Boiler Room

Nvidia surprised the street with another major beat to guidance estimates for its Q2 earnings release - arguably the most widely watched corporate earnings report globally in 2023, with the stock +9% higher in after-hours trading. However, in the following Asia trading session - which is the world's first region to start the full trading day, and thereby the first to react to the A.I. giant's strong quarter and optimistic guidance - the various market reactions were surprisingly tepid. Shares of TSMC, SK Hynix, Advantest and other "A.I. plays" were consistent in being fairly muted. The broader Nikkei225 and Nasdaq 100 index futures were also limited in both upside and in volume traded. Weston Nakamura walks through these market cues out of Asia, which point to a potentially disappointing market response on NVDA shares themselves at US market open later, as well as other A.I. thematic shares globally. Weston also provides the market background of what had helped drive the A.I. and NDX momentum from last quarter, as well as the August market sell-off for critical context in understanding NVDA and A.I. momentum plays. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

China has had a very rough 2023, in markets and in the real economy. But, last week was a particularly brutal week for China's markets, as the Hang Seng Index closed the week in bear market territory, and the yuan edged ever closer to its treacherous 15-year lows - all of which had spilled over to broader global markets. Weston Nakamura gives a comprehensive overview of what happened in China through the week of utmost consequence to global markets, including record strong yuan fixings, Country Garden Holdings Group's bond defaults, Zhongzhi Enterprise Group and the $3 trillion Chinese shadow banking industry contagion risk, and China's policymakers daily policy proposals in attempt to support markets (to no avail), and much more. This is not only a way to catch up on a critical and consequential week of non-stop headlines and developments, but this is the ongoing state of affairs in China that had been dragging global equity markets down since the start of August, and therefore is relevant to all investors everywhere. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

As followers of Market Depth Podcast know- this year's NASDAQ upside rally was largely driven by Japan and the Nikkei225. Now, Weston Nakamura explains how the current market sell-off is being driven by China, and the plunging yuan. Weston also discusses his views on the Japanese yen, and how he is approaching the FX market intervention risk, as the yen weakens to previous unilateral intervention levels - as well as his views on the Chinese yuan, also reaching critical levels despite heavy-handed state intervention underway. This is the episode that will make equity investors, particularly US equities, to fixate on the Asia market impact effect. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Ahead of the US July CPI data and the 30-year Treasury auction, Weston Nakamura follows up from the previous episode of Market Depth with an update on bond market activity from Japanese investors, who have been driving the week's drop in global sovereign bond yields via the JGB and US Treasury markets. Using futures markets, Weston shows the renewed bullish sentiment as exhibited by a surprisingly strong 30-year JGB auction, and a smooth scheduled Bank of Japan bond buying operation. Japan is once again back to anchoring global bond yields - for now. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

With still no further clarity on Bank of Japan's new policy framework of Yield Curve Control, and currency and cash bond markets out of sync, Weston Nakamura examines market price action and activity on US and Japan rates through the lens of futures markets, in order to determine if cross asset market behavior is normalizing. Weston also notes the schedule for this week, in which there will be 30-year auctions held in both the Japanese Government Bond market, as well as the US Treasury market, within 2 days of one another. Given the respective policy setups for US debt issuance and Bank of Japan YCC, there may be competition for investors' capital playing out at these long-dated bond auctions. Finally, Weston offers a potential theory as to why Fitch Ratings had suddenly downgraded their credit rating of US debt, while subsequently publishing positive commentary on Japan's credit risk in light of the Bank of Japan's surprise jump in interest rates - which largely went unnoticed. In doing so, Weston dives into the very active world of of yen-denominated foreign bond issuance, in which global corporates and sovereigns have been rushing in to Japan in order to tap the last bastion of cheap money left. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Developed markets globally saw a dramatic rise in sovereign bond yields that spanned this whole week - notably at the long end of US Treasuries. Some attribute the move to Fitch Ratings downgrade of US debt, while others point to the government's announcement to boost its bond issuance in the coming months. Following up from the previous episode of Market Depth, Weston Nakamura shows how this week's global bond rout not only stems directly from the Japanese Government Bond market and the Bank of Japan's recent surprise policy change to the way in which it conducts Yield Curve Control policy, but also how previous major episodes of extreme global bond market volatility had been triggered by an illiquid, malfunctioning JGB market, and Bank of Japan meetings as market moving catalysts. In light of these recent developments in policy experimentation and purposeful obfuscation by the central bank, Weston also provides an explainer on a "trading-day-in-the-life" of a Bank of Japan bond buying operation for a critical dose of clarity as we move forward with Bank of Japan's experimental processes. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

