Japan Prime Minister Abe knew about altered documents - Japan press

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

Japanese press sources are stating that the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, knew about alterations made to documents in the unraveling government land sales scandal. The scandal continues to deepen which has already seen Japan's Finance Minister, Taro Aso, embattled within the Japanese government with opposition parties calling for the FM to step down from his post.

Key Highlights:

PM Abe knew about altered documents at least six days before the Japanese government admitted it to the public.
The scandal is now looking like a full-blown cover-up attempt by the PM and his allies.
The scandal has already seen FM Aso pull out of a planned G20 meeting this month in order to be present for the Japanese parliament's debate over the land sale.
Japan's Finance Ministry altered 14 documents regarding the sale of government land to a school operator with ties to Abe and his wife.

Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

GBP/USD keeps the firm tone above 1.3600

GBP/USD clings to its daily gains, although it gives back some of them and recedes toward the 1.3630-1.3620 band on Thursday. Cable’s uptick comes despite the modest bounce in the Greenback, while investors gear up for key data releases on the UK calendar on Friday.

EUR/USD treads water near 1.1670

EUR/USD gives away all its initial gains and receded to the sub-1.1700 region. The US Dollar’s late recovery has dragged the pair lower, leaving it practically unchanged following the NA session on Thursday. In the meantime, investors gear up for the release of preliminary S&P Global Manufacturing and Services PMIs on both sides of the Atlantic on Friday.

Gold holds above $4,500 as rising bond yields offset reduced Fed hike bets

Gold holds steady above $4,500 during the Asian session on Friday amid a combination of diverging forces. Reduced Fed rate-hike bets keep US Dollar bulls on the back foot and support the non-yielding bullion. However, higher US bond yields, bolstered by inflation risks stemming from volatile oil prices due to the US-Iran standoff, could limit USD losses and cap the commodity. Nevertheless, XAU/USD remains on track to register gains for the third straight week.

CFTC will establish crypto rules if Congress stalls CLARITY Act

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig said the agency is prepared to use its existing authority to establish a regulatory framework for crypto markets if Congress fails to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act.

$40 trillion debt black hole: Is a financial crisis coming?

The United States is closing in on a milestone that would have been almost unimaginable not long ago: $40 trillion in national debt. That staggering figure framed the latest episode of the Money Metals Midweek Memo, as host Mike Maharrey examined what he calls the economy’s “debt black hole” and zeroed in on a relatively obscure corner of the financial system that could become a much bigger problem: the $1.4 trillion private credit market.

$20 billion offered, $2 billion taken: Why Treasury doubled its buyback cap

The US Treasury moved off its own calendar on Wednesday, and that is the part worth sitting with. At 12:32 GMT, the department said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buyback operations in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting the maximum from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective September 9 and running to November 4.