LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japan's Corporate Service Price Index fell 2.6% in February from the year before, the sharpest fall in seven years, the Bank of Japan reported Thursday. Transportation prices paid by Japanese corporations showed the steepest decline, down 9% on year, followed by a 6.4% drop for advertising. Compared to January's levels, however, the index was 0.2% higher. Meanwhile, the accompanying domestic Corporate Goods Price Index was down 1.1%, and was 0.4% lower than the month before. Barclays Capital chief economist in Tokyo, Kyohei Morita, was quoted in a Bloomberg News report as saying the deepening recession will "put downward pressure on service prices." "We look for the corporate price service index to remain depressed," Morita said. The indexes are meant to gage the prices for inter-business trade in goods and services, serving as a rough equivalent to wholesale or producer price metrics in other countries. The lower results are of special concern for Japan, which is fighting against http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...2C-B4EA-4012-8DBD-48F77B73F2F8}&dist=hplatest
I think I can finish up that next sentence. Deflation. Yep, the japanese are scared of deflation. It really did wonders to their banking system, they had a wonderful 18 years since their crash.