Japan’s Economy Remains at Risk of Technical Recession, Data Shows

The Japanese economy shrank less than initially estimated in the first quarter but remains at risk of technical recession, which could delay the Bank of Japan’s timeline for raising interest rates, the Wall Street Journal reported. Real gross domestic product contracted 0.2% on an annualized basis in the January-March period, government data showed Monday. That compares with the 0.7% decline in the preliminary estimate. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, Japan’s GDP was nearly flat.
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Taiwan Exports Growth Nears 15-Year High Amid Tariff Uncertainty

Taiwan’s exports resilience was on full display in May, growing at the fastest pace in nearly 15 years on likely frontloading as tariff uncertainty continues, the Wall Street Journal reported. Shipments of goods rose 38.6% last month from a year earlier, beating market expectations thanks in part to a surge in exports to the U.S., official figures showed Monday. That was just above the peaks seen during the post-Covid reopening boom in 2021, and the strongest print since July 2010, according to data from LSEG.
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Japan Curry Shops See Record Bankruptcies as Rice Prices Soar

A record number of curry shops in Japan went out of business in the past year, as purveyors of one of the country’s most beloved dishes took a hit from soaring rice prices, Bloomberg News reported. Thirteen curry shops with more than ¥10 million ($70,000) in debt filed for bankruptcy in the year ended March — a record high for a second consecutive year, according to a report from Tokyo-based research firm Teikoku Databank. The total number of bankruptcies is likely to be much higher when considering smaller mom-and-pop shops, the firm said.
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China Central Bank Pumps Liquidity Into Markets Amid Cash-Crunch Concerns

China’s central bank injected around $139 billion of medium-term liquidity into markets on Friday, a move likely aimed at cushioning against an emerging cash crunch as trade tensions simmer, the Wall Street Journal reported. The People’s Bank of China announced the move a day earlier in an unusually timed disclosure, saying that it will conduct 1 trillion yuan of outright reverse repurchase agreements with a three-month tenor, equivalent to $139.35 billion.
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India Central Bank Delivers Larger-Than-Expected Rate Cut to Support Growth

India’s central bank surprised markets with a jumbo rate cut, seizing on cooling inflation to frontload monetary easing and bolster economic growth amid heightened global uncertainty, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee voted Friday to lower the benchmark repo rate to 5.50% from 6.00%. The 50-basis-point cut is the central bank’s largest since March 2020, at the height of the pandemic. India’s growth-inflation dynamics call for frontloading rate cuts to support growth, RBI Gov.
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China EVs: BYD-Triggered Price War Raises Fears of Evergrande-Like Liquidity Crisis

China’s electric vehicle (EV) makers have had a lot to contend with over the past week: slumping shares for market leader BYD, cooling sales and margins and a warning from authorities in Beijing amid a punishing price war, the South China Morning Post reported. BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares lost as much as 17 per cent of their market value, or HK$122.3 billion (US$15.6 billion), on Monday after falling to HK$378.20 from an all-time high of HK$477.80 on May 23. The company’s shares recovered 4 per cent on Tuesday.
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