Japan
Review of the Asian Bond Fund 2 Initiative
The Bank of Japan has announced that the EMEAP (Executives' Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks) Working Group on Financial Markets has released a report titled "Review of the Asian Bond Fund 2 Initiative."
Iwata on monetary policy under the new framework
In the speech 'The conduct of monetary policy under the new framework' given on 8 June (published 7 July) Kazumasa Iwata of the Bank of Japan said against a background of high crude oil prices, major countries around the world are in the process of…
Panel recommends BOJ disclosure rules
An advisory panel on Thursday 6 July recommended that the Bank of Japan should require its top officials to disclose personal financial assets.
BOJ will conduct appropriate policy for economy
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui reiterated on Thursday 6 July that the central bank will implement appropriate monetary policy by fully checking economic and price conditions.
BOJ to bar private funds holdings - report
The Bank of Japan plans to prohibit its senior officers from trading in stocks and holding stakes in private investment funds, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Wednesday 5 July, without identifying any sources.
Japanese cabinet minister backs BOJ rate hike
Japan's Economic and Fiscal Policy minister Kaoru Yosano told public broadcaster NHK conditions are being met for an imminent rate hike by the Bank of Japan.
ECB paper on Japanese forex intervention
Based on a GARCH framework and change point detection, the ECB Working Paper "A structural break in the effects of Japanese foreign exchange intervention on yen/dollar exchange rate volatility" tests for a structural break in the effectiveness of…
Report says BOJ likely to start raising rates
The Bank of Japan is expected to start raising interest rates this month or next, a news report said Monday 3 June.
Comment: Talking points in June
June has been a particularly eventful one for many emerging markets, with talk of increase risk aversion and reduced international liquidity driving a reversal of market sentiment towards emerging market currencies. The month also saw some important…
Fukui, would-be Greenspan of Asia, replaceable
According to this article from Bloomberg published Friday 30 June, Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui was urged to become the "Greenspan of Japan, if not Asia" soon after he began running the BOJ in 2003.
Bank of Japan may ban staff investment
A Bank of Japan panel decided Friday 30 June to recommend that the central bank ban its executives from investing in private funds, Kyodo News agency reported.
Yamamoto says Fukui should resign 'immediately'
Kozo Yamamoto, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's monetary policy panel, said Thursday 29 June that Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui should resign "immediately" over the Murakami investment scandal.
Nishimura on the BOJ's new policy framework
In the speech 'The new policy framework of the Bank of Japan: Central banking in an uncertain world' given on 27 June Kiyohiko Nishimura of the Bank of Japan said we are in the midst of fundamental uncertainty.
BOJ scandal heats up
Calls for the resignation of Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui are intensifying amid worries about interest-rate hikes and falling stock prices, according to this article from BusinessWeek, published Tuesday 27 June.
US monetary policy
The course of U.S. monetary policy is "appropriate" and the country's rate of economic growth should slow in the second half of the year, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo Rato said in Madrid.
BOJ's Nishimura sees low rates problem
Keeping Japan's interest rates at low levels for a prolonged period may cause excessive investment by companies and overstimulate economic growth, according to Kiyohiko Nishimura, a Bank of Japan policy maker.
Koizumi urges BOJ to improve transparency
Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi called on the Bank of Japan to improve its transparency on Thursday 22 June, following governor Toshihiko Fukui's investment with the Murakami fund, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said.
BOJ members closely watching stock prices
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's recent policy board meeting released Tuesday 20 June said members need to closely watch the impact of a global decline in stock prices on the world's second-largest economy.
Fukui on recent economic & financial developments
In the speech 'Recent economic and financial developments and the conduct of monetary policy' given on 20 June Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said Japan's economy continues to grow, with domestic and external demand and also the corporate and…
ECB's Trichet on economic and monetary issues
In the testimony given on 21 June Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said the insight that price stability is the primary goal for monetary policy has also been translated into the mandates of central banks of advanced economies and also of a very large…
Ten million reasons BOJ's Fukui must resign
According to this article published by Bloomberg on Wednesday 21 June, Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui should stop apologising, clarifying and sidestepping, and just resign.
What central banks are doing to raise interest
This article published Wednesday 21 June looks at central bank websites, saying that at their best the world's central banks are showing how a website can be used to provide information for a range of audiences.
Common currency basket in the 'ASEAN plus three'
East Asian countries, for example "ASEAN plus three countries" (China, Korea, and Japan), have been well cognizant of importance of the regional financial cooperation since the Asian currency crisis in 1997, according to the Discussion Paper "Adopting a…
Comment: Fukui comes out fighting
The governor of the Bank of Japan came out fighting on Tuesday 20 June in response to a public outcry due to a dubious personal investment. Fukui reiterated that he would not bow down to opposition politicians' calls for his head, and squashed rumours…