The Best Currency Setups to Start the Fourth Quarter

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 1, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) The major paper currencies have an on-going problem – many of the financial authorities in charge of preserving their “value” are actively trying to drive that value downward, jawboning for a … Read more

Bank of Japan Maintains the Global Printing Campaign

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 19, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In “Enhancement of Monetary Easing” the Bank of Japan (BoJ) rushed to match the Federal Reserve’s renewed commitment to printing money to resolve economic malaise. This is not the intervention I … Read more

Now that Bernanke Has Made His Move, It Is Azumi’s Turn

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 14, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In the Federal Reserve’s latest statement on monetary policy, Chairman Ben Bernanke basically announced that the Fed is giving the economy a blank check: {snip} This forceful action is likely much … Read more

Another Fiscal Cliff For Japan Coincides With Another Visit to Historic Yen Levels

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 11, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In August, 2011, Prime Minister Naoto Kan stepped down from power to resolve gridlock over the budget of the Japanese government. On September, 7, 2012, current Finance Minister Jan Azumi made … Read more

Fed Minutes Revive Pressure On the Japanese Yen

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on August 23, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) The minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting seem to suggest that members are starting to coalesce around Janet Yellen’s analysis that monetary policy should be more accomodative (see “Yellen’s Case … Read more

Watching for Intervention As U.S. Dollar Falls Toward Five-Month Lows Versus Yen

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 23, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi has formed a habit of warning currency markets about the strength in the Japanese yen (FXY). For example, on May 31st, with USD/JPY slightly above 78 … Read more

Japanese Yen Confirms Returning Risk Aversion

I earlier argued that the Japanese yen held a critical piece of the puzzle to determining what’s next for risk attitudes (see “The Japanese Yen And Volatility Sit At The Cusp Of Renewed Risk Aversion”). On Monday, the yen seemed to confirm that risk aversion is indeed returning and likely to stay with us for … Read more

Japanese Yen and Volatility Sit At the Cusp Of Renewed Risk Aversion

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 22, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Thursday was a good day for the dollar index (UUP) as it experienced one of its strongest one-day rallies of the year. {snip} While the dollar’s rally was indeed impressive, I … Read more

The Japanese Yen Flashes Another Warning Even As the Australian Dollar and S&P 500 Resynch

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 19, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} I was looking for confirmation of the increasingly bullish outlook, but I did not get it. In “Bearish Implications of A Rare Convergence of Extremes in Yen vs S&P 500 … Read more

Step Aside British Pound, The Japanese Yen Is Back As the Safety Currency Of Choice

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 20, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) I have written about my skepticism regarding the British pound’s newly found “safe haven” status (for example, see “Hard Currency: My Reactions To The Financial Times’ Promising Podcast“). During my last … Read more