InvestorMind

The Japanese Finance Minster, Yasushi Kinoshita, stated that, “”Japan is fiscally worse than Greece.“ This statement is huge. At a conference in Japan, the Finance Minister also noted that in 2011 Japan ran a 10% deficit and their debt to GDP ratio skyrocketed to over 230%. When we look back at economic history when a country breaks through the 160% debt to GDP number they usually have either economic collapse or a currency crisis. Only Great Britain during its imperial might in the 1700 and 1800’s were able to come out of a debt load this large. What makes all this particularly interesting is that most of Japan’s debt is held domestically. Because of this the Japanese financial system will be much more susceptible to fiscal shock. An additional piece of news makes the statement by the Japanese Finance Minister even more serious. This year alone Japan will have to pay back in full nearly $3 Trillion, nearly 25% of all the debt they owe. Financial stability will be completely ...

In this letter to investors written by Kyle Bass of Hayman Capital Management. He talks about what he thinks may lie ahead for Europe and Japan. Hayman_Nov2011

Kyle Bass is the founder of Hayman Capital Hedge Fund who made millions betting against subprime mortgages and is now betting on the collapse of Europe. Here's an interview of Kyle Bass on BBC's Hardtalk. Some quotes from the interview. ""Buying Gold Is Just Buying A Put Against The Idiocy Of The Political Cycle. It's That Simple!" "They Have A German Pope And An Italian Central Banker"

Honda Motor Co. President Takanobu Ito says the high yen makes it impossible for Japan to remain a major manufacturing center for automobiles. Ito offered his thoughts during an interview with The Asahi Shimbun. Excerpts follow: * * * Question: Can Honda continue to export automobiles, given the growing negative effects from foreign exchange losses brought about by a stronger yen? Ito: At current foreign exchange levels, that is out of the question. The situation is such that our executive in charge of the U.S. market said, "Sending automobiles from Japan will only add to our losses." (Honda) has a long history of setting up plants overseas as part of a move toward a system that promotes local production and local sales. However, the body blows we have taken as a result of the current stronger yen have made it clear that Japan can no longer be a global center in terms of a manufacturing and exporting base. Read the full article here .