US economic outlook improves
January 30, 2005
Market concerns over the strength of the US dollar were put at greater ease after the US Treasury reported strong economic growth in 2004.Although Q4 growth was slower than expected, at 3.2% as opposed to 3.5%, it still left the US economy as having grown 4.4%, which is the highest figure since 1999.The news can […]
China now Japan’s closest trade partner
January 27, 2005
Japan’s Finance Ministry released figures that showed that China is now Japan’s closest trading partner, taking over from the United States.China accounted for 20.1% of Japanese trade in 2004, as opposed to 19.2% in 2003.Trade with the USA in 2004 amounted to 18.6%, as opposed to 20.5% in 2003.Trading with China in 2004 was worth […]
Asian currencies peak highs
January 23, 2005
Asian currencies continued strong New Year openings, with the South Korean won reaching it’s strongest levels against the US dollar since crisis hit the east Asian economy in 1997. The Yen also reached a high of 5 years, with the Thai baht and Taiwan dollar both reaching 4 year highs.However, confidence that currency deals would […]
US markets cowed: poor trend continues
January 21, 2005
US stock markets spent the week lacking confidence, and investors were quick to blame increased profit reports on technicalities, and reacted badly to even slight reductions in forecasts.General Electric’s 18% rise in profits was put down to tax breaks, and when 3M reported over 16% rise in earnings, not only did the markets put it […]
Japanese trade union calls for wage boost
January 18, 2005
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), has called on the corporate sector to redress the growing imbalance between company profits and employee earnings.It comes as the Bank of Japan published figures that showed that the share of company income going to wage costs had shrunk to its lowest for six years.Although the Japanese economy has […]
Japan hopes on machinery sales
January 14, 2005
News that machinery sales from Japan increased by a sudden 20% in November last year sent investors speculating in Japanese stocks, as a troubled economy attempts to avert industrial recession in 2005.The machinery sales are seen as a strong indicator of health in the corporate economy, despite that telecoms orders were also strong.The news sent […]