The Japan Bubble: How One Country Is Holding Up The Entire World
Summary
TLDRThe video script explores the concept of the 'carry trade', illustrating how a small interest rate change by the Bank of Japan can have global financial impacts. Using magic as an analogy, the narrator explains how misdirection in economics can lead to significant market reactions. The script delves into historical context, the mechanics of the carry trade, and its potential to trigger market crashes. It also discusses current economic indicators, suggesting a possible recession, and shares the narrator's personal investment strategies amidst uncertainty.
Takeaways
- ๐ The concept of misdirection in magic is likened to macroeconomics, where small changes can have large, seemingly unrelated effects.
- ๐ A 0.25% interest rate increase by the Bank of Japan can have a significant impact on global markets, illustrating the interconnectedness of economies.
- ๐ก The 'carry trade' is a financial strategy where investors borrow in a country with low-interest rates and invest in higher-yield assets elsewhere, which can lead to substantial profits or losses.
- ๐ The Japanese stock market's drop of 12.4% was its worst single-day decline since 1987, and it affected global markets, including the US and the NASDAQ index.
- ๐๏ธ Andrey J uses the analogy of a card castle to represent the foundations of the carry trade, including low-interest rates and a declining yen, and how changes can lead to instability.
- ๐ The carry trade has been a significant factor in global finance for decades, with various countries participating and experiencing both benefits and risks.
- ๐ The size of the carry trade is difficult to measure accurately, with estimates ranging from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars, indicating its potential impact on the global economy.
- ๐ซ The carry trade can lead to 'flash crashes' in the market when there are unexpected changes, such as an interest rate increase by a central bank.
- ๐ผ Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, is holding a large amount of cash, which some interpret as a sign of economic caution or preparation for a downturn.
- ๐ Indicators such as luxury item sales, unemployment rates, and small business struggles suggest potential economic slowdowns or a possible recession.
- ๐ฐ Andrey J shares his personal investment strategy, which includes dollar-cost averaging into Bitcoin and the S&P 500, and reinvesting dividends to build wealth over time.
Q & A
What is the concept of misdirection in magic and how is it related to macroeconomics?
-Misdirection in magic is a technique where a magician creates a small action to draw attention away from the real trick. In macroeconomics, this is akin to how a small change, like a slight interest rate increase, can have a significant impact on the global economy by drawing attention and causing reactions in financial markets.
What is the carry trade and how does it work?
-The carry trade is a strategy where investors borrow money in a country with low-interest rates and invest it in another country or asset with a higher return. As long as the return on investment exceeds the borrowing cost and the borrowed currency is weakening, the strategy can be profitable.
Why did the Japanese stock market drop 12.4% in a single day?
-The Japanese stock market experienced its worst single-day decline since 1987 due to the Bank of Japan's unexpected decision to raise interest rates for the first time in 17 years. This small increase scared investors and led to forced liquidations.
What is the significance of the VIX index in the financial markets?
-The VIX index, or the 'fear index,' measures market volatility and investor fear. A high VIX indicates significant market stress and is often associated with market downturns, such as during the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic.
How does the carry trade affect global financial markets?
-The carry trade can inject significant liquidity into global markets when investors borrow cheaply to invest in higher-yielding assets. However, when conditions change, such as an increase in interest rates, it can lead to a rapid unwinding of these trades, causing market volatility and potential crashes.
What historical event is the carry trade's origin often linked to?
-The carry trade's origin is often linked to Japan's economic collapse in 1989. In response, Japan slashed interest rates to nearly zero, creating an opportunity for speculators from other countries to borrow cheaply and invest in higher-yielding assets.
How did the carry trade influence the Australian dollar in the 1990s?
-In the 1990s, Australia had a high-interest rate and a strong currency due to an influx of money from around the world. Investors would borrow in Japanese Yen and invest in Australian treasury bonds, profiting from the difference in interest rates.
What is the current estimate of the size of yen-denominated loans outstanding globally?
-According to the Bank for International Settlements, the loans outstanding from one country to another denominated in yen are valued at 41 trillion yen, or a little over $400 billion.
