Bank of Japan
Bank of Japan: Same old, Same old
July 20, 2017
Japanese monetary policy, although institutionally independent, suffers from chronically rigid thinking. The latest policy review produced 1) unchanged policy settings,2) another 7-2 vote with Kiuchi and Sato objecting to the majority’s policy preference for the same reasons that they have dissented at countless prior meetings, and 3) yet another outward push in the collective projected […] More
Bank of Japan
April 27, 2017
After meeting for five hours and sixteen minutes over two days, the BOJ Policy Board released a monetary policy statement that reads the same verbatim as the prior March document including footnoted text explaining the dissenting views of committee hawks Sato and Kiuchi. A new quarterly Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices was published concurrently […] More
Bank of Japan Retains Existing Policy
March 16, 2017
After four hours 33 minutes of deliberations on Wednesday and Thursday, the BOJ stuck with all parameters of their policy of “quantitative monetary easing with yield curve control.” QQE was introduced in April 2013 and augmented in October 2014. A negative 0.10% marginal rate on balances held by banks at the BOJ was adopted in […] More
U.S. Labor Statistics, Service-Sector PMIs, and a Focus on Some Central Banks
February 3, 2017
The dollar rose modestly overnight ahead of the U.S. jobs data, gaining 0.4% against the kiwi, 0.3% versus the yen, Swissie and sterling, 0.2% relative to the euro, loonie and Australian dollar, and 0.1% against the Mexican peso. China reopened after a week celebrating the Lunar New Year. The dollar fell 0.2% against the yuan, […] More
Bank of Japan Review
January 31, 2017
By another 7-2 vote with Kiuchi and Sato again dissenting, monetary policymakers voted not to change its interest rate targets, the size of quantitative easing, the medium-term inflation target, guidance governing future policy decisions, or its assessment of Japanese growth and inflation conditions and prospects. This result was expected. The statement on monetary policy retains a […] More
Bank of Japan
December 20, 2016
The final BOJ Board meeting of 2016 left all policy settings unchanged as expected. A released statement upgraded economic conditions and prospects, proclaiming that “Japan’s economy has continued its moderate recovery trend and is likely to turn to a moderate expansion” and deleting previous qualifying language that warned “sluggishness is expected to remain in exports and […] More
Japanese Satisfaction Evident with a Weakening Yen
December 20, 2016
The yen fell 0.8% against the dollar after the Bank of Japan left its accommodative monetary stance unchanged despite a sharply lower yen. Governor Kuroda dispelled any thought of a possible rate hike, noting that depreciation lifts import prices, overall inflation, growth and expected inflation. The dollar also advanced 0.5% against the pound, 0.3% versus […] More
Bank of Japan Made No Policy Change
November 1, 2016
The Bank of Japan released a statement that did not modify any element of the current policy stance. Although not an entire surprise, some speculation prior to the meeting that officials might increase some components of its asset purchase program or perhaps modify certain terms like the maturity limit on what it will purchase. Likewise, some […] More
Bank of Japan Changes Policy Framework
September 21, 2016
The BOJ Board released several documents in conjunction with the unveiling of a new policy orientation that is packaged to appear like a more substantive change than it really is. The released papers include A summary of decisions made, listing of dissenting votes, and two attachments. The first of these presents the BOJ staff’s “comprehensive […] More
Disappointing Bank of Japan Response
July 29, 2016
Market participants were expecting a more forceful Bank of Japan stimulus than was done. The Bank of Japan’s three-tier interest rate structure wasn’t changed. The macro add-on rate is zero. The Basic Balance rate is 0.10%. The BOJ policy rate is negative 0.10%. The program to increase bond purchases at a rate of 80 trillion […] More
