Japan

Of the major currencies, the Japanese Yen has been the strongest in the last few months, while the Australian Dollar has been the weakest. These two currencies have also been the most conspicuous in the Japanese carry trade. That trade is…

Although off its highs for the day, the Japanese Yen is still looking very strong against every major currency. Earlier, it pushed as high as 92 yen to the dollar. Jim Rogers was on Bloomberg saying it was headed much higher.

This morning in an e-mail exchange with Marshall Auerback, I questioned why the U.S. Dollar was rising so precipitously. I do understand much of this has to do with a need to refinance dollar-denominated borrowing by international…

This does not bode well.Japan's Nikkei stock average slid more than 8% on Friday after U.S. stocks plummeted on fears about a global recession, while a firm yen added to the pain.In early trade, the benchmark Nikkei had shed 673.72 points…

The Wall Street Journal has a good piece from Yuka Hayashi about lessons that can be learned from Japan's experiences with its bank crisis in the 1990s. While I do take issue with a number of the article's assertions, on the whole it sheds…

At the peak of the global housing bubble in 2006, I came across a post about the Japanese bubble that left a big impression on me.As we collectively attempt to call the bottom of the housing bubble, many are cautiously wading back into…

Most Americans would have you believe that the U.S. Federal Reserve was entirely responsible for the monetary conditions which created the mother of all stock market bubbles after the LTCM bailout. Yes, the Fed was complicit in the…

We bailed out Bear Stearns. We have effectively said we are bailing out Fannie and Freddie. Who's next? All of this is only going to increase U.S. Government debt. Is this where we're headed? Note the last part in red: From 2002:…

For those of us who remember the Japanese rise and subsequent meltdown in the 1980s and 1990s, what is going on now is like deja-vu all over again. Except this time it is on a bigger scale. Remember Yamaichi, Nikko, Nomura and Daiwa? These…

Inflation is a concern for everyone, especially for those living on fixed incomes. With the cost of basic necessities like food and oil rising day-to-day, many people with limited incomes wonder how they are going to afford to put food on…