DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Instant View: BOJ modifies bond yield control, re-defines long-term rate cap
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

But it's also likely the BOJ have their finger on the intervention button to cap any runaway rally on USD/JPY." Nevertheless, this is working in a way to increase the volatility of the global rates market. This means it will still have a certain distance until the BOJ exit from the negative rate policy." "A yield cap isn't a yield cap if you change it every time the market gets close." The Bank of Japan could lift the negative policy rate to zero over the coming year.

Persons: Kim Kyung, KYLE RODDA, MATT SIMPSON, JPY, it's, NOMURA, They've, TONY SYCAMORE, normalisation, TAKAYUKI MIYAJIMA, ROB CARNELL, they're, JEFF NG, TOM NASH, OMORI, SHOTARO KUGO, me, IZURU KATO, MARCEL THIELIANT, today's, FREDERIC NEUMANN, CHRISTOPHER WONG, BOJ's, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: National Printing Bureau, Bank of Japan, REUTERS, Bank of, Nikkei, SAXO, SONY, ING, UBS, CHIEF, DAIWA, OF, HSBC, Global, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Bank of Japan, MELBOURNE, BRISBANE, SINGAPORE, TOKYO, U.S, SYDNEY, ASIA, PACIFIC, CHIEF JAPAN, stagflation, OF ASIA, YCC, HONG KONG

☆ Japan will stop yen decline beyond USD/JPY 145, most economists say: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Satoshi Sugiyama | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - Japan's government and central bank will act to stop the yen's decline if it depreciates to the 145 per U.S. dollar level, more than half of economists polled by Reuters said. Fifteen of 28 economists (54%) said the government and the BOJ will take steps such as issuing a warning or intervening into the currency market once the yen weakens beyond 145 per greenback, the June 8-13 poll found. In a separate question on the weak yen's impact on BOJ policy, nine economists (31%) said the central bank's decisions could be swayed by a yen depreciation beyond 145 per dollar. In the poll, all but one - JP Morgan - out of 28 economists corroborated the view, citing an improved bond market functionality and Governor Kazuo Ueda's accommodative remarks so far. BOJ's Ueda has said an end to easy policy would depend on the economy achieving 2% inflation coupled with pay growth.

Persons: Harumi Taguchi, Morgan, Kazuo Ueda's accommodative, Hiroshi Watanabe, BOJ's Ueda, Satoshi Sugiyama, Kantaro Komiya, Veronica Khongwir, Anant Chandak, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: Reuters, Bank of Japan, P, Financial Services Agency, Sony Financial Group, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ Sony eyes finance unit listing, doubles down on entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sam Nussey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sony said it is considering a time frame of two to three years to spin off Sony Financial Group - whose operations include life insurance and banking - with an eye to listing the business and retaining a stake of slightly under 20%. The conglomerate is pursuing synergies between its business lines, which include video games, music and movies. A partial spin-off of Sony Financial, which the group said was made possible by changes in tax rules, would allow the newly listed business to retain Sony branding. The finance business reported a 5% fall in revenue to 1.45 trillion yen ($10.74 billion) in the year ended March. Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said he recently watched the movie in Tokyo and used to play "Super Mario" too.

☆ Sony eyes listing for heavyweight finance unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sam Nussey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sony said at a strategy briefing it is looking at listing Sony Financial Group, whose operations include life insurance and banking, and retaining a stake of slightly less than 20%. The announcement comes just three years after Sony took full control of the business in a $3.7 billion transaction. The financial unit reported a 5% decline in revenue to 1.45 trillion yen ($10.74 billion) in the year ended March. Operating profit rose 49% to 223.9 billion yen following one-off gains from a real estate sale. Sony shares were up 6% in Tokyo morning trade, a day after the group announced a buyback of up to 2.03% of its shares.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Walmart, Take-Two Interactive, Bath & Body Works and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sale signs inside the Bath and Body Works store in Edmonton. Walmart also reported stronger-than-expected adjusted earnings and revenue, according to Refinitiv. Take-Two Interactive Software — The video game company surged 14% after posting better-than-expected revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter. Bath & Body Works — The retailer of body care and fragrance saw its stock surge nearly 10% in premarket after the company posted stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue for the latest quarter. Bath & Body Works also raised its full-year earnings guidance.

☆ BOJ unlikely to move in April, most economists say: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The BOJ will likely keep YCC unchanged at next week's meeting as it awaits more evidence of sustained wage growth, sources have told Reuters. Only three of 27 economists, or 11%, said the BOJ will start to scale-back its monetary stimulus next week, whereas 11 (41%) opted for the June meeting, the April 12-19 poll showed. He added the lowered U.S. and Japanese yields after the financial turmoil also decreased the urgency to tweak YCC, which has previously faced market attacks to break the upper limit. Compared with the March poll, fewer economists expect a sudden abolition of YCC to come without warning. Half of the 24 respondents anticipated another YCC tweak, if not an outright end, in April-June.

