EWJV News and Press, iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF From 09/01/22

Summary Non-China Asian exports are still growing, but the pace of increase has slowed and will slow still further as key export destinations struggle with inflation, energy security, and rising recession risks. In year-on-year terms, the rate of overall export growth is now skirt...

Summary Across the developed markets, central banks have embarked on a tightening path. Will Japan’s central bank soon follow suit? NIRP and YCC remain in place. But recently, some quirks in the Japanese yield curve have indicated that investors expect the BOJ to start to u...

Summary Two shocks pushed the economy off course in the second quarter - Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February and COVID-19 lockdowns in mainland China. Although real GDP decreased slightly in the first two quarters of 2022, do not call it a recession! With global demand...

Much of the recent strength in the yen can be explained in one word and that is China. While I have seen no other currency watchers espouse this theory, I continue to contend the yen has become a major conduit by which wealth is being transferred out of China. This tight relations...

The main economic report of the week ahead will be the preliminary estimate of the August PMI. The policy implications are not as obvious as they may seem. The UK's composite PMI fell in three of the four months through July. However, at 52.1, it remains above the boom/bust level, tho...

Jackson Hole has been heavily discussed since the Fed’s supposed “dovish pivot” last month when it adopted a more data-dependent stance. While policymakers have pushed back against the idea of a pivot, markets have continued to price in a slower path of tightening...

Inflationary pressures have eased in recent months thanks to reduced supply-chain frictions and the commodity market coming off the boil. Slower input cost inflation reflected an easing of pressures among both manufacturers and service providers. With staff shortages continuing gl...

While the interest rate-sensitive housing sector may still feel the squeeze, we note that activity is at historically strong levels. Existing home sales have come off a bit more. They are expected to have fallen for the sixth consecutive month in July. While the housing market is ...

Almost every month this year, the “discounts” on financial assets from their year-end 2021 prices have gotten larger, leaving the S&P 500 with its worst first half-of-the-year return since 1962 (narrowly avoiding its worst first half since the Great Depression). Ther...

Elevated inflation, slowing global economic growth expectations, and reduced central bank liquidity remain the key economic considerations. The policy interest rate divergence between the U.S. and Europe is likely to increase amid heightened recession risk in Europe. We expect mar...