“Rice supplies in Japan still low, with prices almost doubled since year ago.” – Headline, Asia News Network.
Always attuned to market conditions on the ground, we heard from friends in Tokyo last week that, incredibly, grocery stores were out of rice. The impact of hot, wet weather and dealers hoarding product has sent rice prices soaring and supplies dwindling. A five-kilogram bag now costs ¥4,000, or about $28. In the US, a container twice as large goes for $10.99 at Stop & Shop. The Japanese government promised to release stockpiles of rice shortly to ease shortages.
Rice is not Japan’s only pain point these days. The yen depreciated 50% against the USD over the past four years in concert with the Fed’s rate hike to fight inflation...
“We’ll carefully watch super-long yield developments and their impact on the economy.” – Kazuo Ueda, Governor of the Bank of Japan.
Featuring Charts
Chart of the Week: Mission Unstoppable
Private credit AUM expected to continue steady growth, driven by direct lending. Source: Fitch Ratings, Preqin
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Chart of the Week: Rising Sun
Japan’s long-dated bond yields have moved up sharply so far in 2025. Source: The Daily Shot
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Chart of the Week: Premium Yields
Spreads for middle market CLOs are distributed higher than their BSL counterparts. Source: S&P Global Ratings
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Chart of the Week: Collateralized Loan Observations
Since the Fed began its rate hike regime in March 2022, MM CLO activity has grown. Source: PitchBook
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Chart of the Week: Poised for a Rebound?
Since the early 1800’s, tariff’s share of US government revenues has shrunk dramatically. Source: The Cato Institute
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Chart of the Week: What is a Tariff, Anyway?
Google searches for “tariff” hit a peak around Liberation Day but have trailed off since. Source: Google Trends
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The Pulse of Private Equity – 6/9/2025
Share of buyout inventory by industry (top 15) Download PitchBook’s Report here. A clear concentration of buyout inventory resides in four sectors: software, commercial products and services, and healthcare services…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here...
PDI Picks – 6/9/2025
European unitranche market shows resilience The deal total for the first quarter was well ahead of last year’s equivalent, with the Benelux region particularly active. If you look back over the last 12 years (see chart), it’s clear that the European private debt market has been dominated by the UK, France and Germany, which have…
Bloomberg: Leveraged Lending Insights – 6/2/2025
US Leveraged Loans Post Largest Monthly Return Since 2023 Click here to access Bloomberg’s US Leveraged Loan Index Report After a brief pause in its long-running rally, the Bloomberg US Leveraged Loan Index (Ticker: LOAN) advanced 1.53% in May, bringing its YTD return to 1.95%. The gain follows back-to-back losses in March (-0.29%) and April…
The Pulse of Private Equity – 6/2/2025
Share of private debt capital raised by type Download PitchBook’s Report here. In Q1 2025, the distressed debt substrategy secured $21.4 billion in commitments, largely thanks to the $16 billion fund raised by Oaktree Capital Management, putting distressed debt in line to easily surpass its five-year annual average of $28.5 billion…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here...
Middle Market & Private Credit – 6/2/2025
Private Credit’s Growing Complexity Untested Through Market Cycles Click here to download report. Private credit (PC) markets remain resilient, despite recent challenges stemming from tariff-driven market volatility, slowing economic growth and a higher policy rate trajectory than initially anticipated at the beginning of the year…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here...
Middle Market Deal Terms at a Glance
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Beginning in July 2022 The Lead Left published a series of articles on credit market. This report consolidates those articles.
Cov-lite trends Inflation & rising interest rates – LIBOR to SOFR transition Mega-tranche uni trend ESG takes center stage Login to view interactive report and download PDF version. … Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here Related posts: 2H 2021 Midyear Outlook Report State of the Capital Markets – Fourth Quarter 2016 Review and
Beginning in September 2021 The Lead Left published a series of articles on supply chain. This report consolidates those articles.
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