At the July 2023 Monetary Policy Meeting, the Bank of Japan took markets by surprise (after "pre-announcing" its policy 10 hours prior during US trading hours and moving global currency, equity and bond markets) by making a significant change to its Yield Curve Control policy framework, in which it lifts the upper trading band on 10-year JGB yields from 0.50% to 1%. The central bank also made a major revision upwards on its inflation forecasts for fiscal year 2023 to 2.5%, well above its 2% target. This is the first policy change implemented under newly appointed Governor Ueda. While the consensus debate revolves around whether or not this is the start of Bank of Japan's exit from its outlier accommodative policies, Tokyo-based Weston Nakamura believes that there is far more to the policy decision than just a "YCC tweak." Aided by utilizing financial media outlets to move markets and clear out existing positions, the Bank of Japan is attempting to wrestle its policy away from the hands of markets, and return it back under its own control by purposely introducing elements of confusion and uncertainty - which it labels as "flexibility." Weston gives a historic overview of how Yield Curve Control trading bands had been a market-creation in the first place, what the market implications are, and why this policy change fundamentally reshapes how the Bank of Japan and market participants interact. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

The final week of July ends with the three major central banks' policy decisions - the Fed, the ECB, and the Bank of Japan - each with their own set of issues and tools respectively, and all of which are highly interconnected with one another. However, the economic backdrop is completely unique this time - as Japan now has a higher inflation rate than the US, while still in easing mode. Would the Bank of Japan really begin tightening monetary policy, just as the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and others are finished? Just a hint of policy convergence, particularly between the ECB and the Bank of Japan, can have significant, widespread market impact. Weston Nakamura begins the episode with an update on the PBOC's daily fixing of the Chinese yuan exchange rate. He then discusses the Bank of Japan once again leaking their own policy through media outlets ahead of the official policy meeting. And finally, Weston takes a look across various markets globally, and assesses what may occur if sentiment around policy divergence shifts to policy convergence. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

With the strongest daily yuan fixing since November 2022, along with state banks sustaining dollar-selling, and the adjustment of a cross border financing rule to further discourage yuan sell pressure all in combination, the People's Bank of China was able to forcefully rally the yuan significantly higher. In addition, China's USD-denominated junk bond market sees its worst three-day plunge so far this year, as property developers Wanda Group, as well as two state-backed firms signal imminent default. Weston Nakamura ties the efforts of the PBOC to uplift the yuan with the severe volatility in China's USD-bond markets, and points to China's alarming behavior that something of utmost concern seems underway. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

With China's Q2 GDP and retail sales figures missing consensus estimates for yet another round of data disappointment out of China, and the PBOC injecting a mere 3 billion yuan of liquidity to their 1-year MLF operation. Weston Nakamura looks at currency and commodity markets as weakness across China's economic landscape continues to be left unattended by policymakers' lack of stimulus measures. Weston also discusses why Wall Street economists seem to be caught off-guard by China's economic data deterioration time and again, particularly in the first half of 2023. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

US inflation figures came in considerably softer than expectations, and global currencies, bonds, equities and commodities rose at the expense of the U.S. dollar. But what happens when US CPI is now below Japan CPI? What does that mean for markets (namely the yen), and the Bank of Japan's upcoming policy meeting (with direct implications on global bond markets)? Weston Nakamura discusses the US vs Japan inflation differential as it relates to the Bank of Japan policy, pointing to recent history as precedence.  Weston also gives an overview of Asia currencies for the week, and their respective performances against a crumbling USD, with particular focus on the futures-driven yen move, as well as the lagging Chinese yuan. Listen To Michael Howell from Crossborder Capital on weaponizing the yen: "China's Stimulus Takes A Backseat To Save The Yuan | Michael Howell" -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

