Reuters monthly Corporate survey in Japan with some encouraging results:

  • 45% of Japanese firms to keep FY2021 capex steady, while 29% say they'll be raising capex
  • 25% to cut it

On profits, not so bright a picture:

  • 36% see FY2021 profits recovering to pre-pandemic levels
  • 65% see profits short of FY2019

From the Reuters report:

  • "Business investment was rebounding strongly at the end of last year. We expect non-residential investment to recover further over the coming months," Tom Learmouth, Japan economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a research note. "We already expect business investment to return to pre-virus levels in 2022 - much faster than the seven years it took after the global financial crisis."

Meanwhile, yen is barely moving in early Asia trade. Not much is in FX land.