The Bank of Japan v the markets
Investors are testing the central bank’s promise to keep yields low
Thirty years ago, Britain’s snap decision to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism made George Soros, a hedge-fund titan, more than $1bn from his short positions against sterling. Hedge funds may not be the financial giants they were in 1992, but some speculators still aspire to “break the bank”, to borrow the phrase used to describe Mr Soros’s bet. This time, it is not the Bank of England but the Bank of Japan that the would-be bank-breakers have their eyes on.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The BoJ v the markets”
Finance & economics June 25th 2022
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