Aimed At Curbing The Yen's

(Reuters) - Japan's big trading houses are using financial firepower bolstered by a decade-long commodities boom and a yen near record highs to ramp up a natural resources buying spree. Their multi-billion dollar bet on commodities demand from emerging economies will boost already fierce competition for emerging energy sources like shale gas and for top quality mines with high-grade ore and long mine life. Trading houses like Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) have set aside a record warchest of 2.6 trillion yen ($33 billion) in the two years to March 2013, which backed by a $130 billion government fund makes them formidable competitors in the race to secure the means to fuel economic growth. For firms armed with a yen hovering around 77 to the dollar, just off a record high 75.55 hit in October, ...

(Reuters) - Japanese currency intervention may gain some understanding in the global community if it is aimed at curbing yen gains driven by factors Tokyo cannot control, a former Bank of Japan board member said. Japan needs to get serious about stemming sharp yen gains, which hurt the economy by prompting companies to shift jobs and capital spending overseas, and act on its words when it warns of intervention, Atsushi Mizuno said on Tuesday. "I know some people think Japanese intervention won't be able to gain the understanding of its counterparts, and that solo intervention won't work. Some also say intervention without the backing of monetary easing won't work," Mizuno said. "It's true intervention aimed at directly pushing up (the dollar/yen rate) won't gain understanding. But the ...