In today's episode, Weston Nakamura explains the recent price action of the world's worst performing currencies in 2023: the Japanese yen's sudden surge as options on futures expire and crowded positions close, and the Chinese yuan in crisis mode as the authorities continue to urgently exercise multiple yuan-supportive measures. Weston suggests that should the yen short covering gain momentum, global yields may fall in tandem. Lastly, Weston follows up on his recent and ongoing thesis of the leadership shakeup currently underway at the People's Bank of China with additional thoughts - namely, why the central bank is currently operating without an official governor in place? And what exactly happened to the recently re-appointed (and subsequently fired) incumbent Governor Yi Gang that made his presence as the PBOC Governor so unacceptably toxic? -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

In order to get a truly expert assessment on the liquidity picture out of China, Michael Howell from Crossborder Capital joins Weston Nakamura, as they explore Weston's thesis from the previous episode of Market Depth - China's immediate term priority is to stop the yuan's precipitous fall. This has been made evident by the PBOC's daily yuan fixings stronger, as well as their net liquidity draining that had been occurring over the last several trading days. In addition, Michael incorporates his view on how the Japanese yen is being weaponized to attack the Chinese yuan - a theory that Michael and Weston have been discussing on an ongoing matter. Weston also discusses another potential working theory on China's economic weakness as inflationary for the developed economies, contrary to mainstream views. Follow Michael Howell on Twitter: https://twitter.com/crossbordercap http://www.crossbordercapital.com -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Over the weekend, the top brass at China's central bank Yi Gang (PBOC Governor) and Guo Shuqing (PBOC Communist Party Chief) were suddenly removed from their posts after having been reappointed by President Xi Jinping less than four months ago. Meanwhile, PBOC Deputy Governor Pan Gongsheng has been elevated to the role of Party Secretary at PBOC, and is also expected to be named Governor of the PBOC shortly. Pan is also currently the Director of SAFE (State Administration of Foreign Exchange) - the foremost currency management body which oversees China's massive $3 trillion in foreign exchange reserves.  The consensus narrative out of financial media on this major development has been that “Pan is a continuity candidate,” providing stability in a time of escalating economic risk (which, as Weston Nakamura points out, is an absurd takeaway in itself). However, according to Weston Nakamura, what the policy stimulus preferences of the newly appointed leadership is not what key headline is - rather, this is part of a bigger effort from China as of late - to somehow stem the sharply declining yuan. In light of the outright failure from broader financial media to properly inform and analyze a major central bank reshuffling its top level officials in the midst of market and economic turmoil, Weston Nakamura presents a deep-dive explanation and analysis on what is currently underway, namely: Pan Gongsheng has been elevated with great urgency to the very top of China's central bank for one reason only - to defend the yuan as it approaches a 15-year breakdown level.  This is a must-watch/listen, and share episode of Market Depth. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Bank of Japan Governor Ueda surprisingly stole the show when making his first international English appearance since taking office at the ECB's annual gathering of central bankers in Sintra, Portugal this week, during a live panel with fellow peer central bankers including Fed Chair Powell, ECB President Lagarde and Bank of England Governor Bailey. Clips from the event of the new face of the Bank of Japan have been going viral, as the soft-spoken academic made light-hearted jokes onstage in an otherwise tense moment in macro policy. Yet, there is far more to take away from the event than just Governor Ueda delighting the crowd. Weston Nakamura breaks down the new head of the BOJ's behavior, including what the otherwise outgoing Governor avoids answering, and points to a very telling picture of the overall modern day inter-central bank relationships. Footage and clips from European Central Bank ECB Forum on Central Banking - Policy Panel https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/conferences/ecbforum/html/index.en.html -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

