Japan Real Time Charts and Data

Edward Hugh is only able to update this blog from time to time, but he does run a lively Twitter account with plenty of Japan related comment. He also maintains a collection of constantly updated Japan data charts with short updates on a Storify dedicated page Is Japan Once More Back in Deflation?

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

More on Japanese retail investors participating in carry trade

According to Marketwatch,
"Analysts said the yen has also been pressured by growing appetites for risk among Japanese individuals who are borrowing in yen to fund positions in higher-yielding currencies. Currency trading by Japanese individuals rose to record $11 billion per day in the fiscal year ended in March -- a threefold increase from a year earlier, according to figures from Tokyo firm Yano Research Institute Ltd. as cited in a Bloomberg report Yano Research publishes an annual report on Japanese currency trading."

It is one thing to take yen that you've saved up to speculate in foreign exchange; it is quite another to speculate on margin. This isn't likely to end well for a significant number of these individuals...