TOKYO -- Although Japan and the U.S. will begin new "free, fair and reciprocal" trade talks soon, the two countries share little common ground as Washington tries to score a bilateral deal while Tokyo holds out for the original TPP. Dubbed the "FFR" talks ... ( read original story ...)
Asia equities advance higher, Nikkei 225 climbs over 22,250
Asia equities on the rise as traders test out their risk appetite. Japan data providing some buoyancy to the Nikkei as figures beat expectations, albeit mildly. Asia equities are lifting in Tuesday trading, and Japan's Nikkei index is working back into the ... ( read original story ...)
Nikkei 225 fails to jumpstart the week, falling back towards 22,000.00
as well as unsteady Japanese PMIs expected. Rising Treasury yields are making traders cautious about their next steps. The Nikkei 225 index is slipping back below the 22,100.00 level as apprehensive traders failed to keep early Monday's momentum going. ( read original story ...)
Nikkei hits 2-month high, financials lead gains on rising U.S. yields
TOKYO, April 24 (Reuters) - Japanese shares hit a two-month closing high on Tuesday with financials leading gains after U.S. bond yields spiked to four-year highs and as investors remained optimistic about upcoming earnings. The Nikkei advanced 0.86 ... ( read original story ...)
LNG Canada awards construction contract to Japanese and U.S. firms: Nikkei Asian Review
TOKYO, JAPAN — The Nikkei Asian Review is reporting that Japan-based JGC Corp and U.S. firm Fluor have won a contract to design and build the LNG Canada liquefied natural gas project for an estimated $14 billion. Nikkei has not named sources in its ... ( read original story ...)
Prosecutors question key ex-Finance Ministry bureaucrat Nobuhisa Sagawa over document tampering
OSAKA – Public prosecutors have questioned former Finance Ministry bureaucrat Nobuhisa Sagawa on a voluntary basis over the ministry’s falsification of documents related to the controversial discount sale of state land to school operator Moritomo ... ( read original story ...)
Pumpkin Carriage Drives Japan Bank From Star Status to ‘Pariah’
It wasn’t so long ago that Suruga Bank Ltd. was seen as a model for how Japanese lenders can survive in an era of rock-bottom interest rates and weak loan demand. The regional bank was hailed for generating the best loan margins in the country, thanks to ... ( read original story ...)
Japan will reach 2% inflation target and can begin reducing stimulus in five years, BOJ’s Kuroda says
The Bank of Japan will be able to begin winding down its extraordinary monetary stimulus within the next five years, the head of the central bank said. "Sometime within the next five years, we will reach [our] 2 percent inflation target," Governor Haruhiko ... ( read original story ...)
Prosecutors quizzed ex-bureaucrat over gov’t altered land sale papers
OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Osaka prosecutors questioned a former Finance Ministry bureaucrat over the falsification of documents related to the sale of state land linked to cronyism allegations against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a source close to the matter said Monday. ( read original story ...)
Japan’s Central Bank Has Hopeful Forecast for Effect of Sales-Tax Increase
TOKYO—Japan’s central bank believes the nation can withstand a sales-tax increase scheduled for next year and avoid the sharp slowdown that followed earlier increases, say people familiar with the Bank of Japan’s thinking. The central bank will ... ( read original story ...)
Nikkei fall as index-heavy stocks weaken; Apple suppliers underperform
TOKYO, April 23 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average fell on Monday as index heavyweight stocks such as SoftBank and Terumo lost ground, offsetting gains in financials, which rallied after U.S. yields rose. The Nikkei ended down 0.3 percent at 22,088 ... ( read original story ...)
Nikkei edges lower as index-heavy stocks weaken; financials gain on U.S. yields
TOKYO, April 23 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average edged lower on Monday morning after index-heavy stocks such as SoftBank and Terumo lost ground, offsetting gains in financial stocks, which rallied after U.S. yields rose. The Nikkei fell 0.2 ... ( read original story ...)
Behind China’s sudden olive branch to Japan
TOKYO -- On April 16, a day before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met U.S. President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Tokyo to meet his counterpart Taro Kono. It was the newly ... ( read original story ...)
Japan needs ‘strong accommodative’ monetary policy ‘for some time,’ says BOJ’s Kuroda
Monetary police should remain accommodative until Japan hits 2 percent inflation, the country's central bank chief, Haruhiko Kuroda, told CNBC this weekend. He said he expects to reach that goal in fiscal 2019, warning that "risks are skewed to the downside." ( read original story ...)
Could jealousy link the Financial Ministry scandals together?
Then Fukuda quit. However, the damage was already done. The Finance Ministry has already admitted to falsifying documents that could indicate favoritism toward Moritomo for its proposed Osaka primary school in deference to Abe’s wife, Akie, because she ... ( read original story ...)
Buy orders swamp IPO for Shogi app developer
A company that developed a smartphone application for the Japanese board game shogi has been listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ... Takahiro Hayashi was among those who celebrated the IPO by ringing the bourse's bell. The company's apps for board games ... ( read original story ...)