Japan

Japan's wholesale inflation accelerated in October as renewed yen falls pushed up import costs for some goods, data showed on Wednesday, complicating the central bank's decision on how soon to raise interest rates, the Japan Times reported. The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price that companies charge each other for goods and services, rose 3.4% in October from a year earlier, Bank of Japan data showed, above market forecasts for a 3.0% gain. It followed a 3.1% increase in September.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government is planning ¥30,000 ($192) cash handouts to help low-income households cope with higher prices as it fleshes out the details of an upcoming economic package, according to the latest draft of the plans seen by Bloomberg. In addition to the ¥30,000 handouts, the government plans to give low-income households an extra ¥20,000 per child, according to the updated proposals seen Thursday. The government also plans to reinstate subsidies for electricity and gas bills from January through March.

Japan's service-sector sentiment worsened and bankruptcy cases rose in October, data showed on Monday, casting doubt on the central bank's view the country was on track to meet its 2% inflation target driven by robust domestic demand, Reuters reported. The findings align with concerns voiced by some Bank of Japan (BOJ) board members at last month's policy meeting that intensifying labour shortages could constrain growth, rather than lead to higher wages.

Japan’s finance minister has issued a fresh warning to the currency market in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory, which sent the dollar sharply higher against the yen, the Wall Street Journal reported. “We are watching developments in the currency market, including speculative moves, with an extremely high sense of urgency,” Katsunobu Kato said at a news conference on Friday.

The Bank of Japan’s governor struck a less cautious tone about the outlook as the central bank delivered a widely expected rate hold and reaffirmed that it’s on track for stable inflation and economic growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Japanese central bank maintained its target for the overnight call rate at 0.25%, the level reached after the last hike in July. Thursday’s decision came as no surprise to most BOJ watchers as Gov. Kazuo Ueda had flagged concerns about the uncertain global economic outlook and said that the bank needed to spend time analyzing risk factors.

Japan’s labor market tightened in September, indicating sustained pressure on companies to raise wages ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting this week, Bloomberg News reported. The job-to-applicant ratio edged up to 1.24 from 1.23 in August, meaning that there were 124 jobs offered for every 100 applicants, the labor ministry reported Tuesday. Economists had forecast no change from 1.23. A separate report from the ministry of internal affairs showed that the jobless rate decreased to 2.4% in September, falling to the lowest since January.

Funai Electric, a Japanese maker of audio and video equipment, received court approval for its bankruptcy plan on Thursday, credit research firm Teikoku Databank said, the Japan Times reported. Funai Electric, based in Daito, Osaka Prefecture, had some ¥46.1 billion ($303.6 million) in liabilities, Teikoku Databank said. Founded in 1961, the company had boasted a significant presence in Japan and abroad as an original equipment manufacturer.

Funai Electric, a Japanese midsize electronics manufacturer and Walmart supplier, has received court approval to start bankruptcy proceedings, it was revealed on Thursday, having fallen victim to intensifying competition with Chinese and South Korean manufacturers, Nikkei Asia reported. A quasi-bankruptcy petition was filed for Funai at Tokyo District Court. A normal bankruptcy petition is filed by the company itself, but when circumstances make that impossible, a company director or other party can file for quasi-bankruptcy in its place.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday it was "still taking time" to sustainably achieve its 2% inflation target, signaling that the central bank will tread carefully in pushing up the country's still near-zero interest rates, Reuters reported. But he also warned of the cost of moving too slowly in raising rates, which could give speculators an excuse to trigger an unwelcome yen slide that pushes up import costs. "When there's huge uncertainty, you usually want to proceed cautiously and gradually," Ueda said at a panel at the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday.