japanese intervention

USD/JPY – This Market "IS" USD/JPY

Forex Kong 9 Comments

Some snippets from conversation on the currency pair USD/JPY from the Members Site, as I see it as valuable information for all.

**Watch it trade along side risk here as……USD/JPY has only managed to make it “back to the top of it’s range” while the SP 500 as well Nikkei have rallied to complete a total retracement of the move lower last week.

If that’s the best USD/JPY can do….”now” with markets back near the all time highs….you’ve got to question what it’s got left in it.**

 

**USD and JPY both represent the two “base currencies” currently being printed at alarming rates.

These are considered “funding currencies” as money is borrowed on the cheap…and in turn “invested” in assets ( U.S Stocks for example ) where “yield can be found”.The comparison of the two throws many for a loop….and as a currency pair it’s a tough nut to crack without broader understanding. The last piece of this puzzle rests with JPY.

As risk comes off ( I don’t care if it’s tomorrow…but in general ) all those investments “funded” by cheap JPY bust…..and the money flows back home.

Like a tidal wave….all the “free money” suddenly comes out of “all easy assets funded by it” – and comes racing back to it’s place of origin.**

 

**Nothing can stand in the way of this as the trade is “so massive” that it’s movement overtakes / over shadows all other movements in markets. U.S Bonds are sold, U.S stocks are sold, Australian and NZD Dollars are sold….EVERYTHING funded by cheaply printed JPY is sold as the elastic band “snaps back” and JPY is repatriated back home. The BOJ has printed , devalued , intervened MANY times before this ( although not on such a desperate scale ) and every single time…..I’m talking EVERY SINGLE TIME – the same result.

It doesn’t work….it won’t work this time.

Only thing is…..with such desperation – it’s already gone on far longer than one would imagine…..hence.

The disaster / BANG we’ll eventually see when she “once again”….does what she always does.**

 

**USD/JPY “IS” the market ( as per my entire trading thesis since you’ve followed ).

Seeing it “top out” back in January “WAS” the top of the market and this entire summer has merely been “retail distribution” as the big boys ( and myself of course ) plot our way towards the next “real move”. Watching USD/JPY fall thru 101.20 will mark ” the beginning of the end ” in global risk…..as ALL THINGS will follow suit.

A valuable observation / consideration for one to take forward.**

Obviously much more info available in at the members site, should you be so inclined to “broaden your horizons”.

Fukushima Exposed – Tuna With Two Heads

Forex Kong Got something to say?

After years of obfuscation and, simply put, lies; TEPCO has admitted in a new report that more nuclear fuel had melted at the Fukushima nuclear reactor than previously stated. While this is dreadful news, it gets worse, as the report further confirms that despite Abe’s promises and TEPCO’s state-funded efforts to build ice-walls, it may miss an important deadline binding it to clean radioactive water stored inside the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Bloomberg reports officials commenting “we are doing everything we can do,” but it appears, that is not enough as tens of thousands of tons of toxic water are expected to remain at the site by the imposed deadline.

Get the rest of the story here or “oh I dunno” maybe start looking ito the “reality of this disaster” yourself.

You still haven’t got short Japan? EWJ ( as suggested a couple days ago ) clearly moving lower.

More here.

A Question? – For Fellow Forex Traders

Forex Kong 10 Comments

You are all hotshots – I know.

So…..tell me.

As many of you have suggested “trading the fundamentals” is akin to “reading the entrails of dead animals” ( essentially suggesting that “pure technical analysis” is sufficient ) – what are your thoughts on USD/JPY?

JPY ( Japanese Yen ) being the largest contributing factor in the current and seemingly “never ending rally in risk” ( as Japan’s “printing machine” currently dwarfs that of The United States ) – why isn’t USD/JPY making “massive upside moves” along side the ridiculously manipulated run up in U.S Equities?

If currency markets where “taking the bait” wouldn’t we see USD/JPY bursting higher, then higher, and even higher alongside the current ponzi playing out in U.S Equities?

