Monday October 27
 
17:00
 
Why The Yen Is Strong

From the BBC:

Earlier on Monday the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations issued a statement warning that the strength of the yen was a threat to economic stability, which was taken as a threat of co-ordinated action to reduce the value of the currency.

While the yen briefly weakened, it soon climbed back towards Friday’s 13-year high against the dollar.

The yen has been strengthening as a result of the end of the carry trade, in which traders borrowed the Japanese currency and used it to buy currencies with higher interest rates.

As the difference between Japanese rates and those elsewhere in the world has fallen, traders have been unwinding the carry trade, which means they have been using other currencies to buy yen, which has boosted the Japanese currency.

This makes sense. Interest rates in Japan are almost 0%. I always send my money back to the UK to take advantage of better interest rates. The difference between me and Japanese, however, is that I am in no hurry to transfer it back since money in the UK is useful to me. The Japanese seem to be transferring it back even though the rate is terrible.

One of the few exchanges rising was the Seoul market, which reversed early losses to close up 0.8% after South Korea’s central bank cut its key interest rate from 5% to 4.25% at a rare, unscheduled meeting.

There are some real amazing bargains to be had at the moment with the difference between the Yen and GBP, Korean Won. A Nikon D700, for example, at 40%+ cheaper in Korea than Japan - it is usually 40% more expensive.

Monday October 27
 
12:58
 
Woman In Jail Over Virtual Murder

From the BBC:

A woman has been arrested in Japan after she allegedly killed her virtual husband in a popular video game.

The 43-year-old was reportedly furious at finding herself suddenly divorced in the online game Maplestory.

Police say she illegally accessed log-in details of the man playing her husband, and killed off his character.

The woman, a piano teacher, is in jail in Sapporo waiting to learn if she faces charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data.

She was arrested on Wednesday and taken 620 miles (1,000 km) from her home in southern Miyazaki to Sapporo - where her “husband”, a 33-year-old office worker lives.

If charged with the offences, and convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

‘So angry’

A Sapporo police official, according to the Associated Press news agency, said the woman had used the man’s ID and password to log in to the game last May to carry out the virtual murder.

“I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry,” she was quoted by the official as telling investigators.

Maplestory is a Korean-made game, which has grown in popularity around the world but has a strong fan base in the Far East.

The game centres on defeating monsters, but players can also engage in social activities and relationships - including marriages - through their digital characters, called avatars.

Monday October 27
 
00:36
 
Google Power

From Millionaire Mommy Next Door:

The unthinkable happened. My entire Google account was disabled. This means my blog, my email account, my calendar… the whole shebang… are gone.

I have followed all of the available instructions, filled out all of the forms… and all I get back from Google is this automated message: “Thank you for your report. The account in question is disabled, and we can’t provide you with access to it.” I have no idea why. I haven’t violated any of the terms of agreements, so I’m guessing that someone hacked into my account.

A similar thing happened to me a few months ago. I set up pop access on my gmail account and set my mail app to download all my gmail by pop - the idea being to backup everything.

A few hours later Google blocked my account and I couldnt get access to it for several days. There was no warning and they didn’t respond to any support. I wasn’t doing anything I shouldn’t do - they provided pop access and all I was doing was using it.

When you come to rely on the services that Google provide, it’s very frustrating when access gets blocked, and even more frustrating when you realise that there is nothing that you can do about it.

I learnt from that experience. I’m still using Gmail - but I now have the email automatically backed up to a second account and calendar sync’d with iCal, which I export to a file periodically. My blogs - all on my own domain - automatically backup to my Mac every night.

Saturday October 25
 
23:42
 
In These Days Of Financial Doom…

…there’s only one thing you can do: spend all your money before it becomes worthless!

Friday October 24
 
17:42
 
146.84

Every time I transfer money from yen to pounds the rate drops like a whore’s pants. Last week I transferred when Xe was showing around 174. As I write this now, the rate is 146.84.

A few months ago I transferred at, what was it, 206? 204? Now.. blimey.

When will this craziness end?

From The Times:

The prospect of lower interest rates makes holding sterling less attractive compared with the dollar. Official US interest rates are much lower at 1.5 per cent, leaving less scope for further reductions.

In Britain, a cut to 4 per cent next month looks quite possible while some economists are predicting it could be down to 2.5 per cent next year. That could drive the pound down to $1.50 by Christmas according to Citigroup economists. Of course, forecasting currencies is a mug’s game and some rivals are predicting the pound will end the year at about $1.80.

Currently the pound is $1.55.

In the time of writing this article the GBP/JPY rate has fallen again to 144.91 144.51 144.18.

Britain’s official currency will soon be replaced by the peanut.