Business
Japan logs record surplus for July on foreign investment returns
Japan posted a current account surplus of 3.19 trillion yen in July, a record high for the month, driven by all-time high returns on foreign investments on the back of a weak yen, the Finance Ministry said Monday. Primary income, including dividends and interest earnings from overseas investments, rose 25.1… Read
Asian markets dip after Wall Street had its worst week in nearly 18 months
Asian stocks fell Monday after another rout hit Wall Street on Friday, as a highly anticipated update on the U.S. job market came in weak enough to add to worries about the economy. The Nikkei 225 index was hovering around its lowest level in almost a month during morning trading, and it… Read
Aging Japan struggling with slow adoption of cashless payments
While cashless payments are spreading in Japan, the country still lags behind other major economies in adopting the technology amid an aging population that still largely prefers cash transactions, recent government data showed. The total amount of cashless settlements in Japan stood at 126.7 trillion yen in 2023, or a… Read
Boeing says it has deal to avoid strike by more than 30,000 machinists
Boeing and its largest union said Sunday they reached agreement on a new contract that, if ratified, will avoid a strike that threatened to shut down aircraft production by the end of the coming week. Boeing said 33,000 workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers would… Read
Starbucks turns to a celebrity CEO as it struggles to define itself for an era of mobile orders
To Howard Schultz, the chaos he observed at a Starbucks in Chicago one recent morning summed up the troubles of the company he long led as chairman and CEO. Commuters tumbled off trains and into a Starbucks store to pick up the orders they had placed on their cell phones.… Read
Japan household spending in July edges up 0.1%
Japan's household spending in July rose a real 0.1 percent from a year earlier for the first increase in three months, as higher wages drove outlays on home renovations and entertainment, government data shows. But the relatively modest increase indicates households have had to curb spending on food and utilities… Read
7-Eleven Japan wants to refocus on being affordable; will expand budget-friendly food line
Japanese convenience stores remain a great place to grab food and drinks, in the sense that they’re still stocked with a wide selection of tasty items available in convenient locations. However, prices for convenience store fare have been steadily creeping up for more than a year now. It’s gotten to the… Read
Sharp to make foray into EV market with parent Hon Hai
Japanese home appliances manufacturer Sharp Corp says it will enter the business of electric vehicles in collaboration with its Taiwanese parent Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Mototaka Taneya, chief technical officer of Sharp, revealed the plan at a press conference Friday in Tokyo, saying his company will try to begin… Read
U.S. job gains miss expectations in August as labor market cools
U.S. hiring bounced back in August but missed expectations while the jobless rate crept down, government data showed Friday, paving the way towards central bank rate cuts in the coming weeks. The world's biggest economy added an estimated 142,000 jobs last month, an increase from July's figure which was revised… Read
Japan business lobby urges fairness in U.S. Steel buyout review
Japan's top business lobby on Friday urged "fairness" in the review of Nippon Steel Corp's plan to acquire United States Steel Corp as Washington is apparently set to block the deal in the run-up to the Nov 5 presidential election. The Japan Business Federation made the opinion public in a… Read
