Wednesday, 07 Jul 2021 09:23 AM MYT
Investor sentiment in Germany, the euro zone’s biggest economy, fell sharply in July, though it remained at a very high level, the ZEW economic research institute reported. Reuters pic
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TOKYO, July 7 The euro staggered near a three-month low against the dollar today after disappointing German data raised doubts about the strength of the economic recovery, while the dollar awaited the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its last policy meeting.
The single currency changed hands at US$1.1820 (RM4.92), having touched a three-month low of US$1.1806 yesterday. Against the yen, it fell to 130.81 yen, edging near its two-month low of 130.05 set on June 21.
Cancelling the Tokyo Olympics will cost Japan around $17billion, while the damage caused by another Covid-19 state of emergency will be higher, experts have warned.
An estimate by the Nomura Research Insitute (NRI) has claimed that cancelling this summer s Tokyo Olympics would cost the country around $17billion (¥1.81 trillion).
But an economist at the think-tank has warned that the economic loss from coronavirus cases spiking after the event could be even more damaging, Japan Times reported.
Japan, which has recorded more than 700,000 infections and 12,000 deaths from the virus, is in the grip of a month-long state of emergency and has delivered vaccinations to just under 5 per cent of its population.
Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at NRI, said cancelling the Olympic Games will be a smaller economic loss than the damage caused if another Covid state of emergency is declared after the event.
May 25, 2021
For any country, hosting the Olympics is a major deal, both politically and economically. Yet, in a world ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, going ahead with the Tokyo Games is starting to look like a dangerous gamble on both counts.
Ominously, a growing number of investors in Japanese stocks now believe that canceling the games is better for the market, intensifying the pressure on Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is already facing stiff public opposition to the global showcase event.
The potential political damage to Suga, and resulting uncertainty, from staging the games ahead of an election that must be held by October is making investors nervous, according to several fund managers and traders.
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Japanese stock investors talk up benefits of shelving Olympics For any country, hosting the Olympics is a major deal, both politically and economically. Yet, in a world ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, going ahead with the Tokyo Games is starting to look like a dangerous gamble on both counts.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games that have been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, is seen through signboards, at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office building in Tokyo, Japan January 22, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato
25 May 2021 03:20PM