BOJ sees recovery delayed as Europe bites but skips easing

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan forecast the economy will contract in the current fiscal year but kept policy steady on Tuesday, expecting exports to emerging markets and reconstruction after last year's earthquake will help fuel a steady recovery later in 2012. BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa, however, warned that Europe's sovereign debt crisis remained the biggest threat to Japan's recovery prospects, already clouded by recent yen rises against the euro and slowing global demand for Japanese goods. ...