3rd stim pkg. this down cycle for Japan -
04-15-2009, 02:51 PM
No one has enough fingers or toes to count the number of stimulus pkgs. that Japan used during the 'Lost Decade' 92-2002' and here we go again with more stim. pkgs.?
The Moral of Japan's Lost Decade
by: Lok Sang Ho February 24, 2009
My statistics indicate that Japan’s Lost Decade had much to do with the strong Yen. As an export-dependent economy, the strength of the Yen simply strangled the economy to a halt.
Put simply, Japan had experienced such strength in its currency that its export machine was stalled. With Japan’s huge population and small resource base, Japan had to rely on exports to provide employment and to be able to import. Theoretically, Japan could earn big investment income from abroad and recycle them, but while investment income from abroad did help tremendously, it is not reliable, and “recycling” is not so easy in a market economy that wants to minimize taxes and transfers.
The Yen had appreciated by 40 per cent against a basket of currencies by the end of 1993 and by as much as 56% by the second quarter of 1995. In contrast, the US dollar had depreciated by 11% by the second quarter of 1995. Although the Yen started falling after the middle of 1995, by 2000, the Yen remained 50% above the value a decade ago. Only depreciation of the Yen in the 2000s helped push the Japanese economy out of recession. end
Japans recovery pundits:
However, that image has come crashing down as the Japanese government announced that the fourth quarter of 2008 saw the fastest contraction for the economy (in terms of GDP) in 35 years. A NYTimes article entitled: “Japan’s Economy Plunges at Fastest Pace Since ’74,” describes how the Japanese economy, which is heavily reliant on exports, is suffering heavily now that the effects of plummeting global demand is taking hold:
These Numbers posted after US 'stim pkg.' to Citi-BofA note this period is
during a period of a uptick in the Japans Stock Market for the same period.
Mar. 16,2009
The following are some of the well known Japanese companies with the month-to-date performance:
1. Sony (SNE) - 17.03%
2. Nissan Motor (NSANY) - 16.50%
3. TDK (TDK) - 14.53%
4.Kyocera (KYO) - 12.11%
5.Fujifilm (FUJI) - 6.29%
6. Hitachi (HIT) - 6.26%
7. Canon (CAJ) - 2.27%
Honda (HMC) and Toyota (TM) are down less than 5%.
Last edited by fluffy0000 : 04-15-2009 at 02:55 PM.
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