Tag - yen

 
 

YEN

A perfect storm of political uncertainty at home and abroad is brewing for markets in Japan.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 1, 2024
Investors in Japan place — and hedge — their bets ahead of U.S. election
Donald Trump's lead in U.S. battleground-state polls, coupled with the outcome of Sunday's Lower House election, is fueling bets on the dollar against the yen.
Government Pension Investment Fund saw a loss of 3.6% in the three months through September, with assets totaling ¥248.2 trillion ($1.6 trillion), it said Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 1, 2024
GPIF has worst loss since 2020 as yen strength hits assets
GPIF, one of the world’s largest state pension funds, incurred losses in three of four major asset classes.
Stock data is displayed in the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai in August.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Nov 1, 2024
Investors take cover in Asia ahead of U.S. election
Money managers are looking to make bets in India or China that stand to gain regardless of who becomes president. 
The price of gold offered by Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo rose ¥173 from Tuesday to ¥15,104 per gram, including tax.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 30, 2024
Gold prices in Japan top ¥15,000 per gram for the first time
Concerns about political uncertainty following next week's U.S. presidential election is another reason for people to buy gold.
In the run-up to the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, the yen is again the top performer during periods of extreme market stress, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 29, 2024
Embattled yen still popular haven amid U.S. election uncertainty
Japan’s record ¥3.02 trillion current-account surplus, deep yen liquidity and relatively low inflation help make the yen attractive as a store of value.
Electronic monitors show stock prices rising in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 28, 2024
Yen takes a hit and Tokyo stocks jump as dovish opposition gains seats
Analysts said that the pace of interest rate increases could be slowed if opposition parties get more say in policymaking.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda responds to questions during a governors talk on Japanese inflation and monetary policy at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Oct 28, 2024
BOJ on quest for better communication as more rate hikes loom
Communicating in a unified voice could prove challenging if each policymaker interprets data differently.
The yen has resumed its declines recently against the dollar on expectations that the U.S.-Japan interest rate divergence will remain wide, posing a headache for authorities who fret of the hit to households from rising import costs from a weak yen.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 26, 2024
IMF sees weak yen as beneficial for Japan's economy
The IMF's Japan mission chief also urged Japan to raise rates at a gradual pace and compile supplementary budgets only when a big shock hits the economy.
Investors already rattled by economic and monetary policy uncertainty are carefully watching Sunday's election.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 25, 2024
Tokyo stocks could 'plunge' if ruling coalition loses majority in Sunday vote
Investors are already rattled by monetary-policy tightening and geopolitical concerns.
People from Thailand look at used smartphones in Tokyo's Akihabara district in October 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 23, 2024
Japan's secondhand smartphone market booms as households struggle
Sales of used goods in Japan have grown rapidly as households struggle to make ends meet.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. There is growing speculation that the central bank will push ahead with rate hikes in the coming months, particularly as the yen continues to weaken.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 23, 2024
Japan’s 40-year yield rises to highest since 2008 on Fed outlook
There is also growing speculation that the BOJ will push ahead with rate hikes in the coming months, particularly as the yen continues to weaken.
Debt-laden companies in Japan are rapidly growing in number, in some measures even faster than in 1992 after the collapse of its asset price bubble.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2024
Zombie companies may finally succumb to bankruptcy on BOJ hikes
Bankruptcies topped 5,000 cases for the first time in a decade between April and September, a report by Tokyo Shoko Research showed earlier this month.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda can point to Washington all he wants, but his inability to settle on a consistent message is part of what ails his nation's currency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024
The yen pays the price for a timid Bank of Japan
Ueda can point to Washington all he wants, but his inability to settle on a consistent message is part of what ails his nation's currency.
The prospect of the yen's further depreciation is prompting strategists to warn of increased intervention risk near the ¥150 level, or the 200-day moving average of ¥151.25.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 15, 2024
Intervention back on investors’ radars as yen weakens against dollar
The yen had its worst loss against the dollar since 2009 in the five days through Oct. 4.
The Bank of Japan's surprise rate increase on July 31 led to Japanese stocks plummeting into bear-market territory, with the benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average falling 12.4% on Aug. 5 alone.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 11, 2024
Bank of Japan vows better messaging to avoid more market turmoil
There is "strong will" within the central bank to learn from what had happened during its last rate increase, BOJ Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino.
Fast Retailing booked its third consecutive year of record earnings on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 10, 2024
Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing posts 31% rise in full-year profit, beats estimates
Operating profit rose 31% to ¥500.9 billion in the 12 months through August from ¥381.1 billion a year earlier.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is the largest foreign issuer of yen bonds this year, raising a record ¥545.1 billion.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 10, 2024
Berkshire issues bonds worth ¥282 billion, sparking Japan investment hopes
The seven-part bond deal is Berkshire’s biggest yen-denominated deal since 2019, and makes it the largest foreign issuer of yen bonds this year.
Eiji Maeda, former executive of the Bank of Japan
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 9, 2024
BOJ’s next hike likely to come in January, former official says
The central bank will be watching the U.S. presidential election, the trend in service prices this autumn and momentum ahead of next year’s annual wage talks.
Speculative investors flipped to a net long position on the yen just before Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the nation wasn’t ready for further interest rate hikes, data shows.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 8, 2024
Hedge funds warming to yen caught out by biggest drop in 15 years
Many bought the yen just before cautious comments by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on rate hikes and strong U.S. nonfarm payrolls data.
While unlikely to revisit the record hit in July, the 225-issue Nikkei average may finish this year up 1.3% from its current level, according to a forecast by analysts.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 8, 2024
Solid earnings will spur hope Japan stocks hold onto 2024 gains
While unlikely to revisit the record hit in July, the 225-issue Nikkei average may finish this year up 1.3% from its current level, according to a forecast by analysts.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji