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The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose 2 basis points (bps) to 0.970%, a level last seen in May 2013, before retreating to 0.960% immediately after the BOJ announced an emergency bond-purchase operation. Tsuruta sees the tweak as a step toward the BOJ eventually exiting from negative interest rates policy, which he expects around the beginning of next year at the earliest. The two-year JGB yield had ticked up to 0.160%, while the five-year yield reached 0.480%, levels not seen since 2011. On the superlong end, the 20-year JGB yield rose to its highest since July 2013 at 1.735%. The 30-year JGB yield was up 3 bps at 1.905%.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Keisuke Tsuruta, Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, Tsuruta, James Malcolm, YCC, Malcolm said, Brigid Riley, Vidya Ranganathan, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Bank of Japan, REUTERS, Rights, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, UBS, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, London

☆ Yen languishes as focus turns to Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Against the dollar, the yen fell about 1.7% overnight, touching a low of 151.74 — a whisker from the 151.94 level that prompted intervention a year ago. In the U.S. data showed wages and salaries rose solidly last quarter and while consumer confidence ebbed, it fell far less than markets had expected. The euro declined 0.4% on the dollar overnight and nursed losses at $1.0579. China's Caixin PMI data will be in focus later on Wednesday, ahead of U.S. manufacturing and private payrolls figures — before the Fed meeting. U.S. yields rose in early Asia trade, while Japanese yields fell slightly on thin volumes, leaving the spread between benchmark 10-year rates at 398 bps.

Persons: Alan Ruskin, Sterling, James Malcolm, 10bp Organizations: Resona Bank, U.S, Federal Reserve, U.S . Treasury, New Zealand, The Bank of, Deutsche Bank, UBS Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Asia, The, The Bank of Japan, U.S, London

☆ Safe-haven dollar steady near one-week high on Middle East conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The dollar held near a one-week high on Monday with fragile sentiment against a backdrop of conflict in the Middle East supporting demand for the safe-haven currency. "The conflict between Israel and Hamas continues and is providing volatility to the financial markets with the traditional safe-haven flows. There was some respite for the euro and sterling, which were off one-week lows touched on Friday against the dollar. YEN WATCHINGThe yen was flat at 149.54 per dollar, close to the sensitive 150-level. The yen is still perceived as a safe asset along with the Swiss franc and U.S. dollar, Kanda added.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jerome Powell, Jens Peter Sørensen, Benjamin Netanyahu, Poland's zloty, Lukazs Janczak, Christopher Luxon, Masato Kanda, Kanda, James Malcolm, Joice Alves, Rae Wee, Vidya Ranganathan, Kirsten Donovan, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Federal, Hamas, Danske Bank, country's, Sterling, Erste Group, National Party, ACT, New Zealand, Swiss, ., UBS, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Israeli, Poland, New, London

☆ Dollar buoyed by safe-haven bids, rate jitters
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The yen was last steady at 149.53 per dollar. "Obviously war is inflationary, disrupts growth and threatens risk assets," James Malcolm, head of FX strategy at UBS in London. Elsewhere, the safe-haven dollar stood near a one-week high against a basket of currencies as risk sentiment remained fragile, pinning the euro near a one-week low hit on Friday. The Australian dollar , often used as a proxy for risk appetite, gained 0.19% to $0.6309, after sliding 1.4% last week. "The kiwi dollar jumped this morning following a clear and decisive victory of New Zealand's opposition National Party," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Benjamin Netanyahu, James Malcolm, David Chao, Christopher Luxon, Chris Hipkins, Kyle Rodda Organizations: Federal, U.S, country's, Bank of Japan, UBS, Sterling, Asia Pacific, Australian, Economic, of New, New Zealand, National Party, ACT, Labor Party, New Zealand First Locations: Chicago, Israeli, Asia, Gaza, London, Friday's, Israel, Japan, of New York

☆ Yen cowers near 150 as intervention chatter runs rife
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen with a currency exchange rate graph in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. Japanese authorities last year intervened to prop up the yen for the first time since 1998. Other currencies similarly fell against the yen in the previous session, with the euro losing more than 1.5% to a low of 154.39 yen. Sterling edged 0.03% lower to $1.20745, languishing near the previous session's close to seven-month low of $1.20535. Meanwhile, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said she is open to raising interest rates again.

Persons: Florence Lo, James Malcolm, Masato Kanda, Janet Yellen, Rodrigo Catril, Raphael Bostic, Loretta Mester, Rae Wee, Sam Holmes Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Rights, UBS, Tokyo, Treasury, Sterling, National Australia Bank, Atlanta Fed, Cleveland Fed, New Zealand, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Thomson Locations: Rights SINGAPORE, Asia, Washington, Japan

☆ Fragile yen is flat as intervention talk in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The index, however, remained within striking distance of a nearly 11-month high of 107.34 reached in the previous session. The Japanese currency was last flat at 149.06 per dollar, after unexpectedly surging nearly 2% at one point on Tuesday to 147.30, its strongest level in three weeks. The Bank of Japan's money market data showed on Wednesday that Japan likely did not intervene in the currency market a day earlier. Sterling climbed 0.3% to $1.2112, rebounding after falling to a nearly seven-month low of $1.20535 in the previous session. The decision sent the kiwi sliding more than 0.2% to a nearly one-month low of US$0.5871.

