Friday, March 11, 2011

Japan hit

Japan’s stocks slid 1.7 percent in Tokyo today as the earthquake struck less than half an hour before the market closed. The yen advanced 0.2 percent to 82.77 per dollar as of 5:07 p.m. in Tokyo. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.4 percent as of 5:22 p.m. in Tokyo, with losses accelerating after the quake. Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index fell 1 percent.
The central bank said in a statement that its settlement system was working and that it was able to settle all accounts today without disruption.
Full report
Comment: Depending on the extension of the damage, one may expect a wave of financial repatriation, at least by insurers. Japan will have to do a lot of intervention to keep rates low and to dampen the rise of the yen. Public finances are bound to deteriorate further.

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