USD_JPY_July_23_2014

USD_JPY_July_23_2014

From a purely technical perspective the chart pattern seen above ( a descending triangle ) is extremely bearish – suggesting that the pair will “eventually break through support” and likely waterfall lower.

The Central Banks of both Japan and The Unites States are hell bent on preventing this from happening but…..would you imagine the opposite?

Risk at all time highs…but the “ultimate suggestion” of risk ( borrowing JPY at 0% and investing it in U.S Equities” in seeking yield ) hasn’t done jack shit for the past 6 months.

I invite you all to weigh in – as fellow readers can only benefit from the potencial “pissing match ” to ensue.

Perhaps a cat’s got your toungue? Or maybe you’re out in the back yard now…looking to kill one and have a good look at it’s insides – with hopes of figuring this out.

Good luck with that.

 

Bearish On Japan – EWJ As A Play

Forex Kong 12 Comments

Looking at the Nikkei “pump job” this morning, as well JPY getting hammered,coupled with the sales tax implementation and latest string of “terrible data” out of Japan I’m about as bearish on Japan as one could be.

It doesn’t look like Japan is going to be able to do much more “stimulus wise” until maybe even July.

Get this……the government is also now telling residents previously living a short 20 km from the Fukushima Plant that it’s SAFE to go back home. SAFE?!

Unreal.

For those into stocks one could consider short plays on “EWJ” or even a couple ( tiny tiny! ) longer dated put options “short” late tomorrow or even mid-week.

As for us currency guys..the Japanese Yen continues to wallow, as the BOJ continues to do all it can to keep this boat afloat. I’m still waiting for a more substancial signal / move before trying “yet again” to get long JPY ( short of a few trades already initiated ).

Look for continued news / headlines and likely larger moves DOWN in the Nikkei Japanese Stock Market up around 15,000.

 

Why Isn't Fukushima Front Page News?

Forex Kong 9 Comments

I’ve learned everything, I’ve read everything – but I still haven’t “heard” anything!

What the hell is going on? I mean seriously!

We’ve got the Golden Globes front and center on a typical Sunday night here in the West, while a population of 13 Million people in Tokyo sit quietly unaware of the looming disaster only 150 miles away!

150 miles! Can you even imagine! A nuclear accident / disaster that makes Chernobyl look like a beach BBQ, and you’ve got an entire population ( not to mention an entire planet now that Japan has passed the laws “forbidding reporting” on the incident ) sitting in the dark!

Obama and the boys in Britain, France, Canada have sent millions in aid and stepped right up to help  tiny African countries work thru civil “disputes” ( not taking anything away from the horrors there in ) as well helped any number of countries through “national disasters” at the drop of a hat!!

How the hell can the entire world continue to turn a blind eye to what’s really going on in Japan?

It’s like sitting at home in Seattle, and the nuke site is in Vancouver – that close ( with winds blowing at a modest 6 km/h)…..and you’re not making plans to move????

Unreal…..we’ve seen more coverage of a “f$&kin cat stuck down a storm drain” than that of the largest industrial disaster known to mankind, let alone the largest impending threat to our human existence! Where are the news helicopters? Where’s the “minute to minute coverage” of the attempted removal of fuel rods etc?? Where’s the “evacuation plan” when ALL OF JAPAN needs to get off the rock?

How can this not be considered a “global event”? And immediately take the attention of the planets top ranking / thinking / experts in the field to “get their asses over there” and get this thing figured out!

I can’t believe that I will actually have to cross off one of the most highly anticipated travel / food / cultural adventures of my “proposed” future now knowing what I know.

I will never get to sit at “Nobu” in Tokyo and stuff my self to the gills with the finest sushi on the planet, and worse yet – I won’t be able to take anyone to enjoy it with me.

Japan now  – “officially” off limits.

Unreal. I am beyond sad.

 

No Taper – Never – More QE To Come

Forex Kong 61 Comments

There is no possible way that the Fed is going to taper, and I find it to be completely irresponsible that the current “media blitz” in the U.S media is speaking of it  – as if it’s practically a given!

This is absolutely outrageous!

A bunch of floating heads reading a teleprompter, speaking as if they’ve some “authority” on the subject, rambling on and on and on,as to how the Fed’s “taper” is not “tightening”.

