Bloomberg (February 1)
“Shaky property markets across much of the world pose another risk to the global economy as higher interest rates erode household finances and threaten to exacerbate falling prices.” From the U.S. to China, Australia and New Zealand, the housing slide could “threaten to undermine consumer confidence and weigh on household spending.” Moreover, “investment too could take a hit as developers scale back projects in response to falling prices, waning demand and higher borrowing costs.”
Tags: Australia, China, Consumer confidence, Demand, Developers, Falling prices, Global economy, Household spending, Interest rates, Investment, New Zealand, Property markets, Risk, Shaky, U.S.
Reuters (April 6)
On top of February’s big drop in household spending, down 0.9% from a year earlier, “separate data showed wages fell for the third straight month in February, reinforcing the view the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent inflation target will remain a distant goal and keep the bank from dialing back stimulus any time soon.”
Tags: BOJ, Data, February, Household spending, Inflation target, Stimulus, Wages
Reuters (April 27)
For “the first time since March 2008 the BOJ used the word ‘expansion’ to describe the state of the economy, signaling its conviction that the recovery was gaining momentum.” Still, some “analysts doubt inflation will accelerate as quickly as the BOJ projects, with slow wage growth keeping households from boosting spending.”
Tags: Analysts, BOJ, Economy, Expansion, Household spending, Inflation, Momentum, Recovery, Wage growth
Bloomberg (June 26)
“Japan’s consumer prices climbed at the fastest pace in 32 years, boosted by higher utility charges and a sales-tax increase that contributed to the biggest slide in household spending since the March 2011 earthquake.”
