Japan Financial News

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Kevin Buckland

Zodia Custody, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered, has officially launched its digital asset custody services for financial institutions in Singapore. 

One Piece fans eagerly await the climactic showdown between Kaido and Luffy, the anticipation for the conclusion of this epic battle is at an all-time high. However, before the victor is revealed, it's expected that some loose ends will be addressed. It's important to note that there is currently no available spoiler information for One Piece episode 1076 as of the time of writing this article. Despite the uncertainty, many fans strongly believe that the arc's conclusion is just around the corner.

Asian shares are mostly lower despite a Big Tech rally on Wall Street, as investors look ahead to data on U.S. consumer prices set for later in the week

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks were flat on Tuesday as markets remained broadly risk-off ahead of key U.S. inflation data this week, while hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan also saw markets consider an end to negative interest rates in Asia’s second-largest economy. 

Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that is likely to focus on Russia's desire to buy ammunition to refill reserves drained by its war in Ukraine. The meeting will also underscore deepening cooperation as the two isolated leaders are locked in separate confrontations with the U.S. In return for providing ammunition, North Korea will likely want shipments of food and energy and transfers of sophisticated weapons technologies. A meeting with Putin would be Kim's first with a foreign leader since North Korea closed its borders in January 2020. They met for the first time in April 2019, two months after Kim's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with then-U.S.

Bank of Japan policymakers are increasingly talking up the need to shift away from the massive monetary stimulus of the past decade, even as growing global risks heighten concerns about a fragile economic recovery. A series of hawkish comments by BOJ speakers in recent weeks suggest the bank is preparing markets for an eventual policy change amid growing price pressures in deflation-prone Japan, analysts say. Even dovish members of the BOJ board have expressed an openness to talk about a long-awaited exit from the extremely accommodative policy of former governor Haruhiko Kuroda, acknowledging changes in conditions may warrant a tweak in monetary settings. Governor Kazuo Ueda told a newspaper interview on Saturday the BOJ could get enough data by year-end to judge whether conditions are in place to raise short-term interest rates. Ueda's remarks, which pushed up the yen and bond yields on Monday, followed those of BOJ board member Naoki Tamura last month that suggested the bank could safely hike short-term rates without hurting the economy. «Even if the BOJ were to end negative rates, it won't be scaling back monetary easing as long as it can keep interest rates low,» said Tamura, a former commercial bank executive. The commentary contrasts in tone to the pro-growth posture adopted under Kuroda, an advocate of aggressive monetary easing to shock Japan out of its deflationary mindset. It also suggests the BOJ under Ueda will be more inclined to prioritise unwinding the Kuroda-era policy framework, which has been blamed for distorting bond markets and crushing bank margin. «The BOJ will proclaim that Japan has achieved 2% inflation and end negative rates in April,» said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at Daiwa

India is the top destination for Chinese companies, but it falls to 11th place in the overall rank as the most attractive destination when other factors are considered. In an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report published this month, which indexes 80 investment destinations based on their appeal to Chinese investors, Singapore emerged the number one most attractive destination for Chinese companies to invest in. The China Going Global Investment Index uses a robust and quantitative approach to rank countries based on their attractiveness for Chinese outward direct investment (ODI). It is aimed at assisting Chinese firms narrow down the list of potential investment destinations, and also focus the minds of recipient governments on the issues that matter for Chinese investors. A total of 200 indicators were used to create the 2023 edition of the index.

Nifty up more than 70 points from Monday's close on Nifty Futures and tracking positive global cues. Asian stock markets slid sideways, while the US stock market indices ended higher overnight. On Monday, Nifty and Sensex ended in the green for the sixth day in a row, each one gaining nearly 3%.

By Tom Westbrook

yen steadied near a one-week high on Tuesday as comments from Japan's top central banker on a possible end to its negative interest rate policy reverberated through markets, while the dollar regained some lost ground. Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda told a newspaper interview over the weekend the bank could get enough data by year-end to determine whether it can end negative rates, remarks that on Monday saw the yen clock its largest daily gain against the dollar in two months. The Japanese currency was last marginally lower at 146.61 per dollar, after scaling a one-week top of 145.91 in the previous session. «Essentially, Governor Ueda laid out a conditional path and timeframe for the first-rate hike and a move away from its negative interest rate policy, should the data permit,» said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. «One can assume that the BOJ are also one step closer to moving away from yield curve control (YCC), and logically one could argue that the BOJ would like to be able to lift rates and remove YCC concurrently.» The yen has come under immense pressure against the dollar as a result of growing interest rate differentials with the United States, since the Federal Reserve began its aggressive rate-hike cycle last year while the BOJ remains a dovish outlier. Elsewhere, the U.S.

traders waiting on U.S. inflation data to signal that interest rates may have peaked. The yen notched its best day against the dollar in two months overnight, after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said policymakers might have enough economic information by year's end to determine that short-term rates will need to rise. The yuan had its best day in six months after authorities vowed to correct one-way moves and Reuters reported the central bank had stepped up scrutiny of dollar buying. Both, however, remain near their weakest levels of the year and with the yuan at 7.3022 per dollar in offshore trade and the yen last a little off Monday highs at 146.68 per dollar. Japanese government bonds remained under pressure on Tuesday, with 10-year JGB yields up 1 basis point to a fresh high of 0.71%. «The result of Ueda's comments was an intense move higher in Japanese swaps and government bond yields,» said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne. "(It) is certainly constructive for yen longs.

Retail traders getting their first bite at Arm Holdings' highly anticipated public offering when the British chip designer begins trading this week should beware: individual investors often get burned when they jump on hot listings. Arm's goal of raising around $5 billion in New York in what might be the biggest IPO of 2023 follows other major listings in recent years whose returns have mostly disappointed. Since Arm, owned by Japan's SoftBank Group's, is not well-known among consumers, it is focusing its IPO marketing efforts on institutional investors, people familiar with the deal said.

While information today can be easily transferred over the internet via email or text, global payments on the other hand, have remained in a “fax era," according to the former president of PayPal. 

Zodia Custody, a company that helps large institutions store their crypto, launched in Singapore on Tuesday in a bid to tap into the country's rapidly growing digital asset market.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for October delivery fell 22 cents to $87.29 a barrel Monday

By Jamie McGeever

By Stephen Culp

TOKYO—Japan’s stock market has ripped higher this year. Money managers think that this time, the gains might actually last. Corporate policy changes pushed by the country’s stock exchange, an endorsement from Warren Buffett and relatively low valuations have helped Japanese stocks become one of the best-performing markets in the world this year.

“International" car shows have a more national flavor these days, but that doesn’t mean the format is dying. The North American International Auto Show launches this week in Detroit, hot on the heels of IAA Mobility in Germany last week. These were traditionally among the “big five" global car shows alongside those in Paris, Geneva and Tokyo, before the pandemic broke a tradition already under strain.

JOHANNESBURG—Walmart’s investment in Africa tanked. It is responding by doubling down. More than a decade ago, Walmart spent $2.4 billion to buy a controlling stake in South African retailer Massmart, which also had operations in a dozen other sub-Saharan countries.