Overview: After US stocks dropped more than 4% yesterday, investor sentiment has improved, apparently sparked by ideas that the pain will force oil producers to find a way to reduce supply. Oil prices have surged, with the May WTI contract rallying around 7%. Asia Pacific equities were mostly higher, with Japan and Australia the notable …
Optimism on Oil Deal Steadies Risk Appetites…for the Moment Read More »
Over the past five sessions, the yen is the strongest of the major currencies, appreciating about 1.7% against the US dollar, eclipsing the Swedish krona, which rallied strongly today after the Riksbank’s surprise rate hike. Given the sell-off in equities and the decline in markets, the yen’s strength is not surprising. What was surprising though was …
Japan reported a slightly larger than expected July current account surplus earlier today. The July balance has improved over June without fail since 2003. Japan’s current account surplus is not driven by the trade balance. In fact, Japan recorded a trade deficit of JPY1 bln on a balance-of-payments basis in July, its third deficit in …
Japanese Investors Buy Treasuries and French Bonds and Sell Bunds and Gilts Read More »
The US policy mix gets a privileged place in our understanding of what is the dollar. Tighter monetary policy and looser fiscal policy could be the closest thing to an elixir for currencies. It is the policy mix that the US is pursuing. The idea is that such a policy mixed draws capital inflows. This is …
Chinese officials do not seem to appreciate the extent of its isolation. The disruption from the US as Trump positions the US as a revisionist power-one that wants to alter the world order, which it was instrumental in constructing, may have obscured the fact that China’s practices are a source of frustration and animosity broadly and …
The combination of a falling dollar and rising US interest rates has sparked a concern never far from the surface about the foreign demand for US Treasuries. Moreover, as the Fed’s balance sheet shrinks, investors will have to step up their purchases. This Great Graphic was created by the Institute of International Finance (IIF). It …
Shale’s Lesson for Creditors and Debtors – Marc to Market Edit The heavy hand of past borrowings continues to hang over us. China’s explosion of debt is worrisome. The bad loans being carried by European banks may be a factor restraining the willingness to lend. The IMF and the EU are still at odds over …
Japan’s Ministry of Finance reports portfolio flows on a weekly basis with a week lag. The data just reported covers the last week in March, as the Japanese fiscal year was drawing to a close. Japanese investors bought foreign bonds and stocks. The JPY1.1 trillion of foreign bonds purchased snaps a eight-week selling spree. It …
Impressive Japanese Flows at the end of the Fiscal Year Read More »