February 2, 2016
The Bank of Japan surprised everyone last month by joining the European Central Bank's below zero rates. Virtually no major economists predicted the move, as BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda seemed bullish on the economy as recently as December.
But investors are flocking to the yen as a “safe currency,” causing deflation, something the BOJ hopes to fight with its negative rates. The markets underestimated the impact of the BOJ’s “Halloween easing” in 2014, and there’s a good chance they will do the same this time around.
In our Video of the Day, Bloomberg News breaks down the move’s market impact—and what it means to the markets at large.
