The torrent of bad economic news about Japan washing through the media in recent weeks is reminiscent of a once-skilled boxer being beaten up at the end of his career. But unlike such a boxer, Japan has a chance of rejuvenation. Investment bankers in Tokyo, who have been coping with severe losses in their workforces this year, should take note that they could be major beneficiaries.
The US model of capital markets-driven economic growth has one fundamental reason. The US runs the biggest trade deficit in the world as a percentage of GDP and needs to sell or borrow foreign assets in order to pay for those goods. So the US attracts funds from abroad...