Economy In Japan; New Optimism

[TuskCracker]

the famous and all knowing NewYorkTimes.

New Optimism About the Japanese Economy After a Bleak Decade
By MARTIN FACKLER
Published: December 7, 2005

TOKYO, Dec. 6 - College graduates face the best job market in a decade, and wages are rising again. The lead stock market index has doubled in value in two years. Corporate profits are the highest in recent memory. And for the first time since 1990, land prices in Tokyo are up.

--->

Now, the merged company, JFE Holdings, is one of the most profitable steel makers in the world, forecasting a $2.6 billion net profit this fiscal year.

Its sprawling Keihin Works, on a man-made island in Kawasaki, an industrial city next to Tokyo, has a highly productive new $200 million furnace that makes up to 12,500 tons of steel a day. The furnace, a 12-story-tall caldron that turns black iron ore into orange molten steel, achieves its productivity with a novel method of speeding combustion: adding natural gas, coal dust and even scraps of plastic to the traditional fuel, coke.

- - ->

There is also increased enthusiasm for Japan among American and other overseas investors. In mid-November, Goldman Sachs held a hedge fund conference in Tokyo; 700 fund managers attended, mostly from the United States and Europe. That was seven times the turnout at the first such conference six years ago, participants said.

[Mike Cash]

They must not have been watching the Japanese stock based mutual funds the last few days....

[TuskCracker]

.

Its a long term trend, week to week up-and-downs are always their !

[cyberryo]

Yeap, figures are just figures. I did talk to my Japanese business associates in Suwa about it. Their only comments were that in the manufacturing sector, mostly companies involved in automotive industries and heavy industries, and maybe semiconductors were doing well. Most of the electronics manufacturing companies in printers, cameras, etc. are relatively not having so good profitability or sales, and that impact the components and assemblers suppliers.

China has just overtaken Italy to rank 6th place in the world in terms of GDP for 2004 due to revised figures recently. Economists are expecting China to move further up to 4th place in 2005, possibly overtaking France and Britain. Looks like it is still going well for the automotive and heavy industries supplying to China`s hungry consumers and industries.

Ken