What the financial markets fear: More expensive money from the Bank of Japan

What the financial markets fear: More expensive money from the Bank of Japan

Late in December, the Bank of Japan announced, unexpectedly, that it was adjusting its policy for buying bonds. Even something as vague as that is enough to rattle financial markets because Japan is the world’s largest creditor. At the end of 2021, it held roughly $3.2 trillion in foreign assets, 30? more than No. 2 Germany. As of October, it owned over a trillion dollars of U.S. government debt, more than China. Japanese banks are the world’s largest cross-border lenders, with nearly $4.8 trillion in claims in other countries. The policy change was relatively minor–a decision to raise the ceiling on yields for the 10-year bond. But global bond markets have been waiting for any signs that say the days of 0% (or lower) bond yields in Japan might be coming to an end.

Trick or trend: Will the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank raise rates enough this week to slow the dollar? Nah!

Trick or trend: Will the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank raise rates enough this week to slow the dollar? Nah!

The dollar is likely to get another boost from the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank this week. On Thursday, the European Central Bank is likely to report its first interest-rate increase in more than a decade. But the increase is likely to be just 25 basis points. That will be a stark reminder of how far behind the Federal Reserve, which raised interest rates 75 basis points in June and is expected to increase rates by another 75 basis points at its July 27 meeting. On Thursday the Bank of Japan is expected to keep its benchmark interest rates at its current low, low, low level.

Is 2018 the year when central banks finally start to tighten?

Is 2018 the year when central banks finally start to tighten?

Both Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are now predicting that average interest rates across the world’s advanced economies will climb to at least 1% in 2018. That might not seem like much, but remember that major economies such as Japan and the European Union now have negative interest rates. Overall the two Wall Street megabanks are telling investors to get ready for the biggest tightening of monetary policy since 2006, before the global financial crisis.

Bank of Japan does even less than expected today

The Bank of Japan threw the country’s financial sector a bone today–not much more than that certainly. At its regular monetary policy meeting the Japanese central bank said it would keep its short-term policy rate at a negative 0.1% while working to keep the yield on the 10-year government bond near 0%

Why next week’s Bank of Japan meeting is roiling the markets

Next week it’s actually the Bank of Japan meeting rather than the Federal Reserve’s that has the most power to move financial markets in the short run. Partly that’s because the Federal Reserve’s isn’t likely to do anything at its September 21 meeting. But partly its because there is real uncertainty about what the Bank of Japan might do at its September 21 meeting. The worry is that the bank will decide to cut back on purchases of long-term bonds and at the same time reduce short-term interest rates further