Jiawen Cui 
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) maintained the policy rates at its September meeting, following a tweak in its yield curve control policy in July. Although this decision was widely expected, the markets are starting to speculate policy changes within the coming quarters, especially after the BoJ governor’s recent interview.
China’s weak economic activity amid a housing correction has led many investors to draw comparisons with Japan’s balance sheet recession of the 1990s. Despite the different pathways, there are several similarities between China now and Japan then that may augur a similar future of a period of prolonged stagnation.
As food tends to be purchased often and account for a large part in the consumption basket – 22% in CPI, excluding restaurants – price increases in food give considerable impact on households’ purchasing power.
The impact of past policy tightening, the reduced availability of credit, and high (though moderating) inflation are creating a subdued near-term environment for global industry.
The past few months have been especially challenging for China, but the problems that are apparently not new. Much of China’s current slowdown is structural in nature, but it is happening too quickly for authorities’ comfort.
Financial pressures from surging material costs and supply chain disruption are easing in the UK, but we remain downbeat on the viability of UK commercial real estate development.
The latest evidence suggests that the economic ‘decoupling’ of China from the west is starting to gather pace. Decoupling is yet to become globally widespread on the trade side but is
increasingly evident in relations with the US. Foreign direct investment (FDI) trends and surveys
of China-based Western firms suggest decoupling is likely to be increasingly visible over the
coming years.
This report explores the European Union’s (EU) approach to excise taxes on cigarettes, and the experience of Member States that have opted for different excise tax structures.