Why is it difficult to determine the exact size of carry trades worldwide?
-The exact size of carry trades is difficult to determine because foreign exchange borrowing is not included or counted on a bank's balance sheet. Instead, it's hidden within foreign exchange swaps, which are not recorded as debt.
What are some signs that suggest a potential recession?
-Signs of a potential recession include wealthy individuals holding more cash, a decline in luxury item sales, rising unemployment, and small businesses struggling to get loans. Additionally, the market may predict a decrease in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, which is often a sign of a slowing economy.
Outlines
๐ฎ Economic Illusions and the Power of Misdirection
This paragraph introduces the video with an analogy of a magic trick involving a spoon, demonstrating the concept of misdirection. The presenter, Andrey J, compares this to macroeconomics, where small actions can have significant impacts elsewhere. The example given is how a 0.25% interest rate increase by the Bank of Japan affected global markets, leading to massive financial losses. The paragraph sets the stage for a discussion on the carry trade, its effects on the world economy, and the potential for such small changes to cause large-scale economic shifts.
๐ The Global Impact of Japan's Monetary Policy
The second paragraph delves into the historical context of Japan's economic rise and fall, and how its policies inadvertently created opportunities for the carry trade. It explains that Japan's low-interest rates and deflation led to a situation where speculators from other countries borrowed Japanese yen to invest in higher-yield assets globally. The paragraph outlines how this practice has been used by various countries, including Australia and others, to profit from the difference in interest rates. It also touches on the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent revival of the carry trade under Shinzo Abe's policies, highlighting the potential risks of this practice, such as market crashes when conditions change.
๐ The Unintended Consequences of Monetary Policy Shifts
This paragraph discusses the potential triggers for a carry trade collapse, using the example of the Bank of Japan's unexpected interest rate hike in 2022, which led to market corrections and investor liquidations. It draws a parallel to the European Central Bank's rate hike and its impact on the Vanguard International Market ETF. The paragraph emphasizes the uncertainty surrounding the size of carry trades and their potential to cause significant market disruptions, as well as the difficulty in predicting the severity of a potential crash due to the lack of transparency in the size of these trades.
๐ผ Economic Indicators and Personal Financial Strategies
The final paragraph shifts focus to the current economic indicators and the presenter's personal financial strategies amidst uncertainty. It notes trends such as wealthy individuals holding more cash, a decline in luxury goods sales, rising unemployment, and the potential implications of these trends on the economy. The presenter shares his approach to investing, which includes dollar-cost averaging into Bitcoin and the S&P 500 ETF, as well as reinvesting dividends. He emphasizes the importance of saving and having an emergency fund, while also acknowledging the unpredictability of economic conditions and the potential for a recession. The paragraph concludes with an invitation for viewers to share their thoughts and strategies.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กCarry Trade
๐กMacroeconomics
๐กInterest Rate
๐กMisdirection
๐กDeflation
๐กFlash Crash
๐กYen
๐กUnwinding
๐กRecession
๐กDollar-Cost Averaging
๐กPortfolio
Highlights
The concept of misdirection in magic is analogous to macroeconomics, where small actions in one area can cause significant reactions elsewhere.
A 0.25% increase in the Bank of Japan's interest rate had a global impact, causing billions of dollars to be lost.
The carry trade mechanism involves borrowing from countries with low interest rates and investing in higher-yield assets.
The Japanese stock market dropped 12.4%, the worst single-day decline since 1987, affecting global markets.
Markets reacted with fear to the potential end of the carry trade, with the VIX index reaching levels seen only during the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic.
The carry trade has been a significant factor in global finance for decades, influenced by Japan's economic policies.
The collapse of Japan's economy in the late 1980s set the stage for the carry trade, as Japan introduced near-zero and negative interest rates.
Countries borrowed cheap Japanese Yen to invest in high-yield assets, creating a global financial dependency on Japan's low-interest rates.
An unexpected interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan can trigger market crashes and force investors to liquidate positions.
The size of the carry trade is difficult to measure, with estimates ranging from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars.
