the sharply weaker yen helping inflate profits at some of the nation's top exporters, but, warn some commentators, the drop is not all good news. Sony booked its first annual profit in five years, Toyota more than tripled its earnings in the fiscal year to March and the head of rival automaker Nissan hailed the taming of the currency. "I have been talking about the unbelievable strength of the yen for many years," Carlos Ghosn said after the firm released its earnings this month.

Tokyo stocks down 0.12% by break

Agence France-PresseMay 16, 2013 20:46

Tokyo stocks lost 0.12 percent Friday morning after US stocks dipped following recent record-breaking gains. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 17.69 points to 15,019.55 by the break, but the Topix index of all first-section shares rose 0.25 percent, or 3.11 points, to 1,248.34. Japanese shares faced selling pressure from the outset as foreign hedge funds took profits, brokers said.

Rising cost of food causing Canadians to shop more carefully, survey finds

The Canadian PressMay 16, 2013 09:00

TORONTO - A recent survey of Canadian adult consumers found a large majority of them believe the price of the food they buy has gone up in the past year and more than half said they are doing more comparison shopping than before. The Ipsos Reid study done for the Royal Bank suggests the average monthly food bill for the 3,024 people it surveyed last month was $411 per household. The online survey asked: "On average, how much would you say you spend on groceries/food (not including eating out or going to restaurants) per month?"

Japan banks post big annual profits, warn on outlook

Agence France-PresseMay 15, 2013 15:16

Japan's three largest banks on Wednesday reported healthy annual profits driven by their overseas operations, reduced costs and investment gains, but warned over the outlook for this year. Mitsubishi UFJ, the country's biggest lender, said its net profit for the fiscal year to March was down 13.1 percent to 852.62 billion yen ($8.3 billion). But the result beat the bank's own earlier forecast with the year-on-year drop largely due to a big one-time gain from the year before, it said.

Toronto index falls, while New York lifted amid negative economic data

The Canadian PressMay 15, 2013 09:53

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market plunged more than 100 points Wednesday as traders digested a slew of economic data signalling a possible slowdown in both the Canadian and U.S. economies. The S The Canadian dollar was down 0.02 of a cent at 98.31 cents US.

Asia shares gain, Tokyo jumps as yen tumbles

Agence France-PresseMay 15, 2013 04:16

Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday, with the tumbling yen pushing Japanese stocks to a fresh multi-year high as improving confidence in the US economy boosted prospects for regional exporters. Tokyo jumped 2.29 percent, climbing above the psychologically key 15,000-mark for the first time in more than five years to end at 15,096.03 as the greenback surged through the 102-yen level following record-setting gains on Wall Street.

Senators seek to block Iran from billion-dollar reserves

Thomson ReutersMay 9, 2013 05:31

By Timothy Gardner and Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Wednesday would block Iran's access to billions of dollars worth of foreign currency reserves in the latest congressional effort to slow development of the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program. Lawmakers in Washington say the government in Tehran taps the reserves held in banks around the world, mostly in euros, to get around U.S. and EU sanctions on oil sales that have damaged Iran's economy.