Yen briefly hits 155 vs. dollar for 1st time in 9 months

The yen briefly hit 155 against the U.S. dollar, a fresh nine-month low, on Wednesday in New York amid hopes that the prolonged U.S. government shutdown will end and Japan will implement additional fiscal spending.The dollar fetched 154.85-95 yen at 9:15 a.m. in New York, compared with 154.61-63 yen at 5 p.m. in Tokyo on Wednesday.The yen's fall came despite a warning by Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama that the negative side of yen weakness has become more evident.A weak yen inflates import costs for resource-scarce Japan, though it boosts the earnings of Japanese exporters.The U.S. gover…READ FULL ARTICLE