After being sidelined by coronavirus, Weston Nakamura returns to Market Depth with charts and graphics to discuss the Japanese yen edging ever closer to the critical 145 level against USD - currently the single most important market and price level anywhere, as markets are on Japan officials' intervention alert. Weston shows how Japan's October 2022 unilateral foreign exchange direct market intervention was the most pivotal moment of the year in global markets - as that had forced a record-sized short covering of JPY futures, and simultaneously setting the top tick in the risk free rate of 10-year US Treasury yields to this day. Weston then discusses a potential major risk catalyst this week - in which Governor Ueda will be making his first English-speaking public appearance for the international community since becoming Governor of the Bank of Japan in Sintra, Portugal, sharing a stage with Fed Chair Powell, Bank of England Governor Bailey, and ECB President and host Lagarde - accentuating the policy divergences that have re-emerged. See Weston's Twitter thread: JPY Price Action Explainer: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread/status/1615053103811952640?s=20 -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Following last week's series of rate cuts that were met with tepid market response, China delivers another -10 basis point rate cut to its 1-year and 5-year Loan Prime Rates before market open today in-line with its recent measures - only this time, markets pulled sharply back. Is this the start of a new market paradigm? Weston Nakamura scrutinizes market price action out of China today in search of the answer. Weston also observes what broader major equity indices' recent price behavior looks like absent U.S. market participants upon a U.S. market holiday, and tests his recent themes and findings presented in prior episodes of the Market Depth podcast. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Off the heels of the June 2023 FOMC's "hawkish pause," PBOC's "catch-up cuts," ECB's "hawkish hike," and BOJ's "dovish autopilot unchanged" policies, Weston Nakamura takes a look back at a historic week of globally synchronized fragmentation among major central banks. In particular, Weston looks into the peculiar relationship forming between the European Central Bank, and the Bank of Japan, in which the ECB calls the BOJ policy normalization a major risk to global bond markets in its official financial stability report - a rare commentary made against a fellow major central bank peer. Weston discusses how the Bank of Japan leaving their Yield Curve Control policy unchanged shows that Governor Ueda may indeed be trapped in the legacy framework, and that it's fellow major central banks who are implementing hawkish policies are are depending on the BOJ to remain in place as the world's final QE anchor. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

After months of wide-scale economic deterioration in China, the People's Bank of China and the central government are finally taking action with three waves of stimulus measures today. The PBOC first makes a surprise cut to the 7-day reverse repo rate before market open on Tuesday, followed by a Bloomberg report of a broad based stimulus package at the end of the trading day, and finally a late-evening announcement of cuts to three standing lending facility rates. Yet, the overall market response was that of deafening silence. Weston Nakamura walks through each of the stimulus measures, as well as what the anemic market response means, and what to look for next. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

The US equity market's performance, particularly in outperforming tech stocks, is not what it seems. Weston Nakamura lays out his analysis and observations on how the Nasdaq 100 Index is being driven by Japan's Nikkei 225 index. Additionally, Weston explains how the ongoing issue of weak market breadth and narrow participation is also a byproduct of the immense foreign equity inflows into Japanese stocks. This is a differentiated explanation from an angle of global flows into and out of US, Japan and European equity markets - and what to expect next. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

The sustained and incredibly resilient Japan equity rally crashed today - despite broader indices left relatively unscathed (although S&P E-Mini futures also followed Japan indices sharply downward during Asia hours). Why did this occur, and what does it mean for the world's favorite and best performing market, as well as broader markets globally? Weston Nakamura breaks down the three sell-catalysts from the day: Chinese exports data that came in weaker than expectations, the -7% plunge in the Turkish lira, and officials in parliament discussing the unwinding of Bank of Japan's 37 trillion yen worth of equity ETF holdings - the latter two being the actual market moving catalysts. Weston talks about the immediate market risk that the lira may pose if it begins a runaway momentum sell-off that forces Japan retail to liquidate other assets, and also discusses the implications of Bank of Japan selling its equity index ETF holdings. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

The Reserve Bank of Australia shocks markets again, hiking rates for a second consecutive time after having paused once before, and thereby setting precedence for the June FOMC next week, when the Fed is expected to “skip” a rate hike. Weston Nakamura explains the significance of the RBA's policy behavior to other major central banks. Weston also shows how and why AUD matters to risk assets, such as the S&P500 index, and explains how the (in)famous AUDJPY carry trade works - noting that AUDJPY is currently re-correlating with the S&P500 price action. Finally, Weston shares his big revelation of the day with regards to his ongoing working theory of the China policy insider trading - discovering that he may have been incorrect in his reading of the China Property and Development Sector indices' price action, but in doing so, ultimately provides more clarity on what may be happening in the peculiar market behavior in Chinese equities. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Following up from Friday's episode of Market Depth, Weston Nakamura reviews the global equity markets' initial reactions to China's after-hours headline for new stimulus targeted at the Chinese real estate, property and development sectors on Friday evening in Asia. The market impact was significant across the world, with stocks like Caterpillar pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 2% at US close to outperform the S&P500 and Nasdaq indices in immediate reaction, as well as it's Japanese peer Komatsu and other machinery stocks driving the Nikkei 225 index by over 2% to another 33-year high at Asia market open on Monday. In fact, the only major equity market region and sector that did not participate with an initial upside reaction was China's property and development sector indices - a strange phenomenon, given the direct relevance of the catalyst. Weston once again examines whether China's policy insiders may be revealing a clearer picture of the policy intent as reflected in market price action and behavior, prior to, and after the stimulus headline. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Chinese shares in the Hang Seng Index staged a massive recovery rally to end the week in which it temporarily fell into official bear market territory, and uplifted the entire region for a broad based equity market surge during the Asia trading session. Then, after Asia markets close, Bloomberg reports that China will unveil a new stimulus package to support the systematically critical and increasingly dangerous, debt-ridden property and development sector - which subsequently ignited a strong, risk-on rally across global indices. Weston Nakamura takes a deep look into the peculiar chronology of the price action in Chinese property and development sector indices - and offers a differentiated take on whether this is indeed the long-awaited turning point for China to proactively stimulate the world's second largest economy, or if this is an empty symbolic gesture. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