The potential for a recession is increasing, with indicators such as high cash reserves among the wealthy and a decline in luxury goods sales.
Unemployment rates are rising, which historically has been a sign of an economy slowing down and potentially entering a recession.
Market predictions suggest a high likelihood of the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates, signaling a possible economic slowdown.
The speaker is personally building a cash position and investing through dollar-cost averaging, despite market uncertainties.
Diversification and consistent investing, even without perfect timing or stock-picking skills, can lead to significant wealth accumulation over time.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of saving and having an emergency fund, as well as the benefits of reinvesting dividends.
Investors should be cautious of relying on market timing and instead focus on consistent investment strategies.
Transcripts
so I want to show you how one country's
currency was able to prop up the entire
world using just a spoon sounds weird
but if I place the spoon on my hand like
this and I start to slowly rub it it's
going to start to look like the spoon is
bending watch you see that tail end of
it Rising just by rubbing it the metal
is bending just like that with the power
of my mind it's fully bent okay not
really that was just a magic trick but
within magic there's this really
interesting concept called misdirection
and the way misdirection works is not
that different from macroeconomics
because by creating One Small hidden
action in one place I can cause a much
bigger reaction in another by lowering
my fingers on one end of my hand I can
create the illusion of the metal bending
on the other but where you look is where
all the action happens and that's
exactly how a tiny increase of just
0.25% of another country's Central
bank's interest rate the bank of Japan
could cause the world to lose hundreds
of billions of dollars imagine one small
country one currency did all that how
and this is where it gets really
interesting because the mechanism that
caused this to happen is something
called the carry trade imagine borrowing
a million million dollar at 0% interest
which right now you can't do because
interest rates are just too high but
it's possible to borrow from a country
where interest rates are close to zero
like Japan and then using that loan to
invest in anything stocks real estate
treasury bonds gold Bitcoin doesn't
matter as long as the return on
investment is higher than the interest
rate of your loan and the currency that
you borrowed is on the decline then this
could work until it doesn't that's why
the Japanese stock market dropped
12.4% and that was the worst single day
decline since the Black Monday of 1987
and the US the stock market lost 3% and
the tech heavy NASDAQ index fell
3.4% even the vix which is what people
like to use to measure people's fear
went up to 65 and that's a level seen
only two other times before the 2008
financial crisis and the pandemic so the
markets got really scared and they sold
off and of course right now they've
recovered but I still have a lot of
questions like was that the end of it
did we fully unwind or is there more
left to go how big are these trades how
did Japan cause US Stocks to fall and
are we in a recession already there's a
lot of questions I don't know the
answers to but I want to try to
understand so with that said let's get
into it hi my name is Andrey J hope
you're doing well well come for the
finance and stay for macroeconomic magic
let me just show you a visual analogy of
what I think is happening all around the
world as I'm building this little card
Castle I just want you to imagine that
each and every one of these pillars
represents what allowed the Japanese
carry trade to sort of exist like for
example Japan's low interest rate and
the declining yen in the 1990s combined
to make this little Foundation that
everything was built on top of because
on top of that we built some interesting
things like we added some investor
confidence and then we added some Global
Financial liquidity so as you'll see
there we go and on top of that we added
another
Foundation which represented all the
countries in the world that wanted to
get yields from their cheap
loans so it looks like that creates a
beautiful little pyramid but here's
where it gets interesting because as
things start to change like for example
interest rates are no longer zero or
negative we get this very interesting
effect to happen then we start to remove
other things like investor confidence
for example kind of interesting and then
of course we remove other things like
Global
liquidity and we get something that
makes no sense at all and that's a
visual analogy of the stock market as it
is today the only thing that's holding
up this sculpture is the invisible force
of Central Banking now in Magic I like
to call this fake it until you make it
but in economics it's called fake it
until you break it and break it we did
because on August
5th we broke it because that's when
Japan introduced the force of gravity my
