BOJ Largest Shareholder of stocks

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Jeffreyalan
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BOJ Largest Shareholder of stocks

Post by Jeffreyalan » Fri Apr 19, 2019 10:55 am

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Market ... pan-stocks

Just when I think conspiracy sites like ZeroHedge are total bunk, their theories that the global economy is just a gigantic illusion waiting to have the curtain pulled away seem more realistic when I read an article like this!
pmward
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Re: BOJ Largest Shareholder of stocks

Post by pmward » Fri Apr 19, 2019 11:44 am

I'm not sure what it will take to finally get through to these central banks that buying financial assets does not increase inflation... all attempts to increase inflation this way have failed yet they still keep trying.
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Re: BOJ Largest Shareholder of stocks

Post by Kbg » Fri Apr 19, 2019 3:10 pm

I was an Econ undergrad so I’m no expert but it’s pretty clear standard fiat monetary theory is no longer describing reality. I’m guessing there is a Nobel prize some decades down the road to whomever figures this out. My personal theory is population flattening out or shrinking may be more an element than thought. My other pet rock theory is serious data analytics maybe doing something we don’t understand yet.

Pretty sure no one has a clue, or if someone(s) does it’s not in the public sphere yet.

Actually, I take some of the above back. Deflation causes people to postpone purchasing because you can always get it cheaper later and this behavior has been observed/written about...but at root it’s still a demand side issue.
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Kriegsspiel
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Re: BOJ Largest Shareholder of stocks

Post by Kriegsspiel » Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:40 pm

In what way is this a condemnation of monetary policy? A government owning the means of production is socialism, right? It looks like Japan has morphed more into a socialist society. As I understand it, Japanese corporations have traditionally been very loyal to their employees, keeping them on for life, even at the expense of profitability. They also tend towards highly integrated families of companies, zaibatsu (or now keiratsu, I guess), with heavy input from MITI (Ministry of International Trade And Industry) making sure their companies kept chugging along by restricting imports. So their central bank owning majority stakes in their corporations seems pretty Japanese too.
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boglerdude
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Re: BOJ Largest Shareholder of stocks

Post by boglerdude » Sun Apr 21, 2019 12:24 am

Japan's rich. Next they'll buy your neighbors house unless nationalism blocks it.

The problem is they keep companies on life support. If Frank in the cubicle next door gets paid to do nothing, I'll do nothing too.
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Kriegsspiel
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Re: BOJ Largest Shareholder of stocks

Post by Kriegsspiel » Sun Apr 21, 2019 8:32 am

boglerdude wrote:
Sun Apr 21, 2019 12:24 am
Japan's rich. Next they'll buy your neighbors house unless nationalism blocks it.

The problem is they keep companies on life support. If Frank in the cubicle next door gets paid to do nothing, I'll do nothing too.
I guess you could say Japanese culture is both a problem and a blessing. They're rich and kinda what we would think of as socialists. Not caring too much about maximizing profits or importing cheaper goods if it will damage their society, but also generally working hard even if they could slack off.
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I Shrugged
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Re: BOJ Largest Shareholder of stocks

Post by I Shrugged » Sun Apr 21, 2019 8:25 pm

Don't forget the beneficial effect on pension plans of propping up stock prices. Can developed countries even afford a 10 to 15 year bear market? The seas look benign right now, but somewhere out there be dragons.
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