Germany curfew at night
April 25, 2021 (Sunday) Clear to cloudy
- The polarization of housing prices is progressing.
In urban centers, prices continue to rise due to the purchasing demand of higher-income groups, while in the outskirts the slowdown is more pronounced.
Middle- to low-income groups are postponing purchases, and there is a trend of selling owned homes.
Signs of a "K-shaped" recovery, where economic improvement diverges, are reflected in housing prices as well.
Households are finding it tougher and more people are relinquishing their homes.
The number of consultations at Knowledge Partner (Shibuya, Tokyo), which mediates voluntary real estate sales, has increased by 30–50% compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak.
What underlies changes in housing prices is the widening of the inequality gap.
High-income earners employed by large corporations see wages remain stable during the pandemic, and asset values rise due to stock price growth.
On the other hand, as the pandemic drags on, those working in the food and service industries and non-regular workers are more easily pushed into unemployment or income reduction, continuing a harsh environment.
- The government will allow vaccination for the coronavirus at national facilities as well.
To accelerate the vaccination pace, efforts will be led by the national government.
In May, a site will be created at a government complex in Otemachi, Tokyo, capable of administering vaccines to about 10,000 people per day.
In Osaka as well, a similar large-scale venue will be established soon.
- On the 25th, the government will apply the state of emergency to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo prefectures.
The period will last until May 11 for 17 days. In prefectures adjacent to Tokyo, areas covered by the targeted measures under the state of emergency will be expanded.
Kanagawa Prefecture added 6 cities including Kamakura; Saitama Prefecture added 13 cities and towns including Kawagoe; Chiba Prefecture added 7 cities including Chiba City as of the 24th.
- Disruptions in sea transport are intensifying.
The aftereffects of a large container ship grounding in the Suez Canal, which blocked it for a week in March, are spreading worldwide, causing delays at ports in Europe, the United States, and Asia.
Container ship freight rates rose about 10% since the end of March, reaching record highs.
- The blockage of the Suez Canal highlighted the risk of over-concentration in the transport network and drew attention to alternative routes.
Notably, rail and air transport.
Air Cargo Association (Tokyo, Chuo); Japan’s air cargo export volume in March (freight-on-board basis) was up 63% year on year, the highest level in 29 months.
Nippon Express <9062> [Closing price 7,860 yen] Number of air cargo charters from January to March was 261 flights, 2.5 times higher than October–December 2020.
Logistics costs are more than 10 times higher than sea transport, putting pressure on corporate performance.
- Ant Group, a financial affiliate of the Alibaba Group, began reducing its lending-related business with a balance of about 2 trillion yuan (approximately 33 trillion yen).
Chinese regulators viewed the business of charging fees without bearing default risk as problematic and tightened regulations in response.
The reduction in lending activities will deal a blow to Ant’s management.
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