$310 Billion Spent: Japan's Desperate Measures to Save Its Currency

Japan's efforts to defend its currency, the yen, have been significant. Over the past four years, Tokyo has spent around $310 billion defending the yen through various methods, including repurchase agreements and other funding routes. This includes a recent intervention of almost $100 billion over a 48-hour period last week.

The Dow notched a record-high close on Monday, while U.S. stocks rallied strongly due to solid manufacturing data and optimism around earnings and U.S.-Iran peace hopes. The yen slumped to a three-month low after this historic bout of coordinated U.S.-Japanese intervention.

Investors are putting recent market volatility aside, focusing instead on the bullish picture of corporate earnings. The LSEG I/B/E/S Q2 annual consensus U.S. earnings growth forecast is now at 47.7%, double its level just a month ago.