A lousy Manufacturing PMI reading out of China pulled the Hang Seng index officially into bear market territory, sent the yuan crashing through 7.10, and seemed to have set off a broader, risk-off market move that reverberated across asset classes globally.  But, did yet another piece of weak economic data from China really spook global markets - particularly the previously China-resilient DM equity indices such as Japan? After all, Asia equities ex-China have been leading the world higher for several weeks, ignoring one disappointing data release out of China after another. What (else) actually happened to stop the market momentum today?  Weston Nakamura points to technical market mechanics that are also behind the selling activity - namely, month-end portfolio rebalancing flows and activity on outperforming Japan and A.I. related equities as a primary culprit for the market reversal. Weston notes that without recognizing such market mechanics, we may be mistakenly attributing market behavior to China, when in reality, equity market price action may have very little to do with a weak data print out of China all along. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

We are in the midst of key conferences for markets - from the CLSA Japan Summit in Tokyo, to A.I. focused Computex in Taiwan, to China-themed conferences by Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong and JP Morgan in Shanghai. Weston Nakamura takes a look into using these conferences as potential near term, directional turning points for markets - and presents the case for a potential larger trend reversal for a pause in upside for Japan equities, and a rebound upward in Chinese and Hong Kong equities, based on these conference events. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Prior to Asia markets open, major headlines came out of Washington that a debt ceiling deal had been made - and Asia equity indices, particularly in Japan, had traded positively on the day. With the US and parts of European markets closed for holiday, Asia was the only barometer of market reaction. But, just how much of the upside was due to the debt ceiling, if any? After all, China and Hong Kong had yet another down day, and the Nikkei 225 Index has been clocking in new three-decade-high levels throughout the month. Weston Nakamura points to the real driver of equity markets today - continued bullish momentum on A.I. and semiconductor related themes, as markets largely shrug off the US debt ceiling, until forced to do so. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

May was the worst month for markets that have bet on the China reopen theme - and this final week was particularly bad. Weston Nakamura walks through various markets - from equities, to commodities, to fixed income, and of course, the yuan, and shows how each asset class is in agreement - the China reopen theme is dead. What's more, there is still room to the downside in many of these markets. Weston also discusses how he is framing up trading a widely expected rate cut from the PBOC. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Despite Fitch putting the US's credit rating on negative watch, global markets are largely brushing off debt-ceiling risk. Weston Nakamura comments on the knee-jerk market reaction to the Fitch headline of strength in the yen and in gold, and also provides color on how the largest foreign creditors to the United States, the Japanese institutional investors, are viewing a potential US default, and what they are doing in the US Treasury markets. Weston also provides a potential trade set up in the event of a US technical default outcome. Weston then discusses the massive market impact on Asia shares during the trading session off of Nvidia's huge guidance beat - as Advantest, Tokyo Electron, TSMC, SK Hynix and other stocks across the Asia region rallied, and thereby lifted the Nikkei225 index back into positive territory. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

After hitting new three-decade-highs day after day, Japan's incredible equity market rally finally comes to an end. Notably, Japan's market direction, both to the upside as well as down, has been driving the broader global equity markets directionally in tandem - putting in the top tick on index futures down to the minute. Weston Nakamura dives into futures markets daily trading data from Japan Exchange and analyzes exactly who was buying, and who was selling, by participant - and finds that despite the downturn in the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices, foreigners remain net buyers of Japan equities. Therefore, it seems that there may still be upside in Japan, and therefore in global equities on the other side of this pullback. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