And you’re buying this bullshit?! Do you even understand the difference? Is there a difference?

It’s like this…..I can find a million different angles to illustrate the point, but in sticking with the “Japan is doomed theme” lets simply consider this.If the U.S Federal Reserve was to actually “taper” we all know the inverse / correlating effect it will have on interest rates. THERE IS NO WAY THE FED TAPERS WITHOUT INTEREST RATES RISING. PERIOD.

Interest rates rising in the U.S will put immediate ( and I mean “immmmmmediate” ) pressure on interest rates around the globe.

Boom!….Japan’s interest rate on outstanding debt rises to only 2% and BAM!

Full scale economic collapse / disaster / as the interest owed would exceed 80% of the government revenue, setting of a string of “economic events” tumbling domino after domino in this now “very global economy” we live in.

There is not a single chance in hell! The Fed is going to risk “global economic meltdown” by way of tapering, and “forcing rates higher” at a time when the entire planet is hanging by a thread.

Impossible.

This thing is so interconnected now that as we’ve discussed in the past – The U.S Fed has painted itself so far into the corner, that the only way to keep the dream alive will be to “increase QE”.

I honestly don’t know how the entire staff of CNBC as well CNN go home every night to their families etc – and are able to look themselves in the mirror with any shred of dignity, moral code or sense of decency.

It’s disgusting.

Japan's Aging Population – Adult Diaper Sales Surge

Forex Kong 12 Comments

Not like Fukushima isn’t a large enough problem for Japan ( and the rest of the world for that matter ) but unfortunately……..it’s only a “near term concern”.

Originally triggered by a “massive baby boom” post World War II, the demographics of Japan have evolved into something pretty unusual. The combination of long life expectancy and extremely low birth rate (one of  the lowest of all developed nations ) has resulted in a rapidly aging population, such that currently “one in every four citizens” is over the age of 65.

According to Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, it will be “one in three people” in Japan to be aged above 65 by the year 2030.

There will be more people “over the age of 60” than “under the age of 14” by 2020, with more diapers being sold for adults than for babies.

Japan’s rapidly aging population and low investment returns are driving a decline in savings and wealth ( as retirees now “spend” their savings as opposed to grow them ) dramatically reducing the amount of capital available to fuel the economy.

Since 1981 Japan has produced enough savings to finance its domestic investment needs “and” still export savings as well. But as Japan grows older and it’s savings pool shrinks they will surely become a “net borrower” – meaning…..yet another “purchaser of U.S Debt” will likely stop buying and put even “more pressure” on the economic situation in the U.S.

“You ain’t investing in no U.S Treasury Bonds when your primary concern is maintaining a reasonable quality of life in your later years.”

Is it any wonder we see Japan taking such drastic steps ( via currency debasement / QE etc..) to promote growth and bolster their economy?

A work force that is generally “drying up” ……………and taking their life savings along with them.

Japan's Woes – Fukushima, China , Debt And Seniors

Forex Kong 20 Comments

For the coming week, I’m going to be writing / providing considerable information on some of the very troubling developments taking place in Japan. As you already know, I watch Japan very closely ( much more so than the U.S) and am “compelled” to share with you some of the things I’ve recently come to understand.

1. Fukushima

With over 300 tonnes of contaminated radio-active water flooding back into the pacific ocean “daily” for the past 2 FULL YEARS – the nuclear disaster in Japan is the absolute #1 largest threat to humanity I will have seen ( and likely yourselves ) in our lifetimes. The current situation is so dire, that Abe and the Japanese government have now passed a “new bill” granting Japan’s govt sweeping powers to declare state secrets where in whistleblowers and journalist may face up to ten years in jail for exposing anything the Japanese government declares “a special secret.”

If you can imagine how frail the situation is – if a single “spent fuel rod assembly ” of the 1000’s hanging precariously in reactor 4 where to break in open air – 30 million citizens of Tokyo may face evacuation, crippling the world’s third largest economic centre, paving the way for complete global economic  disaster.