Persons: Helen, Masato Kanda, James Malcolm, Sterling Organizations: U.S ., ADP, U.S, Monex USA, Tokyo, Analysts, UBS, Federal Reserve, greenback, New Zealand Locations: U.S, Washington, Japan

☆ Yen cowers near 150 as Japanese intervention chatter runs rife
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen with a currency exchange rate graph in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. Japanese authorities last year intervened to prop up the yen for the first time since 1998. Other currencies similarly fell against the yen in the previous session, with the euro losing more than 1.5% to a low of 154.39 yen. The Aussie stood at 94.03 yen , after having fallen to an over one-month low of 93.16 yen on Tuesday. Sterling edged 0.02% lower to $1.2076, languishing near the previous session's close to seven-month low of $1.20535.

Persons: Florence Lo, James Malcolm, Shunichi Suzuki, Masato Kanda, Janet Yellen, Rodrigo Catril, Raphael Bostic, Loretta Mester, Rae Wee, Sam Holmes, Stephen Coates Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Rights, UBS, Japanese Finance, Tokyo, Treasury, New Zealand, Sterling, National Australia Bank, Atlanta Fed, Cleveland Fed, Thomson Locations: Rights SINGAPORE, Asia, Washington, Japan

Dealers say BOJ efforts to make short selling more expensive have also worked and that investors are simply avoiding the market, rather than crowding into bets on yields rising. Nearly 90% of economists polled by Reuters said they expect no policy change. Ueda's most recent remarks have stressed the need to keep policy settings loose for now, without ruling out the possibility of future changes. On Sunday the Sankei newspaper reported the BOJ is considering a review of the impact of its policy settings, which could foreshadow changes. Nomura strategist Naka Matsuzawa said the path ahead would be a balance between getting a policy change done, and improving communication.

With inflation accelerating, Ueda could finally set Japan on a path to raise rates after the BOJ spent a decade fighting deflation risks with its unorthodox bond buying scheme costing trillions of yen. Ueda himself on Friday said current policy settings were appropriate, which also put a bit of a dampener on expectations of any shift. Implied volatility has also eased in the forex options market, suggesting an ebbing in bets on big shifts in the yen exchange rate. "It's not very apparent that (Ueda) would take on the job and then immediately change the policy." To be sure, 10-year Japanese yields were untraded at the BOJ's ceiling on Monday, indicating plenty of investors are staying short.

The BOJ’s YCC faces a reckoningThe surprise news left investors and analysts trying to parse Ueda's recent commentary. "There is probably a lack of clarity on Ueda's policy leanings at the moment, but at least it is clear that Amamiya (who is seen as a dove) is out. That removes one of the headwinds for the yen," said Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC in Singapore. "The knee-jerk reaction in yen appreciation is more of a reaction to Amamiya being out of the race." I think the new team means that they will redesign the BOJ's monetary policy, not maintain the current policy," said Takayuki Miyajima, a senior economist at Sony Financial Group in Tokyo.

☆ Who is DCG's Barry Silbert, the crypto baron in the crosshairs of the Winklevoss twins over 'bad faith' business practices?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Barry Silbert is the CEO of Digital Currency Group, the crypto conglomerate that owns Genesis and Grayscale. In 2015, the 46 year old started Digital Currency Group (DCG), the $10 billion parent company that controls industry giants like crypto brokerage Genesis and digital asset manager Grayscale. The conglomerate also owns trade publication Coindesk, crypto mining firm Foundry Services, crypto index provider TradeBlock, and digital asset platform Luno Global. Cameron Winklevoss blasted Silbert for "bad faith" business practices last week, alleging the crypto baron owes the digital asset exchange's customers $900 million. Prior to launching DCG, Silbert went to Emory University's Goizueta Business School and began his career as an investment banker at Houlihan Lokey.

☆ Analysis: Bank of Japan gives an inch, investors ready to claim a mile
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But rather than providing breathing room, investors say it is likely to encourage more of the sort of pressure that has bent the bond market out of shape. "Fifty basis points becomes the new 25 basis points. When trading resumed in Japan, 10-year JGB yields shot towards their new ceiling and futures fell so fast it triggered a circuit breaker suspending trade. By the end of the session, 10-year bond yields sat 14.5 basis points higher at 0.395%, the sharpest one-day rise for Japanese 10-year yields in more than 14 years. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERSThose swaps - another market measure of interest rate expectations - tracked bond yields until early this year.

