September 8th 2008
Mortgage Bailout Hurts Yen
The Yen has been hammered over the last month, by both the sudden strength of the Dollar and increasing comfort with risk-taking. Now that the US government is set to bail out the two American mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, investors are likely to become even more confident that the global economy is in strong enough shape to weather the credit crisis. As demand for risky investments- such as stocks and high-yielding currencies- grows, the Yen (because of low interest rates) will once again find itself as one of the main funding currencies for the carry trade. Of course, risk-aversion is a two-way street, and one stumble in the US economy, for example, would benefit the Yen. Bloomberg News reports:
"The yen is likely to take a hit. A government bailout will certainly stabilize Freddie and Fannie and improve risk appetite for carry trades."
Read More: Yen Drops Most in 3 Months as U.S. Takes Over Fannie, Freddie
