In the first quarter of 2016, Japan’s real GDP grew -0.05% (year-on-year), slowing down from 0.85% in the previous quarter. This is the first time since 2013 for Japan’s economy to grow negatively, excluding the four quarters after the consumption tax hike.
Continue reading 2016 1Q Japan’s GDP: the economy grew negatively due to the market turmoil
Did Abenomics successfully save Japan from deflation? Not really. Will quantitative easing and negative interest rates by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) make it better in the future? Not very likely.
The BoJ is no longer controlling the monetary policy of the Japanese economy. The central bank has already taken all the effective options, and thus the room for expansion of easing is quite limited. There is something that decides the monetary policy instead of the central bank.
Continue reading Explaining Japan’s deflation 2016: the cause is not just the consumption tax hike
Japan’s GDP data for the 4th quarter of 2015 was published, revealing that the real GDP grew 0.66% (year-on-year), slowing down from 1.65% for the previous quarter.
The chart obviously shows the consumption tax hike in Apr, 2014 ruined the uptrend after Abenomics. We will review the elements of the GDP, which indicate more about what is actually happening in the Japanese economy.
As we have written, there is no large economy in the world that is growing rapidly. Reflecting the decreasing demands in the world, including the Chinese economy slowdown, the commodity markets completely collapsed, such as copper and iron ore.
However, it does not mean any single small country does not enjoy any significant growth. Thus, we review the world’s economy again to find out which area is the most profitable for investors to bet on.