Berkshire "as promised" increased its Shareholding in Japan's five major trading companies, with an average holding ratio close to 10%.
The shareholding ratios of Mitsui & Co. increased from 8.09% to 9.82%, Mitsubishi Corporation's shareholding rose from 8.31% to 9.67%, Sumitomo Corporation's shareholding increased from 8.23% to 9.29%, Itochu Corporation's shareholding was raised from 7.47% to 8.53%, and Marubeni Corporation's shareholding went up from 8.30% to 9.30%. Munger once stated that Buffett's bet on the Japanese stock market is a "once in a century" opportunity, as the low interest rate environment allows investors to achieve substantial returns at almost zero cost.
Japanese bonds have fallen to their lowest point since 2009! The Governor of the Bank of Japan reiterates the determination to 'reduce the balance sheet' and holds an optimistic view on salary prospects.
Kazuo Ueda stated, "From now on, we may see inflation easing driven by import costs, while wages will continue to rise steadily. Therefore, we expect real wages and Consumer spending to improve in the future." The Bank of Japan has also begun to implement an Algo tightening plan, with the monthly purchase of Bonds expected to be halved to 3 trillion yen by early 2026.
Express News | BOJ Increases Short-Term Interest Rate Target to 0.5% (Est. 0.5%), Highest Level in 17 Years. Following the Decision, Nikkei 225 Up 0.6%, USDindex Down 0.2%.
Defense spending is increasing, and Japan's total budget for 2025 will reach a record 115 trillion yen.
In the new budget proposal, the spending items with the largest increase include: a significant increase of over 10% in defense spending, reaching 8.5 trillion yen; and an approximately 7% increase in allocations to local governments. Due to record high tax revenues, the scale of newly issued government bonds will decrease by nearly one-fifth, down to 28.6 trillion yen.
Capital outflows intensify, the yen devalues "Alexander".
The data shows that japan's current account surplus in the third quarter was 8.97 trillion yen (about 57.5 billion dollars), but this figure was offset by the direct investment and securities investment outflows, limiting the potential increase in the yen.
Analysts warn of the risk of Japan raising interest rates: August "Black Monday" is just a preview of a bigger disaster.
①Arif Husain, the head of the fixed income department at Puxin, warns that the "Black Monday" in August is just the initial stage of this disaster and there will be more market fluctuations in the future; ②He believes that the tightening of monetary policy by the Bank of Japan and its impact on global capital flows are not simple, and it will have a huge impact in the coming years.