☆ Cryptocurrencies at crossroads after annus horribilis
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Vidya Ranganathan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SINGAPORE, Dec 20 (Reuters) - To borrow from Britain's Queen Elizabeth, 2022 is not a year on which the cryptocurrency world shall look back with undiluted pleasure. Crashes, contagion, collapses came in such quick succession that investors were, towards the end of the year, asking serious existential questions. After all, the largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin , has not kept its head above water for more than a week at a time, and is down about three-quarters from last November's $69,000 peak. What some saw as the final nail in the crypto coffin was the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange last month. Rather, 2022 has become the "I-told-you-so" case for regulators, who've largely maintained an arm's length from the crypto world or even banned trading in cryptocurrencies.

Ben McMillan, chief investment officer at IDX Digital Assets, said the rising popularity of blockchain-based tools including decentralized exchanges and decentralized finance had also been an important development this year. "We could see bigger allocations to digital assets once risk appetite resumes in 2023." Bitcoin and other tokens took a hammering, slumping by over half in just 49 days from the end of May. On a single day in June, bitcoin fell over 15%, its worst day since March 2020 when COVID chaos roiled financial markets. Bitcoin fell by a quarter in less than four days as Bankman-Fried scrambled for funds to bail his exchange out.

☆ Investors revive wagers on Bank of Japan policy change
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Junko Fujita | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TOKYO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Global investors are short-selling Japanese bonds and driving its other market yields higher, reviving bets that the Bank of Japan will need to tweak its ultra-easy monetary policy sooner rather than later. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has repeatedly stressed the need to persist with the bank's unique yield-curve-control policy, which makes Japan an outlier among major central banks aggressively tightening policy to combat inflation. Japan swaps vs yieldsKuroda has said policy will not change until the recent cost-push inflation is accompanied by higher growth in wages. "The central bank may tweak its YCC before March. There should be an event weight it doesn’t have at the moment," says Malcolm, while making clear UBS does not expect any policy change for at least another year.

☆ Crypto: What's next as FTX collapse triggers 'Lehman moment'?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And can the beaten-down crypto industry bounce back? What’s clear is that the fallout from the FTX crisis injects significant volatility into the crypto ecosystem. “Thank God!”Can the crypto industry survive? “In the short term, this is going to be really, really bad for the crypto industry,” said Jog of Sei Labs. Fok said he expects the FTX collapse will push institutional investors away from the crypto space just as they had been warming up to it.

☆ Could the British pound hit parity with the dollar? Here's what the bulls and bears say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

First, it fell to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar after the U.K. government announced its "mini-budget." And of course, a strong dollar hasn't helped either . Strategists at Nomura were the most bearish on the pound, expecting it to trade below parity — at $0.98 — by the fourth quarter. ING: £1 = $1-$1.05 Francesco Pesole, an FX strategist at ING, said the pound looked too strong at $1.10. "A policy mix of loose fiscal policy (with little detail on how to close the deficit) and milder monetary tightening gives investors few reasons to hold the pound," they said.

☆ Sterling slips after IMF and Moody's rebuke Britain over tax plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Harry Robertson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Sterling resumed its fall on Wednesday after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and ratings agency Moody's scolded Britain over its new spending plans. The pound was down 0.56% to $1.068 with renewed dollar strength also weighing on the currency. Sterling tumbled to an all-time low against the dollar of $1.0327 on Monday as investors dumped UK assets after finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled plans to slash taxes and ramp up borrowing. Ratings agency Moody's said the unfunded tax cuts were "credit negative" and were likely to weigh on growth. UK pound coins plunge into water coloured with the European Union flag colours in this illustration picture, October 26, 2017.

☆ Analysis: Japan is chasing its tail on yen intervention
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Vidya Ranganathan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Banknotes of Japanese yen are seen in this illustration picture taken September 22, 2022. Thursday's sudden burst of yen-buying intervention by Japanese authorities -- the first instance since 1998 - caused a large 6 yen move between 140 and 146 in the dollar-yen exchange rate . U.S. policy rates are now 3 percentage points higher than Japan's. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda made clear that policy won't change, and even the yen the BOJ is buying as part of intervention will be replaced. while the boj intervened heavily between april and june 1998, the yen didn't trough until September.

☆ Bonds lead losses as rate hikes hit; yen in focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

World stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) hit two-year lows on Thursday and are down 3% this week. "The 10-year was playing catch up to the newly calibrated cash rate," said Westpac's head of rates strategy, Damien McColough, in Sydney. I think that this volatility continues in all markets in the near term (until) the rates market settles." The euro was last at $0.9844, a fraction over Thursday's 20-year trough at $0.9807 -- although all eyes are on the yen. In commodity markets oil is eying a small weekly loss as rate hikes raise demand concerns.

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