Japan
BOJ to consider all possible easing measures
Bank of Japan board member Hidehiko Haru said Wednesday the central bank would consider all possible easing measures, including unorthodox steps, if economic and financial conditions warrant such a move. The Bank is under great pressure to get the…
Minutes of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting
MINUTES - Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 10 and 11 October 2002, released 22 November. The nine member Policy Board decided unanimously to leave monetary policy unchanged at the meeting, resisting political pressure to try to…
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, November 2002
REPORT - The Bank of Japan published its Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments, November 2002, on 21 November. In the report the Bank downgraded its assessment of the economy for the first time in a year, citing stagnant export-led…
Korean central bank warns of deflation risk
The Korean nation had better be prepared in the event deflation should spring up, the Bank of Korea (BOK) has said. The bank fears a Japan style downward spiral of prices, but acknowledged the fear was low.
BOJ downgrades economy view, first time in a year
The Bank of Japan's monthly report comes a day after it resisted pressure to further stimulate the lethargic economy at the Banks monetary policy meeting. The report said inflation remained on a downward trend and that with exports and output flat there…
Greenspan - Fed has monetary tools left if needed
Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday that war worries were "a very large hurdle" hindering the recovery but that once these concerns were out of the way the economy should rebound. He also called on Germany and Japan to increase efforts to deregulate their…
BOJ minutes reveal wariness over stock-buying plan
As the Bank of Japan prepares to implement its new stock buying policy minutes to the Bank of Japan meeting 17-18 September show some board members expressed skepticism over the plan. The minutes have not yet been published but were obtained by a news…
JGBs higher as BoJ leaves policy unchanged
The Bank of Japan said Tuesday it would maintain current policy for money market operations. The vote was unanimous. Although the BoJ is under political pressure to ease further it was felt by many that they are waiting to see what impact their recent…
Bank of Japan Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Bank of Japan, Monetary Policy Meeting held 19 November.
Bank of Japan to begin share buying plan next week
JAPAN - Japan's shock move to purchase equities in a bid to solve the banks bad loans crisis will begin next week. Last week Japan's FSA brought further concern suggesting that the problem could have been underestimated by as much as Y13,000bn.
BOJ may resist pressure to ease again next week
JAPAN - After easing liquidity further at the last meeting of the BOJ, many economists expect the bank to resist calls for further easing when it meets next week.
Banks face tough test ahead on international stage
JAPAN - Japan's banks, soon to face unprecedented pressure to clean up their massive bad loan mess, already have a lot on their plate. But their job now looks set to get even harder, thanks to new capital accounting standards the Bank for International…
Total of bad loans understated by Y13,000bn - FSA
JAPAN - Japan's Financial Services Agency has revealed for the first time that it believes bad loans at the country's banks are Y13,000bn (£68bn) greater than the banks say.
Doubts over Japan recovery
UK - Data released Wednesday suggested Japan's fragile export-led recovery might have peaked.
Takenaka admits Japan's debt-deflation spiral
JAPAN - Japan's economic and financial services 'super-minister', Heizo Takenaka, formally acknowledged Tuesday that the nation's economy is caught in a 'vicious circle' of debt and deflation, and that it will be difficult to get the government's own…
Minutes of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting
MINUTES - Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 17 and 18 September 2002, released 5 November. The Policy Board noted Japan's economy has almost stabilised as a whole thanks to an export increase and the associated expansion of…
BOJ must set inflation target to prompt growth
ARTICLE - As the government's effort to end the bad-debt quandary is apparently shifting into a higher gear, concerns are growing that accelerated bad-loan write-offs could worsen, at least in the short term, the deflation that is sapping Japan's…
Tokyo shares surge as Asia awaits Fed
JAPAN - Japanese shares jumped nearly three percent Tuesday, while most other Asian stock markets paused to pocket profits, as investors looked forward to an expected cut in U.S. interest rates.
Europe's best defence against deflation
ARTICLE - Many people are worried about deflation. Severe deflation, as in the early 1930s, is catastrophic; mild deflation, as in Japan today, could become self-reinforcing. There are, moreover, similarities between early 1990s Japan and parts of Europe…
How to get growth in Japan
What Japan needs is a massive boost, not to the monetary base, but to domestic credit creation. Richard Werner outlines how this could be brought about.
Koizumi set for back-seat role on bad loan reforms
JAPAN - Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister, yesterday suggested he would not play an active political role in implementing measures to clean up bad loans, saying he would leave the details to economic tsar Heizo Takenaka.
Japan under pressure for more policy action
JAPAN - Pressure on Japanese policymakers to ease the deflationary burden on the economy mounted on Friday, as economists voiced doubts over the effectiveness of new reform plans and a top U.S. official called for more aggressive action.
Tokyo stocks fall more than 1 percent Thursday
JAPAN - Tokyo stocks fell more than 1 percent Thursday after a long awaited government economic package failed to impress investors, who sold select blue chip shares. The dollar slid against the yen.
Bank of Japan Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Change in the Guideline for Money Market Operations, 30 October.