From the SMH, the good news keeps rolling for Japan:
Japanese business confidence improved in the three months to December to its highest level in six years, a closely watched central bank survey showed, boding well for the government’s stimulus policies aimed at conquering years of deflation.
The headline index for big manufacturers’ sentiment improved by 4 points from September to plus 16, the Bank of Japan’s “Tankan” quarterly survey shows, exceeding the median market forecast of plus 15.
The survey also showed that large companies plan to increase capital spending by 4.6 per cent in the financial year to March 2014, less than a 5.1 per cent rise projected in the survey in September. The market median forecast was for a 5.5 per cent increase.
‘‘Japanese companies are becoming happier as they feel the benefits of Abenomics through profits,’’ Hiroshi Miyazaki, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities said before today’s data. ‘‘Not everything is rosy, with risks from the sales tax.’’
Good news for Japan but the recovery is still mostly in its export sector so it’s not really contributing any net new demand to the global economy so much as it is winning the currency wars.
