HJPX News and Press, iShares Currency Hedged JPX-Nikkei 400

Summary Officials at the world's major central banks, led by the US Fed, grew increasingly united in their resolve to bring inflation under control. The August about-face pulled the Europe ex UK and both US Russell indexes back down to the bottom of the performance ranks for the y...

Summary The FOMC may consider a full-point rate hike but will likely settle on delivering its third consecutive 75 basis-point increase. The BoE will meet on Thursday and it has a big decision to make. The FX world is closely watching everything out of Japan. US ...

Summary The main economic data release for the trading week is the US inflation report. The UK economy is in a precarious position and facing a recession. Chinese President Xi is expected to meet with Russian President Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in U...

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...

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...