As little coverage as the story is getting in the West, the threat at Fukushima is very, very real and will take many, many years to even “contain” – let alone repair. All the while…the contamination continues with estimates of impacting the entire Pacific Ocean over the next 5 years.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-06/japan-secures-final-passage-secrecy-bill-designed-kafka-inspired-hitler

This is an excellent breakdown of the situation moving forward, should any of you care:

http://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/fukushima-facts-that-you-have-not-been-told-about-dire-update/

Given the “passing” of this new bill, I fear it’s unlikely we will really “ever” get the information needed to properly evaluate the situation at Fukushima, as it’s obvious the Japanese don’t want to speak of it. Tourism, exports, health care, government reputation etc…take your pick – the lasting effects on Japan ( and it’s economy ) will be felt for many years to come.

Throughout the week I want to also touch on China’s recent military actions concerning Japan, as well the country’s “mushroom cloud” of debt and rapidly aging population.

The Correction – One Way To Trade It

Forex Kong 2 Comments

It’s simple.

The hot money out of Japan has been responsible for “a pile” of the recent run up in U.S equities, as Ben and his buddies have been busy enough in the bond market – with little success. TLT is currently priced at 102.65!

I’m pulling up this ol chart from back “I don’t know when” I first suggested what was to come for U.S bonds, the U.S dollar – and inevitably U.S stocks.

Quote: “Not much else to add here as the intermarket analysis above pretty much outlines the direction for the U.S Dollar. I feel we will likely see a time very soon, when U.S bonds, U.S stocks as well as the U.S Dollar all fall together.”

TLT_Forex_Kong_April_20

TLT in Weekly Downtrend

I really don’t think people grasp how screwed the Fed is, and unfortunately how this translates to the “middle class” of America – who will be stuck paying for it.

With 85 billion per month in effort, you can see by only a couple of “down days in the market” the Fed is absolutely powerless when the “market decides” what’s what.

You’d seriously have to ask your self what on Earth would need to occur to “reinstill confidence” in the purchase of U.S bonds/debt? Not to mention the “global move” away from USD. Tapering is impossible. QE will be doubled no question, then likely tripled.

Did I mention that recent data has just had the “Yuan” replace the Euro as the second most widely traded currency on the planet?

This may not be the “last of it” as the large majority of retail investors will view this “next dip” as an excellent place to buy….and they will be right – for a couple weeks.

You want to play the correction?

Get short Japan.

Eyes On Japan – Start Following Nikkei

Forex Kong 21 Comments

It’s 11:07 a.m in Tokyo Japan right now, and traders are just getting settled in for the long week ahead.

Considering our “global market” as well the fact that Japan’s current QE program is 3X larger that of the United States – it goes without saying that I’m very interested in activity overseas. A quick look at Asian markets on Sunday night is a virtual “look into the future”, as equally skilled and experienced traders/investors evaluate the weekend’s data and start making their moves.

A current chart of the Nikkei ( I use futures /NKD ), compared to a chart of the SP 500 has both poking around at near term highs so….in that sense ( if you don’t choose to follow the Nikkei specifically ) you can imagine traders in Japan in nearly the “exact same position” as those on Wall Street.

Two separate governments, both with similar monetary policies, printing like mad with hopes they will “somehow” survive. Massive trading floors, big banks flooded with liquidity and a stock market “turned up to 11”.

In the simplest “minute to minute” sense I could easily bet you 1000 pesos that as the Nikkei trades lower, you can look forward to a lower open in the U.S. Half the planet is already “up and running” devouring the news of the day ( perhaps U.S retail sales over the holiday weekend?? ) so…..what? Did you have some idea that U.S markets lead?

With a current QE program “dwarfing” that of the U.S I can assure you – in the current environment of “free money” and “print to eternity” Japan is the country to keep your eye on.

All those freshly printed Yen had to have gone somewhere right?

You don’t think the Japanese are smart enough to “jump onboard” the “bubble fest” currently playing out in U.S equities as well?

Please…….with a full 12 hour head start, I’ll see “trouble on the horizon” in Japan long before you’ve hit the snooze button.