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Japan Inc set to offer big wage hikes, paving way for end to negative rates
Some of Japan's biggest companies are expected to formally offer sizeable pay increases at annual talks with unions that wrap up on Wednesday, clearing the way for the central bank to end negative interest rates as early as next week. Economists see substantial wage increases as a prerequisite for the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to declare that its long-held goals of sustainable wage growth and stable prices are in sight and usher in an end to negative rates in place since 2016. The bank, which has stuck with massive stimulus and ultra-low rates for years longer than other developed countries in an attempt to jumpstart a ... (full story)