Setting Sun

I pay close attention to Japan, so this Bloomberg article about the widening trade deficit is interesting. I liked this quote from economist Junko Nishioka at RBS: “In spite of the continued weaker yen, the performance of Japanese exporters is quite weak compared to competitors like Korea or Taiwan.”

This next one from Bloomberg highlights how inflation in Japan has picked up, but consumer confidence has dropped, because there has been no rise in wages to offset the inflation. So much for inflationary “benefits”.

Things don’t look so good for Shinzo.

Also, thought the chart below from the New York Sun tells a worthwhile story. It looks at income inequality in the U.S. – interesting what coincides with the spike up that starts in 1971…