The Bank of Japan is expected to keep interest rates steady on this week and consider whether to offer clearer guidance on how it plans to reduce its huge balance sheet, in a slow but steady retreat from its massive monetary stimulus. Policymakers may also debate recent weak signs in consumption, as they scrutinise whether Japan is making progress toward durably hitting their 2 per cent inflation goal - a prerequisite for lifting interest rates from current near-zero levels. Consumer sentiment soured for two straight months in May and service-sector morale fell to levels unseen in nearly two years, government surveys ... (full story)