One month until the Olympic Opening Ceremony
June 23, 2021 (Wednesday) Cloudy with occasional rain Mercury retrograde (5/30–6/23)
・There is a risk of landslides in urban areas.
The Nikkei Shimbun surveyed disaster-related data across the country,
and found that 920,000 housing units in urban areas are located in zones that should be wary of landslides.
There is little restraint on new housing development, and the number could continue to rise.
・Ranking of housing units within urbanization zones that overlap landslide-prone areas
1. Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture — 76,141 units 2. Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture — 73,479 units 3. Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture — 49,735 units 4. Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture — 44,998 units
5. Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture — 38,707 units 6. Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture — 32,123 units 7. Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture — 32,081 units 8. Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture — 25,855 units
・Nikkei reported that the number of restaurant closures in fiscal 2020 reached 5,230.
Not only did it rise to 1.9 times that of fiscal 2019, but it also exceeded the level during the Lehman crisis in fiscal 2008 (3,859 stores).
Capital expenditure on new stores and renovations fell by about 30% year over year, marking a large decrease.
The survey was conducted on 557 major restaurant companies, from early April to early June. 311 companies responded.
・Nitori Holdings <9843> [Close 18,840 yen] Consolidated operating profit for the May 2021 quarter rose 13% year on year to around 42 billion yen, a quarterly record.
The quarter set a new record highs. Amid sturdy stay-at-home spending during the pandemic, furniture and home appliances sold well.
The earnings expansion of winning companies under COVID continued. Revenue rose about 20% to just under 2.2 trillion yen.
・Global financial markets have been swinging greatly over the outlook for U.S. monetary policy.
The easing money that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) expanded in response to the spread of COVID-19 has
pushed up risk asset prices, but signs that tapering of monetary easing and rate hikes could reverse money flows are emerging.
However, many investors see it as taking time to normalize policy, so if stock prices tumble, buyers may rush in, causing market volatility.
The Fed has pursued the largest monetary easing in history in response to the pandemic, but moving toward policy normalization is not easy.
With the Tokyo Olympics opening in 23 days, one month remaining.
In anticipation of the unprecedented games held amid the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination for domestic and international athletes is progressing.
The Japanese delegation is also expected to have 95% vaccinated before the opening.
A challenge is how widely vaccination can be extended to volunteers and others involved in the games.
・On the night of the 22nd, Governor Yuriko Koike of Tokyo announced that she had become fatigued from overwork and needed rest.
She was hospitalized in Tokyo. Deputy Governor Akira Tarou will attend to official duties during the week.
・Shimadzu Corp. <7701> [Close 4,165 yen] On the 22nd, released a device that detects a protein considered to cause Alzheimer's disease from a few drops of blood.
U.S. Biogen and Eisai <4523> [Close 12,710 yen] Recently received U.S. approval for a world-first drug that removes proteins.
Progress in understanding the disease mechanism, early detection, and drug development through technological innovation continues.
A price of 100 million yen, and in clinical trials, will help identify patients likely to respond to new drug candidates, supporting drug development.
・The European Commission of the European Union (EU) on the 22nd formally opened a competition law investigation into Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet.
There are concerns that Google limited the use of data in digital advertising, distorting competition.
・The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare plans to add the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to the public vaccination program for people aged 60 and over.
There have been rare cases of blood clots after AstraZeneca vaccination.
Given vaccination in elderly populations overseas, Japan will also include this in the eligible group.
・Domestic financial institutions are accelerating investments in alternative assets such as real estate.
Even in a prolonged low-interest-rate environment, relatively high yields are expected, so
Mitsui Trust Holdings <8309> [Close 3,610.0 yen] will form a strategic partnership with a U.S. real estate management company to offer investment opportunities to investors.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306> [Close 605.3 yen] will begin investing on its own.
・Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306> [Close 605.3 yen] in December will start an initiative to intermediary corporate deals using settlement data.
Based on transaction history and scale, AI will identify and introduce new business partners.
In July, an online business-matching service will start, and in December an AI that analyzes settlement data will add corporate introductions.
・Rising crude oil prices are applying strong upward pressure.
Uncertainty over resuming talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal has diminished expectations for lifting the oil export ban from Iran.
If expectations for global economic normalization and demand recovery grow, investor optimism strengthens and talk of reaching $100 per barrel resurfaces,
and unsettled positions for call options with a strike price of $100 also increase.
・The MOVE index, which measures expected volatility in U.S. Treasuries, rose to a two-month high on the 21st.
Following last week’s FOMC meeting, expectations grew that U.S. rate hikes could proceed sooner than expected.
Some officials’ statements also raised the view that the hawkish stance is stronger than anticipated, fueling concerns about unstable movements in U.S. Treasuries.
・Prices of cryptocurrencies are under downward pressure.
In addition to tighter controls on mining,
on the 21st the People’s Bank of China instructed certain banks and payment institutions not to offer services related to cryptocurrency trading to customers.
Bitcoin price briefly fell to $31,551 on the 22nd, more than 10% below the previous high.
Since mid-June, the trend has been downward.
・South Korea's LG Electronics pushes into EV components.
In July, it will establish a joint venture with Magna International, a global auto parts leader, to develop drive components and consolidate the supply chain.
The automotive division is expected to return to black in 2021 for the first time in six years.
・Worldwide COVID-19 infection numbers (as of 4 p.m. on 6/22, deaths by day) compiled by Johns Hopkins University: Global total 178.78 million (7,084 deaths)
U.S. 33,554,319 (26,8 deaths) India 29,977,861 (1,167) Brazil 17,966,831 (761) France 5,819,584 (40) Turkey 5,375,593 (51) Russia 5,272,328 (435)
UK 4,656,536 (5) Argentina 4,277,395 (447) Italy 4,253,460 (21) Colombia 3,968,405 (648) Spain 3,764,651 (37) Germany 3,730,620 (79)
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