Realistically speaking, could it happen？ It would be very good in the middle of so much struggle. Meanwhile it seems that China is messing itself with its zero covid policies, making many foreign companies to consider readjusting their logistic and factories etc. It would be interesting all these changes in tech dynamic that contrasts that of 30 years ago!A further slide would increase pressure on neighboring Asian economies such as China and South Korea, which are losing out in export competitiveness.
I think this will be a common story worldwide soon.Also, there does not seem to be much they can do.
The price increases are troubling, but it can't be helped. I'm cutting back on eating out," said Seiko Fukuchi, an 82-year-old housewife shopping at a Super Sanyo supermarket in Tokyo's Adachi Ward on June 10. About Kuroda's comments, she told the Mainichi Shimbun, "He and those around him may be leading good lives, but there are people having trouble making a living because of the coronavirus. I want him to think before he speaks." One 74-year-old pensioner said she was "really angry" at the central bank governor's statement. "I thought, 'Try living on the same salary as the average person for a month.'" About the recent price hikes, she said, "My generation experienced the oil shock. It was fine back then because our wages also went up. But I'm frightened now because I've seen this kind of inflation. I can't go out and do anything for fun (that costs money)."
The yen fell to a fresh 24-year low in the 138 level versus the U.S. dollar in Tokyo on Thursday amid growing prospects of aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, with the weak Japanese currency also helping stocks end higher.
Did you hear that the guy who wrote/composed the theme song for the Bond movies died just recently?View attachment 88430 How I felt in Fukuoka in 1971 when one US dollar bought 360Y. Hard to believe it was that low.
I was going to speak about Euro too, most of the major currencies are getting weaker against dollar. Very hard, I suppose it is because most of developed countries are resisting to raise interest ratesThe other side of the coin, the other way to see it, is as a strong dollar.
Also, tho about half as much as the yen, the euro (now at parity) and pound have also shifted. CNY and AUD have weakened least of all (against USD).
The sell-off of the yen continued as investors expect the interest rate gap between Japan and the U.S. to expand as the Bank of Japan is firmly committed to continuing its ultraloose monetary policy, while many investors are speculating that the U.S. Federal Reserve will go on aggressively raising policy rates. The Japanese currency has fallen by 25 yen against the dollar since the beginning of this year.
How overvalued is the dollar and how undervalued is the yen? The answer to both questions is the same: very. The dollar-yen exchange rate was around 140 in 1990, as it is now, but a 2022 dollar is nothing like a 1990 dollar. U.S. consumer prices have trebled in the intervening period while Japanese consumer prices have risen just 10%. The bogus exchange rate also makes comparisons between Japanese salaries and US/European salaries pointless. For the first decade of this century, average wages in Japan and the U.S. were roughly the same. Today, the average annual salary in the U.S. is $74,100. At current exchange rates, the average Japanese paycheck has fallen to $29,900.
Hrm, maybe another trip back to Japan for New Years wouldn't be so bad.....Today saw 145 JPY for one USD after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark policy rate by 0.75 percentage points and the Bank of Japan maintained its ultraloose monetary policy.
US dollar hits 24-year high above 145-yen line - The Mainichi
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The U.S. dollar rose above the 145 yen line in Tokyo trading Thursday, hitting a 24-year high after the Federal Reserve raised its bemainichi.jp
Interesting Nikkei article (you may hit a paywall, though):
The yen is bound to turn the tables on the dollar
U.S. competitiveness worries will bring currency imbalances into focusasia.nikkei.com
The U.S. was taken completely off the gold standard in 1976.The way our government here in the US is spending and printing money , I fear we might go the way of Venezuela. It used to be they often talked about the amount of gold in Fort Knox to back up paper money , but I have not heard anything about it for many years now. We have pretty bad inflation now and there's a lot of hints about a bad recession coming. With an election coming in November here , hard to tell what's the truth and what's political propaganda.
Well given that camera equipment in Japan is usually pretty expensive, looking at Yodobashi Camera's price for that lens right now compared to BH Photo's pricing, they're currently the same within a couple of dollars, 297,000 yen vs $2,099 UDS. So even the weak yen doesn't seem to cancel out the higher Japanese price.Hrm, maybe another trip back to Japan for New Years wouldn't be so bad.....
I have my eye on a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM and that exchange rate would probably make a big difference.
That is partially true, but don't forget that I can avoid paying tax as a tourist. Not sure about Yodobashi, but at BIC Camera I know I can.Well given that camera equipment in Japan is usually pretty expensive, looking at Yodobashi Camera's price for that lens right now compared to BH Photo's pricing, they're currently the same within a couple of dollars, 297,000 yen vs $2,099 UDS. So even the weak yen doesn't seem to cancel out the higher Japanese price.
Japan has intervened to prop up the yen for the first time since 1998 after it hit a 24-year low as its central bank resisted the trend for higher interest rates. Tokyo was forced to take action in the foreign exchange market to shore up its weakening currency after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy on Thursday. [...] The intervention, which lifted the yen by 2% against the dollar back to 141.2, showed that Tokyo had lost patience with the currency's steady slide and highlighted the impact that the surging US dollar is having on significant economies.
Government officials are "prepared to take action 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," Masato Kanda, a vice finance minister, told reporters after the announcement. In an earlier era, a weak yen was widely seen as a boon for Japan's export-driven economy, making its products cheaper and more attractive for consumers abroad and driving up the value of its foreign earnings. [...] Japan previously intervened to strengthen the yen during the Asian financial crisis in 1998 when the currency was trading at around 146 to the dollar.
While inflation in Japan has gone up during the pandemic, it remains well below the levels in other countries — 2.8 percent in August. And officials at the Bank of Japan believe that it is the wrong kind of inflation, created by pandemic-related supply constraints instead of the consumer-driven demand that low interest rates were intended to stoke.
I was living there from 1994 to 2000. so I guess I experienced a historical period from en-daka to en-yasu. At the time I didn't think too much about it. I was getting paid in yen.Yesterday, at last, the BOJ intervened by selling US dollars to leave its benchmark rates in negative territory on a day when other central banks increased borrowing costs to cool inflation. The intervention resulted in the yen being traded for 141.2 against the USD.
Japan forced to prop up yen after bank keeps to negative interest rates
Central banks are putting rates up as currencies slide against dollar but Japan and Turkey buck trendwww.theguardian.com
And while Japan had long been striving for inflation, it's not the kind the country needed.
Japan Intervenes to Prop Up the Sliding Yen (Published 2022)
The currency’s decline to a point not seen in 24 years prompted the rare action as officials keep interest rates low.www.nytimes.com
View attachment 89802
I remember I visited Japan for the first time in 1998 when the USD was at 146 JPY. Contrary to expectations, I found the country to be quite affordable.
The yen's rapid slide against the U.S. dollar threatens to squeeze the Japanese economy further, driving up the cost of imported food and energy while raising the risk of labour and capital fleeing for more lucrative destinations. The currency sank past 150 to the dollar to a new 32-year low on Thursday without a specific catalyst. The sell-off was driven by demand for dollars among importers and speculators exploiting the widening Japan-U.S. interest rate gap.
Japan's inflation hit 3% for the first time in over three decades in September — excluding a tax hike-induced rise in 2014 — an acceleration that adds to doubts over the need for continued central bank stimulus. The year-on-year rise in September's consumer prices excluding fresh food matched analysts' forecast. The inflation reading was the highest since 1991 outside a jump in 2014 when prices were impacted by an increase in the sales tax.