A Reuters survey has found that Japanese firms plan to return their excess cash to shareholders next year rather than spend it on wage rises:

  • Survey of 47 firms conducted in the week of December 15
  • Barely one in 10 firms plan to raise wages in 2015
  • More than 70 percent said they would spend cash reserves on dividends and share buybacks, with most of these also putting investment ahead of wage rises

Uh-oh …