Jose Canseco Is No Fan of the Bank of Japan

Jose Canseco has some thoughts on the Bank of Japan’s experiment with below-zero interest rates. And he’s sharing them on Twitter.

Negative interest rates in Japan is blowing my mind

— Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) February 4, 2016

Mr. Canseco, of course, is a retired baseball slugger best known for his mammoth home runs, his massive biceps, and for the major role he played in pushing the discussion of steroid use in the major leagues into the public light.

He’s also known these days for his amusing and occasionally wacky presence on Twitter. Over the past few years, he’s explained his theories for time travel and terraforming Mars, shared images of a gruesome injury to his finger, and ranked his favorite people throughout history who shared his initials (Jim Carrey finished second to Jesus Christ).

But it was apparently the Bank of Japan that caught his interest Wednesday.

Specifically, it was the Japanese Central Bank’s move last week to unexpectedly introduce an interest rate of negative 0.1%, joining the European Central Bank and the central banks of Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland in introducing below-zero interest rates.

While economists are still studying the full impact of negative interest rates on boosting inflation and economic activity in Europe, many say the policy has pushed down bank borrowing rates and longer-term bond yields. Something about that strategy doesn’t sit right with Mr. Canseco.

Who is advising Japan? Forcing banks to lend all ¥ will not get 2% inflation. It creates loanees market with even lower rates. Dumb move — Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) February 4, 2016

Bank of Japan should call them willie wonka bonds “YOU GET NOTHING. yOU LOSE!”

— Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) February 4, 2016

Jocks talking about egghead things is not quite as crazy as it may seem. After all, they do deal with rather large amounts of money throughout their careers. Even if they blow it all, as some do, they must learn some lessons along the way, right?

After one person on Twitter questioned his economic chops, Mr. Canseco replied: “I’ve gone through more money than some small nations.”

Indeed, we wrote in May 2008 about Mr. Canseco losing his California home to foreclosure.

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from Real Time Economics http://ift.tt/23KZnew