first question is would you please
subscribe cuz that took me way too long
to do and the second question is how did
we get to a point in time where one
country raising its interest by a tiny
amount could affect someone on the other
side of the world to wake up and say
what just happened to my stons so let me
give you a big picture historical
context of how we actually got here but
first a quick word from today's sponsor
so in today's digital age ensuring the
safety of my business data is more
important than ever especially since my
team relies heavily on sharing and
collaborating on content like my YouTube
videos for my clients and my sponsors to
review before they go live so how do we
ensure that our content stays safe I've
been using Dropbox for 10 years now and
I'm super excited to have them sponsor
this part of my video with Dropbox you
get robust security tools designed to
help protect and manage your content
from inception to delivery and besides
securely storing my files here are some
other ways Dropbox keeps our content
safe the first is safeguarding sensitive
files with passwords and expiration
dates by setting a password on my
uploads before they go live I can ensure
sensitive information stays secure
minimizing risks of unauthorized
exposure and if I want an extra layer of
security I can set an expiration date as
well also have you ever deleted
something super important like the final
iteration of your project I know I have
with dropbox's file recovery you can get
it back in a snap Dropbox saves all your
lost files for up to 6 months all you
have to do is go to the deleted files
page select the recoverable files or
folders you'd like to bring back then
click restore just like that it can pay
for itself with this one feature alone
with Dropbox there are no ads they don't
profit off my data and my content is
secure unlike other products that are
free don't just take my word for it
click the link below to see how Dropbox
can Empower you to stay proactive and
secure thanks to Dropbox for sponsoring
this segment of the video and now let's
get back to it it turns out what made
all of this possible was Japan trying to
save itself by the height of the 1980s
Japan became one of the most powerful
countries in the world Japan's stock
market alone was estimated to be worth
four times more than the entire value of
us real estate and times were so good
and Japan made so much money it started
buying huge portions of the United
States people in the US thought Japan
would become the world's dominant
superpower but then it all reached a
peak in 1989 and Japan
collapsed now that's a completely
separate video not related to the carry
trade but it was Japan's rise and fall
that created the opportunity for the
carry trade because Japan started to
experience deflation and prices started
to fall so to save itself Japan slashed
its interest rate to nearly zero and
then eventually to negative to encourage
people to go out borrow money and spend
it but the Japanese people just
experienced the worst economic crash of
their lifetime they didn't want to
borrow money instead the borrowers
became speculators from other countries
and that's what created the carry trade
that turned Japan into the biggest
creditor Nation in the world where
countries go to borrow cheap money let
me just show you some examples of how
Japan has propped up the entire world
for decades now because countries with a
high interest rate have also done this
throughout history like Australia for
example in the 1990s Australia like the
us today had money pouring into itself
from all over the world which made the
Australian dollar extremely strong and
Australia had a high interest rate so
what countries would do is they would
borrow Japanese Yen they would park that
money into Australian treasury bonds
collect the high interest rate pay off
the loan and they would pocket the
difference that was the infinite money
glitch it was a way to virtually
risk-free make a return on their money
and this has been happening all around
the world for decades with other
countries and their currencies including
the Mexican peso which spoiler alert
didn't have a good ending the Turkish
lead ER the Hungarian forign the South
African rand the Indonesian rupia and
the Russian rubble and then 2008
happened and the carry trade was
reset at least until 2013 and the Cary
Trade was revived under Shinzo ab's
policies which kept Japanese interest
rates low and then eventually negative
in 2016 while the United States and the
rest of the world started to increase
their interest rates and that once again
creat created this opportunity for the
carry trade and once again the cycle
started to repeat money could once again
be cheaply borrowed and invested into
high yield assets like the US Stock
Market and treasury bond market for a
guaranteed return so it works when
things are working but when things go
bad it can lead to a flash crash and
that's how you can get someone to wake
up one week halfway on the other side of
the world and wonder why their portfolio
is crashing all right so if the carry
trade has been around since the 1990s
the next question question I had is
