Japan finance minister aware of market concerns about fiscal health
Japanese government bonds plunged this week, sending yields on 30-year debt to an all-time high, after polls showed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's coalition was in danger of losing its majority in the upper house vote on Sunday.
"I'm aware of bond market views that the recent market movements reflect various concerns about fiscal policy ahead," Kato said, speaking to reporters after the meeting of finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies in South Africa.
"We'll carefully respond to those market voices, carry out appropriate debt management and work to improve fiscal health to maintain market confidence," Kato said.
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Daily Mail
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Is now the time to view luxury brands as cheap thrills?
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A fightback is currently being led by LVMH and the other names in this €364billion (£316billion) industry of gloss and glamour – Burberry, EssilorLuxottica, Hermes, Kering and Richemont – hinting that it may be time to start bargain shopping for luxury goods shares. But the performance of an Asian newcomer suggests that these European players will have to muster all their creativity to regain their lustre. Over the past year, there has been a 928 per cent leap in the shares of Laopu Gold, a Chinese group founded in 2009. The company's jewellery and watches embody 'guochao' – that is, heritage, a quality currently most appealing to Chinese consumers. Since China is the world's largest luxury goods market, this homegrown bling movement is more bad news for LVMH and the rest. It also indicates what Gillian Diesen of Pictet Asset Management calls a shift to 'hard luxury' that is more about lasting quality. Laopu pieces are made of 24-carat gold, a plus when the gold price is forecast to rise further. LVMH and the other European players have already lost about 50m customers worldwide in the past two years as post-pandemic 'revenge spending' has receded against a tough macro-economic background. Tariffs may exacerbate the situation in the US. In the worst-case scenario, management consultants Bain estimates that the sector could shrink by a further 5 to 9 per cent this year. The companies' forthcoming second-quarter results will underline the headwinds they face. But Diesen argues that this will draw attention to luxury goods shares. Investors looking to diversify will conclude that the valuation of some companies is 'untenably low'. Diesen says: 'Despite low short-term expectations, there is little reason to suggest that premium brand spending will not return to its normal long-term average levels of growth, even in China. 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