Percent Increase: Companies Unions

percent increase: The country's biggest economic problem is too much income flowing to companies, and their piles of unproductive cash are the main obstacle to revitalizing consumer demand, according to Diana Choyleva, chief economist at Enodo Economics, according to The Japan Times. Few analysts expect robust pay increases when the nation's biggest companies and unions sit down for spring wage negotiations. That's bad news for the economy, which is relying on exports to sustain a modest recovery as consumers struggle with stagnant wages. In fact, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation says it will ask for about a 2 percent increase in monthly base wages, the same amount it sought last year, when it received a 0.44 percent gain. Companies were expected to respond to record profits, partly the result of a weaker yen, with strong pay increases and capital investment. Weak wage rises and consumer spending are frustrating policy makers. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.