A stronger currency is usually something worth cheering. Not so for Japan. Japan's is an export-driven economy in which growth hinges particularly on sales of vehicles and consumer electronics. When the yen is strong, foreigners have to fork over more of their local currencies for Japanese goods, and that tends to encourage them to look elsewhere.
Japanese leaders have sounded the alarm repeatedly during the past month or two about a protracted rise in the yen. The currency has strengthened by 12 per cent against the dollar since early May and by about the same amount against the euro and pound, threatening to put a spanner in the works of Japan's hoped-for economic recovery.
Shortly after the release last month of worse-than-expected GDP figures for the second quarter, Japan unveiled a plan to reinvigorate the economy by pumping more money into the banking system and enacting new stimulus measures. A main goal of the move, announced on Monday, was to combat strength in the yen, which recently hit a 15-year high. It has not worked - at least not initially. Investors panned the Japanese central bank's pledge of an additional ¥10 trillion in low-interest loans for banks, along with a raft of stimulus initiatives from the government, as too small to fix the country's sputtering economy. The yen gained against the dollar, pound and euro after the announcement: certainly not the response Japanese authorities wanted.
While it has frustrated the Japanese, the strong yen has raised another set of concerns for foreign exchange investors. Japan's ministry of finance all but confirmed last week that it would intervene in the currency markets if the yen's strength persisted, which could scupper bets on a further rise.
At the same time, growing fears of a double-dip recession in developed economies are already pushing investors towards haven currencies such as the yen, potentially making intervention too costly for the government to undertake.
Yoshihiko Noda, the finance minister, "is yet again telling anyone who will listen that he is 'carefully watching currency markets' and will 'take whatever necessary measures to stop an unwarranted appreciation of the Yen'", said Nafees Akbarali, the regional head of fixed-income trading at Standard Chartered. "The market now sees the latest [central bank] actions and Noda comments with less credibility."
afitch@thenational.ae
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
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Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Rating: Five out of five stars
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Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
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Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5