BoJ To Widen Interest Rate Target Range To Support Bank Profits (Nikkei)

Japan's central bank is poised to make monetary policy adjustments designed to increase its flexibility and make life easier for financial institutions, sources told Nikkei.

• During its two-day policy meeting from Thursday, the Bank of Japan will be looking at measures that would allow long-term interest rates to move in a slightly larger range of about 0.25%, plus or minus, versus 0.2% now. The idea is to maintain low interest rates while encouraging the market to function normally, giving financial institutions a chance to increase revenue.
• The bank would also abolish its target for purchasing exchange-traded funds, now 6 trillion yen ($55 billion) per year, and instead vow to make such purchases only in times of market turmoil.
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