Institutional Investor (February Issue)
“Talk of currency wars is once again in the air, making foreign exchange potentially a major component of investment returns.” Last year, “the dollar underperformed all major currencies except the yen.” In 2013, the Norwegian krone, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar are likely to benefit if the dollar’s slide continues.
Tags: Australia, Currency, Dollar, Forex, Investment, Krone, New Zealand, Norway, U.S., Yen
Wall Street Journal (January 1)
“Encouraged by promises of strong action by Japan’s new government to weaken the yen, end deflation and introduce structural overhauls, market experts are generally bullish on Japanese equities for 2013…. Strategists almost uniformly agree that Japanese shares remain undervalued and underexposed to international investors.”
Tags: Equities, Government, Investors, Japan, Undervalued, Yen
Wall Street Journal (June 12)
“Rents go down, grocery bills shrink, companies lay off workers and people move away to live in the countryside—and yet somehow Tokyo continues to be among the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates to live in.” Tokyo shot back to the top of Mercer’s annual list of the most expensive cities in the world. The strength of the yen was a major factor. Osaka ranked third and Nagoya tenth.
“Rents go down, grocery bills shrink, companies lay off workers and people move away to live in the countryside—and yet somehow Tokyo continues to be among the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates to live in.” Tokyo shot back to the top of Mercer’s annual list of the most expensive cities in the world. The strength of the yen was a major factor. Osaka ranked third and Nagoya tenth.
The Economist (July 23)
With bank stress tests complete in Europe, Japan breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the euro would strengthen and the yen finally weaken. The Economist suggests otherwise. Based on the Big Mac index, the magazine believes the Euro is overvalued by 14% versus the dollar, while the yen is slightly undervalued and should rise to 85.7 versus the dollar. More extreme still, the yuan appears undervalued by 48% versus the dollar. The Big Mac index is based on the concept that wherever you are, standard goods like a burger should cost the same amount.
Tags: Big Mac index, euro, Exchange rates, Yen
