bank of japan

JAPAN

The Bank of Japan has followed the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank by extending its QE programme by 10trn yen.

More than a year on from the devastating Tohoku earthquake which struck Japan, investors are continuing to eye Japanese equity funds with caution.

Japan's central bank has further eased monetary policy by expanding its asset purchasing programme from 65trn to 70trn yen and buying riskier assets including ETFs.

The Bank of Japan has announced further asset-purchases as part of its latest bid to end 20 years of deflationary pressures - but how significant is its recent change in tack?

Legal & General IM's Ben Gill expects the Bank of England may be forced to intervene to weaken sterling as it explores other forms of QE.

The yen climbed to a post-World War II high against the dollar yesterday, after Europe's debt crisis spurred demand for safe havens.

The yen has plunged against a basket of currencies after the Bank of Japan said the economy is in a perilous state.

Henderson's Bill McQuaker says the recent move by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to prevent the yen soaring against the dollar could feed through to equity markets if it is the start of a new trend.

Following a week when Japan was rocked by two more devastating earthquakes, Stephen Harker, GLG's star Japan fund manager, explains why he is at odds with optimists who expect the economy to bounce back later this year.