On Japan’s Politics & China’s Alibaba

Two recent shockers have unnerved Japanese investors—the resignation of Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba and the tapering of the BOJ’s stock market supporting ETF purchases. Bond Vigilantes, fearing that Japan’s huge debt will only swell under Ishiba’s successor, have driven 20-year government bond yields to a 25-year high, William reports. Neither frontrunner for the PM job is an economic reformer; either would likely continue the same old easy-money policies that have sapped Japan’s animal spirits. … And in a surprising twist, Jack Ma—the Alibaba co-founder who vanished after criticizing the Chinese government—is back and leading the government’s charge to dominate global AI markets.