So unfair

摘要

Turmoil in America's subprime and asset-backed markets has hit Japan's publicly traded financial markets more than perhaps any other country's. At the height of the panic in mid-August the Nikkei 225 index fell by 9% in a single week, dipping 16% below its July peak. Despite a recovery of sorts, the Nikkei is still 7% below its starting-point for the year. American shares, where the trouble all began, remain up on the year. Investors are squealing at the injustice of it.rnTo make matters worse, Japan's currency has surged as hedge funds have unwound their positions in the carry trade-where people borrow cheap yen to sell in order to invest in higher-yielding assets overseas. That has left many ordinary Japanese savers facing not just paper losses as the yen climbed but also steep margin calls from foreign-exchange brokers. The yen has slipped back a bit but not enough to make good on losses.