Japan Eyes 12 Trillion in Fiscal Stimulus

Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, will announce around 12 trillion yen ($136 billion U.S. dollars) in new fiscal stimulus to boost its economy, according to media reports. The move is designed to reignite growth and end deflation that has plagued the economy for years, but will shun the 44 trillion yen debt cap on new bond issuance for this fiscal year.

The yen briefly stabilized on the news, after experiencing a sharp run-up against most other major currencies. Meanwhile, the Japanese Nikkei ended the day marginally lower on the news as stocks had already priced in much of the news. Many traders expect the market to remain subdued now that the speculation is over, unless actual figures prove different this week.