So the new man at the BOJ, Harohiko Kuroda, has hit the ground running, announcing a package of wild monetary nostrums beyond even the imaginings of the most cynical, the nub of which will see him act to double the monetary base of Japan by buying (mostly, but not exclusively) government debt—with no restrictions as to maturity—to the tune of around 30% of current GDP. Though much has been made of the fact that the new man will soon be outgunning even Ben Bernanke in relative terms, few have considered that the rate of increase will be less than that effected by the SNB, while the target value of ~60% of GDP will do ... (full story)