Money Talks

Japanification - an economic term describing the stagnation Japan's economy faced for three decades after the early 1990s. The period is known as the lost decades. The Japanese economic miracle throughout the 20th century had come to an end and Japan was stuck on a deflationary spiral. Prices kept going down despite the government's aggressive policies to spike demand. Now, Japan faces its next challenge - a declining GDP and the highest inflation it has ever seen in over 4 decades. Emre Boz has more on what the government is doing to tackle the problem.

#JapanInflation #Japanwages #BankofJapan

How safe is your money in the bank? The value of currencies can rise and fall, but the presence of your cash in your account should not be a question. In the US, several bank failures occurred after the institutions failed to hold bonds worth enough money to cover what depositors had. The US government has acted rapidly to ease concerns, but will it be enough? Wilson Dizard reports.

#CreditSuisse #SVB #SignatureBank

Markets are back with a vengeance as eleven major US banks poured $30 billion in deposits to save First Republic Bank, including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. European stocks closed higher yesterday, with banking stocks up 1.24%. Credit Suisse's embattled stocks finished the session up 19% after the Swiss National Bank said it would provide a liquidity backstop to the bank. Asia stocks are also rising across the board as Wall Street moved to shore up the banking system in a sign of confidence in the sector.

As the Silicon Valley Bank meltdown starts to cool, across the Atlantic major European banks are starting to see alarms flashing red. Credit Suisse's stock price dropped 30 percent on Wednesday before surging up 40 percent on news of its salvation by the Swiss National Bank. The bank says that it has enough money, but a Bloomberg interview with the head of the Saudi National Bank at an investor conference on Wednesday spooked markets. SNB is one of Credit Suisse's biggest shareholders, and Chairman Ammar Al Khudairy said it could not buy more than 9.9 percent of the Swiss firm due to regulatory issues. That sparked a sell-off, and Credit Suisse took a 53 billion dollar loan from Swiss National Bank to try to calm investors' nerves. Credit Suisse has seen outflows of cash in recent months following sanctions-busting scandals and on Tuesday its own annual review detailed quote "material weaknesses" in its financial reporting practices.

China lifted strict COVID-19 rules at the end of 2022, but its first months of reopening are off to a disappointing start. Real estate investments fell and retail sales remained sluggish. Big-ticket items and home appliances saw the largest declines in sales, while trade in online physical goods rose the most. Unemployment in cities also ticked up to 5.6 percent in February, and the unemployment rate for young people remains persistently high, standing at over 18 percent. A deeply indebted housing sector and graying demographics also weigh on long-term prospects for China's economic growth. But Asian stocks are up today, lifted by optimism that US regulators have contained contagion risk from Silicon Valley Bank's collapse last week.

Despite reassurance from the US government, officials, and central bankers, yesterday saw a market meltdown, with US regional banking stocks posting their steepest losses in three years. That happened in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse on Friday. European stocks also plunged, with the Italian FTSE Mib tumbling more than 4%. Banking stocks in the EU posted their worst day in a year. There are steep losses in Asian stock markets as well, especially in Tokyo. The dollar posted its worst one-day performance since January, while the Yen - a safe haven - strengthened. Oil prices are also falling today amid rate hikes concerns, and that's despite financial institutions such as Nomura now expecting the Fed to cut rates at the March meeting,

The United States used to be the home of all things social media, but it's been challenged in recent years by Tik Tok, a video-sharing app based in China that has been one of the fastest-growing in history. The US government has become concerned about possible national security concerns over the app, and its effect on US consumers' privacy. TikTok denies that it has any relationship with the Chinese government, but that's not enough to satisfy lawmakers. Wilson Dizard has this report on what outlawing the service could mean.

March eighth marks International Women's Day. It celebrates the achievements of women in all fields and raises awareness of women's and gender issues. But the day also highlights the disparity between men and women in the workforce. This contributes to the stymieing of women and costs the global economy trillions of dollars.

It's been over a month since the February 6th twin earthquakes decimated the southeast of Turkiye. Turkish authorities now focus on rehabilitation and rebuilding in the affected provinces. For a deeper analysis of this Murat Ferman joined us from Istanbul. He is an economist and professor at Beykent University.

All eyes were on Capitol Hill as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was giving a two-day semi-annual monetary policy testimony before Congress. His remarks about the economy, inflation, and the Fed's actions were met with questions from Senate Banking Committee members. These were related to jobs and unemployment, household debt, the debt ceiling, geopolitical uncertainty, climate crisis, and cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, the US has just reported its widely-anticipated monthly jobs report which could further influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.