Kuroda’s Stimulus Turns Focus Back to Abe’s Third Arrow
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The Bank of Japan’s unexpected expansion of stimulus puts the spotlight back on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies and the decision he faces on raising the sales tax.
While corporate profits are higher, the yen is lower and stocks have surged 57 percent since Abe came to office 22 months ago, sustained economic expansion remains elusive. Consumer price gains are only halfway to the central bank’s target and gross domestic product contracted the most in five years in the second quarter after a first-installment increase of the sales levy.