Bank of Japan officials are ready to raise interest rates at a policy meeting later this month, provided there’s no major shock to the economy or financial markets in the meantime, according to people familiar with the matter. The central bank will also indicate it will continue to raise rates if its economic outlook is realized while remaining cautious on how far they will eventually push rates up, the people said. The officials see a high likelihood of increasing the benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to 0.75% at the end of a two-day gathering on Dec. 19, the people said. A rate hike would push the policy ... (full story)