Datastream

Equity Purchases by the Bank of Japan Reach a New Milestone

Published

6 months ago

December 21, 2020

Marcus Lu

Bank of Japan Equity Purchases

The Briefing

Domestic equities held by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) reached $434 billion in November 2020, the highest value ever recorded on its balance sheet
The BoJ began buying equity ETFs (exchange-traded funds) in 2010 to help stabilize its economy
The BoJ has now surpassed the country’s Government Pension Investment Fund as the largest owner of Japanese stocks

Equity Purchases by the Bank of Japan Reach a New Milestone

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) increased its equity holdings to $434 billion in November 2020, surpassing Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund to become the country’s largest holder of domestic stocks.

This milestone will likely capture the attention of global policymakers, as the BoJ is the only central bank to purchase equities—a practice it first began in 2010. These purchases were intended to stabilize the Japanese economy after the 2008 financial crisis, but have carried on ever since.

Why Does the Bank of Japan Purchase Equities?

For decades, Japan has experienced a stubbornly low rate of economic growth relative to its peers. Despite the BoJ’s best efforts to boost growth, this trend has continued after the events of 2008.

Year	Japan (% GDP growth)	South Korea (% GDP growth)	U.S. (% GDP growth)
2010	4.2%	6.8%	2.6%
2011	-0.1%	3.7%	1.6%
2012	1.5%	2.4%	2.3%
2013	2.0%	3.2%	1.8%
2014	0.4%	3.2%	2.5%
2015	1.2%	2.8%	2.9%
2016	0.5%	2.9%	1.6%
2017	2.2%	3.2%	2.4%
2018	0.3%	2.9%	2.9%
2019	0.6%	2.0%	2.2%
Average	1.28% 🇯🇵	3.31% 🇰🇷	2.28% 🇺🇸

Source: World Bank

No stranger to unconventional policies, the BoJ believes its equity purchases will add a sense of security to the stock market, and as a result, encourage greater levels of investment. Since these purchases began, the Nikkei 225, an index tracking 225 large Japanese corporations, has generated a total return of roughly 160%.

A Drop in the Pond

While $434 billion in equities is by no means a small amount, it pales in comparison to the BoJ’s total assets of $6.7 trillion. This includes $5.1 trillion in Japanese government debt, and $59.4 billion in domestic corporate bonds.

These figures fall in line with other central banks including the U.S. Fed, which currently has $7.4 trillion in assets on its balance sheet. Whether the Fed will also begin purchasing equities, however, remains to be seen.

Where does this data come from?

Source: NLI Research Institute, 2020
Notes: Data as of Nov. 30, 2020.
Figures based on a conversion rate of 1 JPY = 0.0096 USD.

Related Topics:central bank equity economic growth bank of japan monetary policy asset purchases expansionary

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Datastream

Visualizing the World’s Population by Age Group

33% of the world’s population is under 20, making young people the largest demographic worldwide. But this might not be the case forever.

Published

19 hours ago

June 16, 2021

Carmen Ang

The Briefing

According to the United Nations, the global median age has increased by 7 years since 1950, from 24 to 31
That said, young people accounted for 33% of the global population in 2020, making them the largest demographic across the globe

Visualizing the World’s Population, By Age Group

An aging population can have far-reaching consequences on a country’s economy.

With this in mind, today’s graphic looks at the age composition of the global population in 2020, based on the latest figures from the United Nations.

The Global Age Composition

Our global population is getting older, largely because of increasing life expectancies and declining birth rates.

In 2020, more than 147 million people around the world were between the ages of 80-99, accounting for 1.9% of the global population.

Age Group	Number of People (2020)	% of Global Population
<20 years	2.6 billion	33.2%
20-39 years	2.3 billion	29.9%
40-59 years	1.8 billion	23.1%
60-79 years	918 million	11.8%
80-99 years	147 million	1.9%
100+ years	0.6 million	0.01%

While that percentage may seem small, that particular demographic accounted for merely 0.05% of the population in 1950, meaning our world has a notably higher percentage of older people than it did 70 years ago.

Why is this significant? An aging population typically means a declining workforce and an increase of people looking to cash in their pensions. This can put pressure on the working class if taxes are raised.

Of course, an aging population can have positive impacts on society as well. For instance, elderly citizens tend to volunteer more than other age groups. And research has shown that older communities have lower crime rates. By 2050, the crime rate in Australia expected to drop by 16% as the country’s population gets older.

To mitigate some of the risks associated with a rapidly aging population, certain countries are working towards more sustainable pension systems, to support aging citizens while taking the stress off the working population.

» Like this? Then you might like this article on The World’s Youngest and Oldest Countries

Where does this data come from?

Source: United Nations World Population Prospects 2019 (accessed Feb 12, 2021)

Datastream

Euro 2020: Qualified Nations and Past Winners

After a year-long delay, the 2020 UEFA European Championship is back with new rules, reduced spectators, and fierce competition.

Published

6 days ago

June 11, 2021

Niccolo Conte

The Briefing

The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship will kick off Friday, June 11th 2021 after a year-long delay due to COVID-19
The tournament will take place across 11 host cities and feature new rules, reduced spectators, and fierce competition

The 2020 European Championship Returns with New Rules

After a year-long delay, the 2020 UEFA European Championship is set to kick off what will be the largest international sports tournament to take place since the pandemic.

While the final stage of the tournament typically takes place in one or two nations, this year’s will be played across 11 different countries.

Running from June 11th to July 11th 2021, the opening game between Italy and Turkey will kick off at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, and the final will take place at London’s Wembley Stadium.

COVID-19’s Impact on Teams and Spectators

Aside from the initial year-long delay, COVID-19 has changed how teams and spectators will participate in the tournament.

Squads have been expanded from 23 to 26 players, and coaches will be permitted to call up more players if COVID-19 infections force players into isolation.

For spectators, individual stadiums within host cities have announced varying capacities ranging from 20-100%, with strict stadium entry requirements across the board. Since these capacities are pre-tournament estimates, we’ll have to wait until matchday to see how many ticket-holders are comfortable attending the fixtures in person.

Host Stadium and City	Spectator Capacity
Johann Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam	25-45%
Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku	50%
Arena Națională, Bucharest	25-45%
Puskás Aréna, Budapest	Aiming for 100%
Parken Stadium, Copenhagen	25-45%
Hampden Park, Glasgow	25-45%
Wembley Stadium, London	Minimum of 25%
Football Arena Munich (Allianz Arena), Munich	Minimum of 14,500 spectators (~22%)
Stadio Olimpico, Rome	25-45%
Estadio La Cartuja, Seville	25-45%
Krestovsky Stadium (Gazprom Arena), Saint Petersburg	50%

Source: UEFA

Strong Competition Among Euro 2020’s Favorites

Despite current world champions France remaining as undeniable favorites, bookies are putting England to win the tournament (despite a fairly young squad) partially due to the home field advantage in the semi-finals and final.

Spain, Germany, and Italy remain formidable competitors, and Belgium’s golden generation will have one final shot at silverware after their third place finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

European champions Portugal are another obvious threat, as Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to become the tournament’s top goalscorer of all time (currently tied with Michel Platini at 9 goals).

While the 2020 edition of UEFA’s European Championship features a variety of on-field and off-the-field changes, the trophy truly feels up for grabs and is a welcome return to international football for fans around the world.

»Like this? Then you might enjoy this article, The Top 10 Football Clubs by Market Value

Where does this data come from?

Source: UEFA