The employment and income situation in Germany has also been improving, with the unemployment rate declining to about 7 percent. In contrast, peripheral countries, such as Greece and Portugal, have been suffering from short-term downward pressure on the economy due to additional austerity measures following the downgrade of their sovereign debt ratings.
Thus far, we have not observed signs of self-fulfilling, overheated price movements in Japan’s financial markets. This is evidenced by occasional price adjustments reflecting factors such as geopolitical events, changes in the outlook on global economies, and policy changes in major economies.