earthquake

Japan Returning To Recession?

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Well, if it did it certainly wouldn’t be surprising.  There’s not that much worse than what the country endured last week, with the extent of its earthquake and tsunami.  So why is this enough to make headline news?  Well, because what’s newsworthy is that the country looks set to “become the first Group of Seven member” to go back to that recession status following the easing of the global financial crisis.

Statistics and Truth

Although it is said that there are lies, damned lies and statistics, in Japan’s case it seems like the figures are speaking for themselves.  The G7’s yen sales depreciated the currency the most since September to ¥80.58 per US dollar at Friday’s close in New York.  This is very different to its postwar peak of ¥76.25 on March 17.

European Banks Band Together

The potential problems of Japan’s economy and currency following the country’s disaster have led various European banks to join with the Bank of Japan “in the first co-ordinated intervention by the G7 since the launch of the euro a decade ago.”  It is anticipated that the US Federal Reserve will be joining this effort too.  It is hoped that such action “may help corporate sentimate to recover, a key factor in reviving growth, along with public spending said Takuji Aida, UBS AG economist in Tokyo.

For sure when there is such a strong economic force working together the economic recovery of a country stands a way greater chance than it slumping back into a recession.  And if that is the case, then the global economy faces a far greater likelihood of being able to recover which will benefit everyone.  So let’s hope the European and American banks put their money where their mouth is vis-à-vis Japan’s recovery.

Online Drug Companies Abusing Tsunami Disaster?

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Obama Causing Panic?


There’s always someone who tries to make money from a disaster.  And this time it’s following Japan’s tsunami, with the threat that Americans might be in danger of the nuclear fallout.  This is likely due to the panic President Barack Obama and his top medical official raised which has led to Americans buying drugs for protection.  Although Obama himself was given the assurance that “any harmful radiation from Japan will have dissipated before it reaches Hawaii or the US mainland.”  


So why the panic?  Because everyone likes to be prepared and according to US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, it is a good idea to buy radiation antidotes “as a precaution,” such as potassium iodine pills which is often able to protect the thyroid gland against cancer and radiation, reducing the amount of iodine the body can absorb.


Drug Suppliers Reap Benefits


So now drug companies are getting wise to how they can make some extra money. Although it seems a bit like black money.  Indeed one drug supplier in America sold 250,000 anti-radiation pills since last Friday, ordering more medicines to meet increasing demand.  Those who haven’t managed to buy them yet are spending extortionate amounts of money by purchasing them on line.  It seems everyone is suffering from Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, but drug companies are taking advantage of what happened.


Brits Try to Escape Too


Brits are now being warned to leave Tokyo and other areas in danger of radiation poisoning.  The country’s Foreign Office is even considering putting on extra planes to ensure all Brits trapped in the country are able to leave on free “rescue flights.”


Asia, America, the whole world, has been affected by Japan’s tsunami.  The question remains, what is one’s host country doing to help, first their own citizens, and second, those working on a recovery plan in Japan?  As the situation changes daily, only time will tell which governments and administrations will really pull their fingers out.  Let’s just hope that in the meantime, entrepreneurs work for the good of the people, rather than trying to exploit them.
 

Market Mess in Japan? Too Soon to Tell

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Not surprisingly following Japan’s crazy earthquake and tsunami, the financial markets are in a sate of panic.  Finance leaders in the country are trying to calm the situation as the nuclear power crisis continued to worsen matters.  With an estimation according to Bank Credit Suisse of a loss of $171 billion, it’s no great shock that there is this panic. But the question being asked is how much do economists really need to panic?  According to Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said that it’s just too soon to make this kind of assessment vis-à-vis the economy.

Major Japanese Companies Close

When a country’s primary companies start to close down, there’s not likely to be a surge of confidence in the markets. Unfortunately since Friday’s travesties, Panasonic, Sony and Toyota Motor Co. have closed their production facilities.  As well, nuclear power plants have shut temporarily due to the possibility of reactors overheating.

Japan’s Biggest Crisis Since WWII

The earthquake and tsunami are being hailed as the country’s largest crisis since World War II.  Stock markets plummeted over 14 percent as the Fukushima nuclear power plant encountered two explosions. PM Naoto Kan didn’t have much to add, other than give out a warning that radioactivity levels had become ‘significantly’ higher.  This could lead to a cost of anywhere between 3 and 5 percent of output, which is extremely significant for a country that rates as the world’s third biggest economy.

Clearly Japan is going to take a long time to recover from last week’s events.  The question just remains, how much this will cost and what it will mean for the future of the country’s markets?  Only time will tell.

 

Japan’s Economy: Where to Now, with Failed Fukushima Power Plant?

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Following Japan’s “monstrous earthquake” (the largest in the region for over 1,200 years; seventh largest ever in the world), the country’s Fukushima power plant failed which has led to “fears of serious accident.”  But experts have said that there isn’t a risk to human health from the low radiation.  The crisis in Japan is no doubt escalating following Friday’s earthquake and tsunami ; a situation which isn’t being helped by the failure of another emergency cooling system at a different reactor.


Energy Fuels Japan’s Economy


Energy has always been a major source of economic sustenance for all countries.  But for Japan it is even more the case.  This is for the following reasons:  less than  half a percent of Japan’s crude oil supply is accrued from domestic sources; the country has to import more than 80 percent of all its major energy needs;  and added to this fact is the issue that Japan is home to very few domestic sources of uranium, natural gas or coal.  In spite of this, the country has managed to develop its economy into the second largest in the world.  It has managed to decrease its dependability on crude oil since the oil crises’ in the 1970s by instead using a mixture of energy resources, one of these being nuclear power.


Which Way Forward Following Tsunami


So the question that will be asked when things start to calm down a little in Japan, is what is the way forward for Japan’s economy following the impact of the tsunami and the failed Fukushima Power Plant.  It would be doubly devastating if the incredible work that has been done on bringing Japan to the forefront of global economic success were to be undone because of this crisis. Only time will tell what direction the country – and especially the economy – will be taking.

China’s Tremors Further Quake Housing Prices

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Yingjiang County encountered severe damage following an earthquake that shattered Yunnan Province in southwest China.  This resulted in the collapse of many houses, as well as seven fatalities (and perhaps more).  According to the China Earthquake Networks Center the epicenter was monitored at 24.7 degrees north latitude, 97.9 degrees east longitude.

This can’t be good news when the country is attempting (successfully right now) to reduce property prices “with sales volume already falling following purchase restrictions by local governments.”  The attempt is to make housing more affordable for the Chinese.  But with this earthquake home prices are more likely to rise again, undoing all the good work of the local governments.

Wen Jiabao’s Work for Nothing?

It makes one feel bad for the Chinese premier.  Poor Wen Jiabao has been so resilient in his efforts to “’resolutely’ press ahead with controls on the property market…reiterating a pledge to keep housing affordable.”  As well, the government has pledge to take drastic actions on any irregularities that occur in the property market vis-à-vis tax and credit policies, forcing officials to become accountable for home price maintenance.

What the country should really do is to gradually increase interest rates but this should just be one piece in the puzzle of trying to control inflation.  Inflation is also impacted by escalating worldwide prices of raw materials and this has to be accounted for as well.