The BOJ’s YCC faces a reckoningThe surprise news left investors and analysts trying to parse Ueda's recent commentary. "There is probably a lack of clarity on Ueda's policy leanings at the moment, but at least it is clear that Amamiya (who is seen as a dove) is out. That removes one of the headwinds for the yen," said Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC in Singapore. "The knee-jerk reaction in yen appreciation is more of a reaction to Amamiya being out of the race." I think the new team means that they will redesign the BOJ's monetary policy, not maintain the current policy," said Takayuki Miyajima, a senior economist at Sony Financial Group in Tokyo.

Yet the small companies that provide most of Japan's jobs generally can't increase pay, business owners, economists and officials say. Battered by the pandemic, small firms now struggle to pass on higher costs out of fear of losing customers. They feel they have no choice but to put up with impossible demands from big companies." The trend is most apparent in industries with many small suppliers. The fair trade watchdog last month named 13 big companies it said refused to accept higher prices from suppliers.

☆ Instant View: China's economy slows sharply in Q4, 2022 growth one of the worst on record
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

As a result, the Chinese economic growth rate will be below the Chinese government's target of 5% plus." This could weigh on their potential economic growth in the mid-and long-term, and we really need to be paying attention to that." MARCO SUN, CHIEF FINANCIAL MARKET ANALYST, MUFG BANK (CHINA), SHANGHAI"China's Q4 and full-year 2022 GDP growth rates came in higher than expected. Economic growth will have to depend more on productivity growth, which is driven by government policies." IRIS PANG, GREATER CHINA ECONOMIST, ING, HONG KONG"The biggest surprise is the retail sales number, which is really a big beat...

"On Tuesday, all of a sudden I'm hearing the interest rates are going up," said the 48-year-old father of two. Like Nakamura, many Japanese fear they may eventually start paying more for mortgages. "Even a small increase would have a big impact on consumer incomes," said Masaaki Kanno, chief economist at Sony Financial Group and a former central bank official. Fixed-rates are seen rising first, because the central bank allowed 10-year yields to creep up. The company is telling them that floating-rate loans won't be affected as long as the central bank keeps short-term rates negative, he said.

The trade deficit came in at 2 trillion yen ($14.8 billion) - the fourth month in a row it has hit that level or more. Exports grew 20%, in line with estimates and also hitting a record, led by U.S. demand for cars and mining machinery. "What caught my eye was continued weak exports to China," said Takayuki Miyajima, senior economist at Sony Financial Group. Japan has logged a cumulative trade deficit this year of 18.5 trillion yen, more than the record annual 12.8 trillion yen trade deficit for 2014. Exports to the United States rose 32.5%, EU-bound exports climbed 32% while exports to Asia (excluding China) grew 11.6%.

☆ BOJ's next move will unwind loose policy, 92% of economists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Twenty-four of 26 economists in the Nov 15-25 poll said the BOJ's next action, if any, would be "unwinding its ultra-easy monetary policy". Widely known as the policy accord, it requires the central bank to achieve its 2% inflation target "at the earliest date possible." Among those who wanted a revision, seven called for more flexibly judging achievement of the inflation target. One BOJ watcher calling for change wanted a lower inflation target, and another said the BOJ's mandate should be enlarged to include targeting employment or wage rises. On Monday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida rejected the idea of adding wage growth as a new monetary policy goal.

☆ BOJ's next move will unwind loose policy, 92% of economists say: Reuters Poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Twenty-four of 26 economists in the Nov 15-25 poll said the BOJ's next action, if any, would be "unwinding its ultra-easy monetary policy". Widely known as the policy accord, it requires the central bank to achieve its 2% inflation target "at the earliest date possible." Among those who wanted a revision, seven called for more flexibly judging achievement of the inflation target. One BOJ watcher calling for change wanted a lower inflation target, and another said the BOJ's mandate should be enlarged to include targeting employment or wage rises. Two economists in the poll said the accord should simply be abolished.

☆ Bank of Japan keeps ultra-low rates, dovish policy guidance
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan maintained ultra-low interest rates and dovish policy guidance on Thursday, reassuring markets that it will continue to swim against a global tide of central banks tightening monetary policy to combat soaring inflation. "However, we believe that the BOJ will never allocate monetary policy for the FX rate adjustment and will stick to the YCC policy. "The most important thing is how the foreign-exchange rate reacts to that contrast in monetary policy between the U.S. and Japan. It also leaves the impression there will be no change in monetary policy during Kuroda's remaining term." He has said lesser about any merit of the weak yen recently out of consideration towards public sentiment against rising costs of living."

☆ Japan unlikely to intervene to stem weak yen, half of economists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterStill, a slim majority of economists thought any direct action was a long shot. read moreFive respondents said 150 yen per dollar would prompt intervention. Japan last carried out yen-buying intervention in 1998, when the Asian financial crisis triggered a yen sell-off and rapid capital outflow. Economists expected core CPI to rise to 2.4% this fiscal year, before slowing to 1.2% in fiscal 2023, the poll showed. Elsewhere in the poll, BOJ Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya was economists' top pick for the central bank's next chief to succeed incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda in the spring.

Search resuls for: "Sony Financial Group"

15 mentions found