The Japanese Yen received a lot press recently and this time it was not because of intervention or a threat of one. After three consecutive months of running a trade deficit, the Japan posted a gap of JPY 2.49 trillion for 2011. Unfamiliar territory for this country, which had a surplus every year since 1980. [...]

Interesting proposal from Germany on how to handle the Greek crisis surfaced late last week. It is rather simple – Greece would give up control over its tax and spending decisions. A new “budget commissioner”, appointed by the Eurozone, would have the power to veto Greek budget decisions. Under this plan, paying off creditors would [...]

Following failed intervention in the Yen market few months ago, Japanese authorities decided to take advantage of strong domestic currency. To this end, they established a fund, which would allow Japanese companies to borrow money for, oversees acquisitions, or buyouts. This program has $130 billion at its disposal, coming from the country’s foreign-exchange reserves and [...]