Washington Post (February 17)
“It’s economists vs. the stock market. Economists generally don’t forecast a recession anytime soon,” but the stock market sure seems to be forecasting one. “Who’s right? We’ll know in a few months. Meanwhile, the dispute highlights the incomplete nature of the present recovery, which has lasted a long time but, to millions of Americans, still feels unsatisfactory.”
Tags: Dispute, Economists, Recession, Recovery, Stock market, U.S., Unsatisfactory
Wall Street Journal (February 16)
“North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile tests are driving some welcome changes in South Korean strategy.” Namely, Seoul will install a U.S. built missile defense system and close the Kaesong industrial zone. Ending the denial that allowed the Sunshine policy to limp along is essential. “Burying the Sunshine Policy requires a willingness to confront Pyongyang’s horrors—and removing its nuclear threat requires burying the Sunshine Policy.”
Tags: Defense system, Denial, Kaesong, Missile test, North Korea, Nuclear, Pyongyang, South Korea, Sunshine policy, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (February 15)
“Three years since Mr. Abe took power pledging to end two decades of falling prices and wages, followed by the launch of a massive monetary easing program by the Bank of Japan, headline inflation is still languishing around zero, real wages are falling and the economy has yet to achieve consistent growth.”
New York Times (February 14)
A full disarmament, of North Korea “is unrealistic at this point. To have any chance of success, the negotiations should aim for constraint. That means persuading the North to end all testing and to forsake technology transfers to other parties. This is a formidable challenge, but neglecting it only guarantees that the threat will get worse.”
The Economist (February 13)
Japan’s corporate-governance code emphasizes “shareholder rights and the duty of outside board directors to promote them.” This means Sharp’s external directors will fear “being sued by shareholders if they opted for the INCJ’s much lower bid,” perhaps more than they fear pressure from METI and others to favor the Japanese bid. A deal with “Foxconn would show that Japan is changing its attitude to outsiders. One reason it may come off is that as a failing firm, Sharp matters less for national pride. A foreign takeover of a more successful firm would be different.”
Tags: Corporate governance, Directors, Foxconn, INCJ, Japan, METI, Shareholder rights, Sharp
Bloomberg (February 12)
The Bank of Japan’s “decision to adopt negative interest rates has failed to rein in the currency’s advance.” In part, this is because money managers are advising wealthy families to favor the yen amid the turmoil in global financial markets. As a result, the yen is outperforming “all 31 other major currencies this year as Japan’s current-account surplus makes it attractive for investors seeking a haven.
Tags: Attractive, BOJ, Currency, Current-account, Haven, Interest rates, Investors, Japan, Money managers, Outperforming, Turmoil, Wealthy, Yen
Wall Street Journal (February 12)
Focusing on employment and rising wages, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen believes “the U.S. economy is in decent shape and would be even better if not for the blasted rest of the world.” Markets, on the other hand, “are looking at different signals that suggest the world economy continues to weaken.” For example, “global trade is no longer growing as rapidly as world GDP, which is the opposite of the historical pattern. Containers are piling up at the world’s ports.” Ms. Yellen may “turn out to be right” given market proclivity for volatility and overreaction.
Tags: Containers, Economy, Employment, Fed, GDP, Global trade, Markets, Overreaction, Signals, U.S., Volatility, Wages, Yellen
Institutional Investor (February 11)
“To be clear, we aren’t suggesting the U.S. economy is booming. When a ship sails in shallow water, the risk of running aground is clearly higher; likewise, a low trajectory of growth increases the vulnerability of an economy to exogenous shocks. So a negative shock is possible, but outright recession is unlikely.”
Tags: Booming, Economy, Exogenous shocks, Growth, Recession, U.S., Unlikely, Vulnerability
Financial Times (February 10)
“The Bank of Japan should not fear cutting interest rates even further.” Japan’s central bank “should not be constrained by fear that others will follow it into negative territory.”
Tags: BOJ, Central bank, Constraints, Fear, Interest rates, Negative
LA Times (February 9)
“Billionaire businessman Donald Trump won the New Hampshire Republican primary Tuesday with an unconventional brew of celebrity, voter anger and disdain for the traditional rules of politics.”
Tags: Anger, Celebrity, New Hampshire, Primary, Trump, Unconventional, Voters
