Japanese Economy

The Japanese economy is the third largest in the world, following the United Sates and China. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Japanese economy reached a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $34,739, which was the 25th highest in 2011. For decades, the Japanese economy has been mired in a deflationary spiral, showing weak and anemic economic performance. The Japanese economy suffered from a bust in the late 1980s. Since then, it has failed to restructure itself and build a new foundation for growth.

What McDonalds Has to Say About the Global Economy

By George Leong for Investment Contrarians | Apr 30, 2013

McDonalds Has to Say About the Global Economy You can tell a lot about the pulse of the economy by examining the retail sales and restaurant sector. When people are working and making money, they tend to be more confident and want to spend, especially non-discretionary spending.

In the fast-food restaurant sector, the “Best of Breed” is McDonalds Corporation (NYSE/MCD).

The company has numerous rivals and the sector is extremely competitive, but there is no real and valid threat on the horizon for McDonalds that could affect it.

Characterized by its familiar “golden arches,” which are sometimes visible from miles away, the company is a true American icon, just like General Motors Company (NYSE/GM).

Yet McDonalds is also a decent indicator on how the United States and global economy are faring.

The current level and valuation of stocks suggest everything is going well and on target with the global economy.

But, sorry to break it to you: the path to sustained economic renewal is still filled with potholes.

As I’ve previously written in these pages, the global economy and performance of the stock markets have been built by the easy money injected into the global monetary system by the world’s central banks, including our friends at the Federal Reserve.

So when I begin to see slowing at some of the key multinational companies, I wonder about the condition of the global economy.

McDonalds is a decent barometer on the global economy and, based on what I’m seeing, I sense there’s some stalling in the global economy.

In the first-quarter earnings season, McDonalds reported a marginal one-percent rise in its consolidated revenues due to the slowing in Europe and … Read More

How You Can Profit from the Currency Wars

By Sasha Cekerevac for Investment Contrarians | Jan 18, 2013

Profit from the Currency Wars Recently, we have heard a lot about currency wars being waged by various nations around the world. To those who are unfamiliar, “currency war” is a term that refers to countries that are actively looking to devalue their currency to help stimulate export growth and their domestic economy.

Investing in stocks in this type of environment can be tricky, as one needs to add additional variables to the analysis. Having a strong market sector, solid long-term fundamentals of the individual stock, and a favorable currency direction can help when considering investing in stocks.

While many look to the Federal Reserve as being the most active in trying to devalue the U.S. dollar, I would point to Japan. Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Abe has been vocal about demanding massive and unprecedented monetary stimulus by the Bank of Japan to help stimulate the Japanese economy.

Large institutions interested in investing in stocks certainly have jumped on the export-oriented market sector, as Japanese stocks are up approximately 24% since mid-November, when elections were announced, and the yen is down in value by approximately 10%.

However, this is not a short-term phenomenon. I believe the yen will continue to remain weak for a long time, and this will benefit the Japanese export market sector. Those interested in investing in stocks could look to equities in Japan that will benefit from the yen’s devaluation.

One market sector that also has strong fundamentals in the U.S. is vehicle sales. The U.S. had extremely strong car sales in 2012, and I expect 2013 to be just as strong. When combined with a further lowering of the … Read More

Why You Shouldn’t Believe Japan’s New Stimulus Will Work

By George Leong for Investment Contrarians | Jan 15, 2013

Japan’s New Stimulus Will Work Japan, under newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will aggressively try to get the country’s economy back on track after more than two decades of economic stalling, but it will not be easy. Armed with a new stimulus spending of $116 billion, the hope is that the stimulus spending will drive consumer spending and help revitalize an economy that has been in a comatose state. (Source: “Japanese government approves $116bn stimulus package,” BBC News, January 11, 2013.)

Abe is looking to add significant stimulus, including a whopping $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years to try to drive Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to spur its comatose economy. (Michael Schuman, “Will Japan’s New Prime Minister Start a Debt Crisis?,” Time, December 17, 2012, last accessed January 14, 2013.) But it will not be easy, as the past decades have shown.

Japan entered a technical recession in the third quarter of 2012, with its GDP growth contracting 0.9% and continuing to be impacted by decades of stagnant growth. In fact, from 1980 to 2010, Japan’s average GDP growth was a minuscule 0.6%.

The new stimulus sounds great, but there’s a problem, as the country’s debt levels represent some of the highest in the world and make the U.S. situation seem like a cakewalk.

Japan’s debt as a percentage of its GDP was a humongous 208% in 2011—the worst in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund. Greece, with its financial crisis, is comparatively better at 161%, and the U.S., with its crippling debt levels, is relatively strong at 103% in 2011. (Source: “List of Countries by Public Debt,” Wikipedia … Read More

The Next Financial Ticking Time Bomb

By Sasha Cekerevac for Investment Contrarians | Jan 9, 2013

While many eyes are focusing on Europe and America when it comes to the next financial crisis, one sector that people aren’t focusing on is the bond market in Japan. Many investors might not realize it, but Japan might be the next financial ticking time bomb.

How does a financial crisis in the bond market affect the average person? On a basic level, the bond market prices move based on supply and demand, which affect interest rates. With greater demand in the bond market, this pushes up prices and lowers interest rates. A lower interest rate obviously helps prevent a financial crisis from occurring, as it takes less money to pay off the debt—much like a credit card interest rate being reduced.

Conversely, if investors are worried about their funds in the bond market, this will cause selling or a reduction in purchases, a decline in prices, and a rise in interest rates. For countries that have a large amount of debt, higher interest rates will cause a financial crisis, as the funds available to maintain that debt are limited and could run out.

Much like a person who racks up very high credit card debt, at some point the income from the person’s job is not enough to make the minimum payment, let alone pay down the principal. The end result is a financial crisis.

Japan has a massive debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) level of 211%, much higher than America’s or even Greece’s debt burden. (Source: Trading Economics, last accessed January 7, 2013.)

Even though Japan’s 10-year bond interest rate is only 0.79%, a full 25.0% of government revenue … Read More

Why Japan May Be Headed for a Financial Abyss

By George Leong for Investment Contrarians | Dec 18, 2012

Why Japan May Be Headed for a Financial Abyss Japan just elected in Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party as Prime Minister, and based on what we are hearing, Abe is looking to spend significant stimulus, including a whopping $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years to try to boost the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth and drive Japan out of its comatose economy. (Michael Schuman, “Will Japan’s New Prime Minister Start a Debt Crisis?,” Time, December 17, 2012.) While this all sounds great, there’s a problem. Japan’s debt levels are some of the highest in the world and make the U.S. situation seem like a cakewalk.

Japan’s debt as a percentage of its GDP was a humongous 208.2% in 2011, the worst in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Greece, with its financial crisis, was comparatively better at 160.8%, and the U.S., with its crippling debt levels, was relatively strong at 102.9% in 2011. (Source: “Country Comparison: Public Debt,” CIA World Factbook, last accessed December 17, 2012.)

The problem is that the newly elected Liberal Democratic Party appears to want to spend the country into a financial abyss in order to pump up the country’s GDP growth.

Japan continues to be in an economic abyss, void of any GDP growth.

Along with its minimal growth, the country is mired in a multi-decade-long comatose state that requires major resuscitation. Despite producing some of the top brands in the world in electronics and cars, along with an efficient workforce and technological innovation, Japan’s GDP growth contracted 0.9% in the third quarter, or 3.5% on an annualized basis; and it appears set for another recession, given … Read More