Why Investors Can Just Avoid Japanese Stocks

The Japanese equity market is one of the worst markets among developed markets. For years investors have been let down by the performance of Japanese stocks. Once in a few years it seems like things start to turnaround only the rally to peter out. There are many reasons why investors may just want to ignore …

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Japan: The Relationship Between Interest Rates And Stock Market Performance

The impact of falling and rising interest rates on equity markets vary by country. Stocks do not always rise when interest rates fall and vice versa. In the case of Japan, an article by Franklin Templeton Investments noted that falling interest rates did not lead to positive long-term performance of the equity markets. The benchmark index …

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Japan Dividend Withholding Tax Rates For Tax Treaty Countries

The Japan dividend withholding tax rates for treaty countries for 2015 is listed in the table below: Click to enlarge  Source: Mizuho Bank For the tax rates for all countries click the above image to download the table in pdf format. How to use this table? If you are Canadian resident and hold Japanese securities, Japan will …

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On The Japanese Stock Market History

The Japanese stock market as represented by the benchmark Nikkei Average Index at 17725 on Friday and is up by 1.6% year-to-date.Nikkei reached a peak of about 40,000 back in the late 80s and has not reached that level again in the more than two decades since. The following charts show the long-term return of the …

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On The Dividend Payout Ratio of Japanese Stocks

In an article in September I wrote that the payout ratio of U.S. is on a long-term decline and is now less than 40%. The payout ratio for European companies is on an uptrend and has reached about 50%. Compared to U.S. and European companies, Japanese companies are very stingy when it comes to rewarding …

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