The data skews left. Also, notice that Spain and Greece -- both of which had truly terrible recessions -- still have incredibly high unemployment rates, which is partly responsible for the still high unemployment rate.
Weekly Chart of the IEV ETF
5-Year Chart of the euro/dollar
The Bank of Japan said it would double its annual purchases of equity funds to ¥6tn as it launched a modest additional stimulus that disappointed markets and sent the yen soaring to ¥103.5 against the dollar.
The central bank kept overall asset purchases unchanged at ¥80tn ($762bn) a year and held interest rates at minus 0.1 per cent.
But in a signal that further action is possible at its next meeting in September, Haruhiko Kuroda, the governor, ordered a “comprehensive assessment” of the economy and the effectiveness of BoJ policy.
The BoJ’s decision suggests it is concerned about sliding inflation but wants to play for time, letting Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, launch a new fiscal stimulus — likely to amount to ¥5tn-¥8tn — before taking any big monetary decisions.
