Here are a couple of items from the early Japanese morning … what they’ll all be reading on their way to work:
BOJ Still looking on the bright side
- The economy continues to recover moderately, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda told reporters Wednesday, sticking to the central bank’s assessment despite two straight quarters of negative growth.
- Kuroda accentuated the positives, including low unemployment and upbeat corporate earnings
- The shrinking economy in the July-September quarter, which followed a sharper contraction in April to June, surely came as a surprise to a central bank expecting brisk growth.
So … ‘recovering moderately as a trend’ seems to be the new term for ‘recession’, yeah?
Later tax hike complicates timetable for BOJ tapering
- Postponing Japan’s next consumption tax hike until April 2017 will only prolong its central bank’s buying of long-dated government debt
- Speaking to reporters Wednesday, BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda tiptoed around the question of what Abe’s decision means for monetary policy: “I think it’s premature to start talking in specific terms about an exit”
Gotta say I agree with Kuroda on this one. I hope my family hasn’t started discussing my exit yet, either.
