The Yen-denominated price of Hawaii vacations jumped 3% today and has increased 23% since September as the Japanese Yen continues to lose value against the US dollar and Japanese government policy turns sharply toward stimulus. This will eventually reduce Japanese tourist spending in Hawaii. Here is the rundown:
BOJ to pump $1.4 trillion into economy in unprecedented stimulus
R: The Bank of Japan unleashed the world's most intense burst of monetary stimulus on Thursday, promising to inject about $1.4 trillion into the economy in less than two years, a radical gamble that sent the yen reeling and bond yields to record lows. (They are copying Obama who copied them.)
New Governor Haruhiko Kuroda committed the BOJ to open-ended asset buying and said the monetary base would nearly double to 270 trillion yen ($2.9 trillion) by the end of 2014, a dose of shock therapy officials hope will end two decades of stagnation…. (It won’t)
The Fed may buy more debt, but since Japan's economy is about one-third the size of the US economy, Kuroda's plan looks even bolder.
"This is an unprecedented degree of monetary easing," a smiling Kuroda told a news conference after his first policy meeting at the helm of the central bank…. (Which is saying a lot because Japan has been trying and failing to use debt supported government spending to jump-start the economy for 20 years.)
The yen fell more than 3 percent against the dollar and 4 percent against the euro, while the 10-year government bond yield hit a record low. (Translation: Price of Hawaii vacation increased 3% in one day and the policy of Japan’s government will continue to weaken the yen, thus increasing the price of Hawaii vacations.)
read … Yen Rising
Mike McCartney:‘No question’ Hawaii’s tourism industry will benefit from Japan stimulus (LOL!)
Reuters Analysis: Japan election points to return of "construction state"
Bloomberg: Japan's Pricey Public Works
List of Wasteful Public Works in Japan
Nikko's Absurd Public Works Projects
One Year Chart showing USD going from 78 yen to 96 yen. The spike at right is today’s action: