September 2024
Top China banker makes rare admission on dire economy
Former People’s Bank of China governor Yi Gang said the government should focus on ending deflation, acknowledging that falling prices are threatening growth.
March 2024
BoJ has increased at last, but this tiny step is no lift-off
Governor Kazuo Ueda is choosing to move at a relatively benign time in the global economy. He may want to push rates just a little bit higher, so he has room to cut when the next slowdown arrives.
April 2023
Ueda kicks off first change of BoJ governorship in a decade
As the first academic to head the 140-year-old institution, Kazuo Ueda has so far struck a neutral tone on monetary policy.
New BoJ governor must end Japan’s easy money addiction
Kazuo Ueda faces the tough task of shifting gears to normalise monetary policy without hurting the economy too much.
March 2023
Bank of Japan’s Kuroda refrains from parting surprise
Haruhiko Kuroda defied some market pundits and stuck with the Japanese central bank’s yield control program in his final meeting as governor.
Kuroda’s last meeting has markets focused on a final surprise
Global investors remain on high alert for a surprise parting shot from the Bank of Japan governor that may jolt financial markets around the world.
February 2023
Japan posts weak growth in challenge to new BoJ chief
The incoming central bank chief needs to carefully weigh up the strength of Japan’s recovery and whether to tighten ultra-loose monetary policy.
BoJ’s new ‘dark horse’ governor sends shockwaves
Economist and academic Kazuo Ueda, a surprise appointment, will face strong market pressure to abandon the central bank’s aggressive monetary easing.
January 2023
Japan must start culling its zombie companies soon
The Bank of Japan’s decision to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy for now merely defers the euthanasia of persistently unprofitable companies.
What the Bank of Japan’s shock move means for your money
That ski trip to Japan this winter might not be such good value. The yen strengthened sharply against the dollar after the decision and has held on to the gains. Investors are now betting the yen may rise as much as another 10 per cent.
BoJ boosts bond buying for fourth day to cap rise in yields
The BoJ announced a fourth day of unscheduled bond buying on Wednesday, offering to buy unlimited amounts of two- and five-year notes.
Uncertainty over Bank of Japan casts a shadow over markets
Lack of clarity on the successor to governor Haruhiko Kuroda adds to questions over last month’s abrupt policy change.
December 2022
Aussie fundie’s big Bank of Japan bet pays off
Fixed income portfolio manager Tom Nash at UBS AM led with the fabled widow-maker trade in April and was gifted an early Christmas present when the BoJ pivoted on Tuesday.
October 2022
Low-inflation Japan a relative oasis in a troubled world
As global recession fears intensify, Japan’s stagnant economy increasingly looks like a haven from the world’s inflation woes.
September 2022
End of an era prompts the question: Did negative interest rates work?
Critics of negative interest rates insist the policy damaged European lenders, while some central bankers say it boosted loan growth.
Why central banks got inflation so wrong
A former Bank of Japan governor says central banks took the wrong lessons from Japan’s long-term experiment with ultra-loose monetary policy – causing them to underestimate inflation.
August 2022
Central bankers warn of ‘forceful action’ to tame inflation
ECB executive board member Isabel Schnabel warned of risks of a recession, but bankers have “little choice” but to continue tackling inflation.
July 2022
Japan defies wave of inflation-fighting rate increases
By standing pat, the Bank of Japan looks set to become the last holdout on rates among major developed economies.
Central banks rush to quell the inflation they helped stoke
Supply chain snarls and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have decisively removed any case for gradualism in combating inflation.
September 2021
The party contest won, Kishida’s next job is to convince voters
Fumio Kishida must prepare to guide the LDP not only through a general election that must be held by November, but an upper house poll next year.