Earth to Japanese yen: Come in Japanese yen …
Posted on Friday, July 11th, 2008 | In Current Market News, JapanA subscriber recently emailed us the other day and asked, “What happened to the Japanese yen?”
There was nothing else written in the email except that. And since nothing notable has really happened to the Japanese yen in the last few months, I can only assume he was asking why the Japanese yen disappeared from our radar.
The only comments we could offer him focused on two things:
1) Inconsistent spurts of risk-aversion and risk-taking plus …
2) The absence of widespread US dollar selling.
The Japanese yen has been tied to the risk environment. And since neither the risk takers nor the risk averse have dominated the market, the Japanese yen has been given little direction.
Additionally, the Japanese yen has been bogged down by a US dollar that’s trying to find its way. Since March 17th, the dollar has actually appreciated and the yen hasn’t been feeling the love.
And even though our editorial has shifted away from the Japanese yen snooze-fest, we maintain the belief that a massive wave of risk aversion could still very easily descend upon financial markets and prop up the Japanese yen.
The above chart shows USDJPY. Price action appears to show this pair topping out at 10860. A clean break below support at 10500 (red line) could confirm yen strength and open the door to test the next nearest support levels.
And if you haven’t been following the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac developments, let’s just say things could get awfully ugly; enough even to spark the fearful risk aversion we mentioned earlier. Might be all that’s needed for the break below 10500.
Regards,
Jack & JR
Last 5 posts by Jack Crooks
- Only Gold Is Winning the Ugly Contest - February 26th, 2009
- Stocks AND Dollar to Rally in the First Half? Keep Hope Alive - January 6th, 2009
- We’re Bullish on the US Dollar Today ... and Tomorrow! - January 5th, 2009
- Can we rest? Gold may lead the way. - December 22nd, 2008
- A super deal on the U.S. dollar - December 20th, 2008
![]() About Jack Crooks (http://blogs.moneyandmarkets.com/blog/currency-corner)
John (Jack) Crooks is the founder and president of Black Swan Capital, an independent advisory firm specializing in foreign exchange and currency markets investing for retail and institutional clients. A seasoned financial advisory with nearly 20 years of investment experience, Mr. Crooks uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches to determine the fundamental driving force(s) behind the movement of the currency, capital, and commodities markets. He is the editor of Weiss Research’s latest investment offerings, World Currency Alert and World Currency Options, which were launched in August 2007. Mr. Crooks also founded Ross International Asset Management, a discretionary money management firm specializing in global stock, bond, and currency asset management for retail clients. Previously, he was general manager of Plexus Trading, where he specialized in currency futures and commodities trading. During his successful career, Mr. Crooks served as chief currency and futures strategist of M2 Futures Inc., an investment boutique headquartered in Chicago, as well as vice president of Global Strategic Research for an international investment boutique, where he was responsible for providing daily advice and global strategy analysis. Prior to entering the investment arena, Mr. Crooks held various corporate finance positions. He has written extensively on the subject of global currencies and international economics and has been published in Asian Times, Futures Magazine, Barron’s, Bloomberg, Dow Jones Newswire, and across many financial websites. He has also appeared on Bloomberg TV and CNBC. Mr. Crooks holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida State University and a master’s in business administration from the University of North Texas. |



