Totally agree. It's the long term structure that matters (but having a common vocabulary does help discussion!)
i was going to say them same thing but it would of been wasted. you will never hear a person in this position say anything different. i can say when the jgb yields climbed up few weeks ago the japan market went down 20%. i say anything and someone will tell me i am wrong. i think a trader needs to make his own trades because he needs to live with them.
Guess it depends on what you're trading. Understanding the impact of key economic data from the relevant countries helps greatly with understanding the movement within the major currency pairs. As I said, I think it depends on what you're trading.