TOKYO — A new private financial exchange, hoping to be an alternative for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, opened Monday in Japan, becoming the third such exchange and the first to be launched in 12 years in the country, the operator said.   The Osaka Digital Exchange or ODX offers trading of stocks and exchange-traded funds from 8:20 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, longer than the TSE’s trading….Read more

TAKESHI KAWASAKI, Nikkei senior staff writer   TOKYO — Japan’s dream of turning Tokyo into a new hub of international finance is fading, even as Hong Kong hedge funds scramble to find a new home in Asia.   Both the central government and Tokyo have been promoting the capital as the destination of choice for the large numbers of hedge….Read more

By MITSURU OBE, Nikkei Asia chief business news correspondent   TOKYO — For over a year, the Federal Reserve insisted that the rise in U.S. inflation was “transitory,” while evidence mounted to the contrary. It dropped the claim in November and the word is now a punchline for critics of the central bank, who say it should have acted to….Read more

Tokyo, May 13 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to issue new bonds to fully fund a proposed 2.7-trillion-yen fiscal 2022 supplementary budget to implement emergency measures to cushion the impact of soaring prices, informed sources said Friday.   As a result, the total new Japanese government bond issue amount for the current fiscal year through next March will reach around….Read more

The recovery of listed companies’ business performance is becoming clearer.   While caution is needed to guard against future risks such as price increases in fuel and raw materials, it is also important to channel profits into investments in facilities and human resources to proactively boost the economy.   The announcement of business results for the business year ending March….Read more

Asahi reported on the yen’s accelerated depreciation against the dollar triggered in part by the Fed’s hike in interest rates. The daily said that although the yen previously rose rather sharply vis-à-vis the dollar during major contingencies such as the 2008 global economic collapse triggered by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and even the 2011 triple disasters in Tohoku, the….Read more

TAKERO MINAMI, Nikkei staff writer   TOKYO — The Bank of Japan will stay the course on monetary easing even as it predicts inflation will approach its 2% target in April, with costlier commodities and a weak yen doing more to raise consumer prices than years of BOJ efforts.   “There are extremely high uncertainties over how the situation surrounding….Read more

Japan’s financial institutions are preparing for fallouts from the increasingly tense situation in Ukraine. They have been narrowing down loans to Russia, with about 500 billion yen currently outstanding. Once economic sanctions are in place, settlement between the U.S. dollar, ruble, and yen may no longer be possible, so Japan’s megabanks are rushing to prepare alternative means for clearance and….Read more