Japan Returns to Weaker Yen Policy

(Repost from January 7, 2010) Naoto Kan, Japan’s new Finance Minister, took office today and promptly requested that currency traders sell the yen. This stance further supports September’s backtracking from an implicit stronger yen policy earlier suggested by out-going Finance Minister, Hirohisa Fujii. Japan has now officially returned to the de facto competitive devaluation that … Read more

Bernanke Absolves Monetary Policy During the Housing Bubble

(repost from January 4, 2010) Yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association in Atlanta, Georgia. In his speech titled “Monetary Policy and the Housing Bubble,” Bernanke presented statistical (econometric) analyses to demonstrate that monetary policy contributed very little to the recent housing bubble in the U.S. … Read more

SunPower Ends Year In A Holding Pattern

The stock for SunPower Corporation (SWPRa) has remained in a holding pattern, directly under resistance from the 50-day moving average (DMA), in the two weeks since SPWRa provided an empty update on its on-going audit committee investigation. I took this opportunity to dump my current position at break-even. I feel fortunate to do so after … Read more

links for 2009-12-30

Worried about inflation? Fidelity packages an offering of funds and analysis on the potential threat of inflation (tags: inflation investing) SunPower Solar Projects Lose Key Player | TheStreet.com Both the SunPower and First Solar potential solar-farm pipelines look good on paper. It's the timeline to completion, and the threat of permitting delays followed by appeals … Read more

The Canadian Dollar Resists the U.S. Dollar’s Advance

As the U.S. dollar index has steadily advanced this month, the relative strength of the Canadian dollar has perplexed me. The Canadian dollar has long seemed overplayed to me as a commodity-positive play given the country’s heavy dependence on the health of the U.S. economy – which I continue to assume will perform weakly in … Read more