FOR years, Japan has flooded its moribund economy with money: interest rates near zero, asset purchases by the central bank and public works projects that have dammed the nation’s rivers and paved remote mountain roads.
Japan’s central bank redoubled that effort Tuesday, lowering its benchmark interest rate to a range of 0 percent to 0.1 percent [...]
Archive for the ‘Economic Turmoil’ Category
A New Bid to Prop Up Economy Brings Shrugs in Japan
October 5th, 2010 by Financial Writer
Tags: central bank, economic growth, economic recovery, interest rates, japan's economy, money, stock market, us economy
more...Japan’s Benchmark Bond Yields Are Near Six-Week Low as Central Bank Meets
October 4th, 2010 by Financial Writer
Japan’s 10-year government bond yields were near a six-week low on speculation the Bank of Japan will unveil additional easing steps after a policy meeting today.
Ten-year bond futures advanced to the highest level in seven years after Nikkei English News said the central bank may boost purchases of government bonds. Demand for the safety of [...]
Tags: central bank, economic, economic recovery, financial system, interest rates, japan's economy, stock market, us economic
Dear Bernanke: QE2 Needs To Be Full Steam Ahead
September 28th, 2010 by Financial Writer
Whatever you take from Tuesday’s economic data — consumer confidence gauges probably get more credit than they should, but falling back to February levels certainly isn’t good — it seems clear that the Federal Reserve will be grappling with a mixed view on the U.S. recovery when it next gathers for an FOMC meeting November [...]
Tags: central bank, economic activity, economic growth, economy recovery, Federal Reserve, financial system, us economy
Volcker: Fed Must Not Sow Seeds of Inflation
September 23rd, 2010 by Financial Writer
Paul Volcker, special adviser to President Barack Obama, said on Thursday that while the Federal Reserve’s purchases of long-term Treasuries are “understandable,” the central bank must be careful not to set the stage for future inflation.
The former Federal Reserve chairman, known for slaying inflation in the 1980s by hiking interest rates well into the double [...]
Tags: economic recovery, Federal Reserve, home sales, inflation, interest rates, mortgage market, recession, unemployment
AT A GLANCE: Fed Hints At Steps To Help Economy, Rates Unchanged
September 21st, 2010 by Financial Writer
THE NEWS: Members of the Federal Open Market Committee Tuesday kept key interest rates unchanged and deferred taking any new steps to boost the economic recovery, but it hinted it’s becoming uneasy about the outlook for the U.S. economy in 2011 and said it is prepared to provide additional accommodation as needed.
THE DETAILS: Fed officials [...]
Tags: Dow Jones Industrial, economic recovery, financial crisis, financial markets, interest rates, stock market, us economy
Yen Falls From 15-Year High Against Dollar After Japan Sells Its Currency
September 18th, 2010 by Financial Writer
The yen tumbled from a 15-year high versus the dollar and weakened against all of the most-traded currencies after Japan intervened for the first time since 2004 to curb gains that threaten an export-led recovery.
The yen had its biggest weekly decline against the greenback since April after Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Sept. 15 [...]
Tags: bank of japan, currency market, economists, Federal Reserve, finance minister, financial system, interest rates
If no one takes on China, currency wars still loom
September 17th, 2010 by Financial Writer
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner this week gave a timid nudge to China to do more about lifting the value of the yuan, which is widely recognized to be kept artificially, and vastly, undervalued to the benefit of Chinese exporters and at the expense of almost everybody else.
Even the International Monetary Fund estimates the yuan to [...]
Tags: Chinese economy, economic growth, economists, european economy, financial crisis, financial system, IMF, us economy, us treasury
Dollar steady versus yen but market wary of intervention
September 16th, 2010 by Financial Writer
The dollar held near its highest in a month against the yen on Friday, capped by chart points and expected sales by Japanese exporters but supported by wariness of Japanese yen-selling intervention.
The euro hovered below a one-month high on the dollar and yen after strong demand at a Spanish bond auction and after the Swiss [...]
Tags: currency market, japan's economy, japanese business, Make Money
Dollar Trades Near 15-Year Low Versus Yen Amid Fed Speculation
September 14th, 2010 by Financial Writer
The dollar was near a one-month low against the euro amid speculation the Federal Reserve will buy additional Treasury securities this year to help sustain growth as the economic recovery falters.
The Swiss franc traded near the strongest since November versus the greenback as declines in Treasury yields sapped demand for the dollar. Economists forecast reports [...]
Tags: economic recovery, economists, Federal Reserve, financial, financial system, japan's economy, us economy
Asia stocks gain on Japan, US economy indicators
September 9th, 2010 by Financial Writer
Most Asian markets gained Friday after Japan said its economy grew more than estimated and better U.S. jobs and trade figures eased fears that the world’s largest economy might slip back into recession.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average was up 117.90 points, or 1.3 percent, at 9,216.29 after slipping back from the morning’s 2 percent rise. [...]
Tags: economic growth, economic indicators, economy, economy recovery, financial markets, financial system, Global Economy, investors, us economy