The Bank of Japan's decision to raise its bond-yield ceiling could be the first step toward normalising ultra-easy policy, Takatoshi Ito, a Columbia University professor who is close to BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, wrote in a column on Tuesday. The central bank stunned markets this month by raising to 0.50 per cent from 0.25 per cent an implicit cap set for its 10-year bond yield target, a move aimed at ironing out market distortions caused by its yield curve control (YCC) policy. Kuroda said then that the move was not a prelude to an exit from ultra-loose policy, because recent price rises meant Japan's ... (full story)