The BOJ in a nutshell

* The deposit rate was left unchanged.

* The much vaunted yield curve targeting, the "Qualitative and quantitative easing with yield curve control", really only means that they are targeting two points on the curve:  the depo rate at -0.10%, and 10y JGBs at 0%.

* To achieve this, they have loosened some of the guidelines for asset purchases- most notably, the guidelines for the average maturity of their purchases.

* All asset purchase volumes have remained intact, though the ETF purchases have evidently switched from Nikkei to Topix trackers.   This should help banks, which have a greater weight in the latter index.

* Engaging in such a simple yield curve mechanic has got to be a little disappointing, and 2s30s  has flattened today as a result.

* In a move that only academic economists could love, the BOJ essentially raised the inflation target such that they will continue to increase the monetary base until inflation exceeds 2% in a stable manner.  Note that y/y CPI ex fresh food is currently -0.5%, lower than it was when Abe took office.   In a related measure, Macro Man (who is 5'10") announced his intention to grow to 6'2".   it's a race to see who succeeds first, him or or the BOJ.

* Finally, the BOJ has extended its version of an LTRO (supplying funds at a fixed rate against a pool of collateral) to ten years from one year, with a lending rate of zero.   This has received almost no coverage.

When Macro Man woke up he checked USD/JPY, and it was almost exactly the same as it was when he went to bed.   This was interesting, as it made it fun to guess what the BOJ had actually done.   While the headline of the new program is certainly impressive, the substance is somewhat blah.   Two points- overnight and ten years- isn't much of a curve, and 10 basis points isn't much of a spread.   It does rather raise the question of how the BOJ expects to jolt inflation expectations higher when they send the message that fixed income investments will provide no return for the next decade.  As for raising the inflation target, it's hard to see why the public would believe this new commitment when they clearly didn't believe the old one.  It rather smacks of their mouth writing cheques that the asset purchase program cannot cash.

And so it's not much of a surprise that USDJPY has retraced its initial gains.  Frankly, Macro Man is a little surprised that global bonds aren't higher, but there is probably a Fed risk premium there, and the 10y point on the JGB curve did sell off.

In sum, while the BOJ has tried something different, it really looks like more of the same in a different dress.    Perhaps Kuroda-san should try firing up the whirlybird if he really wants to effect a positive shock to the market and the public....