The yen fell through ¥163 against the dollar, marking its lowest level since 1986. Markets are focusing on signs that Japanese authorities may be less inclined to intervene, while expectations of fiscal stimulus and a wide Japan-U.S. rate gap—U.S. 3.5–3.75% versus Japan 1%—add to carry-trade pressure. Japan’s $73.6 billion intervention in April and May failed to reverse the slide, and many investors now see ¥165 as the next line for action, though no substantive intervention has appeared.

Australia said it will amend its Modern Slavery Act to introduce criminal liability and civil penalties for companies with annual revenue above AUS$100 million that fail to prevent forced labor and debt bondage in overseas supply chains. The move follows a warning from the U.S. Trade Representative that Australia could face a 12.5% tariff over the issue. About 4,000 Australian companies currently file annual modern slavery statements, and the Australian Federal Police investigated 280 modern slavery and human trafficking reports last year.

Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has approved Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s first set of economic and fiscal policy guidelines, centering on a five-year effort to reshape the country’s defense posture. The blueprint emphasizes reviving the defense industrial base and scaling up mass drone production to support operational resilience in a prolonged conflict. It is framed as a medium- to long-term strategic deployment and does not specify companies, procurement contracts, budget allocations or export controls. As a result, it offers no immediate price-transmission mechanism for traditional financial-market assets.

Nippon Paint has made two recent bids of about $8.6 billion for Akzo Nobel’s decorative paints business, with the latest valuing the unit at €7.5 billion and about 12 times its 2026 EBITDA. Akzo Nobel’s management has not engaged with the approach and has not informed shareholders. The unit accounts for nearly two thirds of Akzo Nobel revenue, largely from Europe, while the company’s planned merger with Axalta remains subject to U.S. FTC approval.

Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the government will push households and pension funds, including the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), to increase investment in Japanese financial assets. The GPIF manages ¥293.6 trillion in assets. Her remarks fueled expectations of renewed allocation to yen-denominated assets, lifting the yen against the dollar from levels near multiyear lows.

Japan’s central government is considering revising how it refers to monetary policy in its annual economic and fiscal agenda to avoid appearing to pressure the Bank of Japan, the Asahi newspaper reported. An earlier draft said the “appropriate conduct” of monetary policy was “very important,” language some read as a signal discouraging further rate hikes. The latest draft adds an inflation reference, calling for policy that contributes to stable price increases, according to the report. The yen was trading around ¥162.30 per dollar in Tokyo on Wednesday morning, near last week’s ¥162.84, its weakest level in 40 years.

Early counting in Colombia’s presidential runoff shows Trump-backed conservative candidate Abelardo de la Espriella leading with 50.6% of the vote. His platform explicitly supports restarting oil exploration and allowing fracking. If he wins, the result would reverse President Gustavo Petro’s energy policy and push new oil and gas development. The shift would directly reshape energy policy in South America’s third-largest economy and lift expectations for global crude supply.

The yen fell to a 23-month low of ¥160.79 per dollar, edging past a level around ¥160 that many in the market view as a trigger for intervention. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said authorities would “take appropriate action as needed at any time.” In equities, the Nikkei 225 broke above 71,000 for the first time and touched an intraday high of 71,398.58, led by semiconductor-related stocks after overnight gains in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Japan ride-hailing platform Go completed the country’s largest IPO of the year, raising $553 million, with Goldman Sachs serving as a joint global coordinator after investing ¥10 billion in 2023. Shares rose 21% on the first trading day, valuing the company at ¥186 billion. The deal reflects Goldman’s routine investment-banking activity with no disclosed new capital commitment, ownership change or revised guidance. Any impact on Goldman is limited to underwriting fees and mark-to-market gains on its existing stake, and is not positioned as a near-term trading catalyst.