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☆ Japan jolts markets in surprise change to yield curve policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In a move explained as seeking to breath life back into a dormant bond market, the BOJ decided to allow the 10-year bond yield to move 50 basis points either side of its 0% target, wider than the previous 25 basis point band. But the central bank kept its yield target unchanged and said it will sharply increase bond buying, a sign the move was a fine-tuning of existing ultra-loose monetary policy rather than a withdrawal of stimulus. "Today's step is aimed at improving market functions, thereby helping enhance the effect of our monetary easing. "This change will enhance the sustainability of our monetary policy framework. It's absolutely not a review that will lead to an abandonment of YCC or an exit from easy policy."

☆ BOJ jolts markets in surprise change to yield curve policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Shares tanked, while the yen and bond yields spiked following the decision, which caught offguard investors who had expected the BOJ to make no changes to its yield curve control (YCC) until Governor Haruhiko Kuroda steps down in April. But the central bank kept its yield target unchanged and said it will sharply increase bond buying, a sign the move was a fine-tuning of existing ultra-loose monetary policy rather than a withdrawal of stimulus. Reuters GraphicsAs widely expected, the BOJ kept unchanged its YCC targets, set at -0.1% for short-term interest rates and around zero for the 10-year bond yield, at a two-day policy meeting that ended on Tuesday. The 10-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield briefly spiked to 0.460%, close to the BOJ's newly set implicit cap. Kuroda has repeatedly said he saw no need for the BOJ to tweak YCC, including taking immediate steps to address the side-effects such as the distortion it was creating in the bond market.

☆ Analysis: As Bank of Japan switches gears, roaring dollar hits the skids
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Reuters GraphicsThe dollar has risen 9% this year, as the Federal Reserve has jacked up interest rates to combat inflation at 40-year highs. As other central banks, from the Bank of England, to the European Central Bank, and the Reserve Bank of Australia, have raised their own rates, dollar bulls have run out of puff. The close relationship between Japanese monetary policy and U.S. Treasuries adds another twist to the story. It all boils down to whether Japanese investors have hedged their Treasury exposure or not, he said. But the stress is on "at the margin", not least because of the sheer size of Japanese investors' holdings of U.S. debt, analysts said.

☆ BOJ changes yield curve control, jolts markets with surprise monetary policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Bank of Japan shocked markets Tuesday with a surprise tweak to its bond yield controls that allows long-term interest rates to rise more, a move aimed at easing some of the costs of prolonged monetary stimulus. Shares tanked, while the yen and bond yields spiked following the decision, which caught offguard investors who had expected the BOJ to make no changes to its yield curve control (YCC) until Governor Haruhiko Kuroda steps down in April. But the central bank kept its yield target unchanged and said it will sharply increase bond buying, a sign the move was a fine-tuning of existing ultra-loose monetary policy rather than a withdrawal of stimulus. The 10-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield briefly spiked to 0.460%, close to the BOJ’s newly set implicit cap. Kuroda has repeatedly said he saw no need for the BOJ to tweak YCC, including taking immediate steps to address the side-effects such as the distortion it was creating in the bond market.

☆ Rising interest rates give pause to festivity for markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Japan's Nikkei (.N225) fell 1.1% and the yen , which rose about 0.4% to 136.20 per dollar, was the biggest mover in otherwise quiet currency trade. Japan will consider revising a 2% inflation target agreed between the government and central bank next year, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The yen has been the worst-performing G10 currency this year, with a 15% loss against the dollar, driven mainly by the gap between rising U.S. rates and anchored Japanese rates. U.S. rates were steady last week, despite the Fed projecting further hikes ahead, as traders fret that interest rates are already high enough to start hurting economic growth. It is down 20% for the year and has failed in several attempts at sustainably trading above its 200-day moving average.

☆ Festivity on hold for stocks as rate hikes loom
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.1%. Japan will consider revising a 2% inflation target agreed between the government and central bank next year, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The yen has been the worst-performing G10 currency this year, with a 15% loss against the dollar, driven mainly by the gap between rising U.S. rates and anchored Japanese rates. U.S. rates were steady last week, despite the Fed projecting further hikes ahead, as traders fret that interest rates are already high enough to start hurting economic growth. It is down 20% for the year and has failed in several attempts at sustainably trading above its 200-day moving average.

☆ Festivity on hold for stocks as rate hikes beckon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Japan's Nikkei (.N225) fell 1% in early trade and the yen , which rose about 0.5% to 136.00 per dollar, was the biggest mover in quiet currency trade. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.4%. The yen has been the worst-performing G10 currency this year, with a 15% loss against the dollar, driven mainly by the gap between rising U.S. rates and anchored Japanese rates. U.S. rates were steady last week, despite the Fed projecting further hikes ahead, as traders fret that interest rates are already high enough to start hurting economic growth. It is down 20% for the year and has failed in several attempts at sustainably trading above its 200-day moving average.

☆ 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.

TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Japanese life insurers plan to buy more super-long government bonds, enticed by the highest yields since 2014. Nippon Life, Japan Post Insurance and Sumitomo Life are among the insurers that have detailed their investment plans for the rest of the fiscal year-ending April at briefings over the past several days. Many insurers also plan to shift some money from currency-hedged holdings of foreign bonds into yen bonds, with hedging costs soaring. "We have already been shifting from hedged foreign bonds into JGBs, and we will continue to do so." "Anything above 1.5% and we can consider additional investment" in 30-year JGBs, said a representative from Sumitomo Life at a briefing on Tuesday.

☆ BOJ ramps up bond buying ahead of policy meet, yields fall sharply
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Junko Fujita | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 20-year JGB yield slipped 8.5 bps points to 1.110%, its lowest since Oct. 18. "The market sentiment was good today as U.S. Treasury yields fell overnight so JGB yields would have fallen anyway," said Naka Matsuzawa, a strategist at Nomura Securities. Yields on shorter end notes also fell on Wednesday, with the two-year JGB yield retreating 1 bps to -0.025%. The BOJ offered to buy 350 billion yen ($2.36 billion) of bonds with 10- and 25-year maturities, up from 250 billion yen it had planned. The BOJ said it would also buy 575 billion yen of bonds with 3- to 5-year maturities, up from a planned 475 billion yen, and 150 billion yen of bonds with maturities more than 25 years, up from 100 billion yen.

☆ BOJ increases bond buying, yields fall sharply
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Junko Fujita | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The market immediately reacted to the move, with the 30-year JGB yield falling 10 basis points (bps) to 1.475%, its lowest since Oct. 14. The BOJ conducted emergency bond buying operations for two straight sessions last week only to see yields keep rising. Yields on shorter end notes also fell, with the two-year JGB yield retreating 1 bps to -0.025%. The BOJ offered to buy 350 billion yen ($2.36 billion)of bonds with 10- and 25-year maturities, up from 250 billion yen it had planned. The BOJ said it would also buy 575 billion yen of bonds with 3- to 5-year maturities, up from a planned 475 billion yen, and 150 billion yen of bonds with maturities more than 25 years, up from 100 billion yen.

☆ BOJ, battling rising yields, will conduct emergency bond buying for 2nd day
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Junko Fujita | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In its latest move to curb elevated yields, the BOJ said it would conduct an emergency operations, offering to buy 100 billion yen ($665.56 million) of bonds with maturities between 10 and 25 years. The BOJ conducted a similar operation on Thursday only to see yields on some notes rising to multi-year highs. "But upward pressure on the 10-year bond yields is getting stronger, because not just super-long yields, but yields on shorter ended notes are rising." Yields on the benchmark 10-year yields are at 0.25% at the top of the ceiling of BOJ's policy band, having breached that level for two straight sessions this week. Additionally, the bank would offer to buy 650 billion yen of 5- to 10-year bonds, up from planned 550 billion yen.

☆ Bank of Japan to conduct emergency bond buying as yen teeters near 150
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Japan's central bank on Thursday said it would hold emergency bond-buying operations, offering to buy some $667 million in government debt, a move designed to put a floor under bond prices. The yen has been hammered this year by the widening difference between U.S. and Japanese interest rates. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterBut the central bank has so far showed no sign of changing tack. Thursday's move showed the BOJ was continuing to buy bonds and keeping the YCC policy in place. The central bank said it would buy 100 billion yen ($667 million) of JGBs with maturities of 10-20 years and another 100 billion of bonds with maturities of 5-10 years.

☆ Tesla and Truss, 5% and 150
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A Tesla model 3 car is seen in their showroom in Singapore October 22, 2021. read more The latest European tech sector earnings on Thursday were downbeat, too. Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent said the BoE would respond to changes in Truss's tax and spending policies. read moreKey developments that should provide more direction to U.S. markets later on Thursday:* European Union summit in Brussels* U.S. Oct Philadelphia business index. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ This fund manager is beating the market. Here’s what he’s betting against
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Speaking ahead of the Fed meeting, investment veteran Patrick Armstrong believes the Fed is unlikely to keep hiking rates indefinitely. "I think consensus probably has the Fed getting to 4.25% in March next year, and then probably pausing. Armstrong is co-fund manager of the Prosper Global Macro fund , a diversified multi-asset fund with an inflation beating mandate. The fund was up 4.8% as of the end of August, outperforming major indexes in both the U.S. and Europe. Read more Fund manager says the bear market is going to get 'nasty' — but says he's not 'freaking out' Looking for a short-term trade?

☆ The Japanese yen is at 24-year lows. Here's what to expect at the next BOJ meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Japanese yen is hovering close to its weakest levels since 1998, and authorities have hinted at taking action to stem the currency's decline. The widening rate differential has caused the yen to weaken significantly, with the Japanese currency falling about 25% year-to-date. Loading chart...Last week, the Bank of Japan reportedly conducted a foreign exchange "check," according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei – a move largely seen as preparing for formal intervention. watch nowStrategists at Goldman Sachs also don't see the central bank shifting from its yield curve control policy, pointing to its hawkish global peers. End of AbenomicsMonetary policy changes by Japanese authorities as unlikely, chances being especially low under BOJ governor Harukiho Kuroda, UBS Chief economist for Japan Masamichi Adachi told CNBC last week.

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