The Japanese Economy this October and Beyond
Investors and watchers of Japanese stocks have witnessed a lot of volatility in recent weeks after experiencing solid gains over the summer during P.M. Koizumi's victorious snap election and the approval of his bill to privatize Japan Post. Today's news articles covering Japan make it seem like it's doomed however, as they read: the yen continues to weaken against the dollar, the Nikkei 225 Index could fall back into the 12,000s, and bonds are rising. All of this is true except for the doom and gloom aspect.
In a post I will have available later today, I will summarize Jesper Koll's (chief economist - Merrill Lynch, Tokyo) piece in the current edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review that describes a broad range of positive underlying economic factors and conditions, that in my opinion equate the short-term swings of the bourses as no more than simple short-term volatility. Healthy growth prospects for the economy and securities lie ahead for those willing to look past October.
It's my view that analysts and pundits alike are making too much noise over whether the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will end its easy monetary policy and if it will do so by the end of the calendar year. BOJ Governor Fukui has already stated publicly that he would not jeopardize the recovering economy by acting too prematurely. Even if there are sound gains in core prices, it is highly doubtful the BOJ will make any moves by January. However, Governor Fukui has signaled the central bank is readying to move ahead with its monetary policy strategy by the beginning of the next fiscal, April 1, 2006. Note that Fukui also stated he doesn't want the economy to suffer the consequences of acting too slowly either. It is clear the BOJ is waiting for a clean start with a new chapter in the Japanese economy on April 1st.
Related Articles
|
Hedge Fund Jobs
Job Seekers: Search jobs by category, get job alerts by email or live feed, apply online See full list of jobs »
Employers: See all recruitment options, get applications online or by email Post a job »
Trading Center
- Free E-Newsletters
- About Seeking Alpha
- About Us
- Contact Us
- What's New
- Readers Feedback
- Advertise With Us
- Contributors
- Contribute an Article
- Feature Your Book
- Our Contributors
- Anonymous Contributions
- Dispute an Article?
- Legal
- Terms of Use
- Privacy
- Copyright