The gold rush: Japan's economy set to put on an Olympian performance

Recovery off the starting blocks as world falls behind

During the first few weeks of 2020, as the sporting world was looking forward to the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, there was also a sense of expectation among investors of a broad, sustained pick up in global economic activity after fears of a China-US trade war proved unfounded.

In the US, unemployment rates, the lowest experienced for some 50 years, were fuelling an economy boosted by burgeoning world trade. There was further economic stimulus in the shape of a relatively benign background of steady and historically low interest rates and a stable oil price of around $60 per barrel. Japanese corporate earnings were expected to be beneficiaries of this environment, given the link between profits growth and overseas sales, particularly across the Far East and the US. As athletes once again start to limber up ahead of the delayed Tokyo Olympics, so too does ...