After two days of deliberations, Japan’s central bank will today announce a monetary policy decision. Discussions come amid the Bank of Japan’s concerns that a slowdown in China’s growth and heightened regional trade frictions will diminish global Japanese export demand. This would prevent the Bank from raising the current 0.8% inflation rate to its 2% target, given decreasing consumption. Indeed, concerns over a global slowdown are increasingly preoccupying the minds of central bankers around the world. Last week, the European Central Bank announced several measures to loosen monetary policy, as pervasive ... (full story)