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The Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy unchanged, despite inflation staying above target

The Bank of Japan stuck by its monetary policy, despite inflation staying firmly above target

The Bank Of Japan Isn’t Fazed By Inflation

**Why should I care?**

***For markets:*** *Japanese grass really is greener.*

Japan has struggles, sure, but investors are still much keener on the Land of the Rising Sun than most other Asian countries. After all, Japan’s macro outlook is brightening up, the country’s companies are boasting attractive valuations, and profit-plumping corporate shake-ups are in the mix. That has big names like Warren Buffett buying up hefty stakes in the country’s firms, along with hedge funds and major asset managers. So now, Japan’s stock market is sitting at the world’s top table, spurring hopes that the country may have truly turned a corner.



**What’s going on here?**

The Bank of Japan (the BoJ) remained unfazed by inflation, keeping its interest rates [firmly in the negative](https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/global-markets-view-europe-2023-09-22/).

**What does this mean?**

Countries around the world may be lamenting rising prices, but after years spent battling economy-crushing deflation, Japan actively triggered intense measures to bring about inflation. That wish came true: inflation in the country just came in above target for the seventeenth month straight. The BoJ’s not willing to take any risks after finally getting what it wanted, so the central bank kept its short-term target interest rate in the negative and its longer-term ones near zero. (That’s an unusual monetary policy strategy called “yield curve control”.) And while investors were expecting some hints of a broader change in strategy, that didn’t happen. You know what they say, if it ain’t broke…



***The bigger picture:*** *We’re (not) all in this together.*

With the Federal Reserve waxing lyrical about inflation, it’s easy to forget that not every country is fighting the same battle right now. China’s in the ring with deflation, while emerging markets that hiked rates early have managed to essentially tame their rising prices and can focus on economic support. For investors keen to diversify, that sounds like the perfect time to spread your eggs across baskets all over the world.



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encryptedEmail

planSlug

slugOrId

ContentPieceQuery

viewer

authorization

content

SingleContentPiece_viewer

webSubscriptions

contentPiece

mostPopularTags

features

query ContentPieceQuery(
  $slugOrId: String
  $encryptedEmail: String
  $planSlug: String
) {
  viewer {
    authorization {
      roles {
        isAnonymous
      }
      ...SingleContentPiece_authorization
    }
    ...SingleContentPiece_viewer_4uP6yi
    content(encryptedEmail: $encryptedEmail) {
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      contentPiece(slugOrId: $slugOrId) {
        __typename
        ...SingleContentPiece_contentPiece
        canonicalLink
        id
      }
    }
    id
  }
}

fragment AccessibleImage_accessibleImage on AccessibleURLImage {
  full
  altText
}

fragment AdvertWrapper_activeProductAdvert on ProductAdvert {
  id
  advertHandle
  destinationUrl
  sponsoringCompany {
    name
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}

fragment AnonymousPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4 on Viewer {
  webSubscriptions {
    defaultWebPlan {
      ...PremiumAccountPromotionPanel_webPaymentPlan_2HyoJ4
    }
  }
}

fragment AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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    ...ServerImage_image
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  title
}

fragment AuthorLinkWrapper_author on Author {
  slug
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}

fragment Avatar_image on URLImage {
  original
}

fragment BannerAdvert_activeProductAdvert on ProductAdvert {
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  wideImage {
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}

fragment Block_block on ContentPieceBlock {
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  ... on TextBlock {
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  ... on ImageBlock {
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  ... on QuoteBlock {
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}

fragment ContentAuthorAndMetadata_author on Author {
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}

fragment ContentDownloadBlock_authorization on Authorization {
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    isB2bUser
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}

fragment ContentDownloadBlock_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  isAvailableToProducts
}

fragment ContentFooter_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  title
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}

fragment ContentHeaderDetails_authorization on Authorization {
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    isB2bUser
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}

fragment ContentHeaderDetails_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  ...ContentDownloadBlock_contentPiece
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  title
  deepLink
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}

fragment ContentHeader_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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}

fragment ContentMetadata_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  author {
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}

fragment ContentPieceBookmarkIcon_contentPiece on ContentPiece {
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}

fragment ContentPieceSEO_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  title
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  subtitle
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  ... on PublicContentPiece {
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  byline
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}

fragment ContentPieceSponsor_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
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    id
    name
    link
    logo {
      ...ServerImage_image
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}

fragment DefaultContentHeader_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  ...AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece
  ...ContentMetadata_contentPiece
  id
  title
  headerImage {
    ...ServerImage_image
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  author {
    ...AuthorLinkWrapper_author
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}

fragment DownloadContentDropdownContentPieceRefetch_viewer_1QxYRk on Viewer {
  contentPieceTranslation: contentPiece(slugOrId: $slugOrId) {
    __typename
    id
    title
    isAvailableToProducts
    blocks {
      __typename
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        __isNode: __typename
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    keyInsightsBlocks {
      id
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}