While China's PBOC leaves their Loan Prime Rates unchanged as expected, the central bank issues an official statement on Friday warning of FX market intervention, should the yuan's precipitous decline continue. Nonetheless, the yuan continued its downside move during Monday's Asia trading session, as Wall Street estimates further price out the once-expected recovery. Weston Nakamura discusses the yuan's weakness in context of “USD strength.” Then onto Japan, where the Nikkei225 and TOPIX indices continue their relentless marches higher for an 8th consecutive day, to new 3-decade levels. Weston Nakamura discusses how this current market setup may be one of the “once-per-decade” Japan equity explosions higher, given the foreign inflows and positioning, as well as the coincident rise in implied volatility that is often present when Japan has its episodes of “crashing to the upside.” -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

The Chinese yuan, which had been in recent accelerated decline, hitting new year-to-date lows, has now crossed through a very key level into the 7-handle for onshore USDCNY. Furthermore, the currency's sharp move lower seems to confirm the weak macro data releases of late. Weston Nakamura discusses the Chinese yuan's price action, and explains its correlation across asset classes and markets - including the S&P500, copper prices, the Hang Seng Property Index, and more. Weston also provides implications of what the falling currency could mean for markets going forward. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

China once again misses consensus estimates on three of their latest data releases today, showing weakness in retail sales, industrial production, fixed asset investment, as well as a record high 20% youth unemployment rate. Given the deluge of macro data out of China so far this month, Weston Nakamura organizes and presents a clear, full picture of where China currently stands regarding the state of the domestic consumer, industrial manufacturing, and loans, credit and investments - the results of which point to an economy unable to regain traction following the sudden lifting of their strict COVID policies. In light of the TOPIX index hitting a new 33-year "bubble-level" high, and Japan as the world's best performing equity market globally in 2023, Weston also discusses the bear case for the Japan equity outperformance as seen by domestic Japanese institutional investors. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ --or Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

As the first round of Turkish general elections result in a runoff round, with President Erdogan facing his toughest political challenge yet, Turkish assets have been exhibiting volatility - as one would expect given the uncertainty. However, the one asset class that remains strangely stable (thus far) is the Turkish Lira, as continued state interventions dampen any sharp selling pressure from plunging deep into new record lows (for now). Weston Nakamura does a deep dive into the Turkish lira, and the often overlooked significance that the lira has had on global markets, citing two instances in particular: the 2020 rally in gold and Bitcoin, and the December 2021 Christmas reversal rally in global risk assets. Weston then finishes with how the lira may impact markets, including the Japan equity markets, gold, and Bitcoin in the given market setup, with the runoff elections looming at the end of the month. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

In this week-in-review, Weston Nakamura follows up with market themes from earlier in the week. Starting with the frenzy and crash in Chinese bank stocks against a resilient Japanese equity market, Weston revisits the Japan - China market divergence call.  Then, its over to Niigata Japan, where G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bankers have convened to discuss inflation, Russian sanctions, banking crises, and a host of other measures - but instead, find themselves with only one issue in mind: the looming US debt ceiling debate. Finally, Weston follows up with market reactions to earnings out of Nissan Motor and Honda Motor, after steelmaker JFE Holdings had just raised guidance citing strong production demand from the automotive sector, no longer hindered by a semiconductor chip supply crunch. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ --or Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

In today's episode, Weston Nakamura breaks down China's latest trade data for April, which saw strong but declining export growth, and a surprise contraction in imports - and what this says about the state of the China “re-open” theme, and the broader global demand picture. Weston also goes through the chronology of another day of speculative frenzy in Chinese financial stocks, which may have hit an intraday reversal today for downside momentum in the immediate. Weston then discusses the Japanese equity market - which is the one major market that remains resilient against the China-led downside, as the TOPIX Index breaks a new 52-week high, and the Nikkei 225 Index approaches a key resistance level on the back of foreign inflows at massive scale. Finally, Weston discusses Japan steelmaker JFE Holdings 14% post-earnings rally, as the management's positive outlook on steel demand from the automotive sector, driven by a normalization in the semiconductor chip supply shortage, has potential wide scale implications.

