U.S. Dollar Reaches For Escape Velocity Against the Japanese Yen

Last week, I expected that heightened Fiscal Cliff fears would lead to renewed interest in buying the Japanese yen (see “Peering Over The Fiscal Cliff, The Yen Gets ‘Cheap’, Australian Dollar ‘Expensive’“). That interest turned out to be VERY temporary. As post-Christmas trading opened, the U.S. dollar surged yet again against the yen (FXY). It … Read more

Stubborn Australian Dollar Becomes Attractive Way to Play Yen Weakness

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 5, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) After the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut interest rates on Monday night, the Australian dollar (FXA) bounced down, up, drifted lower, and then rallied. It is too easy to call … Read more

Japanese Yen Strengthens “On Schedule”

Today, market traders are noting that the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds, also known as JGBs, dropped to 9-year lows at 0.72%. This weakness in yields stands in stark contrast to the Japanese yen’s (FXY) spate of weakness over the past two months and especially over the past two weeks. A week ago, I … Read more

This Time SHOULD Be Different – Fade the Japanese Yen

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Japanese yen (FXY) traders have been here before. Earlier this year, the U.S. dollar (UUP) ripped from historic lows against the yen around 76 to a peak just above 84 in just … Read more

Currencies Are Signaling Potential Bullish Divergences For The Stock Market

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 25, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) This week, the S&P 500 (SPY) has broken down, providing an early warning that QE3 is not working as expected. The S&P 500 is resting precariously at support formed by the … 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

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

Weakness in the Japanese Yen Is Over for Now, Part Two

A month ago I declared the weakness in the Japanese yen had ended. At the time, the U.S. dollar versus Japanese yen currency pair, USD/JPY or the inverse ratio in the Rydex CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (FXY), had slipped for three days in a row. I turned out to be about a week too early … Read more

Still Bearish the Yen Even As U.S. Dollar Drops to Lowest Point Since October’s Intervention

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 31, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) The path for a peak in the Japanese yen is turning into a much more arduous one that I had hoped. Last week, I pointed to an imminent acceleration in purchases … Read more