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Ruth Carson
Then yen strengthened on Monday beyond ¥140 per dollar ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week that is widely expected to see officials cut interest rates.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 16, 2024
Yen strengthens beyond ¥140 per dollar for first time since 2023
The currency appreciated as much as 0.6% versus the dollar to ¥139.96 on Monday, its strongest level since July last year.
U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2024
Powell’s pivot leaves traders debating size and path of rate cuts
Bond traders are now focusing in on bets over the size of the first U.S. interest rate reduction and the future path of easing.
Some investors are still betting on more interest rate hikes in Japan in the coming months.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 20, 2024
Big-name investors still betting on further BOJ rate hikes
Major asset managers are doubling down on their short positions in Japanese government bonds based on the prospect of further hikes.
JPMorgan Asset has wagers that profit when the yield gap between shorter and longer-term Japanese bonds narrows, and is among those mapping out the BOJ’s next policy step after a wild week of trading.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 10, 2024
JPMorgan Asset gameplans for risk BOJ hikes are done this year
"It’s pretty clear that the Bank of Japan is not going to move until markets settle down,” said the head of global rates at the firm.
As investors look for opportunities in the new environment created by the Bank of Japan and the resulting market turmoil, there is broad consensus that they will have to reevaluate what they thought they knew about the country.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 7, 2024
Japan morphs into the center of worry for global investors
In less than a week, Japan has completely upended the world’s expectations for its markets and economy.
Many market followers believe the pillars that had underpinned gains for years — a series of key assumptions that investors across the world were banking on — have been shaken.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2024
$6.4 trillion stock wipeout has traders fearing ‘great unwind’ is just starting
Many market followers believe the pillars that had underpinned gains for years have been shaken.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 31, 2024
BOJ probes website crash that blocked traders before decision
It was not immediately clear whether the website became available for everyone at the same time or if some market participants had access before others.
Some investors are warning that a yen rally is fragile, as was on show this week when the yen rapidly retraced an advance after Thursday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. economic growth figures.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 27, 2024
‘Crazy’ yen rally is at risk of shattering as soon as Wednesday
Swaps markets suggest a roughly 45% chance of the Bank of Japan hiking rates by 15 basis points at the conclusion of its July 31 policy meeting.
Leveraged funds reduced net short positions on the yen the most since March 2011 during the week to July 16.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 22, 2024
Hedge funds slash short yen bets by most in more than a decade
Hedge funds pared bets against the yen in spectacular fashion after a suspected double-whammy market intervention from Japanese authorities.
Traders say a slump of the yen as far as ¥170 per dollar is possible despite looming intervention risks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 25, 2024
Forget ¥160 — traders see currency falling as far as ¥170 against dollar
The yen is at risk of sliding to levels last seen in 1986, with traders unfazed by the specter of government intervention.
The rate of the U.S. dollar against the yen is displayed on an electronic stock board outside a securities firm in Tokyo earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 28, 2024
Popularity of yen 'carry trade' may dent impact of BOJ rate rises
The weakening yen and strengthening greenback are increasing the attractiveness of the strategy by boosting its total return.
Suspected intervention to drag the yen off a 34-year low against the dollar is already seen as unlikely to have a lasting effect if Japan continues alone.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2024
Yen’s fragility raises specter of a new currency war in Asia
A destabilizing slump in the yen could be the trigger that forces Japan’s neighbors to take extreme action.
The dollar's resurgence has come on the back of a slew of signs that the U.S. economy avoided the slowdown many anticipated.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 23, 2024
U.S. dollar’s extended reign delivers stark wake-up call to markets
Global investors are talking about "U.S. exceptionalism” after a predicted slowdown to the nation's economy didn't transpire.
Yen traders are bracing for 160 to the dollar or even further declines.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 16, 2024
Yen traders brace for 160 level even as intervention risks rise
The yen weakened 1% last week alone as fears of higher-for-longer U.S. borrowing costs spurred a stampede to the dollar.
Investors will be heaping ever more scrutiny on Japanese assets, with negative rates potentially relegated to history.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 15, 2024
BlackRock and Man Group reveal big Japan bets before BOJ decision
Snap up more Japanese stocks and keep buying the yen — these are some of the most popular calls from big-name money managers.
The risks are particularly evident in Asia, home to some of the world’s worst-performing major currencies against the greenback.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 19, 2024
Dollar dominance is triggering intervention fears across markets
The greenback's recent spike is a reality check to investors betting on dollar weakness and for the authorities hoping for a respite.
Pacific Investment Management headquarters in Newport Beach, California. The bond giant says it has started building a long yen position.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2023
Pimco is buying yen to prepare for tighter BOJ monetary policy
The bond giant started building a long yen position when Japan’s currency weakened past ¥140 per dollar a few months ago.
Veteran Japanese investors are split over whether to put their money into Chinese bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 27, 2023
Friends who help manage $640 billion clash on China bonds
While they’ve been friends for at least a decade, their take on trading China bonds couldn’t be more diametrically opposed.
Nikko Asset Management is ditching its bearish view on the yen, and now has a ¥135 target against the dollar by year-end.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 20, 2023
Nikko Asset shifts to bullish yen slant as Ueda bides his time
The shift in his view highlights potential upside for the yen, where inflation-adjusted interest rates have exacerbated its decline to multidecade lows.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 18, 2023
An $880 billion fund is shorting key Japanese bonds in BOJ bet
An $880 billion fund is betting it’s only a matter of time before the Bank of Japan tightens monetary policy.

Longform

Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free