Aurelia Butler

TOKYO (Reuters) – Core consumer prices in Tokyo, considered a leading indicator of Japanese price trends, rose 1.9% in April from a year earlier, marking the fastest annual pace in seven years, government data showed on Friday.The increase in inflation, driven mostly by food costs and the dissipating effect of past cellphone fee cuts, underscores a common view among economists that Japan will see price rises accelerate to the central bank’s 2% target in coming months.”The nationwide (core) inflation may rise above 2% in April-June…as the picture has been the same in recent months – food price hikes have been widening,” said Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute.”Meanwhile, it may not keep accelerating further as the pace of the energy price inflation is slowing.”The rise in the Tokyo core consumer price index (CPI) was faster than a median market forecast for a 1.8% gain and followed a 0.8% increase for March. The index excludes fresh food, which is a volatile factor, but includes energy items.That marked the fastest gain since March 2015, when the index rose 2.2%.In the overall reading, which includes fresh food costs, Tokyo CPI increased 2.5% in April from a year before, the fastest growth since October 2014.The fading effect of cellphone fee cuts last year pushed up the overall CPI by 0.80 points, while non-fresh food prices drove it up by 0.17 points, the data showed.To-go sushi packages, hamburgers and breads saw the biggest price hikes among food items in April, according to a government official.Energy prices in Tokyo rose 24.6% year-on-year in April, slower than in March, thanks to the government’s fuel subsidy programs to lower gasoline and other energy costs.The so-called core-core CPI in Tokyo excluding food and energy items rose 0.8% in April, posting the first increase since March 2021.The Bank of Japan (BOJ) last week raised its forecast for this year’s inflation rate but kept its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged, stressing its resolve to maintain massive stimulus until inflationary pressures were accompanied by wage rises and stronger demand.Unlike in the United States, Japan’s underlying inflation would not last when the rise in energy costs slows without broad-based price and wage hikes, said Shinkin’s Tsunoda.”Such a scenario would exactly be the BOJ’s current projection, where the bank would never dare to tweak its policies,” he said. More

(Reuters) – Australia’s Macquarie on Friday warned of significantly lower income from its commodities trading arm and forecast transaction activity at its capital business to ease from record levels in the near term, sending its shares almost 6% lower.The company also said it expects its short-term projection to be affected by geopolitics, surging inflation, and rising interest rates.”We continue to maintain a cautious stance, with a conservative approach to capital, funding, and liquidity that positions us well to respond to the current environment,” Chief Executive Officer Shemara Wikramanayake said.Shares of the company were down 5.6% at A$191.34 by 1207 GMT, while the broader market slipped 2%.Macquarie’s dim outlook came even as volatility in the commodities market, caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, and higher fees and income from advising on deals helped the financial conglomerate beat annual profit estimates.Its commodities and global markets (CGM) arm was boosted by a Ukraine crisis-led volatile rally in oil and natural gas prices, while its Macquarie Capital unit benefited from advising on some of the biggest deals in Australia, including the $17 billion buyout of Sydney Airport and Santos’ $6 billion purchase of rival Oil Search (OTC:OISHY).Macquarie, the world’s top infrastructure investor, had said earlier this year that it also profited from significant asset sales in infrastructure and other sectors.Income from its CGM business jumped 50% to A$3.91 billion ($2.78 billion) in the year to March. Earnings at Macquarie Capital more than tripled to A$2.40 billion.That helped the company’s attributable profit surge 56% to A$4.71 billion and top a Visible Alpha consensus of A$4.45 billion.It declared a final dividend of A$3.50 per share, up from A$3.35 per share a year earlier.($1 = 1.4049 Australian dollars) More

(Reuters) -Air Lease Corp on Thursday pointed to strong demand for the industry’s most popular jet models as travel recovers from the pandemic but warned of potential risks to jet production from stretched global supply chains. The Los Angeles-based leasing giant issued the remarks after reporting a quarterly loss driven by an $800 million write-off of jets stranded in sanctions-hit Russia.Global aircraft leasing companies have been scrambling to repossess more than 400 jets worth almost $10 billion from Russian airlines, which have mostly been unresponsive to demands for surrendering the jets.”We are vigorously pursuing our insurance coverage and believe we have strong and valid claims,” Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Chief Executive John Plueger told analysts after posting results. Air Lease Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy added that future aircraft destined for customers in Russia have been placed with airlines in the Americas and Europe, at similar or in some cases higher lease rates.Air Lease said air travel demand was driving the need for both new and young used aircraft, supporting higher lease rates and boosting the value of jets in its fleet. But they said rising demand for medium-haul jets post-pandemic coupled with industrial and certification risks at top planemakers Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Airbus raises the potential for a jet shortage.”We believe this is a likely outcome that will manifest in 2023 and beyond,” Plueger said. Plueger noted Boeing was fighting problems across its jet portfolio, including frozen 787 deliveries and certification delays on Boeing’s 777X mini-jumbo and 737 MAX 10. The industry is also facing shortages of parts, materials and labor and uncertainties exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.”Any one of these challenges alone would prove burdensome, but to have all at once is clearly taxing for the organization,” Plueger said. Plueger’s comments came hours after Domhnal Slattery, the head of Irish lessor Avolon, told a conference Boeing has “lost its way” and might need new leadership.Both Airbus and Boeing typically sell planes to leasing companies to stay afloat when economic concerns deter airlines from purchasing. Hazy said that, over the next 12 to 18 months, Boeing could offer at a discount newly built aircraft whose delivery has been put in jeopardy by canceled orders or certification setbacks. “So there could be pop-up opportunities for brand-new aircraft with airlines that we already have a good relationship with,” Hazy said. Air Lease reported net loss of $479.4 million, or $4.21 per share, in the three months ended March 31, compared to a profit of $80.2 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.Excluding its jet write-off, Air Lease said its adjusted net earnings before income taxes rose by 72% to $201 million from the year-ago period. Revenue rose 25.7% to $596.7 million in the quarter. More

