What's worrying the Bank of Japan?

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during a press conference in Tokyo.

Some members of the Bank of Japan have expressed concerns over the central bank's ambitious new monetary policies, warning that overly aggressive action could discourage lending, or produce otherwise unwanted side effects.

The concerns were disclosed in the minutes of the central bank's early April meeting, an event that ultimately produced a pledge to rapidly expand the bank's balance sheet through the purchase of  longer-term debt and securities, such as exchange traded funds, or ETFs.

The new purchases -- made at an annual pace of 60 trillion to 70 trillion yen -- will double the bank's monetary base over a two-year period.

The bond-buying spree is part of the bank's bid to end 15 years of falling prices, and reach a 2% inflation target by 2015. But some board members have reservations.

The minutes do not name names, but we do know that one member warned of banks being less willing to lend should interest rates decline dramatically. The same member also warned that returns on investments, such as life insurance and pension funds, could dry up under that scenario.

Another member raised the possibility that the Bank of Japan's policy would be seen as an effort to finance Japan's fiscal deficits.

There were also concerns over maintaining the bank's "financial soundness."

"Members shared the view that, in conducting massive purchases of [Japanese bonds] and risk assets, maintaining the Bank's financial soundness was important," the minutes said. One member suggested looking at whether it would be feasible for the government to cover any losses the Bank of Japan may suffer.

Still, the bank expressed overall confidence in its policies.

"These effects will support the positive movements that have started to appear in economic activity and financial markets, contribute to a further pick-up in inflation expectations that appear to have risen, and lead Japan's economy to overcome deflation that has lasted for nearly 15 years," the minutes said.

Posted in: bank of japan, central bank, cnnmoney, japan, yen

• How Americans want their tax dollars spent

  As lawmakers bicker over how to spend federal tax dollars, Americans have a few suggestions for them.

  According to a recent online survey of 1,000 consumers by TD Ameritrade (AMTD), people clearly want the government to focus even more on health care. Jobs are important as well. And there are some interesting differences between what men would like the government to spend more on and what women view as a priority MORE

  Tami Luhby - Feb 12, 2013 9:29 AM ET
  Posted in: cnnmoney, economy, education, healthcare, job creation, taxes, TD Ameritrade

• Black workers' unemployment gap

  Though blacks' job prospects have improved from the depths of the Great Recession, they still suffer from disproportionately high unemployment.

  Pegged to Black History Month, the U.S. Congress' Joint Economic Committee put out a stats sheet highlighting the gap. It takes longer, on average, for black workers for find a job, and even having a college degree doesn't help as much as it does for other job-seeking populations. The black unemployment rate MORE

  Tami Luhby - Feb 6, 2013 11:14 AM ET
  Posted in: african-americans, blacks, cnnmoney, economy, employment, jobs, unemployment

• Your taxes under the fiscal cliff deal

  The fiscal cliff deal contains a wide array of tax provisions that will affect taxpayers. Here's the list of what is -- and isn't -- in the agreement:

  Payroll taxes: Wage earners will now pay a 6.2% payroll tax on the first $113,700 in wages since the deal did not extend the 4.2% rate that had been in place for two years. That means workers earning the national average salary of MORE

  Tami Luhby - Jan 2, 2013 1:00 PM ET
  Posted in: Bush Tax Cuts, cnnmoney, congress, economy, fiscal cliff, payroll tax, tax, taxes

• Obama's welfare-to-work firestorm

  Mitt Romney is accusing President Obama of turning the clock back on welfare reform.

  The Republican challenger Tuesday launched a new ad charging Obama with gutting the landmark 1996 welfare reform law that requires recipients to work to receive benefits. It's another step in Romney's strategy to paint Obama as the entitlement president.

  "You wouldn't have to work and wouldn't have to train for a job," says the ad, which begins with MORE

  Tami Luhby - Aug 8, 2012 8:34 AM ET
  Posted in: cnnmoney, economy, election, government assistance, Obama, poverty, president, romney, TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, waiver, welfare, welfare-to-work, work

• The poor more likely to live with the poor

  More and more Americans are living in neighborhoods surrounded by people who earn about as much as them ... whether they are rich or poor.

  Segregation by income is growing, according to a Pew Research Center analysis released Wednesday.

  Some 28% of low-income households lived in low-income neighborhoods in 2010, up from 23% three decades earlier. And the number of upper-income households living in upper-income neighborhoods doubled to 18% over that period.

  Pew MORE

  Tami Luhby - Aug 1, 2012 12:01 PM ET
  Posted in: census, cnnmoney, economy, high-income, income, income inequality, low-income, middle class, pew, pew research center, segregation