fragment DownloadContentDropdown_blocks on ContentPieceBlock {
  __isContentPieceBlock: __typename
  ... on TextBlock {
    textMarkdown
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}

fragment DownloadContentDropdown_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  localeMapping {
    languageCode
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}

fragment EvergreenContentHeader_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isB2bUser
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}

fragment EvergreenContentHeader_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  ...ListenButton_contentPiece
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  ...ContentPieceBookmarkIcon_contentPiece
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  canonicalLink
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  title
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  hasChapters
  chapters {
    __typename
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  headerImage {
    ...ServerImage_image
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}

fragment ImageBlock_block on ImageBlock {
  image {
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  alt
  caption
  link
}

fragment KeyInsightsBlock_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  keyInsightsBlocks {
    id
    textMarkdown
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}

fragment KeyInsightsCarousel_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  keyInsightsBlocks {
    id
    textMarkdown
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}

fragment KeyInsights_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  ...KeyInsightsCarousel_contentPiece
  ...KeyInsightsBlock_contentPiece
  keyInsightsBlocks {
    id
    textMarkdown
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}

fragment LicenseContentButton_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  id
  title
  isAvailableToProducts
}

fragment ListenButton_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  id
  title
  trackingTitle
  subtitle
  readingTime
  isPremium
  hasBlocks
  hasChapters
  hasAudio
  contentPieceType {
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  ...AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece
}

fragment LoggedInPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4 on Viewer {
  webSubscriptions {
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  }
}

fragment MainContentSection_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  ...ContentHeader_contentPiece
  ...ContentFooter_contentPiece
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  canonicalLink
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    name
    trackingName
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  blocks {
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}

fragment MostPopularTags_tags on GenericTagConnection {
  edges {
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        slug
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      ... on ContentTag {
        slug
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      ... on GeographyTag {
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      ...Tag_tag
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}

fragment Navigation_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isB2bUser
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}

fragment Navigation_tags on GenericTagConnection {
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}

fragment PaywallBanner_contentPieceType on ContentPieceType {
  isAvailableForFreemium
}

fragment PaywallBanner_viewer_2HyoJ4 on Viewer {
  ...AnonymousPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4
  ...LoggedInPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4
}

fragment PremiumAccountPromotionPanel_webPaymentPlan_2HyoJ4 on WebPaymentPlan {
  amount
  currency
  currencySymbol
  interval
  promotionApplied(slug: $planSlug) {
    stripeDiscount {
      discountPct
      discountAmount
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    }
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}

fragment QuoteBlock_block on QuoteBlock {
  quote
  caption
}

fragment ServerImage_image on URLImage {
  full
}

fragment SingleContentPiece_authorization on Authorization {
  ...authorization_authorization
  ...ContentHeaderDetails_authorization
  ...ContentDownloadBlock_authorization
  ...EvergreenContentHeader_authorization
  roles {
    isPreviewingContentAllowance
    isPreviewing
    isAnonymous
    hasPremiumSubscription
    isFreemium
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}

fragment SingleContentPiece_content on Content {
  ...authorization_content
  anonymousUserHasPremium
}

fragment SingleContentPiece_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  ...AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece
  ...authorization_contentPiece
  ...MainContentSection_contentPiece
  globalContentPieceId
  trackingTitle
  isPremium
  hasBlocks
  hasChapters
  hasAudio
  contentPieceType {
    name
    trackingName
    isAvailableForFreemium
    ...PaywallBanner_contentPieceType
  }
  chapters {
    __typename
    id
    slug
  }
  activeProductAdvert {
    ...BannerAdvert_activeProductAdvert
    id
  }
}

fragment SingleContentPiece_viewer_4uP6yi on Viewer {
  ...PaywallBanner_viewer_2HyoJ4
  ...DownloadContentDropdownContentPieceRefetch_viewer_1QxYRk
  mostPopularTags(first: 10) {
    ...Navigation_tags
  }
  authorization {
    ...Navigation_authorization
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  features
}

fragment Tag_tag on GenericTag {
  __isGenericTag: __typename
  __typename
  ... on AssetClassTag {
    name
    slug
  }
  ... on GeographyTag {
    name
    slug
  }
  ... on ContentTag {
    name
    slug
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}

fragment TextBlock_block on TextBlock {
  textMarkdown
}

fragment authorization_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isPreviewingContentAllowance
    isPreviewing
    isAnonymous
    hasPremiumSubscription
    isFreemium
  }
}

fragment authorization_content on Content {
  anonymousUserHasPremium
}

fragment authorization_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  isPremium
  contentPieceType {
    isAvailableForFreemium
  }
}


The Bank Of Japan Isn’t Fazed By Inflation

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