Will Bank of Japan Intervene? Investors Unsure, Yen Fluctuates

The Japanese yen fluctuated today, staying nearly flat at present, as Forex market participants were unsure whether the Bank of Japan would intervene to trim yen’s gains.

The crisis in Europe is hurting Japan’s economies in several ways. First, it weakened demand for the nation’s exports from European countries. Second, the crisis boosted demand for the safety of the yen, helping the currency to rebound from the March lows. Analysts say that the BoJ is likely to intervene as the impact of the previous easing measures is waning. On the other hand, central bank’s Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said that monetary policy has limited ability to support an economy. The statement made traders wonder: is the BoJ really keen to intervene?

Another factor that is adding to uncertainty is today’s monetary meeting of the US Federal Reserve. Speculators and market analysts will look into the policy statement after the meeting for signs of future quantitative easing. The members of the Federal Open Market Committee previously were divided in their opinion whether the US economy needs additional stimulus, making it uncertain whether QE3 would happen.

USD/JPY traded at about 81.38 as of 15:09 GMT today, following the advance to 81.56 and the fall to 81.07, while the opening price was 81.30. EUR/JPY was near it opening level of 107.29, while intraday high was 107.65 and the low was 107.12. GBP/JPY stayed flat at 131.23.

USD/JPY Gains as Fed Does Not Mention QE3

The US dollar gained against the Japanese yen today before retreating to the opening level as the Federal Reserve refrained from adding stimulus to the US economy. The currency remained lower versus the euro and the Great Britain pound.

Some analysts anticipated some dovish remarks from the Fed today. Such expectations didn’t come true as the Federal Open Market Committee said in its statement:

The Committee expects economic growth to remain moderate over coming quarters and then to pick up gradually.

The FOMC remained rather neutral in the statement, mentioning an improvement of employment and housing

markets, but saying that “the unemployment rate has declined but remains elevated” and ”the housing sector remains depressed”. The Committee maintained its main interest rate stable near zero and reiterated the pledge to keep rates low till late 2014.

The reaction of the dollar wasn’t as strong as might expect. The greenback climbed against the yen, but later retreated. The pound and the euro were almost unfazed by the monetary decision.

USD/JPY climbed from 81.30 to 81.69 before trading at 81.34 as of 20:08 GMT today. EUR/USD was up from 1.3195 to 1.3218 and GBP/USD went higher from 1.6142 to 1.6170.

Euro is mostly rangebound today, making small gains against the US dollar, after a Dutch bond auction proved reasonably successful. The euro has been struggling lately due to concerns about the political stability of eurozone countries, as well as continued worries about Spain.

Japanese yen is mixed today as Forex traders look for direction. There is a lot to think about today, in terms of news and forecasts, and currencies are part of the confusion. Yen has slipped against the euro after choppy trading, but is higher against the pound and the dollar.

Euro Rangebound in Forex Trading

Euro is mostly rangebound today, making small gains against the US dollar, after a Dutch bond auction proved reasonably successful. The euro has been struggling lately due to concerns about the political stability of eurozone countries, as well as continued worries about Spain.

The Great Britain pound rose today against the US dollar after a report showed that confidence of Britons unexpectedly improved last month, muting speculations about quantitative easing from the Bank of England. The currency was down against the Japanese yen.

The Great Britain pound rose today against the US dollar after a report showed that confidence of Britons unexpectedly improved last month, muting speculations about quantitative easing from the Bank of England. The currency was down against the Japanese yen

GBP/USD Higher as Consumer Confidence Improves

The Great Britain pound rose today against the US dollar after a report showed that confidence of Britons unexpectedly improved last month, muting speculations about quantitative easing from the Bank of England. The currency was down against the Japanese yen.

Euro Struggles on Weak Sentiment Data

Euro is struggling this morning, thanks in large part to weak sentiment data. Losses have been limited, though, by the information out of the United States about what could happen next with the Federal Reserve. As a result, the euro is hovering around the level of its open, and struggling to move much higher.

Swedish Consumer Confidence Rises, Krona Follows

The Swedish krona climbed today against most major currencies after a report showed that confidence on Swedish households improved this month, reducing probability of a next interest rate cut by the nation’s central bank.

