LONDON (Reuters) – A growth spurt in the balance sheets of the world’s biggest central banks has crested in recent weeks, drawing warnings from investors that any signs of backpedaling on stimulus will jolt financial markets and strangle economic recovery. The... More »
TOKYO/FRANKFURT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After years of applying plenty of stick to commercial lenders unhappy with negative interest rate policies, central bankers in the euro zone and Japan are experimenting with some carrot, too. With the coronavirus pandemic... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan expanded monetary stimulus on Monday and pledged to buy unlimited amount of bonds to keep borrowing costs low as the government tries to spend its way out of the deepening economic pain from the coronavirus pandemic. The mov... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan eased monetary policy on Monday by pledging to buy risky assets such as exchange-traded funds (ETF) at double the current pace, joining global central banks in combating the widening economic fallout from the coronavirus epi... More »
(Reuters) – The Bank of Japan eased monetary policy on Monday by pledging to buy risky assets such as exchange-traded funds (ETF) at double the current pace, joining global central banks in combating the widening economic fallout from the coronavirus epidemic.... More »
RIYADH/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Central bankers from the United States, Japan and the euro zone meeting in the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia this weekend had their own shifting sands to cross – those of elusive inflation. The problem facing all three is that pr... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Almost a fifth of Japanese households use electronic money for small purchases, a survey by a central bank-affilated research institute showed, up from a year ago and a sign the country’s cash-hoarding culture is changing. In the survey publi... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s major financial institutions are set to undergo a stress test to prepare for any major shakeout in financial markets in light of worries about a global recession and a protracted Sino-U.S. trade war, sources with direct knowledge of t... More »
(Reuters) – Traders and analysts are considering whether U.S. bond yields would fall below zero as a record amount around the world sank into negative territory this week. The question has become a talking point, and less hypothetical, this week as the U.S. 30... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan on Monday cut its assessment on factory output for two of the country’s nine regions and warned that more companies were feeling pinched by the U.S.-China trade war than three months ago. But the central bank maintained its ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – External demand is likely to rebound from its current soft patch in the latter half of this year, a senior Bank of Japan official overseeing the Kinki region in western Japan said on Monday. Domestic demand in the region, including capital ex... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank will “certainly” debate heightening overseas risks at a rate review this week, underscoring concerns among policymakers about the economic fallout of a U.S.-China trade war. The tra... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank can deliver more monetary stimulus if necessary, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The BOJ will ease further if the momentum toward its 2% inflation target is lost, Kuroda said in an in... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday the global economic outlook is highly uncertain, and there are downside risks due to trade friction, China’s slowing economy and Britain’s negotiations to leave the European Union. “There ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan board member Yutaka Harada on Monday defended the central bank’s massive asset-buying program dubbed quantitative and qualitative easing (QQE), saying the policy has helped create jobs and boost productivity. “The biggest contri... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday the central bank would debate and communicate at an appropriate timing an exit plan from its ultra-loose monetary policy. Speaking at the upper house budget committee, Kuroda also undersco... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Worried by prospects of a pause in the U.S. interest rate hike cycle, the Bank of Japan is shifting focus towards a risk that it may be forced to deploy more stimulus this year to stop sharp yen rises from derailing an economic recovery, sour... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Business confidence among Japan’s big manufacturers worsened for a second straight quarter in the three months to June, a Bank of Japan survey showed, with the outlook clouded by U.S. trade protectionism and rising input costs. It was the fir... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday members of the government’s top economic council agreed that the central bank is guiding monetary policy appropriately. Abe also said the government and the Bank of Japan have reaffirmed their... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Tuesday signaled the possibility of allowing long-term interest rates to rise above zero before his 2 percent inflation target is met. “It’s not as if we will defend the 10-year yield target of around... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – As speculation about interest rate rises and policy ‘normalization’ in the euro zone, Japan, Britain and China falls away rapidly, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s now lonely monetary tightening has suddenly supercharged the dollar. The revival of... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s central bank kept policy steady on Friday but ditched a timeframe it had set for hitting an inflation target, in a surprise move analysts say is aimed at keeping market expectations for more stimulus in check. The Bank of Japan at its... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese business sentiment worsened for the first time in two years in the three months to March, a closely watched central bank survey showed on Monday, as rising raw materials and labor costs weigh on an otherwise steady economic recovery.... More »
Masazumi Wakatabe and Masayoshi Amamiya, the government’s nominees for next Bank of Japan deputy governors, attend a confirmation hearing in the lower house of parliament in Tokyo, Japan, March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan mu... More »
