Taking the hint

摘要

The first sign that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) was having second thoughts appeared on Wednesday. Bond prices suddenly spiked up, even though the odds were supposedly five to one in favour of the BOJ raising its key rate from 0.25% to 0.5% after its policy board concluded its monthly meeting on January 18th. The word around the watering holes of Nihon-bashi, where the BOJ is headquartered, was that the board was about to reverse its decision.