Watch Out for the Nuances of the Japanese Yen’s Relationship to the S&P 500

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 11, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Japanese yen (FXY) rang in the new year with loud alarm bells. At the time, I wrote about the implications for the surge of strength in “The Japanese Yen Flashes … Read more

Far-Reaching Ripples From Japan’s Newly Negative Rates

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 1, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) On Wednesday, January 27th, the U.S. Federal Reserve stared down volatile conditions in financial markets and decided to avoid addressing them directly. {snip} When the Bank of Japan (BoJ) came up … Read more

T2108 Update (January 29, 2016) – An Impressive End to A Historic Oversold Period…With Caveats

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. It helps to identify extremes in market sentiment that are likely to reverse. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag. T2108-related trades and other trades are … Read more

The Bank of Japan Maintains Stimulus Levels Even As Inflation Sits Well Below Target

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 7, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Bank of Japan put on a brave face as it announced its latest decision on monetary policy (October 7, 2015) with a big miss on its inflation target looming in … Read more

A Good Time for Adjusting the Bearish Trading Strategy on the Japanese Yen

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 23, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Ironically, this situation was essentially manufactured by these same authorities, but sure enough the first attempts to rein in the runaway train have appeared. Almost right on schedule, Japanese Finance … Read more

Bank of Japan Further Diverges from the U.S. Fed – Risk Trades In Focus

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 31, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) It seems somehow appropriate in these extraordinary times for central banking that less than two days after the U.S. Federal Reserve officially ends quantitative easing (QE) through its bond purchasing program, … Read more

Mind Over Yen – The Monetary Psychology Of Reflating Japan’s Economy

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 18, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) “There is something you should know about me, about inception. An idea is alike a virus, resilient. Highly contagious. The smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can further define … Read more

Nikkei Finally Slides As Yen’s Recent Strength Gains More Momentum

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 2, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} The Japan-based ETF took an even bigger hit, falling 3.9% and almost wiping out all of March’s hard fought gains in one day: The highlights I read in one of … Read more

The Yen Trend Moves On Past Its Initial Disappointment With the Bank of Japan

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 28, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) When the Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced its latest statement on monetary policy in conjunction with the Japanese government, the yen (FXY) strengthened counter to the trend over the past several … Read more

Peering Over the Fiscal Cliff, the Yen Gets “Cheap”, Australian Dollar “Expensive”

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 21, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) On December 20th, the Bank of Japan rolled out more stimulus and more accomodative monetary policy as expected: {snip} The Bank of Japan is clearly trying to get more aggressive in … Read more