WASHINGTON/SEATTLE (Reuters) -Boeing Co said on Thursday it will move its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia, as the crisis-plagued U.S. planemaker works to repair relationships with customers, federal regulators and lawmakers. Boeing (NYSE:BA) also plans to develop a research and technology hub in the Arlington area, home to the Pentagon and across the Potomac River from the U.S. capital.Senator Mark Warner of Virginia told Reuters in an interview the headquarters move “is great for bragging rights — what maybe a long-term bigger boost to (Virginia) may be the research and development center.”Last October, Reuters reported that sources close to the company said cost cuts and a more hands-on corporate culture had raised questions about Boeing’s future in Chicago, and in turn the broad direction Boeing intends to take as it tries to regain its stride.”The region makes strategic sense for our global headquarters given its proximity to our customers and stakeholders, and its access to world-class engineering and technical talent,” Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun said. Boeing said it will maintain a significant presence at its Chicago location and surrounding region. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago has “a robust pipeline of major corporate relocations and expansions, and we expect more announcements in the coming months.”Boeing has been working to repair its relationship with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and lawmakers. Prior CEO Dennis Muilenburg was fired in 2019 after clashing with the FAA over its review of the 737 MAX following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people.Boeing, a key supplier to the U.S. Defense Department, last week unveiled more than $1 billion in charges on its Air Force One and T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet programs.Boeing already has an Arlington office that opened in 2014 and has significant unused space, blocks from Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s HQ2 building that is under construction.Boeing shares closed down 4.1% as U.S. stocks broadly fell sharply.The Chicago headquarters – a 36-floor, $200 million riverfront skyscraper – has also been at the crossroads of a cost-cutting campaign for Boeing which has shed real estate, including its commercial airplane headquarters in Seattle. Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2001, leaving its Seattle home after 85 years following its 1997 merger with St. Louis-based rival McDonnell Douglas. That move angered rank-and-file mechanics and engineers. Boeing was seeking a post-merger headquarters in a neutral location separate from those existing divisional power centers. Chicago, Cook County and Illinois awarded Boeing more than $60 million in tax and other incentives over 20 years to relocate. Those credits have expired, though Boeing was set to receive 2021 funds this year. House of Representatives Transportation Committee Chair Peter DeFazio blasted Boeing’s decision to move to Arlington.”Moving their headquarters to Chicago and away from their roots in the Pacific Northwest was a tragic mistake,” DeFazio said. “Moving their headquarters again, this time to be closer to the federal regulators and policymakers in Washington, D.C. is another step in the wrong direction. Boeing’s problem isn’t a lack of access to government, but rather its ongoing production problems and the failures of management and the board that led to the fatal crashes of the 737 MAX.”Some critics viewed the Chicago move as indicating that Boeing prized near-term profits over long-term engineering dominance. After the two fatal 737 MAX crashes, Boeing’s imperative became prowess and repairing relationships with customers and regulators.Calhoun has made repeated trips to its 787 Dreamliner factory in South Carolina to deal with production-related defects and certification delays that have hobbled the program.Calhoun is also working to win FAA certification by year end of the largest model of the 737 MAX. If not, he hopes Congress will grant an extension for the MAX 10 or else the plane would need to meet a safety standard on cockpit alerts.The deadline for changes was mandated by Congress in late 2020 as part of regulatory reforms at the FAA following the fatal crashes. More

BOSTON (Reuters) – The wife of Edward C. Johnson IV, whose family controls mutual fund powerhouse Fidelity Investments, has hired celebrity lawyer David Boies to represent her in a high-stakes divorce trial that opens on Friday.Boies, 81, is the founder of law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and represented Al Gore in the U.S. Supreme Court case over the 2000 presidential election recount. He told Reuters he will represent Allison Johnson in the divorce trial.Judge Frances Giordano is presiding over the Johnson divorce, Boies said.Johnson IV, whose personal fortune is estimated by Bloomberg at more than $6 billion, is expected to appear for opening statements inside a Lawrence, Massachusetts, courtroom for family and probate cases on Friday.”It’s expected those (opening) statements will lay out the case in some detail,” Boies said in a telephone interview. “It’s a divorce case so it covers the basic issues of family law, including economic ones.”Boies declined to provide any claims or details in the case, which has been impounded, a court order that shields it from public view. Johnson IV and members of his legal team did not return messages seeking comment.The divorce petition was filed more than a year ago but had not become public thus far. Johnson IV is a director of FMR LLC, the parent company of Boston-based Fidelity. He is the youngest child of longtime Fidelity leader Edward “Ned” Johnson III, who died in March at age 91. Johnson IV’s sister, Abigail Johnson, is Fidelity’s chairman and chief executive.As a director of FMR LLC, Johnson IV helps guide a family-controlled empire that generated $24 billion in revenue in 2021 and an operating profit of $8.1 billion. The fortunes of his two sisters, Abigail and Elizabeth, are estimated at $21 billion and $6.5 billion, respectively. Boies is well-known for representing the U.S. government in litigation against Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and for representing former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who was later convicted of sexual assault. More