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a lower house budget committee session at the parliament in Tokyo, Japan, February 13, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s central bank chief said on Friday it would consider ending ultra-loos... More »
A man walks past the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon – TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s government will likely present to parliament its nominees of next central bank governor and deputy governors around mid- to late Fe... More »
Atsushi Miyanoya, Bank of Japan (BOJ) Executive Director, speaks during an interview with Reuters at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, December 22, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO (Reuters) – Prolonged ultra-easy monetary policy is weighing heavily on Japan... More »
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, December 21, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe likely feels the economy is in good shape thanks to effor... More »
A shopper (L) checks items inside a shoes shop at Shibuya shopping and amusement district in Tokyo, Japan, June 2, 2016. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s consumer prices were expected to rise fractionally for an 11th straight month in November, a R... More »
Central Bank Governor Haruhiko Kuroda of the Bank of Japan attends ECB’s Central Bank Communications Conference in Frankfurt, Germany, November 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Monday urged financial... More »
FILE PHOTO: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers his policy speech at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo, Japan, November 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that the government and the... More »
Japanese wages will rise by 2.0 percent to 2.5 percent at next spring's annual negotiations, falling short of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of 3 percent, economists polled by Reuters predicted. More »
Japan's retail sales rose in September at the fastest pace in three months as shoppers spent more on clothes and daily goods in a sign that consumer spending remains strong due to a tight labor market. More »
Japan's industrial production was expected to show a fall in September after solid gains the previous month, a Reuters poll found, although analysts say the trend remains upward thanks to expanding global demand. More »
Japanese banks lag behind their global counterparts in boosting profitability as they compete for dwindling lending opportunities in a shrinking market, the country's central bank said on Monday. More »
The dollar touched a three-month high against the yen on Monday, with investors betting that an emphatic election victory for Japan's ruling party would see a continuation of the ultra-loose "Abenomics" policy that have kept downward pressure on the yen. More »
A new party led by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has unveiled policies it dubs "Yurinomics" that aim to revitalize the economy and cut reliance on fiscal spending and monetary easing, seeking to distance itself from premier Shinzo Abe's more aggressive stimulus ... More »
Japanese companies' inflation expectations eased slightly in September from three months ago in a worrying sign the economy continues to struggle with a deflationary mindset. More »
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned that escalating tensions in North Korea were among risks to an otherwise brightening global economic outlook, stressing that the central bank was closely watching the impact on markets and Japan's economy. More »
Confidence at Japanese manufacturers rose in August to its highest level in a decade led by producers of industrial materials, a Reuters poll showed, in a further sign of broadening economic recovery. The Reuters' monthly poll - which tracks the Bank of Japan'... More »
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai The Bank of Japan offered its most optimistic view of the country’s regional economies in more than a decade on sol... More »
FILE PHOTO: A man looks at a mobile phone in front of the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Japan’s central bank will cut its inflation forecasts but hold off expanding stimulus this month, people familiar with... More »
FILE PHOTO: A man runs past the Bank of Japan (BOJ) building in Tokyo, Japan, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged on Thursday and offered its most optimistic assessment of the economy in nine years,... More »
FILE PHOTO: Governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda (C) arrives for the session ‘The Global Economic Outlook’ in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos January 24, 2015. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/File Photo Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda has emphatically ... More »
FILE PHOTO – A man works around a metal procession machine at a factory in Urayasu, east of Tokyo October 9, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato Japanese big manufacturers’ business confidence improved for a second straight quarter to hit a one-and-a-half year high in Ma... More »
FILE PHOTO: Newly-appointed Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member Yukitoshi Funo arrives at his inauguration news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, July 1, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Bank of Japan board member Yukitoshi Funo said on Wednesday uncertainty o... More »
The Bank of Japan’s ambitious yield curve control policy is under attack from rising global bond yields and volatility, and analysts say the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening cycle could force Japan to abandon it sooner rather than later. More »
FILE PHOTO – A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo The Bank of Japan is expected to keep monetary policy steady on Thursday and stress that inflation is nowhere near levels t... More »
Dissenting Bank of Japan board member Takehiro Sato said the central bank should be open to the idea of raising its bond yield targets before inflation hits its 2 percent goal, if improvements in the economy drive up long-term interest rates. More »
Men walk toward the Bank of Japan (BOJ) building in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai The likelihood of more monetary stimulus in Japan is diminishing, according to a Reuters poll of economists who were largely split on the central bank’s ne... More »
