iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (ARCA: EWJ)

iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (ARCA:EWJ), Trade Ideas

iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund

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Japanese banks poised for windfall profits as Bank of Japan abandons negative interest rates after 8 years. Goldman Sachs predicts 30% surge in net interest margins. Warren Buffett also bullish on Japanese equities.

Warren Buffett&#39;s Prediction Comes True: Japanese Banks To Profit From BoJ&#39;s Positive Rates

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Japanese equities are rebounding, with the Nikkei 225 hitting a record high after 25 years. Goldman Sachs rounded up seven names that stood out, baptizing them as the &#34;Seven Samurai.&#34;

&#39;Seven Samurai&#39; Stocks: Goldman Sachs Picks Leading Japanese Equities — How Do They Compare To The Magnificent Seven?

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On CNBC’s &#34;Halftime Report Final Trades,&#34; Shannon Saccocia of NB Private Wealth named  iShares MSCI Japan ETF  (NYSE: EWJ) (NASDAQ: 

Schlumberger, Citigroup, Berkshire Hathaway And More: CNBC&#39;s &#39;Final Trades&#39;

iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF

Macro Economic Events

Economics

Earthquake Of Magnitude 6.22 Strikes Shikoku, Japan

<a href="https://www.data.jma.go.jp/multi/quake/index.html?lang=en">https://www.data.jma.go.jp/multi/quake/index.html?lang=en</a>
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A Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake With A Maximum Seismic Intensity Of 6- Has Occured In The Bungosuido Strait At 2024/04/17 08:19

BBJP

WisdomTree Trust Japan Total Dividend Fund

Reported Earlier, Japan Trade Balance For March 366.5B Vs. -377.8B (Revised) Prior

Reported Earlier, Japan Exports (YoY) For March 7.3% Vs. 7.8% Prior

Reported Earlier, Japan Adjusted Trade Balance -0.70T Vs. -0.28T Est.; -0.57T (Revised) Prior

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World Trade Organization's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Says If Trump Is Elected And 10% Tariffs Enforced This Would Result In 'Tit For Tat Approach' And 'Lose-Lose' Situation

<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Japan-readies-antitrust-action-against-Google-over-search-ads">https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Japan-readies-antitrust-action-against-Google-over-search-ads</a>
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Japan's antitrust watchdog is planning&nbsp;to push Google to voluntarily reform its business practices over alleged unfair restrictions on a search advertising partnership with Yahoo, Nikkei has learned.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission has been investigating the Alphabet unit over keyword-targeted search ad technology it provides to Yahoo, now a subsidiary of Line operator LY Corp., according to a source familiar with the situation.&nbsp;Google is believed to have already submitted an improvement plan to prevent the problem from happening again, which the agency is expected to soon accept.
The commission is also <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Japan-antitrust-watchdog-to-probe-Google-over-dominance-in-search">looking into Google's search services</a>, but decided to prioritize addressing its massive advertising business, which generates around 80% of its revenue and has also been the subject of increasing scrutiny overseas.
Google and Yahoo both serve ads in the results of searches on third-party websites,&nbsp;splitting the profits with the site operators. The two companies in 2010 entered a tie-up under which Yahoo could use Google's search engine and distribution system for keyword-targeted ads.
In the mid-2010s, Google reportedly told Yahoo to stop displaying search-linked mobile ads on third-party sites. Yahoo changed its contracts with its customers accordingly, appearing to be concerned that it could lose access to Google's search engine if it refused. The revisions may have prevented Yahoo customers from displaying&nbsp;search ads on mobile devices.
The Fair Trade Commission in 2022 launched an investigation into whether such moves by Google constituted unfair practices under Japanese antitrust law. Google reportedly retracted its demands to Yahoo in response.
The commission last month notified Google that it was indeed suspected of violating the law. The watchdog issued the notification through an administrative process known as commitment procedures, which -- unlike other sanctions such as cease and desist or payment orders -- involves having the company voluntarily submit a plan to address the problematic conduct.
While the commission can reopen an investigation if it considers a proposal inadequate, it is expected to conclude that Google's plan does enough to create a more level playing field, and close the case.
Authorities in other countries have also been intensifying scrutiny of Google's immense digital advertising business.
The European Union in 2019 fined the company 1.49 billion euros ($1.58 billion at current rates) over contracts with third-party websites between 2006 and 2016. Google has also faced antitrust lawsuits in the U.S. from attorneys general across multiple states since 2020.
Previous investigations by the Japan Fair Trade Commission have led other Big Tech companies to change practices suspected to violate antitrust law.
Amazon Japan was investigated for allegedly forcing suppliers to <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Comment/Amazon-Japan-probe-tests-antitrust-doctrine-in-new-era">shoulder part of the cost</a> of discounts on its e-commerce site, in a case that was closed via commitment procedures in September 2020. The following year, a probe into Apple's in-app payment system was closed after the company changed its policies.

