Toyota is projecting record profits for its fiscal year ending this month and the pay hike comes at the urging of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who has worked diligently (some may say too diligently) to weaken the yen in an effort to battle the country’s long bout with deflation. In October of 2009, the country set a record with an inflation rate of -2.52%. At the end of January 2014, the inflation rate had risen to 1.4%.
When added to wage increases related to seniority and promotions, Toyota said its average worker would see a pay rise of 2.9%, well ahead of the country’s inflation rate and, the Prime Minister probably hopes, an encouragement to the Japanese to spend. Toyota also pays a yearly bonus to union employees equal to about 6.8 months salary according to a report at Bloomberg News.
Alas, some of the new cash going into workers’ pockets will be going to pay the higher taxes that Abe has pushed through. And this wage hike is only going to employees of top-tier Japanese companies like Toyota, Nissan, and Panasonic. For the country to overcome its deflationary past, workers’ pay needs to rise for all workers, including the 40% who work at informal jobs, according to Japanese trade union officials.
Toyota’s shares are down 1.1% in the mid-afternoon at $111.16 in a 52-week range of $99.70 to $134.94.
Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts
Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.
It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.
We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today. Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.