Japanese Yen

Re "U.S. Is Right to Bolster Yen," editorial, June 18: I completely disagree with The Times' view regarding the United States' efforts to bolster the yen and my reason may have its roots in the idea of protectionism. But it seems like only last week our trade representatives were lamenting about how hard it is to crack Japanese markets. And now that the rice has hit the fan, the U.S. is all too eager to extend its hand and prop up the yen. When was the last time the Japanese offered to help our economy?

Toyota Motor Corp. profits soared in the latest quarter, helped by strong sales in North America and a slide in the value of the Japanese yen. Toyota, which surpassed GM in 2012 to become the world's largest auto company, said profit for its third fiscal quarter, or the three months ended in Dec. 31, rose 23% to $1.09 billion (99.91 billion yen), compared to the same period a year earlier.  Sales for the quarter rose 9% to $58 billion (5.3 trillion yen). “Given increased overseas vehicle sales mostly in North America, progress in our company-wide profit improvement activities and the slight weakening of the yen,” Toyota now expects a full-year fiscal year profit of $9.3 billion (860 billion yen)

The dollar rose against most European currencies but fell sharply against the Japanese yen on world currency markets Thursday. Gold was off slightly. Analysts suggested that Thursday's trading provided evidence that the main goal of major industrial nations was to strengthen the yen more than push the dollar down against all currencies. "At this point, no one really knows what was decided at the Big Five meeting" last Sunday, said Gary Dorsh, senior analyst at G. H. Miller & Co. in Chicago.

Earthquakes, floods, a strong Japanese yen — just about everything has conspired to hold Toyota Motor Corp. back. But with the world's No. 3 automaker recovering from the natural disasters and the North American auto market continuing to strengthen, Toyota on Tuesday raised its earnings forecast for its current fiscal year. Toyota manufactures the Camry, the bestselling passenger car in America, as well as the Prius hybrid and other models. It also owns the Lexus brand. The automaker is now forecasting a profit of 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion)

The Japanese yen is strong and the dollar is weak, and salmon fanciers in the Northwest are paying for this lesson in international economics at the fish counter. "It's outrageous," said John Russell of Pure Food Fish in Seattle's Pike Place Market where fresh chinook, or king, salmon steaks and filets that sold a year ago for $4.95 and $5.95 a pound now run $7.95 to $8.95.

What's going on in Japan? The yen has been the strongest major currency this year. At the beginning of 1993, it sold at 125 per dollar, but during the summer the dollar fell to almost 100 yen per dollar--the "penny parity" level that was unthinkable in early 1985 when it took 260 yen to buy a buck. By late September, it was still trading well below 110.

Vehicle Exports to Continue to Fall, Analysts Say: The fall will happen regardless of the value of the Japanese yen, and that could have a major impact on Japan's trade surplus, industry analysts said Friday. To cut costs and avoid trade wrangles, the big firms that build Japan's cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles have embarked on a partial move to foreign plants. Analysts said the return of a weaker yen is unlikely to change that course.

The Japanese yen suddenly is the strongman of global money. The yen rocketed against the dollar, the euro and other currencies Thursday amid an unwinding of the so-called carry trade -- investors' use of low-cost loans in Japan to fund purchases of investments worldwide. The carry trade has been a favorite strategy of hedge funds and other big-money players for years.

As if they don't have enough to agonize over, California budget writers might want to add the shrinking U.S. dollar to their list of economic bogeymen. After appreciating 5% in 2000 and another 6% last year, the dollar peaked in February. Since then, it has been falling against both the Japanese yen and the euro. As of last week, the dollar had declined by more than 14% from its February peak against the two currencies and by greater than 7% against the British pound. Most observers believe the dollar will continue its slide.

The yen slid to new three-year lows in early trading today in Asia, after the Japanese government said industrial production fell to the lowest level in 14 years in November, led by weakness in major exporting industries. The yen was trading at 131.21 to the dollar, compared with 130.84 in New York on Wednesday. The currency had strengthened modestly Wednesday, halting a nine-day slide, after a Japanese finance official signaled that the government might try to slow the decline.

The euro currency's value fell again Wednesday, sliding below 90 U.S. cents and further worsening investment returns for Americans who own European stocks. U.S. tourists in Europe, however, are gaining new buying power with each uptick in the dollar versus the euro. Meanwhile the Japanese yen rose versus the dollar amid talk that the Bank of Japan could raise interest rates as early as Friday. The euro slid to close at 89.9 cents in New York, down from 90.

The dollar hit a seven-month low against the Japanese yen Tuesday, extending a trend that experts say stems more from Japan's economic recovery than any fundamental weakness in the U.S. currency. The dollar has also faltered in recent weeks against the euro, the European common currency, as the European economy has gathered steam. If the trend continues, the dollar's weakness could help boost U.S. exports at a time when the nation is running record trade deficits.

Stocks ran into a broad, sharp decline Wednesday, confirming why many Wall Streeters maintain a cautious stance in spite of the market's record-setting rally a day earlier. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials--dragged lower by a sell-off of Procter & Gamble--dropped 155.76 points, or 2%, to 7,865.02, after surging 380.53 points Tuesday for its largest daily point gain in history. The U.S.

The dollar hit a new low against the Japanese yen today, and top business leaders called emergency meetings to plot strategy to keep Japan's export earnings from being squeezed even tighter. The dollar closed at 146.20 yen, down 2.80 from the Friday closing, after falling as low as 144.70. Today's closing was 2.60 yen below last Tuesday's final listing of 148.80, which had been the lowest since modern exchange rates were set in the late 1940s after World War II.

Stock markets around the world generally rose Monday in a rally buoyed by Federal Reserve Board chief Alan Greenspan hinting that the Fed may consider lowering U.S. interest rates. U.S. financial markets were closed for Labor Day.