This from Bloomberg (gated) ICYMI, tracing some of the history of bets made against the Bank of Japan since, at least, 1994. 1994!
- Betting against the BOJ has confounded some of the biggest names in global finance in recent decades.
- Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn back in 2009 said Japan’s debt burden would lead to a government default, while Hayman Capital Management’s Kyle Bass just a few months later predicted the collapse of the JGB market.
- A decade-and-a-half earlier David Roche of financial consulting firm Independent Strategy forecast a surge in Japanese yields that never came to pass.
- “It’s called the ‘widow-maker’ trade for a reason, and I have no intention of joining the ranks of such traders,” said Crossbridge Capital Chief Investment Officer Manish Singh. “I wouldn’t bet against the Japan central bank printer,” he said, adding “they can print and print until shorts retreat.”
The current iteration is:
- that the Bank of Japan, under growing pressure to stabilize the yen as it sinks to a 24-year low, will have to abandon its 0.25% cap on benchmark bond yields and let them soar, just as they already have in the US, Canada, Europe and across much of the developing world.
Earlier in the session here today were comments from Kuroda, yet again reinforcing BOJ determination.
While the Bloomberg report is gated, if you can access it there is more info there as background.
