In particular, liquidity in secondary markets for fixed-income instruments remains poor; repo-rate spreads for private sector instruments – if a quote can even be obtained – are, in many cases, much higher than before the market turmoil began; 4 commercial paper issuance has declined; and there have been no public offerings of term asset-backed securities in months.
Bank of Japan’s May report of recent economic and financial developments1 Bank of Japan, Communication, 20 May 1999. The Bank’s View2 Japan’s economy, at present, has stopped deteriorating, but clear signs of recovery have not been observed yet.