*MSCI Asia Pacific ex- Japan rises 0.9 percent. SINGAPORE, May 20- The yen edged higher on Monday after Japan's economics minister said further weakness in the yen could harm households, while Asian shares rose in response to U.S. equities rallying on upbeat economic data.
Jonathan Cavenagh, Currency Strategist at Westpac Bank, Australia (Sydney), says the Japanese and Swiss central banks will not stop intervening because both countries are dependent on export-generated economic growth.
CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera reports on the ECB buying Italian and Spanish bonds in an effort to reassure the markets, and a play on global currencies, with Andy Busch, BMO Capital Markets.
International intervention in foreign exchange markets may only give brief respite to countries that are fighting an "unwinnable war" against currency appreciation, analysts told CNBC.com.
The sovereign debt crises on both sides of the Atlantic has created what some analysts are calling an "ugliness contest" between the U.S. dollar and the euro, and experts remain split on which of the two currencies are a safer bet.