Follow-Up on FXCM, Forex, and Japan Stimulus

Modesty is a nice quality but it's not generally rewarded in the financial world.  So, I'll give myself a short, gentle tap on the back for my prediction that the the forex broker FXCM would rise in the wake of the Japan stimulus announcement.  I made that call on April 4 and FXCM has risen 6% since then (the stock was trading at $13.10 when I posted but ended the day at $13.44).   

Forex Trading in Wake of Japan Stimulus: FXCM

I've been thinking about a position in FXCM, a retail foreign exchange trading retail broker.  Now, I've jumped in after a recent pull back in the stock and today's announcement of a massive stimulus by the Bank of Japan, partly aimed at devaluing the Yen.  It would seem that this move could spur a wave of forex trading, as traders assess the effect of the Japan stimulus on currency markets.  We'll see.

Follow Up on My Post on Japanese Elections

In December 2012, I suggested you might want to think about some investments in Japan if Shinzo Abe was elected PM of Japan, because he could well push the country into a US-like central bank stimulus, in an effort to reduce the value of the Yen and boost Japanese exports.  This has now happened, as the Bank of Japan today announced a massive stimulus campaign:

http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=452506bc-5f54-43a3-b415-ab99a8de70b2

EWJ, an ETF I recommended at the time of my last post in December 2012, is up more than 10% since then and may now climb higher.