While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe piled pressure on the Bank of Japan (8301) to weaken the yen last week, the Federal Reserve struck the first blow against the currency. A signal from Fed board members that they may end bond purchases in 2013 helped drive the yen to a 2 1/2 year low of 88.41 per dollar on Jan. 4, still 15 percent stronger than its decade average. The extra yield on 10-year Treasuries instead of similar-maturity Japanese government bonds reached 1.13 percentage points last week, the most in nine months and attracting funds into dollar assets. “With a possible pickup in the U.S. economy, the dollar is ... (full story)