Hi Maurice, <<The Central Bank is the same thing as the government ...>>
No.
<<... it's owned by the government>>
Yes.
<<Or maybe I misunderstand ownership of the printing presses in Japan>>
No.
<<Certainly, in NZ and the USA, the intellectual property related to currency is held by the governments. They own the currency and do what they like with it>>
Yes.
In any and all cases, when govt buys shares from market (i.e. HK), it does so with tax dollars or borrowed money to be paid back with tax dollars, and gets to pick which stocks to buy. In HK's case, the govt structured a mutual fund and sold same to public, netting a profit.
When the central bank buys shares from banks, it does so with the output of printing press, hitting the currency pool with ultra high and direct dose of dilution, and it buys shares sold to it by the banks, i.e. the dogs of the equity market, and will eventually end up using the certificates for wall paper.
<<What Uncle Al is carefully doing is maintaining a stable currency>>
We shall see.
<<Buying shares seemed to be a very excellent idea in the case of Hong Kong>>
Yes, it saved me as I sold out of Thailand and bought HK, and then quickly sold out of HK, staying even going into the Asian Financial Storm.
<<I suspect it would also be an excellent idea for the Japanese government, though it would irritate the carrion hunters>>
No, I believe you are wrong, as usual, because the Japanese CB, if it actually goes through with what it says it wanted to do, will end up (a) diluting the currency to 200:1 Yen:USD, (b) own a bunch of shares of companies that will go bankrupt, (c) make the Japanese electorates seriously poor, for the benefit of those that borrow Yen to buy Gold;0)
The Japanese, as I had mentioned before, will sacrifice themselves for the great good of the world. Others may choose to join them, I choose to borrow from them, followed by a gentle shove, and sounds of gurgling.
Chugs, Jay |