Upon returning from Golden Week holidays in Japan and China, Chinese bank shares went on an absolute tear higher, with some of the biggest lenders' stocks hitting their +10% intraday limit up on the heels of positive headlines on net interest margins. However, the bigger macro picture in China does not warrant such a historic surge in Chinese banks. Furthermore, the last time that Chinese banks hit limit up was in July 2015, followed by the historic PBOC yuan devaluation, and the subsequent cross-asset, global volatility that had ensued thereafter. Weston Nakamura discusses today's price action in China (and indeed the world's) largest bank shares, as well as what else is ahead for this week out of Asia with global market impact and relevance. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Weston Nakamura sits down with a special guest on Market Depth: Taka Kato, former head of trading at Bitflyer, Japan's largest crypto exchange, and trader at Goldman Sachs Japan, in a wide ranging discussion of Japan markets, policy, and global impact. Taka first gives his take on the year to date rally in Bitcoin from his vantage point at a major crypto exchange. Weston and Taka then talk Bank of Japan policy and Governor Ueda's course of action in the near and Long term - giving Weston a revelation as to why foreign macro hedge funds insist on participating in the infamous "widow-maker" trade. Taka and Weston also dive into the Japan investor base, responsible for the largest foreign asset holdings in the world, and their behavioral traits. Finally, Taka gives his bullish view on the Japan equity markets. Follow Taka Kato on Twitter at MMT2Global https://twitter.com/MMT2Global -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

The RBA shocked global markets when they hiked policy rates by 25 basis points for their May policy meeting, after having just paused their aggressive rate hiking cycle in the prior meeting, in order to examine the effects of their year-long measures in tightening policy. Some will interpret the RBA's decision as a forward indicator for other major central banks' respective hiking and pausing cycles. However, Weston Nakamura discusses broader takeaways from the RBA with applications to the Fed, ECB, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, and other central bank policies. Weston also discusses the currency markets in reaction to the RBA shock rate hike - namely the Aussie Dollar against the yen, and how the yen can serve as a useful base currency pair to read market reactions as central banks continue to release their respective policy decisions in the immediate term. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ --or Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Ever since Warren Buffett's endorsement of Japan equities during his recent visit to Tokyo, weekly data from Japan Ministry of Finance shows foreign investors have been buying the most Japan equities on record. This coincides with Japan equity indices' recent outperformance relative to its developed market majors. However, Weston Nakamura warns of a key resistance level on the horizon for the Nikkei 225 index. Weston also discusses the surprise miss in China Manufacturing PMI, and its impact on commodities. Finally, Weston talks about the upcoming major central bank decisions for the week, and to look to the currency markets against the yen for the "cleanest" reading of market reactions. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

For a "policy unchanged" outcome in-line with consensus, Bank of Japan Governor Ueda's first monetary policy meeting was a wild day for markets. Weston Nakamura walks through the chronology of the day, starting with a major pre-announcement press leak, a delayed policy release time, and an ambiguous press conference that sent the yen tumbling sharply. Weston analyzes the methods and practices of policy communication, media, and markets, which this new leadership has seemed to embrace in a departure from his predecessor Governor Kuroda. Ultimately, Governor Ueda's first policy meeting has left far more questions unanswered than before. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

As we head into the first Bank of Japan policy meeting under a brand new Governor Ueda tomorrow, Tokyo-based Weston Nakamura discusses the broad consensus view of a "no policy change" outcome, as Japan CPI has moderated, and market pressures have alleviated since the March meeting. However, Weston also makes the case for why there may very well be a surprise decision to come from the Bank of Japan's new and unknown leadership- with major consequences to global markets. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the April Bank of Japan policy meeting and press conference. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ --or Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

For Day 2 of Bank of Japan Week, Weston Nakamura explains how the Bank of Japan, through years of radical and experimental easing policy, has cornered itself against markets - both in the near term with Yield Curve Control, as well as the longer term by being forced to support the world's most indebted nation's fiscal sustainability.  Weston discusses the background history of how Yield Curve Control's trading bands were crafted, and why they are a double edged sword. Finally, Weston makes the case that aside from near-term attempts at “normalization,” ultimately, the Bank of Japan will be forced back into some form of JGB purchasing and monetary accommodation. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