Aussie Gets a Boost Amidst Concerns

Aussie is getting a boost today, amidst concerns plaguing other currencies around the world. Australian dollar is moving higher, with a little help from higher gold prices, as well as comparisons to other currencies.

Euro Falls as S&P Downgrades Spain

The euro fell today as Standard & Poor’s downgraded Spain’s sovereign credit rating, adding to speculations that the debt crisis is spreading across Europe despite measures taken by European governments

Yen Gains Even as Bank of Japan Adds Stimulus

The Japanese yen gained today as demand for safety overcame Bank of Japan’s attempts to weaken the currency. The yen slumped earlier as the BoJ expanded its asset purchase program to support the struggling economy.

US Dollar Falls Across the Board

US dollar is falling across the board today as some optimism makes an appearance in the markets, and as traders continue to digest the latest statement from the Federal Reserve. The dollar index is down today, and greenback is struggling against its major counterparts.

Canadian Dollar Gets a Boost in Forex Trading

Canadian dollar is getting a boost today in forex trading, receiving some help from disappointing US economic data. Indeed, a lot of the loonie’s gains today are coming as a result of disappointing news, and less about solid advances made by the Canadian currency.

Aussie Posts Gains as Bank of Japan Boosts Liquidity

The Australian dollar climbed today, reaching a monthly high versus its US counterpart, after the stimulating measures of the Bank of Japan boosted commodities and global stocks. The currency was down against the yen, though.

mexican-peso-erases-losses-as-bank-of-mexico-doesnt-cut-interest-rates

The Mexican peso trimmed its losses versus the US dollar today after the nation’s central bank left it key overnight interbank funding rate unchanged for the 26th consecutive meeting, disappointing traders who expected an interest rate cut.

Bank of Japan Not Able to Spoil Good Week for Yen

The Japanese yen gained this week against other major currencies and headed to the biggest monthly gain since June against the US dollar on fears of the crisis in Europe and concerns that the health of the US economy is not as good as was previously considered.

Angry Boehner to Dems: Enough with the “war on women” crap already

The exciting conclusion to the great student-loan interest-rate debate. Remember, Romney sided with Obama on extending the current lower rate a few days ago so the questions for House Republicans were (a) whether they’d go along and (b) if so, how they’d pay for it. The solution: Extend the rate and offset the $6 billion cost by cutting a similar amount from the new Prevention and Public Health Fund in ObamaCare instead. No way were the Democrats going to let the GOP get away that easily, though, so here was Pelosi this morning demagoging the issue in the shrillest, most electorally advantageous way possible:

“Their priority is to protect the subsidies for Big Oil,” said Pelosi at a Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday. “Our priority is to prevent breast cancer, cervical cancer, to immunize our children, so that they are healthy.”
Pelosi also charged that Republicans view Obamacare as a slush fund for the administration. “It may be a slush fund to him [House Speaker Boehner], but it’s survival to women,” she said. “It’s survival to women. And that just goes to show you what a luxury he thinks it is to have good health for women. We do not agree.”

Interesting point. If the Prevention Fund is this important to saving lives, obviously it’s pure insanity to touch it. Except that … Democrats themselves already tried to cut billions from the Fund:

Democrats voted solidly earlier this year to take money from the preventive health fund to help keep doctors’ Medicare reimbursements from dropping. Obama’s own budget in February proposed cutting $4 billion from the same fund to pay for some of his priorities.

Turns out women’s health isn’t any special priority of the Fund either. Skim the list of programs for yourself; WaPo’s Suzy Khimm notes that it’s aimed mainly at training doctors and reducing obesity and tobacco use. “War on Obesity” doesn’t do much to move votes, though, which is where Pelosi comes in. And that bring us to Boehner’s angry meme-busting rebuttal, which, according to ABC, inspired Maxine Waters, Donna Edwards, Marcy Kaptur, Yvette Clark and a few other women Democrats to actually walk out in fake-outrage. Perfect Friday night viewing.
The bill passed 215-195, incidentally, although fully 30 Republicans defected. (So did 13 Democrats or else the measure would have failed.) Obama’s threatening a veto but that’s pure posturing since Senate Democrats are bound to reject the House proposal in favor of one of their own before it reaches his desk. O simply wants to be on record as opposing this dangerous woman-hating cancer-spreading legislation in case any undecideds are following the coverage. Exit quotation from the White House: “Women, in particular, will benefit from this Prevention Fund, which would provide for hundreds of thousands of screenings for breast and cervical cancer.”

