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Last week, we learned that industrial production rose yet again in Japan clocking in at 1.4% month-on-month in September after having increased by 1.6% in August.

Companies said they planned to increase production in October and November as well, indicating the recovery from a record export collapse in the first quarter is holding up. Growth in China is generating sales for manufacturers including Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., which this week said it has worked off stockpiles that piled up during the recession.

“The pace of the recovery is faster than expected,” said Hiroshi Miyazaki, chief economist at Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. Withdrawal of stimulus in the U.S. and Europe may cause output and exports to slow down this quarter, Miyazaki said, “but so far, today’s production report showed few signs

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This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

• Renae Merleq (The Washington Post): Lurking doubts launch a sell-off, October 31, 2009. Wall Street recorded its sharpest drop in six months Friday as investors, who have been groping for evidence that an economic recovery is gaining steam, responded to renewed signs of weakness calling into question how vigorous the rebound might be.

• John Authers (Financial Times): OK, I called the rally wrong - and here’s why, October 31, 2009. Where did I go wrong? I often ask myself this question, but this is the first time I have asked it on the back page of the Weekend FT.

• Robert Johnson (Morningstar): No denying anymore, October 31, 2009. Their new mantra is that the

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The international food and beverage giant Yum! Brands plans to acquire an additional 7.3% stake in the Chinese hot pot restaurant chain Little Sheep after taking a stake of over 20% in the company earlier this year. According to a report published by Little Sheep, Yum! has made provisional plans to buy 75,042,456 shares at the [...]

According to Masaaki Kanai, the CEO of Ryohin Keikaku, despite the gloomy global economy the company plans to increase the number of its Muji stores in China to 30 by the end of 2010. Kanai revealed the company's plans during the opening ceremony of its fifth store in Beijing and he said that the Chinese market [...]

(click on pictures for better viewing) After a nice and entertaining week in Barcelona where I had the privilege not only to hold a seminar at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, but also to meet a host of interesting people, I thought that it would be about time that I finished my piece on the latest data from Japan which admittedly will be a bit backward looking, but hopefully interesting nonetheless. Beauty, as they say lies in the eye of the beholder and perhaps this axiom is worthwhile contemplating when thinking about the immediate condition of the Japanese economy or indeed the global economy and her asset markets, but for the sake for simplicity . Consider for example the news, out a week ago, that Japan's current account surplus widened 10% in August over the year. In an economy where external demand is the main driver of economic growth, this is ...

Japan's recent quantitative easing relative to other G-8 countries Source: Danske Bank

Japan's US Treasury holdings through July in billions of $...

This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

• Andy Xie (Caijing.com.cn): Why one bubble burst deserves another, September 28, 2009. The financial crisis taught crucial lessons about the dangers of bubbles, loose regulation and debt. It’s a pity we didn’t learn.

• John Hussman (Hussman Funds): Zen lessons in market analysis, October 11, 2009. The best way of preparing for the future is to take good care of the present, because we know that if the present is made up of the past, then the future will be made up of the present.

• John Authers (Financial Times): Manufactured surprises will keep stocks rolling, October 10, 2009. A stronger recovery would help earnings but would also bring the risk of higher interest rates to

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This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

• John Authers (Financial Times): Financialisation genie set loose, October 7, 2009. Not long ago, there were three asset classes: stocks, bonds and cash. Some were not even sure if cash counted as an asset class. The last few decades, however, have seen the “financialization” of swathes of the world economy where prices were not previously set by markets, or at least not by markets led by the same investors who also set the prices of stocks and bonds. But financialization has led to controversy since last year’s crisis.

• Randall Forsyth (Barron’s): Away from Wall Street, credit keeps contracting, October 8, 2009. Financial markets party on Fed largesse, little of which flows to Main Street.

• Eamon Javers

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A new Heiwado store has opened in Zhuzhou, Hunan, with a total investment of CNY700 million. As one of the largest Heiwado stores, this new outlet will cover a business area of 60,000 square meters, integrating functions such as a department store, dining, leisure and entertainment outlets. At the same time, the Heiwado Zhuzhou store is [...]