Is Japan Signaling the Beginning of the End?

Since The Bernank spoke last week, the Japan markets have been in turmoil. Stocks have fallen over 12% in just a few days, and, most troubling, bond rates have risen sharply. See chart, courtesy Zerohedge:

Is the Bank of Japan losing control over rates? The theory of QE is that the central bank can manage rates down by purchasing bonds, but the bond vigilantes in Japan are pushing back.

In the US the fear is that the Fed will be unable to taper off QE. The Bernank’s remarks last week were of a taper, and yet in the US the 10 year has spiked above 2%. There is a concern that if rates go above 2.2-2.25%, the biond portfolios will begin to rotate their mix of long and short bonds, essentially causing a spike in the ten-year which might shoot it to 2.5% – the so-called Bond Convexity. If this happens, expect the Fed to stop the taper and jump back in with (say) two months of QE in one month, to drive rates down.

This would be quite a good buying opportunity of the ten year. It also may signal that even the Fed will face issues in trying to taper and avoid losing control over rates.

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About Duncan Davidson 228 Articles

Affiliation: NetService Ventures

Duncan is an advisor to NetService Ventures, where he focuses on digital media and the mobile Internet.

Previously he was at four start-ups: Xumii, a mobile social service based on a Social Addressbook; SkyPilot Networks, the performance leader of wireless mesh systems for last-mile access, where he was the founding CEO; Covad Communications (Amex: DVW, $9B market cap at the peak), the leading independent DSL access provider, where he was the founding Chairman; InterTrust Technologies ($9B market cap at the peak), the pioneer in digital rights management technologies, now owned by Sony and Philips, where he was SVP Business Development and the pitchman for the IPO.

Before these ventures, Duncan was a partner at Cambridge Venture Partners, an early-stage venture firm, and managing partner of Gemini McKenna, a joint venture between Regis McKenna's marketing firm and Gemini Consulting, the global management consulting arm of Cap Gemini.

He serves on the board or is an adviser to Aggregate Knowledge (content discovery), Livescribe (digital pen), AllVoices (citizen journalism), Xumii (mobile social addressbook), Verismo (Internet settop box), and Widevine (DRM for IPTV).

Visit: Duncan Davidson's Blogs

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