S&P 500 profit margins spiked to 16.7% in Q2, which is by far their highest level in history.
“Profit margins are probably the most mean-reverting series in finance, and if profit margins don't mean revert, then something has gone badly wrong with capitalism. If high profits don't attract competition, there's something wrong with the system.” - Jeremy Grantham
Japan's recent interventions have been absolutely massive. They've also been totally ineffective. The Yen is now weaker than it was in 2024, which was the last big round of intervention before 2026. Intervention can't work as long as BoJ is buying JGBs...
https://t.co/abwLiwPPrK
🚨Japanese retail investors are aggressively borrowing money to chase stocks:
Margin buying on the Tokyo Stock Exchange jumped to ~6.5 trillion yen, or ~$40 billion, in the week through June 19, up 102 billion yen from the prior week.
In early June, margin buying topped 6.6 trillion yen, the highest level since December 1994.
As a result, the margin ratio has risen to between 6 and nearly 8, well above the 10-year average of ~4.
This ratio compares margin buying with margin short selling, with higher readings indicating more aggressive bullish positioning.
Individual stocks show even more extreme positioning, with memory maker Kioxia at a ratio of 12, and cable maker Fujikura above 20.
Record margin debt is spreading across the globe, including the US, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.
China did NOT cap global oil prices
中国の輸入や在庫の減少は米国のイラン封鎖によるもので、価格安定は中国ではなく市場の価格弾力性の成果だ。米国がショック時の封鎖手法を示した今、欧州も油価への影響を恐れずロシアの影の艦隊を追及すべきだ。
https://t.co/3V2v87cu93
Breaking news: Led by new chair Kevin Warsh, the Federal Reserve unanimously held interest rates steady in a range of 3.5-3.75% at its June meeting. https://t.co/EsHyQRcglx