STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 8 September 2014

[Demeter]

21. Japan Economy Contracts More Than Initial Estimate on Tax

ABENOMICS IS REVEALED AS A CON GAME...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-07/japan-s-economy-contracts-more-than-initial-estimate-after-tax.html

Japan’s economy contracted the most in more than five years, highlighting the challenge for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in steering the nation through the aftermath of a sales-tax increase.

Gross domestic product shrank an annualized 7.1 percent in the three months through June, the most since the first quarter of 2009, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. The median forecast of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 7 percent drop.

The blow from the sales-tax hike in April extended into this quarter, with retail sales and household spending falling in July. The government signaled last week that it is prepared to boost stimulus to help weather a further increase in the levy scheduled for October 2015.

“It’s getting harder to predict if Abe can go ahead and raise the tax to 10 percent,” said Minoru Nogimori, an economist at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo. “It won’t be easy decision for Abe with the current economic situation.”