What might Japan’s easing mean for the rest of the world?

The more ambitious policy stance adopted by the Bank of Japan has had a major impact on the yen and the relative performance of Japanese equities. But speculation that Japan’s additional monetary easing will have (or is already having) a major impact on asset prices elsewhere is probably overdone. The idea that Mrs Watanabe will suddenly discover an appetite for the debt of struggling economies in the euro-zone appears particularly far-fetched, especially when her local equity market has returned 50% in just a few months with the promise of more to come.