OVERNIGHT

Some are calling it caution before Tuesday's Fed meeting and well it might be with most Asian shares down overnight.The Nikkei was off 1% , the Kospi flat and the Australia's S&P/ASX was down 0.3%. The Hang Seng dropped 0.6% and the Shanghai Composite Index traded flat.

The BOJ has a two-day meeting starting Wednesday where many expect more monetary easing from officials to try to boost their economy, hoping in the process to weaken the yen and conjure up some inflation. It's been a see-saw for Japanese financials as one day they're stronger and like today they lead the market down.

Part of the trouble stems from the big state investment fund in Malaysia that defaulted on a $1.75 billion bond issue as news of it rippled through markets. Japan's automakers, which rely heavily on export sales for profits, felt some of the pain, with Toyota Motor Corp slipping 1.1 percent while Honda Motor Co Ltd slid 1.4 percent and shares of Nissan Motor Co Ltd were 1.5 percent lower.

Here's an interesting chart from davidstockmanscontracorner.com/another-gary-cooper-rebound-it-isnt-on-the-level



No matter. The madcap money printers at the BOJ have already bought up every Japanese government bond that can be pried loose and owns nearly 50% of Japanese issued ETFs. And now comes word that the BOJ has bought so much stock through ETFs and directly that it has become a top holder of most of the stocks in the Nikkei 225.

Some observers expect Japanese officials to extend their ETF purchases rather than cut rates lower or buy more bonds. For more on the mess called the Japanese economy, the yen and the BOJ read this.
zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-24/why-goldman-expects-japanese-yen-collapse-within-12-months