Bank of Japan stimulus

share index or other investment, such as commodities or bonds, which trade like common stock.

double the size of a US dollar lending program to $24 billion, which supplies greenback-denominated overseas business activity.

trillion yen ($772 billion) annual bond-buying program unchanged.

It also refrained from cutting interest rates deeper into negative territory in a bid to stir lending and stoke the wider economy.

The rate plan, launched in commercial banks to loan money to people and businesses by effectively charging them to keep excess

There was also speculation the bank may turn to unconventional measures, including so-called helicopter money. The term refers to a controversial policy of central banks to funnel funds directly into the economy—possibly including into people’s bank accounts—rather by means of more traditional bondbuying and asset purchases.

“Today’s decision is clearer evi further easing,” Takahiro Sekido, a

The announcement comes after Tokyo on Wednesday announced a whopping 28 trillion yen package aimed at kickstarting growth.

much of it was immediate fresh spending, and the government has

have set it apart from some of its rich nation counterparts, including Germany, which has been reluctant to endorse them, seeing it as an ineffective way to stimulate the economy.

the subsequent rise in the yen.

currency as a safe bet in times of tur exporters less competitive overseas

Abe’s plan—a mix of massive monetary easing, government spending and red-tape slashing—initially brought the yen down from record highs and set off a stock market rally.

red tape have been slower, and booming economy has looked increasingly unrealistic.