could something trigger it to happen
again and how bad would it be it turns
out yes it can and here's how all that
happened was the bank of Japan
unexpectedly raised interest rates for
the first time in 17 years and just a
small increase of 0.25% of the key
interest rate was enough to scare
investors and force their liquidations
when interest rates go from negative to
positive really bad things could happen
to the market in fact the same thing
happened to Europe in July July of 2022
that's when the European Central Bank
the ECB started to raise rates for the
first time in 11 years and watch what
happens to the Vanguard international
Market ETF ticker symbol vxus right
around that same time frame the market
corrected 15% between the end of July to
Mid October and some of that can be
attributed to the unwinding of their
carry trade thanks to Europe ending its
negative interest rate policy so yes all
of this can happen happen at any time if
Japan decides to raise their interest
rate now unfortunately because I'm not a
smart Economist I couldn't figure out
how bad a crash could get but the truth
is no one really knows because we don't
know the size of these carry trades
around the world but what we do know is
they are really really big in fact
according to bis the bank of
international settlements which is sort
of like a group of banks that report on
information they say that the loans out
standing from one country to another
denominated in yen is valued at 41
trillion yen or a little over A4
trillion but economists also say that's
not an accurate measure of how big carry
trades actually are and that's because
foreign exchange borrowing is not
actually included or counted on A bank's
balance sheet instead it's hidden within
what's called foreign exchange swaps and
the swap Market including the Yen totals
wait for it
14.2 trillion us that money is not
counted as debt it goes completely
unrecorded because there is no spoon
that's why no one can agree how big this
thing really is it could be in the
hundreds of billions or in the trillions
of dollars analysts at UBS for example
say that it's 500 billion so half of it
just got Unwound but JB Morgan says it's
$4 trillion so we're nowhere near it
being over but no one knows all we
really know is that we got really lucky
this time around because Japan
backtracked and was like we're not going
to raise interest rates anymore just
kidding but no one really knows the full
size of the mother of all carry trades
and how bad this could really get so all
of this sort of leads me to ask the
ultimate questions are we in a recession
session or are we going to be in one
soon and of course the answer is no one
knows for sure so I looked at a bunch of
different things and here are some of
the trends that I've noticed I might put
you to sleep for the next minute or two
but I promise I'm going to tie it all
together and show you what I think and
how I'm investing through all of this
but the first thing that I noticed is
that rich people are holding a lot of
cash right now take Warren Buffett for
example his company Berkshire Hathaway's
cash position relative to total assets
spiked to 25% in Q2 2024 the highest
level in 24 years he sold off so many
stocks that is Cash has now doubled in
Just 2 years and it's not just investors
raising cash I've also noticed that
luxury items are not selling as much and
the prices have significantly dropped
especially luxury cars which I know is
anecdotal and it's only a small part of
the economy but hear me out if you've
ever looked at auction sites like cars
and bids or bring a trailer luxury cars
are not meeting their reserves and in
general the used car market is
significantly declined and cars are
usually the first to go there's also
Rising unemployment the latest jobs
market report showed that unemployment
is now at a three-year high and this is
a classic sign that the economy could be
slowing down it's happened a lot of
times before we get a recession and a
part of what leads to higher
unemployment are small businesses and
right now small businesses are going
through a recession of their own because
because it's really hard for them to get
a loan from the banks right now and the
harder it is for them to get a loan the
less people they tend to hire and the
more they tend to let go and that
affects unemployment and that's exactly
what we're seeing in this chart also
economists say that it takes on average
roughly 10 quarters after the first rate
increase to put economies into a
recession and right now we're on that
10th quarter which means the likelihood
of us being in a recession is
statistically higher and that's why when
you add everything up together everyone
is sort of waiting to see what the most
important Bank of all will do of course
the Federal Reserve the central bank and
no one knows what they're going to do
until September but right now the market
is predicting a 74% chance that they're
going to lower interest rates by at
least a qu% in September now this
doesn't always happen but when the FED
starts to Pivot and lower interest rates
that usually means the sign of a slowing
