Japan
Stocks Closing Out a Bad Month on a Weakening Note
August 31, 2010
Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 3.6%, extending August’s loss to 7.5% and the decline since April 26 to 21%. Stocks also fell 1.0% in Hong Kong and South Korea, 1.6% in Taiwan, 1.1% in Australia, and 0.6% in India. In Europe, the Paris Cac and British Ftse are down 0.9%, and the German Dax has lost 0.7%. [...] More
Bank of Japan Expands Liquidity-Enhancing Facility to Encourage Bank Lending
August 30, 2010
An unscheduled three-hour policy meeting was most noteworthy for actions not taken. A statement released by the Policy Board noted recently unstable currency and equity markets but said nothing about planned currency intervention or steps explicitly aimed at the stock market. Nor did officials change the key interest rate of 0.1% since December 2008 or [...] More
Markets Focused on Jackson Hole
August 27, 2010
Currencies are marking time ahead of Fed Chairman’s 10:00 EDT address at the Jackson Hole Symposium. The dollar is unchanged against the euro and up 0.1% relative to sterling, the Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc. The yen settled back 0.4% but remains pricey at 84.7 per dollar. The greenback slid 0.3% against the kiwi [...] More
Now and Yen
August 26, 2010
Official concern about yen strength is palpable and mounting by the day. Not since the last intervention in March 2004 has the possibility of government sales of yen been considered so carefully and so publicly. This week the yen touched a record high of 105.44 per euro, and the currency’s high of 83.59 per dollar [...] More
Japanese and U.S. Government Bond Yields
August 17, 2010
Japan provides a good example of what happens to long-term interest rates when very low inflation or outright deflation occur. The ten-year JGB yield has averaged 1.45% since the end of 1997. Such dropped below unity recently and is presently at 0.95%. The yield first plumbed below 1.0% in 1998 during the Asian debt crisis, [...] More
Dollar Slips Against Yen, Euro, and Swiss Franc
August 16, 2010
The dollar lost 1.3% against the Swissy, 0.7% relative to the yen and 0.5% versus the euro. The greenback is steady against the Canadian dollar and sterling but up by 0.5% against the kiwi, 0.2% against the Australian dollar and 0.1% versus the Chinese yuan, which has retreated past 6.8000 per dollar. Market chatter about [...] More
Japanese GDP Flopped
August 15, 2010
After suspiciously robust annualized growth of 4.1% in 4Q09 and 4.4% in 1Q10, Japanese growth virtually stalled last quarter, edging just 0.4% above the first-quarter level. Growth in the major advanced economies was extremely diverse in the second quarter. Japan did the worst, the aforementioned 0.4%. Then came the United States with a 2.4% annualized [...] More
German and Japanese Growing at Vastly Different Speeds
August 9, 2010
Monday has seen Asian and European equities move impressively higher, but the trend was not shared by Japan. While the Nikkei lost 0.7%, stocks advanced 0.9% in Taiwan, 0.7% in India, Indonesia, and China, 0.6% in Australia and Hong Kong and 0.4% in South Korea. The Paris Cac, British Ftse, and German Dax are up [...] More
Weaker Stocks and Euro Ahead of U.S. 2Q GDP Release
July 30, 2010
The dollar has climbed 0.6% against the euro but fallen 0.7% against the yen. The greenback is stronger by 0.5% against the kiwi, 0.3% versus the Aussie dollar, and 0.2% relative to sterling. Dollar/Swiss is unchanged, and the yuan ticked up 0.1% against the U.S. currency. The loonie is 0.2% higher. Stocks in the Pacific [...] More
Japanese Prime Ministers and the Yen
June 2, 2010
Prime Minister Hatoyama resigned today after only 8.5 months in office. Thirteen different men have been prime minister since the end of 1991, and Junichiro’s stewardship from April 2001 to September 2006 accounted for slightly more than 25% of that period. The average term of the other dozen prime ministers was about 14 months. This [...] More
