Japan's GPIF logs first quarterly investment loss in two years
channelnewsasia.com -- Jul 01
Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) reported on Friday an investment loss of $16 billion in January-March, the first quarterly negative return in two years, as higher U.S. interest rates and the war in Ukraine rattled financial markets.
The world's largest pension fund's 1.1 per cent negative return on its overall assets during the three months compares with a 2.81 per cent gain in the previous quarter, it said in a statement.
The fund wrote down the value of its Russia-related assets to zero due to sanctions and difficulties in completing transactions. As of March last year, it held Russian assets worth about 220 billion yen ($1.6 billion), representing 0.1 per cent of the total assets.
During the quarter, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 5 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 3 per cent. The GPIF's foreign stock portfolio posted a loss of 0.55 per cent, while its Japanese stock portfolio had a loss of 1.22 per cent.
Its foreign and Japanese bond portfolios posted losses of 1.22 per cent and 1.54 per cent respectively. ...continue reading
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Reuters - Apr 01
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Bloomberg - Mar 24
Japan’s inflation slowed for the first time in more than a year, as government energy subsidies masked the stronger underlying trend ahead of the Bank of Japan’s first leadership change in a decade.
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Reuters - Mar 23
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Suntory has announced that it will raise the prices of 11 domestically produced whisky brands, including Kakubin, starting July 1.
Hokusai's 'Great Wave' print sells for record $2.8m in New York
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One of the most famous of Japan's ukiyo-e woodblock prints has sold for $2.76 million at the Christie's auction house in New York, a record for a print by Katsushika Hokusai.
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Toyota Motor plans to discontinue sales of the Camry sedan in the Japanese market, focusing on countries where the automaker's 43-year-old flagship model remains popular.
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BOJ's paper loss on bond holdings spikes tenfold
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Bloomberg - Mar 17
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Hot spring baths block Japan's geothermal potential
AFP - Mar 16
The hot springs at Tsuchiyu Onsen are beloved by bathers but also power a small geothermal plant, making use of an abundant yet barely tapped green energy source in Japan.