economy and a potential recession ahead
that's not to say that we are in a
recession or we're going to be in one
but those are just some of the things
I've noticed now if you made it this far
into the video here's what I'm
personally doing please understand this
is not supposed to be Financial advice
and I don't want anyone to confuse the
view counts of my video or the
subscriber count of my channel as me
having any knowledge about how to
actually invest I share these numbers
with you because I think transparency is
really cool that's what it got me me
into saving and investing and so I try
to return the favor and I hope that
inspires you or it informs you but the
way that I'm looking at everything is
this year we're in an election year so
all the numbers that I'm seeing reported
by the government I tend to think the
real numbers are probably not as good as
what I'm seeing maybe I'm wrong but
that's the way I look at it now when I
ask people what they're doing with their
finances they're saving are you
investing are you just waiting to buy a
lot of times I I hear people say I'm
going to wait until interest rates come
down until house prices car prices all
come down and I can finance and buy when
it's cheaper and that's fine but I think
what most people forget is that when
interest rates come down it's because
the economy is slowing down and when
asset prices come down it's not because
interest rates are cheaper it's because
people lose their incomes now I hope
that doesn't end up happening but when
it happens people lose their purchasing
power that's why things go down that's
also why I've been building a cash
position just in case life throws a
lemon in my face I think it's really
important to save at least 3 to 6 months
worth of an emergency fund just in case
but when it comes to investing I'm also
dollar cost averaging right now for
example when the market flash crashed I
was buying a little bit of Bitcoin
unfortunately I missed it below 50,000
but that's okay because I'm putting in
about $100 a day into Bitcoin sometimes
more sometimes less but that's about my
pace when it comes to the stock market
the S&P 500 I'm also dollar cost
averaging at the exact same rate of $100
a day and that's into an ETF ticker
symbol vti which is basically the broad
stock market that's made up of thousands
and thousands of different stocks now
I'm also reinvesting all my dividends
and right now I'm buying a dividend ETF
ticker symbol jeq or Jep Q to
supercharge my dividends at the rate of
$200 a day and my goal is to get to
about $1 $1,000 in that position which I
also realize all these numbers are
completely unrelatable to most people so
I don't want anyone to look at all this
money that I'm investing in thinking wow
Andre is really confident and knows what
he's doing that is not the case and to
prove to you that I'm no genius stock
picker I will show you that so far my
year-to-date returns are only 11%
compared to vti's 177% so if you want to
make more money than me just focus on
the broader stock market and then of
course I'm also reinvesting all of my
dividend income back into my portfolio
which right now is generating about
$2,000 a month but I will say I wish I
could just time travel back to my
younger self and thank that kid for
putting myself on this path today I wish
I could show him my portfolio right now
and say look you're still no genius but
even though you made only 11% this year
that's more than six figures it's more
than what you're making now and it's
more than what most people are making
from their day job and here you are
doing nothing and these stocks and all
the people on Wall Street are making you
wealthier every single year just because
you had the foresight to know that
someday you will be at this point in
your life and all it took was just being
consistent and not particularly smart
which I think is pretty cool I'll leave
a link down to the course below just
kidding I don't have any courses but
someday in the future if there's any
interest I will definitely make one and
if you'd like me to do a more detailed
breakdown of my portfolio just let me
know down in the comments below and I'll
see what I can do but in the meantime
I'd love to hear your thoughts about
where you think the world is going and
what you're doing about it I hope you
have a wonderful rest of your day smash
the like button subscribe if you haven't
already don't forget to grab your free
stocks links are down below go track
them automatically with a spreadsheet
link Down Below in my patreon I'd love
to see you back here next week I'll see
you soon bye-bye
Browse More Related Video
Japanese Yen Carry Trade Unwinding, Ketika Mrs. Watanabe Mengguncang Dunia
The Global Stock Market Crash JUST HAPPENED. And Its Much Worse Than We Could've Imaginedโฆ
Japan *JUST* Crashed the *GLOBAL* Stock Market.
Pierdo Miles De Dolares Con La Caรญda De La Bolsa Japonesa | Te Explico El Porquรฉ Del Lunes Negro
DESENTRAรANDO el CAOS FINANCIERO: JAPรN, EE. UU. y GEOPOLรTICA
What Triggered Massive Sell-Offs in the US Market? | Anil Singhvi Market Analysis and Predictions
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)