atakan/iStock via Getty Images Min Joo Kang , Senior Economist, South Korea and Japan Business sentiment remains relatively firm, but outlook is cautious Sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers rose to 17 in the first quarter (vs. revised 16 in 4Q25 survey, market consensus), while non-manufacturers’ sentiment index stayed flat at 36 (vs. revised 36 in 4Q25, 33 market consensus). The outlook ...
atakan/iStock via Getty Images Min Joo Kang , Senior Economist, South Korea and Japan Business sentiment remains relatively firm, but outlook is cautious Sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers rose to 17 in the first quarter (vs. revised 16 in 4Q25 survey, market consensus), while non-manufacturers’ sentiment index stayed flat at 36 (vs. revised 36 in 4Q25, 33 market consensus). The outlook indices for manufacturing and non-manufacturing declined relative to the fourth quarter of 2025 but still beat market consensus. The outlook for general machinery and electrical machinery improved, while expectations worsened for iron and steel, motor vehicles, and basic materials. We believe the robust semiconductor cycle is driving positive sentiment in the overall manufacturing sector. Yet sentiment declined in sectors more closely tied to commodities. We believe that stronger-than-expected Tankan survey results indicate that business confidence hasn’t yet turned significantly negative. The Manufacturing PMI delivered a similar story. It was revised up to 51.6 from its flash 51.4, even though this is below February’s 53. It has remained in expansion for three consecutive months. However, output and new orders declined, making the outlook cloudy. Today's Tankan showed that the recent rise in oil prices may raise inflationary pressure in the future. The output price index indicates higher prices are expected in both the short and medium terms. The Bank of Japan will pay more attention to the price component. This is in line with the BoJ's view that underlying inflation is approaching 2%, supporting further policy normalisation. We expect the BoJ to deliver a 25 bp hike in April. Output prices are expected to rise steadily in the medium term Source: CEIC Original Post Editor's Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.
Earnings Call Insights: TruBridge (TBRG) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Christopher Fowler framed Q4 and year-end results alongside two governance items, saying the company filed its 10-K after finding “certain out-of-period adjustments during final audit procedures with our new external auditor,” emphasizing “these adjustments are noncash and not material to our fiscal 2025 financial statements or t...
Earnings Call Insights: TruBridge (TBRG) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Christopher Fowler framed Q4 and year-end results alongside two governance items, saying the company filed its 10-K after finding “certain out-of-period adjustments during final audit procedures with our new external auditor,” emphasizing “these adjustments are noncash and not material to our fiscal 2025 financial statements or to our previously issued financials,” and adding that TruBridge has been “engaged in a strategic review process considering a range of alternatives to maximize shareholder value.” CEO Fowler said the strategic review is driving a change in disclosure posture: “As a result, we are not issuing formal guidance today, but we expect to achieve modest revenue growth in 2026 and anticipate approximately 200 basis points of improvement in adjusted EBITDA margins.” CEO Fowler highlighted commercial momentum and mix, pointing to “bookings of $19.8 million on a total contract value basis,” support from “growing SaaS,” and “strategic partners, including Microsoft and our exclusive Dragon Copilot integration with TruBridge EHR,” while also calling out pipeline changes: “the dollar value of our overall sales pipeline is currently the highest it has been in 9 quarters and has increased 53% since the beginning of Q3.” CFO Vinay Bassi said the audit work led to revisions: “we identified some material noncash misstatements primarily related to the timing of revenue for some products and associated contract costs, capitalized software and certain other nonroutine items,” adding, “We have revised these prior period financials to reflect them in the appropriate period.” Outlook Management reiterated an informal 2026 framework rather than issuing guidance, with CEO Fowler stating, “we expect to achieve modest revenue growth in 2026 and anticipate approximately 200 basis points of improvement in adjusted EBITDA margins.” CFO Bassi repeated the same directional outlook: “while we are not providing ...
Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence have sifted through thousands of publicly traded companies to highlight a select few worthy of investors’ attention.
Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence have sifted through thousands of publicly traded companies to highlight a select few worthy of investors’ attention.
Rachel Reeves will address concerns about price rises and shortages with retailers as energy costs surge The bosses of the UK’s biggest supermarkets are to meet the chancellor on Wednesday as the government seeks to gauge the extent of potential price rises and shortages of household essentials amid a surge in energy, fuel and fertiliser costs. Rachel Reeves is meeting the bosses of Sainsbury’s, T...
Rachel Reeves will address concerns about price rises and shortages with retailers as energy costs surge The bosses of the UK’s biggest supermarkets are to meet the chancellor on Wednesday as the government seeks to gauge the extent of potential price rises and shortages of household essentials amid a surge in energy, fuel and fertiliser costs. Rachel Reeves is meeting the bosses of Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons as concerns rise about the potential impact on the cost of living – including higher food prices – as a result of the Middle East conflict. Continue reading...
Content creators love the built-in camera; sceptics call them ‘pervert glasses’. Do we really need any more hi-tech wearables, even with a voice assistant that sounds like Judi Dench? Lately, I’ve been hearing Judi Dench’s voice in my head. She tells me tomorrow’s forecast, when to turn right, that there’s been another message in my group chat. Day or night, Dame Judi is eager to assist. When I as...
Content creators love the built-in camera; sceptics call them ‘pervert glasses’. Do we really need any more hi-tech wearables, even with a voice assistant that sounds like Judi Dench? Lately, I’ve been hearing Judi Dench’s voice in my head. She tells me tomorrow’s forecast, when to turn right, that there’s been another message in my group chat. Day or night, Dame Judi is eager to assist. When I ask the eight-time Academy Award nominee what I’m looking at, she answers: a residential area, a person in a pub, daffodils. “They are a bright yellow colour and are often associated with spring.” This isn’t a delusion. This is, apparently, progress. I am test-driving Meta’s smartglasses and Dench voices its integrated AI assistant: “Here to chat, answer questions, create images and provide advice and inspiration,” said “Judi” when I selected her over the actors John Cena and Kristen Bell. “Shall we begin?” Continue reading...
We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2020: Frank Fisher, now 90, was a traditional high street butcher his whole working life – as were three generations of his family before him. How does a man dedicated to serving his community decide when it’s time to hang up his white coat? By T...
We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2020: Frank Fisher, now 90, was a traditional high street butcher his whole working life – as were three generations of his family before him. How does a man dedicated to serving his community decide when it’s time to hang up his white coat? By Tom Lamont. Read by Jonathan Andrew Hume Continue reading...
Many will recognise their own experiences of digital abuse in Collien Fernandes’s allegations – the sense that technology offers perps both tools and cover Some stories that unfold in real life would read like the plot of a bad crime novel if you wrote them down. Too obvious, too contrived, almost lazy in their cruelty. For example, this one: a woman spends years trying to identify the person who ...
Many will recognise their own experiences of digital abuse in Collien Fernandes’s allegations – the sense that technology offers perps both tools and cover Some stories that unfold in real life would read like the plot of a bad crime novel if you wrote them down. Too obvious, too contrived, almost lazy in their cruelty. For example, this one: a woman spends years trying to identify the person who has allegedly been violating her online, only to eventually conclude that it was her husband all along. This is how the case of Germany’s once-favourite celebrity couple Collien Fernandes and Christian Ulmen now presents itself to the public . Fernandes, TV presenter, actor and author, has been a familiar face in mainstream entertainment for more than two decades. Ulmen, an actor, producer and former MTV presenter, is long associated with a certain kind of ironic, self-aware masculinity. The two married in 2011, had a daughter, and cultivated the image of a modern, witty supercouple, working together on series and advertisements, in which they playfully talked about their seemingly average marriage for comedic effect. Until that image fractured. Continue reading...