South China Morning Post (April 6)
“China’s yuan may be going global faster than Western data suggests” as “many yuan transactions are now routed through China’s own global payment system, which often does not show up in traditional data sets.” Such an understatement by mainstream metrics “could help explain the gap between Beijing’s official narrative–which describes the yuan as the world’s third-largest payment currency–and readings from tracking systems such as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift).”
Tags: China, Currency, Gap, Global, Global payment system, Mainstream metrics, Traditional data sets, Understatement, Western data, Yuan, Yuan transactions
The Guardian (April 5)
This has become “a Japanese century – thanks to the yen’s role as easy money for global finance.” Thanks to “loose monetary policy” the yen has evolved “into the world’s cheapest and most reliable funding currency. By suppressing yields on public debt to keep Japan’s domestic economy afloat, the BoJ effectively created a publicly subsidised funding pipeline for bankers.” They can make a quick buck by borrowing cheaply in yen and investing in higher-return assets, such as US equities. The “yen carry trade” is enormous, with profits for global investors reckoned to run into tens of billions of dollars.”
Tags: Bankers, BOJ, Carry trade, Easy money, Economy, Equities, Funding currency, Global finance, Japanese century, Loose, Monetary policy, Public debt, Reliable, Suppressing, Yields
