Holders of Japanese government debt got what they wanted from the Bank of Japan's stimulus last week, while Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn had little reason for cheer as the yen continued to rise.
Japan's 10-year yields slid to 0.885 percent, seven basis points from a nine-year low, after the BOJ said Friday it will add ¥10 trillion to a ¥19 trillion program to buy government debt. The yen advanced 0.9 percent versus the dollar the same day, the biggest gain in two weeks, and rose more than 3 percent in the past month to touch ¥79.74 Monday, the most since Feb. 22, data show.
Ghosn likened the rising yen last week to a "1,000-pound (453-kg) gorilla" wrecking the automaker's earnings by reducing overseas profits and making its cars pricier abroad. Currency relief demanded by Nissan and other exporters may be harder for the BOJ to deliver through monetary policy now as the two-year U.S. and Japanese yield spread has narrowed to the February low, damping money flows that will weaken the yen.