I’m sorry to have missed all of today’s fireworks, though I doubt I could have added much clarity amid the tears staining my 401K statement.
No one on the Hill comes out of today’s session looking very heroic. Much of the Democratic leadership of the House abandoned their caucus and voted against the bill while Republicans were no more disciplined as a party. Hopefully their investments lost 7% in value today so they can understand the ramifications of their vote.
The one observation I would add to the mix is the rapidly strengthening yen’s negative impact on the Japanese economy. Japan’s neighbors have been intervening to support their weak currencies. Soon Japan may have the opposite problem, wanting to weaken the JPY to stay competitive with Korea, China, et al. One wonders whether “stealth intervention” (semi-official buying by state pension funds, insurance companies, and other members of Japan Inc.) can be far behind.