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"Japan Readies Antitrust Action Against Google Over Search Ads; Regulator Expected To Accept Voluntary Improvement Plan In Case Involving Yahoo Tie-Up" - Nikkei Asia

Asset Sales

Mitsui & Co And Mitsubishi Corp Will Work With U.S.-Based Sempra Infrastructure To Sell Liquefied Natural Gas Made Via Process That Generates Up To 90% Less Carbon Dioxide; Mitsui And Mitsubishi In Talks To Sell LNG To Japanese Electricity And Gas Companies; Look To Begin Production Around 2029 At A Major LNG Facility In Louisiana

Japan Industrial Production (MoM) For February -0.6% Vs. -0.1% Est.; -6.7% Prior

Japan's Kishida On Nippon-U.S. Steel Deal, Says Japan Believes Appropriate Procedures Based On U.S. Law Are Being Implemented By U.S. Government; Hope To Cement Win-Win Relationship

President Biden On Nippon-U.S. Steel Deal, Says Stand By Commitment To U.S. Workers And Japan Alliance

Microsoft to invest $2.9bn in Japanese data centers amid AI boom 
<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Microsoft-to-invest-2.9bn-in-Japanese-data-centers-amid-AI-boom" title="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Microsoft-to-invest-2.9bn-in-Japanese-data-centers-amid-AI-boom">https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Microsoft-to-invest-2.9bn-in-Japanese-data-centers-amid-AI-boom</a>

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Nikkei Reported Microsoft To Invest $2.9B In Japanese Data Centers Amid AI Boom

Reported Earlier, Japan Current Account n.s.a. For February 2.644T Vs. 3.112T Est.; 0.438T Prior

Reported Earlier, Japan Adjusted Current Account For February 1.37T Vs. 199T Est.; 2.75T (Revised) Prior

Reported Earlier, Japan Household Spending (YoY) For February -0.5% Vs. -2.8% Est.; -6.3% Prior

Reported Earlier, Japan Household Spending (MoM) For February 1.4% Vs. 0.5% Est.; -2.1% Prior