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday the central bank will not change its bond yield targets j... More »
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso speaks during an interview with Reuters at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo April 9, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso said Japan’s economy still needs massive monetary support given... More »
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso said on Thursday the central bank does not use monetary policy to manipulate exchange rates. More »
Bill Gross, co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), speaks at the Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago, Illinois, in this file photo dated June 19, 2014. REUTERS/Jim Young Bond investor Bill Gross said on Monday that without quanti... More »
Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor of the Bank of Japan attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the next central bank governor should be someone who would... More »
A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo The Bank of Japan raised its economic assessment for three of the country’s nine regions in a quarterly report on Monday, saying that mo... More »
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo New financial technology, or “fintech,” poses fresh challenges for central banks in maintaining ba... More »
Bank of Japan board member Takako Masai said on Monday it was too early to conclude that the BOJ’s new fixed-rate debt-buying operation will always go smoothly, but that the policy tool was successful last week in slowing gains in yields. More »
Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) new board member Takako Masai attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, June 30, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai The election of Donald Trump as U.S. President, Brexit, and the weak state of the European Union’s financia... More »
A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo – RTX2P8PK The Bank of Japan said on Monday it is closely monitoring bank lending to the real estate sector to guard against excessive c... More »
A customer counts his U.S. dollar notes in a bank in Cairo, Egypt March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh Monetary policy in developed markets like Japan and Europe is failing, and faltering in the U.S., in substantial part because globalization has altered... More »
People walk through a street in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, Japan, September 29, 2016. Picture taken September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Confidence among big Japanese manufacturers was flat in the three months to September and service-sector sentiment worsen... More »
Illustrative picture shows Japanese 10,000 yen bank notes spread out at an office of World Currency Shop in Tokyo in this August 9, 2010 illustrative picture. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday the central ban... More »
Arrangement of various world currencies including Chinese Yuan, US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, in this picture illustration taken January 25, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo The yen was holding strong on Monday in the face of another volle... More »
A businessman walks past the Bank of Japan (BOJ) building in Tokyo, Japan, March 23, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo The Bank of Japan’s new monetary policy framework should not be taken as a message that the BOJ feels it is done with easing and wants fisc... More »
A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai The International Monetary Fund said on Monday that a new monetary policy framework adopted by the Bank of Japan marked “progress”, but stuck to it... More »
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai The pace at which the Bank of Japan buys bonds will depend on what is needed to achieve its yield curve targe... More »
The offices of Pacific Investment Management Co (PIMCO) (R) are shown in Newport Beach, California August 4, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake Global bond yields will rise modestly and spikes in volatility could be more commonplace in the coming years as loose central ... More »
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda signaled his readiness to ease monetary policy further using existing o... More »
A picture illustration of crumpled kuna, Dollar and euro banknotes, taken in Zagreb January 18, 2011. REUTERS/Nikola Solic Central bankers in charge of the vast bulk of the world’s economy delved deep into the weeds of money markets and interest rates over a t... More »
By Leika Kihara and Tetsushi Kajimoto | TOKYO TOKYO Japan’s economic growth ground to a halt in April-June as weak exports and shaky domestic demand prompted companies to cut spending, putting fresh pressure on premier Shinzo Abe to come up with policies that ... More »
TOKYO Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Monday that downbeat gross domestic product data for the second quarter was due to weak consumer spending and falling exports. Aso told reporters after a cabinet meeting that the government had already compiled ... More »
By Leika Kihara | TOKYO TOKYO The Bank of Japan’s policy review could put up for debate its target for expanding base money through massive asset purchases, sources say, but the challenge would be to avoid spooking bond markets used to years of unprecedented b... More »
TOKYO Japan’s government kept its assessment of the economy unchanged in July but said business sentiment has worsened after the Bank of Japan’s tankan survey showed the corporate mood stagnated in April-June due to a strengthening yen. The government left unc... More »
CHENGDU, China The world’s leading economies have discussed how to take advantage of their lower debt costs to spend more on investment as a way to boost weak economic growth, the head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said. “Alread... More »
TOKYO The Bank of Japan will factor in the government’s planned fiscal stimulus package in producing new quarterly projections this month, which will help moderate any cuts to its inflation forecasts, sources familiar with its thinking said. The boost to growt... More »
TOKYO Japan’s top government spokesman said on Wednesday the government was not considering “helicopter money” as an option, denying a media report that its advisers were suggesting the policy. The Sankei newspaper reported on Wednesday that Etsuro Honda, an e... More »
