‘Strong Dollar’ Is Lie Told in New Currency War

English: President Barack Obama meets with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner aboard Air Force One March 31, 2009, on their way to attend the G-20 Summit in London. Français : Dans son bureau à bord d’Air Force One, le président Barack Obama discute avec le secrétaire au Trésor Timothy Geithner le 31 mars 2009 en route pour assister au sommet du G20 à Londres. Sur les fauteuils, les blousons présidentiels “Air Force One” et accroché à coté du hublot le Sceau du Président des États-Unis.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By William Pesek – Jack Lew’s first act once he becomes U.S. Treasury secretary will be to tell a lie.

On Day One as Timothy Geithner’s successor, Lew is bound to say “I support a strong dollar” to reassure markets that there will be no change in long-standing U.S. policy. Nothing could be further from the truth, though, as the yen trades at 2 1/2-year lows and the world considers a response to Japan’s blitz on money markets. more> http://tinyurl.com/adzqpno

Related articles

• ‘Strong Dollar’ Is Lie Told in New Currency War – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• Fed official alleges Geithner may have alerted banks to rate cut (news.yahoo.com)
• Timothy Geithner: Raise U.S. Debt Limit To Infinity (infiniteunknown.net)
• Don’t worry about currency wars, Felix Salmon, Reuters
• Weidmann warns of currency war risk, Michael Steen, FT.com/CNN
• Jens Weidmann warns of currency war risk, telegraph.co.uk
• How to survive and thrive during the currency wars, John Stepek, MoneyWeek

ECB saves euro, lets economy hang

By James Saft – Mario Draghi has saved the euro, for the time being, but seems less inclined to help the economies in which it is used.

With central banks in the U.S. and Japan easing aggressively, that leaves the euro liable to continue its recent gains, making countries in the currency area less able to export their way out of their problems. more> http://tinyurl.com/ctlelwz

Related articles

• Morgan Stanley On The ‘Fascinating’ Divergence Between Europe And Japan (businessinsider.com)
• ECB Outlook (5starstrading.wordpress.com)
• Draghi Says Economy Will Heal as Financial Markets Stabilize – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• Euro Hopes Flatten Ahead Of ECB (seekingalpha.com)
• Can The ECB Bring Clarity To The EUR/USD? (seekingalpha.com)
• Euro jumps to 10-month high vs dollar (seattlepi.com)

The yen gets it in the end

By James Saft – What happens when an over-valued currency meets a political leader seemingly bent on imposing his vision on a battered central bank?

Watch Japan, soon-to-be Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the yen in 2013 to find out.

Bold macroeconomic planning this all may well be, and no one can argue that the BOJ, which gained independence to set policy in 1998, has covered itself in glory, but the implication is that Japan in 2013 will be an interesting and potentially explosive experiment in how to approach the issues of debt, demographics and deflation which trouble not just Japan but large swaths of the rest of the world. more> http://tinyurl.com/bccczdf

Related articles

• Bank of Japan may go nuclear in 2013 (forexlive.com)
• Japan’s Likely Next PM Calls on BOJ to Print Unlimited Yen (sgtreport.com)
• Yen dips on Japan election plan (bbc.co.uk)
• Abe Spurs Tripling of Overseas Debt Buying on Yen (bloomberg.com)
• Facebook Needs a Dislike Button for Abe’s Ideas – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• Japan Should Adopt U.K.-Style Targets for BOJ, Abe Adviser Says – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• A Weaker Yen? HSBC Says Don’t Bet On It (blogs.wsj.com)

Japan’s Softbank offers to buy 70 percent of US operator Sprint for $20 billion

Dan Hesse, President & CEO Sprint Nextel Corporation during his keynote presentation at CTIA WIRELESS (Photo credit: TechShowNetwork)

By Jay Alabaster – Japan‘s Softbank said Monday (Oct 15) it has reached a deal to acquire a 70 percent stake in U.S. mobile operator Sprint Nextel for US$20 billion, forming one of the world’s largest telecom operators.

The companies said the deal would allow aggressive Softbank to expand into the U.S. market and become a global force, with the new, combined entity becoming the third-largest operator in the world by revenue. The deal will also provide $8 billion in new capital to Sprint for its network and to shore up its finances.

“It’s going to open up opportunities for us both internally and externally that we haven’t had since I have been here at Sprint,” Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said at a news conference in Tokyo. more> http://tinyurl.com/8p4r2pq

Related articles

• Softbank to buy 70 percent of Sprint for $20 billion (bostonherald.com)
• Softbank to buy 70 percent share in Sprint [u] (electronista.com)
• Softbank Bondholders Balk at Sprint Price Tag (blogs.wsj.com)
• Softbank To Buy 70 Percent Of Sprint For $20 Bln (npr.org)
• Report: Softbank deal to buy 70 percent stake in Sprint to be announced Monday (techhive.com)
• Softbank Confirms 70 Percent Acquisition of Sprint [Sprint] (gizmodo.com)
• Sprint For Sprint Nextel (seekingalpha.com)
• Softbank to buy 70 percent of Sprint for $20 bln (newsok.com)
• Japan’s Softbank to buy 70 percent of Sprint for $20.1 billion, Mari Saito and Tim Kelly, Reuters

Investors opt for gold ahead of U.S. “fiscal cliff”

By Eric Onstad – Investors are going for gold as their top commodities choice in what looks like a turbulent fourth quarter for the sector, planning for the possibility of a “fiscal cliff” that could shrink the U.S. economy and spur more money printing.

Previous bouts of quantitative easing (QE) have sent commodity markets soaring with other risk assets, but commodities have recently broken away from tracking equities as investors question the impact of the third round of U.S. bond-buying along with other programs in Europe, Japan and China. more> http://tinyurl.com/9jsa2f2

Related articles

• Analysis – Investors opt for gold ahead of U.S. “fiscal cliff” (blacklistednews.com)
• Analysis: Investors opt for gold ahead of U.S. “fiscal cliff” (news.terra.com)
• IMF: Global economic slowdown getting worse (worldnews.nbcnews.com)
• Commodities Corner: Gold leads fourth quarter’s likely winners (marketwatch.com)
• U.S. Fiscal Cliff ‘single biggest threat’ to global economy, Fitch warns (business.financialpost.com)
• Marc Faber Warns of Profit Taking In Gold, Other Commodities (GLD, USO, DBC) (etfdailynews.com)
• QE3: Better For Gold Than The Economy? (seekingalpha.com)
• Here’s A Quick Review Of 3 Huge Risks That Could Crack The Markets In Q4 (businessinsider.com)
• Signs Of The Gold Standard Are Increasingly Emerging…Worldwide, Ralph Benko, Forbes