<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Japan-eyes-hydrogen-production-using-next-gen-nuclear-reactor">https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Japan-eyes-hydrogen-production-using-next-gen-nuclear-reactor</a>
The Japanese government plans to start field testing clean hydrogen production using nuclear power as soon as 2028, Nikkei has learned, with the&nbsp;move following a successful&nbsp;safety test of a next-generation reactor&nbsp;last week.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) tested&nbsp;the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR)&nbsp;in Ibaraki prefecture on Mach 28. The trial was conducted in conjunction with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The safety test&nbsp;cleared a main hurdle&nbsp;toward practical use. Even at 100% power output&nbsp;at roughly 850&nbsp;C, the HTTR was able to cool down naturally and shutdown without&nbsp;inserting&nbsp;control rods.
"It demonstrated it was capable of a high level of safety even during an accident," said a JAEA representative.
The HTTR is a type of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that&nbsp;generates less power than a typical reactor, but is considered&nbsp;safer.
The Japanese government plans to use the heat produced by the HTTR to manufacture hydrogen. The government will take the lead until the technology is established, then let the private sector take over when the tech is ready&nbsp;for wider use.
Following the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, nuclear power development came to a worldwide standstill. However, after&nbsp;the Paris climate agreement was adopted in 2015, many countries started to focus on researching and developing nuclear power as an electricity&nbsp;source&nbsp;to complement renewable energy.
By 2050, global power demand will expand&nbsp;up to 50% compared with today, according to the International Energy Agency. Meeting that&nbsp;demand&nbsp;with renewables alone will be a challenge.
Nuclear energy is seen by many as a solution for manufacturing hydrogen without producing greenhouse gas emissions.
Hydrogen is thought to be essential for eliminating industrial emissions in several sectors, including&nbsp;power, aviation, marine shipping and steel. Because nuclear energy does not produce greenhouse gases, the hydrogen production process using a reactor can be executed with nearly zero emissions.
The JAEA will petition Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority as early as this year&nbsp;to begin screenings for connecting hydrogen production equipment to a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. If the screenings go well, a field test for nuclear hydrogen production will launch in 2028.
The government has set a goal of expanding the annual supply of hydrogen sixfold to approximately 12 million tonnes by 2040.
The HTTR has a thermal output of 30 megawatts. If the scale is expanded to 250 MW, that would make enough green hydrogen to power 200,000 fuel cell vehicles for a year, according to a JAEA estimate.
Because of the limited output of the HTTR, JAEA plans to put multiple units in place.
The Japanese government recognizes five reactor types as next-generation advanced reactors. Apart from the advanced boiling water reactor, which has attained commercial viability overseas, the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor is considered to be the closest to the proof-of-concept test stage. The other three types are not expected to get to that stage until at least the 2040s.
Japan's basic policy for green transformation, approved by the cabinet in February 2023, called for 1 trillion yen ($6.58 billion) to be allocated toward building high-temperature gas-cooled reactors and fast reactors over the next 10 years. This initiative will be funded by green transformation economy transition bonds.
There is still a high degree of skepticism toward nuclear power in Japan post-Fukushima. The location for disposing nuclear waste has not been determined either.
Japan has a history of successfully field testing advanced nuclear technology that failed to reach commercial feasibility. It remains to be seen whether the private sector will see&nbsp;nuclear hydrogen production&nbsp;as a viable&nbsp;investment target.

'Japan Eyes Hydrogen Production Using Next-gen Nuclear Reactor; Japanese Government Plans To Start Field Testing Clean Hydrogen Production Using Nuclear Power As Soon As 2028' - Nikkei Asia

-CNN
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<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/02/asia/taiwan-earthquake-tsunami-warning-intl-hnk/index.html" title="https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/02/asia/taiwan-earthquake-tsunami-warning-intl-hnk/index.html">https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/02/asia/taiwan-earthquake-tsunami-warning-intl-hnk/index.html</a>

Taiwan Hit By Strongest Earthquake In 25 Years: 7 Dead, 736 Injured

Reported Earlier, au Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers' Index For March 54.1 Vs. 54.9 Est.; 52.9 Prior

<a href="https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.html#6/28.36/137.835/&amp;elem=warn&amp;contents=tsunami&amp;lang=en" title="https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.html#6/28.36/137.835/&amp;elem=warn&amp;contents=tsunami&amp;lang=en">https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.html#6/28.36/137.835/&amp;elem=warn&amp;contents=tsunami&amp;lang=en</a>

Earthquake With Preliminary Magnitude Of 7.5 Strikes Off Southwestern Japan

Japan's trade balance swings to surplus in March as exports surges while imports decline

Japan's trade balance swings to surplus in March as exports surge while imports decline

Japan's trade balance swings to surplus in March as exports surge

Asia markets mixed, mirroring global sentiment after Powell remarks

Asia markets mixed, mirroring global sentiment after Powell's remarks

Inflation Progress May Be Bumpy, But Is Likely To Continue

Can Japan's Stock Market Continue Its Record-Setting Run?

Asian equity markets rebound as investors shrug off another tech-led selloff on Wall Street

Next week features inflation readings from Australia and Indonesia plus several reports from China, Japan, and Korea.

Asia Week Ahead: BoJ Meeting And Inflation Readings From Australia, Japan And Singapore

Japanese workers have gone from almost twice as well paid as American workers in the mid-1990s, to just over 1/3 as well paid today.