AlQa'dah 3, 1433, Sep 19, 2012, SPA - The Bank of Japan announced Wednesday that it would expand its asset purchase program by 10 trillion yen in an effort to stimulate its economy as global demand slows. The announcement comes less than a week after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced its latest stimulus plan, and two weeks after the European Central Bank revealed its new bond-buying program. Japan's central bank said it would ramp up its current bond buying program from 70 trillion yen to about 80 trillion yen, a difference of $126 billion. The purchases -- which include T-bills and government bonds -- will be completed by the end of 2013. The vote to ease monetary policy was unanimous, the bank noted. Key interest rates were left unchanged, CNN reported.
