Excited talk about the catastrophic unwinding of the yen carry trade tends to conjure up images of slick hedge-fund types in Chicago and London frantically squaring their highly leveraged positions.

But fortunately for those worried about a massive unwinding of the carry trade, the truth might be rather more mundane. Far from being testosterone-fuelled 20-something traders, those with the most at stake are far more likely to be silver-haired Japanese retirees. And they don’t seem to be panicking.