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Reuters
November 2009

Japanese cabinet ministers increased pressure on the Bank of Japan on Tuesday to respond to deflation, with one saying that the central bank was “asleep at the wheel.”

The remark was the latest in a row between the government and the Bank of Japan over how to best handle the economy.

The following milestones trace how tensions have developed since the Democratic Party took power in a historic election win.

Aug 30, 2009: The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) wins national election, ending five decades of almost constant rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Sept 1: BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa says he has met with Japan’s next leader, Yukio Hatoyama, and exchanged views on the economy. He also meets senior DPJ lawmakers.

Sept 2: The government will not meddle in BOJ policy and market operations, key DPJ lawmaker says, shrugging off speculation it may pressure BOJ to print money to buy government debt.

Sept 16: DPJ takes control of government. BOJ is independent, but members of the government send conflicting signals, raising questions over whether they will try to interfere in monetary policy.

Oct 6: Government puts pressure on BOJ to avoid ending corporate emergency funding too soon. Finance minister says the economy has not re-balanced.

Oct 9: National Strategy Minister Naoto Kan says fund-raising conditions remain tough for small companies but notes BOJ policy is independent of the government.

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reuters.com
July 28, 2009

Americans think the Federal Reserve is doing a worse job than even the much-maligned Internal Revenue Service.

Only 30 percent of Americans think the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors is doing a good job despite the central bank’s unprecedented efforts to battle a crippling recession, according to a Gallup Poll released on Monday.

That makes the Fed the worst reviewed of nine key agencies — including the tax-collecting IRS — the Gallup poll of more than 1,000 Americans between July 10 and 12 showed. Twenty-two percent of Americans said the central bank was doing a poor job.

The poll comes as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is increasingly going public with a defense of the Federal Reserve’s handling of the crisis in an effort to ward off a congressional proposal by Republican Representative Ron Paul that would undercut the Fed’s independence.

This week, Bernanke traveled to the U.S. heartland to tape a special airing on television network PBS over three days this week in which he answered questions from Americans.

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