growth

Japanese “new economy” fails … because of rain!

Albert Zenkoff

Sometimes it is just hard to believe news. Reuters reports that the Japanese government seriously blames the weather for the failing economy. To this, the only response I have is “you must be joking”. But, no, they are serious. The Economics Minister Akira Amari announced that “heavy rain has probably pushed the GDP down by 1.6 percentage points on an annualised basis in July-September“.

What kind of economy is it that can lose 1.6% because of rain? Mind you, the rain happens every year in Japan, it’s sub-tropical. Anyway, this only looks like a feeble “it’s not my fault” outcry from a naughty child. Instead of accepting the fact that the “abenomics” is destroying the economy and causing the country to fail, it is, of course, much easier to blame the weather for the absence of the much touted economic growth due to the so-called “stimulation”.

The article notes that “some economists worry that declines in real wages are the bigger factor behind weak consumption” and I am glad to see that at least some see the situation for what it is. Next, we will see failing consumer confidence and after that – the government will …
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The story of economic sanctions as told by PMI

Albert Zenkoff

While the world is watching the civil war in Ukraine the European economics is sliding into oblivion. The Manufacturing PMI tells a story that should scare the hell out of the politicians of EU – so bad the business dynamics in manufacturing looks.

In August, out of 26 countries, only 9 reported improvement in the index, 15 recorded a slowdown in the two countries has not changed. In fairness it should be noted that 21 countries report PMI is still above the level of 50 points, and below only 5. But it is not so important, because the dynamics is still downward. There are those who are moving in the right direction: in Greece and Turkey business activity index in August was able to finally overcome the mark of 50 points. The rest of Europe presents a serious reason for concern, whether peripheral or central: everywhere there are signs of a serious recession.

United States, on the other hand, sports the best activity indicator in the world. PMI index has reached its highest level since April 2010 and reached 57.9 points. In case of U.S., the export orders component grew at the fastest pace in three years, and the employment …
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