There is some better news, however, as he adds: “A point to note is that while real GDP shrank immediately after April’s sales tax hike, there has since been three months of consecutive growth.”
Nyree Stewart is features editor at Investment Adviser
Expert outlook
Shogo Maeda, head of Japanese equities at Schroders, offers his views on the outlook for 2015:
“Strong corporate earnings growth and a weak yen should continue to provide support to Japanese equities in 2015.
“Sustainable mid- to long-term earnings and valuations are what we are focusing on when we look at which companies to invest in.”