Japan’s central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.1 percent yesterday, saying it was crucial for the world’s second-largest economy to overcome deflation.
At the same time, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) upgraded growth forecasts slightly, predicting the economy would shrink 2.5 percent this financial year before rebounding 1.3 percent next year.
“Japan’s economy is picking up mainly due to various policy measures taken at home and abroad, although there is not sufficient momentum to support a self-sustaining recovery in domestic private demand,” it said.
In October the BoJ forecast a 3.2 percent fall in GDP this year, then a 1.2 percent rise next year.
The central bank maintained its projection that the economy would see three years of deflation after its worst slump in decades, but that price falls might be less severe than previously thought.
Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) yesterday downgraded its outlook on Japan’s “AA” long-term rating from stable to negative.
It also affirmed its “AA” long-term and “A-1+” short-term local and foreign currency sovereign credit ratings for the country.
The change reflected the view that diminishing policy flexibility may lead to a downgrade unless fiscal and deflationary pressures are eased, S&P said.
The net general government debt burden, predicted at 100 percent of GDP for the fiscal year ending March 31, is among the highest for rated sovereigns, it said.
Government policies also point to slower fiscal consolidation than the rating agency expected.
The rating agency forecast that Japan’s net general government debt would peak at 115 percent of GDP over the next several years.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last