Friday, April 27, 2012

量的緩和

After many, many iterations of this "stimulus tool", you would think they would know better.  Recall the oft-cited definition of insanity:  Doing the same things over and over yet expecting different results.

April 27 (Bloomberg) -- The Bank of Japan expanded its plan for government-bond purchases by 10 trillion yen ($124 billion) after the world’s third-largest economy showed signs of slowing and lawmakers pressed for more aggressive steps.         
 The BOJ will boost its asset-purchase fund to 40 trillion yen by June 2013, compared with the previous target of 30 trillion yen by year-end, it said in a statement today in Tokyo. A separate central bank program providing funds to banks was pared by 5 trillion yen amid lackluster demand for loans.         
 Governor Masaaki Shirakawa was under pressure to act after a group of lawmakers proposed overhauling the BOJ’s governing law to ensure steps to end the deflation afflicting the nation for more than a decade. The BOJ today said today its 1 percent inflation goal will be achieved before too long, a prediction of victory that undermines the impact of today’s stimulus, according to Credit Suisse Group AG’s chief Japan economist.         
 “The effect of these positive actions could be completely erased,” said Tokyo-based Hiromichi Shirakawa, who worked at the central bank before joining Credit Suisse. “It’s like the BOJ said it’s going to press on the accelerator and they suddenly hit the brake hard.”         

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