futures rising. rate cuts bets being laid, page-19

Peter,

No - it's pushing on a piece of string.

[Re: the house, wait around here for 12 months, if you want to start seeing bargains!]

Q. Why is this one of the most important charts in the Australian Housing Market?



A. Because the banks and non-bank lenders have financed Australia's housing boom via three sources: (a) saver's deposits [tapped out]; (b) US and European debt markets [essentially closed]; and (c) Japanese money chasing yield.

When the above chart is rising, the Japanese are giving us money (they probably make around 3%-4% vs. 0.25%-1% on savings back in Japan). For every 3 Yen reduction in that exchange rate, the Japanese investor loses an entire year's interest benefit. The index has fallen from 106 to 93 since November 07.