Active Investing in Japan

We were just shopping online and punching in a coupon code … which got us thinking how (1) paper coupons don’t seem to exist in Japan, and (2) even when shopping online, instead of coupon codes for discounts, there’s often a point system instead (the same as often found in-store), which effectively serves the same purpose. One catch for a point system is the points can’t be used until the next purchase or next day. We see examples of this with Amazon-style rebates in the form of coupon codes.

So what’s our favorite place to shop, for instance for books and office supplies in the U.S. using online coupons?

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Wall Street rallied big on Thursday, led by better-than-expected retail sales figures, especially from Wal-Mart (WMT) in spite of sustained high gasoline prices. That leads us to wonder just how strong the U.S. consumer is and if there is not merely more debt being piled up. The difference between retail in Japan and the U.S., is that in the former, the results are often sluggish since there is still a positive savings rate; however, in the U.S., debt is a way of life for many, in turn boosting retailers.

For consumers there are a lot of online resources for learning about debt related matters. One such source is Credit Loan.com, which has a broad selection of information, for instance on credit cards.

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