Bank of Japan calls emergency meeting

It's been a while since I've taken a look at Japan, but a surprise announcement this evening that the Bank of Japan will call an emergency meeting today amid the rising threat of deflation is worthy of mention.

The rising yen is adding to deflationary pressure and undermining the competitiveness of its export-driven economy. And gains in industrial production seen earlier in the year have been diminishing, according to Bloomberg.

With its key interest rate at 0.1%, there is little the BoJ can do at this point, though it could resume its policy of quantitative easing - pumping additional reserves into the banking system beyond what is needed to keep rates at near zero.