Business / Financial Markets Oct 20, 2020
More Australian QE threatens a source of yield for Japan investors
Options for Japanese investors, among the biggest buyers of global debt, have shrunk this year as central banks slashed rates.
Chikako Mogi
For Chikako Mogi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Business / Financial Markets Oct 19, 2020
Tumble in global bond yields sees Japan insurers slash purchases
Net purchases of medium- to long-term foreign bonds by insurers were the lowest for an April to September period since 2013, according to ministry data.
Business / Financial Markets Sep 2, 2020
‘Widow maker’ bets in play as Japan's superlong bond yields peak
Waning demand from key buyers plus less central bank support could set the stage for bonds to extend losses.
Business / Financial Markets Oct 28, 2019
Negative yields will punish insurer profits, ex-Bank of Japan official says
Miyako Suda, who opposed the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary policy as a member of its Policy Board, has a warning for the nation's life insurers as bond yields sink ever lower. This prolonged period of ultralow rates will pressure profits as sovereign debt matures ...
Business / Financial Markets Oct 6, 2019
Fighting against Bank of Japan may not be crazy after all
Going against a central bank is an investment strategy fraught with peril, but some bond market analysts think the Bank of Japan will fail to steepen the yield curve.
Business Jul 8, 2019
Surging yen likely to clobber Rugby World Cup visitors to Japan
For Rugby World Cup fans budgeting for the trip of a lifetime to Japan this fall, the recent surge in the yen could have come at a better time. And the currency gods seem to be inflicting the most pain on followers of teams ...
Business / Financial Markets Apr 25, 2019
Shaving milliseconds off currency trades could make Singapore billions
Singapore is seizing an opportunity measured in milliseconds to win a bigger slice of the world's foreign exchange market, worth $5.1 trillion (¥570 trillion) daily. The Southeast Asian nation is encouraging major foreign exchange operators to build systems in the country to remove the sub-second ...
Business / Corporate Jun 11, 2018
Banking veteran slams Japanese banks' fixation on archaic trading methods
Regional banks need to stop their fixation with the old-fashioned buy-and-hold strategy and be more nimble to make the most of their investments, a three-decade industry veteran says. The current low interest-rate environment calls for lenders to adopt a trading mentality and look to lock-in ...
Business / Financial Markets Mar 30, 2018
Bank of Japan's bid to taper by stealth made tougher by supercharged yen
The Bank of Japan is finding out just how hard it is to be stealthy — when everyone is looking right at you. The central bank looks set to end this fiscal year well behind on its target for government bond purchases. But having inadvertently ...
Business / Financial Markets Oct 10, 2017
Political risk seeps into yen trade as Japan's Abe faces popular upstart in October election
It's been five years since politics captured much attention from the foreign-exchange world in Japan, but traders are now gaming out potential scenarios for the yen after the Oct. 22 general election. The consensus view is still for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition to sail ...