Forget Helicopter Money: BOJ May Prefer to Fund Rail, Sewers
- Easing steps may include buying local government notes: MUFG
- Average yield on such securities has tumbled to 0.09 percent
Is the BOJ Looking to Fund Infrastructure Projects?
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Forget helicopter money. The Bank of Japan might next target financing a bit closer to the ground -- trains, hospitals, power plants and sewers.
That’s the view of some analysts who say the central bank may start buying bonds of local governments and public corporations that fund such projects after its Sept. 20-21 meeting. That would stop short of direct financing of fiscal spending. The average yield on notes from the nation’s prefectures, cities and towns has dropped 19 basis points to 0.09 percent since the BOJ introduced its negative interest rate policy in January, according to a Nomura Securities Co. index.