FLJP News and Press, Franklin FTSE Japan From 03/16/24

2024-03-16 06:25:00 ET Summary S&P Global Market Intelligence's global growth forecast for 2024 has again been revised upward in March. Our forecast of the initial cut in policy rates by the US Federal Reserve has been pushed back to June. Even with the tweaks to our monet...

2024-03-16 05:58:43 ET Summary Rising consumer prices will invariably upset the public, business community, politicians, and central bankers. Asset inflation is universally relished, viewed generally as validation of sound underlying fundamentals. Japan's deep structural issue...

2024-03-12 14:30:00 ET Summary The US market's Shiller P/E of 34 as of March 1st is in the top 1% of history. Total profits are at near-record levels as well. If margins and multiples are both at record levels at the same time, it really is double counting and double jeopardy. For...

2024-03-11 17:50:00 ET Summary Japan's fourth quarter GDP was revised up to avoid a technical recession, and yet it still missed market expectations. We believe sluggish private consumption should remain a concern for the BoJ in order to change its policy direction. We therefo...

2024-03-07 12:30:00 ET Summary On March 6, the Bank of Canada announced it would hold its key interest rate at 5%, the highest since 2007. Roughly 20% of Canadian mortgages are up for renewal in 2024 and more than that in 2025. As consumers struggle to make ends meet, financia...

2024-03-06 06:30:00 ET Summary China's National People's Congress convened this week and set a growth target of 5%. There are rumors that the US Federal Reserve’s March dot plot will show expectations for an average of only two rate cuts in 2024. Bank of Japan (BOJ) off...

2024-02-23 09:51:00 ET Summary Japan's private sector activity broadly stagnated in February according to flash PMI data, attributed to a combination of slowing services activity growth and an acceleration in manufacturing output contraction. A sharper decline in goods new orders,...

2024-02-20 20:20:00 ET Summary The biggest economic news last week was that the Labor Department reported on Tuesday that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.3% in January and 3.1% in the past 12 months. Overall, the annual pace of the CPI continues to decelerate, but not at the...

2024-02-17 05:13:05 ET Summary January's CPI data confirm that inflation is anything but dead and buried. It's worth noting that despite January's notable 0.8% rise, Import Prices were still down 1.3% YOY. Medical Care Services gained 0.7%, with Health Insurance prices jumping...

2024-02-17 02:10:00 ET Summary Our annual global real GDP forecast for 2024 has been revised up from 2.3% to 2.5%. Global PMI data continues to point to a gradual improvement in economic conditions. Core inflation rates have continued to fall but the outlook is more unce...