Bloomberg The Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged as it cut its inflation outlook once again, underscoring how far away its price target is and how few options the central bank has for drawing closer. The BOJ maintained its yield curve-control program and asset purchases, it said in a statement on Wednesday, a result predicted by all but one …

Bloomberg South Africa’s inflation rate reached the mid-point of the central bank’s target range of 3 percent to 6 percent in December — something the Reserve Bank says would allow for flexibility in dealing with price shocks. Consumer-price growth slowed to 4.5 percent from a year earlier compared with 5.2 percent in November, the Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said in …

Bloomberg Just when the Federal Reserve most needs fresh data to keep its policy in sync with the US economy, the government shutdown is getting in the way. Timely information on economic growth, jobs, consumer spending and inflation is always crucial to monetary policy making. Now, the longest shutdown on record is blocking the collection and reporting of many of …