* * Vault * Green Room * Ed Morrissey Show Video: Obama’s campaign movie gets the “Mystery Science Theater” treatment

Via Jim Treacher, this is actually more “Pop-Up Video” than MST but Andrew Klavan and Bill Whittle are game in the Tom Servo and Crow roles, respectively. Carve out eight minutes and then forward it to any fencesitters you know. It’s an engaging, easily digestible way to counter Team Hopenchange’s myth-making about his first term with facts that the average voter might not otherwise spend time on. A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.

The unserious nature of Washington, Exhibit A: The student loan debate

Over the last week, President Obama made a series of speeches at colleges around the country in which he decried the coming rise of student loan interest rates on July 1. Obama, joined by Mitt Romney, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)  and House Republicans, has said he refuses to let rates rise from 3.4% to 6.8%. Following his lead, as Morgen Richmond noted yesterday, Democrats immediately jumped on the chance to raise taxes on upper earners. Republicans, meanwhile, pushed a bill through the House today that takes $5.9 billion from what Speaker Boehner called an “ObamaCare slush fund” to pay for the extension.
Unwittingly, this student loan debate highlights the debacle that is politics in Washington. To wit:
1. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the House legislation was part of the “war on women” because it took from a women’s health program. I must say, she’s good at staying on message. Good at solving the nation’s problems, or leading her caucus to do so? Not so much.
2. Pelosi also denounced “robbing from Paula to pay Peter.” This from the same women who wants to tax the wealthy because they are wealthy. And while I actually agree with her that we should get rid of oil subsidies, tax credits, etc., a) I support eliminating all such subsidies and credits, not just for companies I personally or professionally dislike, and b) Pelosi is being intellectually dishonest in pretending many of the oil industry’s “subsidies” are specifically targeted to them. Jazz Shaw nicely pointed this out last year.
3. Much like they did with the payroll tax holiday extension, Republicans let themselves get suckered into a media game. The fact is that federal subsidies to higher education institutions and/or students increase the tuition students pay, and helps increase the size of the college bubble that is likely to come crashing down soon. Republicans would better serve the public in highlighting this fact instead of playing to the voters’ lack of economic knowledge.
4. The Republican National Committee has stepped up to challenge Obama’s travels to various states under the auspices of “official events,” despite the obvious campaign style and intention of the tour. (For the record, I am aware that President Bush did the same thing. That was just as wrong.) However, the fact that it took ABC News’ Jake Tapper to really bring this issue to the public’s attention says a lot about the willingness of Congress to do its duty and challenge the President on this and other issues of the public trust and corruption, since the RNC’s challenge has no actual legislative power or authority.
5. How many more “temporary” patches to subsidies, tax breaks, pay cuts and like can the federal government afford? The Alternative Minimum Tax, the Bush tax policies, the Doc Fix, the payroll tax holiday, etc. have all been temporarily patched to prevent angering this constituency or that demographic. Once again, elections take priority over effective policy on taxes, spending and other critical issues.
As the two parties head into formal election mode – Romney is about to be the GOP nominee for President, and President Obama just announced his first “official” campaign rally will be May 5 – the voters should note the unserious nature of Washington and give a bipartisan reminder in November that we want real solutions. After all, there are 1.2 million abortions annually in this country. We have the federal government violating the First Amendment with various mandates. Debt is skyrocketing, the economy stinks, Social Security and Medicare are going bankrupt fast, we refuse to solve our immigration problems, major tax hikes are on the horizon and we’re still sacrificing troops for Karzai despite no discernible national interest…and the primary focus of Washington is on student loans.
Of course, the people may not want real solutions. In that case, I’d say it’s time to start packing; America’s decline may soon be steepening.
Dustin Siggins is an associate producer with The Laura Ingraham Show and co-author with William Beach of The Heritage Foundation on a forthcoming book about the national debt. The opinions expressed are his own.

This post was promoted from GreenRoom to HotAir.com.
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