To kick off Day 1 of Bank of Japan Week, culminating in an extremely critical first Bank of Japan meeting under new leadership in a decade, Weston first gives his takeaways on the two headlines from overnight - Sankei News' press test of a comprehensive policy review, as well as Bank of Japan Governor Ueda's latest comments in Parliament today. Weston then discusses just how the Bank of Japan may potentially cause major global market disruptions, particularly in the sovereign bond markets, in two ways: trillions in Japanese capital liquidating foreign assets to repatriate back home in favor of higher JGB yields, and violent market turmoil triggered by an explosion of rate market volatility. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

To round up a week of key global macro data out of Asia, Weston Nakamura provides his big picture take on the surprise upside beat in China GDP and retail sales, as well as an overview on the latest Japan inflation figures. Heading into Bank of Japan next week, Weston also provides additional context from the corporate angle, as credit issuers, asset managers and others prepare for the end of an era of easy money.  -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Goldman Sachs reveals an unusually weak result from their powerhouse fixed income trading division - the only one of its peers to report year-on-year declines. This is particularly strange, given the highly volatile quarter in rates markets, which typically bodes well for Goldman's trading profits. Weston Nakamura explains how Goldman's fixed income trading miss signals a broader and far more troubling market picture - one that is being completely overlooked by market participants and media. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

Weston Nakamura outlines the key macro data with global macro market implications for this week - as they all stem from the Asia region. Namely - retail sales, industrial production and GDP figures from China (and why China's "fake GDP" figures are nonetheless usefully informative), and Japan CPI at the end of the week, as the country's final inflation reading before the consequential April Bank of Japan meeting. Weston also dives into the recent surge in gold prices, as spot gold nears its all time record high of $2,080 - and how he approaches gold price action as more of a currency pair against the US dollar, rather than a standalone commodity price. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

In this week's roundup of global macro and market developments, Weston Nakamura flags key points from the World Bank & IMF Spring Meetings held in Washington D.C. this week, as IMF projects Asia to contribute to 70% of global growth for this year, Bank of Japan's brand new Governor Ueda and his first comments on policy to his global peers, and a surprising one-on-one meeting between China's central bank head and Fed Chair Powell. Weston also discusses Softbank divesting the last of its Alibaba holdings, and finally, comments on his explosive tweet regarding Warren Buffett's trip to Tokyo this week - and Weston's speculative theory that ties the Oracle of Omaha with a potential signal for policy out of the Bank of Japan. See Weston's tweet on Warren Buffett and the Bank of Japan here: -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

As global markets await the US CPI release for March 2023, Weston Nakamura shares a trade that he has opened this week: Long USDJPY, with the data drop as a potential market moving catalyst. Weston discusses his framework for the trade- including the unique market stance of having last Friday's US Nonfarm Payrolls data mixed into the CPI reaction, the rate markets' setup which parallels that of the 2022 Yield Curve Control environment, and broader market positioning. This is an opportunity to follow along with a live trade, as Weston will update in coming episodes accordingly. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

In today's Market Depth, Weston Nakamura discusses the Bank of Korea holding rates unchanged (again), a surprise decline in China CPI, as well as falling CPI - and what it may mean for PBOC policy going forward, and the Bank of Japan's first press conference under new leadership with Governor Ueda, and Deputy Governors Uchida and Himino. Weston also discusses Warren Buffet's comments from an interview with Nikkei that Berkshire Hathaway intends to add to their holdings in Japan trading houses. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.

To wrap up the first week of a new quarter following a tumultuous month of March, Weston Nakamura reviews policy decisions from Reserve Bank of Australia's pause-and-assess, and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's unexpected hawkish 50 basis point hike. Weston also discusses a big development out of Samsung's preliminary earnings, in which they had announced production cuts in memory chips, and the wide scale implications to the industry worldwide. Finally, Weston gives his initial takeaways right off the heels of retiring Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda's farewell press conference - in which the outgoing monetary figurehead had some surprising final words before handing the keys to a new Bank of Japan Governor Ueda, who begins his tenure on Monday. We end with a clip of Governor Kuroda speaking during a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 20th, 2023. -- Follow Market Depth On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3mVTs9U Follow Market Depth On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40dA2vm Follow Weston: https://twitter.com/acrossthespread Follow Blockworks: https://twitter.com/Blockworks_  Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Market Depth should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets.