BOJ on complex path to more rate hikes amid flagging economy

The path wouldn't be so "complex" if Japan's greedy and stingy employers gave pay rises in line with their record-high profit growth and also in line with salaries in other developed countries. That could end the weak consumer demand at the nub of this problem.

But the uncertain U.S. economic outlook under President Donald Trump...

Why is it "uncertain."? We've already experienced 4 years of a Trump White House and the policies then and now are basically the same: tariff threats, illegal alien crackdowns, anti-globalization, etc. (The economy and financial markets also boomed during those 4 years, don't forget.)

Can you imagine the outrage in western economies if this were written?

“The (central bank) will need convincing reasons to persuade politicians if it plans to implement a rate hike,”

The politicians here and those who vote for them do nothing to make for a more vibrant economy, it’s all just tax and “redistribution”

Japan’s economy has been sliding into the abyss since 1991 and what are the leaders of Japan doing about it?

Well, it appears very, very little…

Next month, the government will officially announce that Japan’s economy had a negative growth rate for the fiscal 2024. Rate hikes in times of negative economic growth mean weaker consumption and more bankruptcies (both corporate and personal). A lot of people will have difficulty paying back their mortgage loans and end up homeless. The BOJ governor Ueda should be sacked immediately.

Hiking rates into weak consumption is not a good situation to be in but not hiking rates into weak consumption the face of inflation is also a bad move.

Monetary policy can’t do it all, Japan needs better fiscal economic policy. Milei’s Argentina is a bright spot, they should take a leaf from that book.

The Japanese economy is estimated to have shrunk by 0.3 percent in 2024 with weak consumer spending, its first negative growth since 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Remember the massive amounts of money injected into the economy during Covid?

Those subsidies completely skewed the numbers and kept non profitable businesses afloat.

Tell me why Japan’s economy has been not tanking since 1991?

Wait, don’t bother.

It has to do (not wholly) with GDP.

Japan’s labor productivity – measured by the worth of goods or services a worker can produce per hour – ranked 30th among the 38 OECD countries as of 2022.

There you go!

Tax cuts, no tax hikes and no artificially raising prices would give people the incentive to work, to raise a family and put the domestic economy in a healthy position. What has created this mess is greed and financial mismanagement.

The path wouldn't be so "complex" if Japan's greedy and stingy employers gave pay rises in line with their record-high profit growth and also in line with salaries in other developed countries.

Yeah they are paid more but everything costs more. Do you want a single cucumber costing 800 yen, which I have seen in other countries? Or how about a packet of cocopops at 1500 yen? Or try q simple 750ml bottle of water at 500-600 yen. Or want a house at 100,000,000 yen? It's 'complex' for sure.

Blaming Trump for the BoJ’s dilemma is rich, though not unexpected. Japan is on the cusp of stagflation, something for which other Central Banks get pilloried

“ flagging economy “ ?? All I have been hearing for decades now is how great the economy is, record profits.

what happened over the weekend ?

BOJ loves the 70's so much they want to bring back stagflation. Congratulations.