Bank of Japan (8301) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda began his campaign to end 15 years of deflation with a strengthened stimulus program that will see the central bank buy 7 trillion yen ($746 billion) of bonds a month. With Kuroda presiding over his first BOJ meeting since taking the helm last month, the board today streamlined its asset purchases by unifying separate programs, temporaily suspending a self-imposed cap on some bond holdings and pledging to buy longer-term debt. Stocks pared losses and the yen weakened immediately after the announcement, signaling Kuroda may be winning investors’ confidence as he targets 2 ... (full story)