今天早上在日本公布的数据是发人深省的or both the Abe administration and policymakers at the Bank of Japan. Consumer inflation levels for December, excluding food, registered at 2.5 percent year-over-year, lower than consensus forecasts. Critically, core prices calculated to exclude the impact of the sales tax increase declined sequentially to 0.5 percent above December 2013, the lowest measure in 18 months, while household spending for the month was much lower than anticipated — contracting at an annual rate of 3.4 percent. A gain in industrial production and employment suggests that activity is picking up within the island nation, but these improvements have yet to reverse the deflationary trend despite the central bank’s massive easing program. While the rapid decline in oil prices is an easy scapegoat for weak inflation, the dip in consumer spending is harder to explain. In statements today BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda defended his strategy in the face of political criticism, insisting that the bank’s inflation targets will be achieved in the long term. Speculation has heated up among analysts that the central bank may expand its yen printing scheme to regain price momentum. This may be less important to investors in the long run than a bigger, more abstract question: Has the global economy reached the limits of monetary policymakers’ ability to drive growth? Even in the U.S., where activity and employment measures are robust, inflation remains subdued and wages continue to stagnate. With the week coming to a close, discussions of the success of the ongoing experiment in Japan will be a focus for markets preparing for a new round of easing in Europe.
俄罗斯降低利率。俄罗斯央行（bankofrusia）今天将基准一周拍卖利率从17%下调至15%，央行行长纳比乌利娜（Elvira Nabiullina）和她的同事们将焦点从通胀和卢布走弱转移到经济活动的衰退趋势趋缓，这是一个令人意外的举动，表明俄罗斯央行已经投降。这一举措是在去年六次加息之后出台的，但未能达到预期效果。这场完美风暴目前正在重创俄罗斯经济——西方制裁与油价暴跌相结合——让克里姆林宫在国内处于脆弱的政治地位。
欧元区通胀走软。欧元区1月份的核心消费者价格指数（cpi）同比下降0.5%，而在能源价格暴跌的重压下，整体指数收缩0.6%。随着通货紧缩的幽灵笼罩着该地区，欧洲央行行长德拉吉雄心勃勃的量化宽松计划将面临考验。另外，欧盟统计局（Eurostat）今天公布的19国集团12月总体失业率略好于11.4%，但仍远高于历史平均水平。
更多美国经济数据即将公布。今天将是美国经济指标繁忙的一天，第四季度个人消费支出数据将公布，密歇根大学1月份消费者信心指数也将公布。当天公布的最大消息无疑将是第四季度GDP数据的修正，分析师预测，这一数据将低于最初公布的强劲增长速度。
财报季继续。礼来制药（Eli Lilly&Co.）是最新一家下调预期的主要制药商，尽管该公司第四季度业绩超出预期，但受美元走强对国际销售的影响以及关键药物专利到期的影响，礼来制药大幅下调了其未来一年的预期收入区间。Weyerhaeuser公布每股收益0.27美元，低于分析师普遍预期的1美分。总部位于华盛顿的造纸和木材公司Federal Way也公布了低于预期的收入。今天上午，消费者金融行业迎来了好消息，万事达卡公布的摊薄每股收益好于预期，为0.69美元，购买量比上年增长了12%。