NEW YORK The British pound could weaken further in the next six months even if it enjoys a temporary rebound, a top BlackRock Inc investment strategist said on Friday after Britain voted to exit the European Union. “Sterling will weaken from here over the next... More »
TOKYO Japan would intervene in foreign exchange markets if the yen firmed to between 90-95 per dollar, even if it upset the United States, a key economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday, asserting the right to curb currency volatility. Koi... More »
TOKYO Japan’s central bank is likely to cut its price forecasts on Thursday and debate whether a strong yen, weak global demand and soft consumption have hurt inflation expectations enough to warrant another blow of stimulus. The policy decision will be a clos... More »
TOKYO Japanese companies’ long-term inflation expectations weakened in March from three months ago, a central bank survey showed, a sign January’s decision to adopt negative interest rates has failed to convince firms that price rises will accelerate over time... More »
TOKYO Driving interest rates below zero, the Bank of Japan has turned a comatose government bond market into an enormous free-for-all, complicating the central bank’s own efforts to kick-start growth and end deflation. The $9 trillion market for Japanese gover... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan policymakers engaged in heated debate during their policy review in March on the pros and cons of their decision in January to adopt negative interest rates, with one even saying it was preferable to roll it back. A summary of the March 14-... More »
TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday he does not expect the Bank of Japan to take monetary policy steps directly aimed at intentionally weakening the yen. “The BOJ is not conducting monetary policy to directly target currency rates,” Abe t... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan (BOJ) officials have been scurrying to commercial banks to explain and apologize for its surprise adoption of negative interest rates in January, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has distanced himself from a decision that is proving unpopula... More »
ACAPULCO, Mexico BlackRock Inc Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said on Friday that China may be the biggest hurdle to global financial markets and that central bankers are adding to risks with negative-interest rate policies. “China does represent maybe mor... More »
TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he has no plans now to freeze or postpone a sales tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent scheduled in April next year. Speaking in parliament, Abe also confirmed his previous remarks that it would not make... More »
TOKYO The Bank of Japan could confuse markets and trigger a global competition to push interest rates deeper into negative territory by cutting its rates below zero, dissenters to the move told a rate review last month, underscoring Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s ... More »
LONDON Global markets have been in turmoil since the start of the year, with stocks and commodities prices reeling, eroding inflation and making central banks increasingly dovish – a trend that could continue with more weak economic data. China, a focus of muc... More »
SYDNEY January updates on Asia’s mammoth factory sector released on Monday showed the new year began much as the old one ended – with too much capacity chasing too little demand. China was again the epicentre of disappointment as its official measure of manufa... More »
NEW YORK Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic advisor at Allianz, said on Friday the Bank of Japan’s shocking move to take one of its main interest rates into negative territory underscored the country’s hope to weaken the yen to re-inflate its economy. “Count... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan policymakers would prefer to hold back additional monetary easing at their meeting on Friday, people familiar with the central bank’s thinking say, though global market volatility could yet force their hand. Even as slumping oil prices and ... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday he saw no need to implement negative deposit rates in Japan as borrowing costs were already very low due to the central bank’s aggressive asset purchases. The European Central Bank has adopted negativ... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan board member Takehiro Sato said on Monday the impact of its quantitative easing is likely diminishing, as long-term interest rates have not declined much since the central bank increased debt purchases in October 2014. Sato said the BOJ can... More »
NAGOYA, Japan Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned on Monday that a slowdown in emerging economies, if prolonged, may hurt Japanese business confidence and discourage firms from increasing capital expenditure. “The BOJ will respond without hesitation ... More »
TOKYO The Bank of Japan need not boost its massive monetary stimulus this week as the labor market remains tight, a key economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday. Koichi Hamada, an emeritus professor of economics at Yale University, also tol... More »
TOKYO Japan’s economy is expected to have slowed sharply in the third quarter as demand across Asia ebbed, keeping the Bank of Japan and policymakers under pressure to inject more stimulus to revitalize growth, a Reuters poll found. The poll of 21 economists p... More »
TOKYO The Bank of Japan maintained its upbeat assessment for all nine of the country’s regional economies despite looming external risks such as China’s slowdown, suggesting that it saw no immediate need to expand monetary stimulus further. In a quarterly repo... More »
TOKYO Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday the country’s economy was expected to continue recovering moderately even though the slowdown in emerging markets was weighing on exports and output. “The BOJ’s quantitative and qualitative easing is ... More »
LIMA, Peru A senior International Monetary Fund official has urged Japan to go ahead with a sales tax hike scheduled for April 2017 to maintain its long-term fiscal credibility. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, the IMF’s deputy managing director, warned on Sunday that flex... More »
