Banks:

The Bank of Japan’s Monthly Report saw the central bank upgrade its economic outlook for the second consecutive month, saying the drop in capital spending is moderating while the pace of deflation is likely to stabilize in the short term. However, the more interesting news came from

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, who revealed that he told his US counterpart Tim Geithner that while he agrees with a strong US Dollar policy, nations should not compete to devalue currencies, citing the 1930s’ FX devaluation as detrimental to the global economy
at the last G7 conference. The comments hint that perhaps Japanese authorities will shy away from intervention if the Yen counties higher with USDJPY poised to sink deeper below 90.00, a level that was widely believed to be the threshold of Japan’s comfort zone.