Japan deflation persists amid weakening growthMarch 1, 2013 - 13:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Japan said Friday, March 1 that its chronic deflation persisted in January, with consumer prices falling 0.2 percent from a year earlier, though the employment situation showed a modest improvement, AP reported. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December vowing to end Japan's long ordeal with deflation, or falling prices, that tend to discourage business investment and weaken growth. So far, there are scant signs of any progress in achieving a new official inflation target of 2 percent. Among other mixed signals, the government reported that non-financial corporate investment dropped 8.7 percent in the final quarter of 2012 from a year earlier, the first such decline in five quarters, as weak exports cast a pall on business sentiment. The government said unemployment declined to 4.2 percent in January from 4.3 percent in December. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Pashinyan: Armenia’s desired goal is “on the horizon” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Armenia is moving forward “without interruption”. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. |