From marketwatch:
BOJ meets as economy in worst slump since 1970s********************EXCERPT**************************
Board of Japan's central bank likely to discuss extending loan scheme
By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- The Bank of Japan's policy board will meet this week under pressure to come up with creative answers to the nation's deepening economic gloom, after the latest data revealed the country suffered its biggest quarterly contraction since 1974.
With most economists forecasting more deterioration ahead, the central bank is left with a dearth of conventional options.
"Effectively all the Bank of Japan can do is accelerate measures that have already been announced," said Glenn Maguire, SocGen's chief Asia economist in Hong Kong.
Preliminary data released Monday by the Cabinet Office showed Japanese gross domestic product shrank 12.7% on an annualized basis in the October-December period, or 3.3% from the previous quarter. The decline was the biggest since a 13.1% annualized contraction in the January-to-March period in 1974.
The contraction followed a 2.3% annualized drop in the July-September quarter, bringing the fall in activity to three quarters. That's the longest since the recession that ended in December 2001, which followed the collapse of the technology bubble.
See full story on Japan's GDP contraction. The BOJ's two-day policy board meeting is slated to begin Wednesday, and is expected to focus on actions geared towards easing corporate finance conditions.
Thanks for the ping, Ernest. I was casually thinking just this morning that I should probably buy some more ammunition! Actually, we've seen sharper drops than this from the 14K DJIA of a few months ago.
Frankly, I'm watching an America that has gone from "the home of the brave," to a country that is scaring it'self to death!!!
