Carry on trading

The global carry trade is still thriving. Some foretold its end when the Japanese authorities announced earlier this summer an end to monetary easing. The latest figures, however, reveal that foreign purchases of US long-term securities soared to a record $117bn in August. The bulk of this came from the private sector. Such inflows, however, are vulnerable to sudden reversals. Acquisitions of US long-dated securities by foreigners last August were nearly double analysts’ estimates. They were al...