I pity Kaoru Yosano, who has just succeeded Shoichi Nakagawa as Japan’s new finance minister. Nakagawa was forced to resign on Tuesday after delivering a Sylvester Stallone-like performance at a press conference following the G7 summit over the weekend (the comparison is somewhat harsh on Stallone). Nakagawa was widely perceived to be drunk, although his… [Read more]
I see several signs that risk appetite is returning to the markets, which could mean we are in for a rally in the coming weeks and months. Key barometers such as sterling-yen (in fact, many yen cross rates), the VIX index, the Baltic Dry index, and Treasuries are showing signs of reversal. On a relative… [Read more]
In case you’re wondering about the sarcasm in the title, I am paraphrasing Emperor Hirohito’s World War II surrender speech, when he said that ‘the war situation had developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage’. That was, of course, the biggest understatement I can think of, but the yen’s ascent to a fresh 13-year high of… [Read more]
As I write this, investors are increasingly hopeful that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will deliver a 25 basis point interest rate cut on Friday, taking policy rates back down to 0.25%. Mere speculation on this front is buoying global financial markets. However, if the BoJ does deliver tomorrow, this begs the question, will Japan… [Read more]