Japan Yen Economy

Japan Economy Goes From Best to Worst on Export Slump, Yen Gain Bloomberg — Japan’s economy, only months ago predicted to be the best performing among the world’s most advanced nations, has become the worst. Gross domestic product shrank an annualized 12.7 percent last quarter, the Cabinet Office said yesterday. The contraction was the most severe since the 1974 oil crisis and twice as bad as those in Europe or the U.S click to read complete article

Japan's Leaders Powerless as Economy Plunges BusinessWeek A slurring, muddled performance by Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa at the Group of Seven meeting in Rome over the weekend is attracting plenty of attention in Japan. At a news conference on Feb. 14, the minister, an ally of Prime Minister Taro Aso, appeared to be drunk: He misunderstood questions, his speech was unclear, and at one point he even appeared to almost drift off to sleep. A day later, back in Tokyo, Nakagawa explained that he had been suffering from a cold and reacted badly to medicine. "I wouldn't drink before a G7 meeting," he told reporters outside his home, sniffling. click to read complete article

Dollar, yen rise on heightened global turmoil Wall Street Journal - The U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen pushed higher Monday, after worries about global economic turmoil were reinforced by the weekend Group of Seven meeting and a steep fourth-quarter contraction in Japan's gross domestic product. The Japanese economy shrank by a larger-than-expected 3.3% in the final three months of 2008 compared to the previous quarter, according to government data released Monday. Compared to the final quarter of 2007, GDP fell 12.7% -- the largest contraction since 1974. click to read complete article