Japan GDP surges, Europe's shines, U.S. simmers - by Brian Love
Japan led the large industrialized economies with 1.2 percent growth in the final quarter of 2006 and Europe was hot on its heels while the U.S. economy seemingly settled back into a less inflationary stride. After reassuring words from U.S. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke, Tokyo published a report showing a major rebound that lifted the yen, sent Japanese shares to new highs and set markets alight with talk of an imminent interest rate rise.
For Europe, the yen rise, though nothing stunning, offered the prospect of relief for exporters struggling for years with Japanese firms helped by a weak currency -- an issue raised by the Europeans at talks among the G7 powers last weekend.
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