Quote from Martinghoul:
Just more tough talk...
Will they, wonât they - and would it matter either way? These are the key (yen-related) questions of the day, or indeed, the month.
Japanâs signalled (with slightly more feeling this time around) that it might â really, really might â act to curb yen strength after the currency reached a 15-year high of Y83.60 to the dollar on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the yen dipped slightly to about Y84.50, after seemingly tough talk from the finance minister, Yoshihiko Noda, about prospects for official intervention.
After days of market speculation about government action, Noda has now incrementally ratcheted up his earlier rhetoric â albeit in typically nuanced Japanese style â from last weekâs pledge to monitor the yen âappropriatelyâ.
As one veteran analyst â and wit â in Tokyo pointed out: Noda and other politicians continue to use the word âtekisetsuâ to refer to their stance on the yenâs rise. It literally means âappropriateâ, as in âappropriate stanceâ, âresponding appropriatelyâ â and pronounced quickly, it can sound like âTexasâ.
So while the politicians continue to talk about âTexasâ, nothing will be done to bring the yenâs rise to an abrupt halt, says the analyst. The key word (or phrase) to watch for, he advises, is âdecisiveâ â sekkyoku kakan. When politicians mention that in relation to the yen, they will probably actually do something.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/08/25/325776/intervention-threats-the-never-yending-story/
Waiting for "sekkyoku kakan"... 