White House scraps key plan to lower U.S. drug prices, may target makers
The Trump administration on Thursday scrapped one of its most ambitious proposals for lowering prescription medicine prices, backing down from a policy aimed at health insurers and raising the possibility of new measures focused on drug makers. The abandoned proposal would have required health insurers ...
Core consumer prices rose 0.8 percent in May, due to higher energy costs, but the year-on-year gain slowed from the previous month despite the Bank of Japan's 2 percent inflation target, government data shows. The nationwide core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food ...
The Bank of Japan is considering collecting data from businesses for its monthly price statistics online, to streamline its operations, it was learned Tuesday. Currently, the central bank sends and receives survey slips by mail. The BOJ aims to introduce the online procedures around fiscal 2022, ...
Drug companies greet 2019 with U.S. price hikes despite Trump call to keep them level
Drug-makers kicked off 2019 with price increases in the United States on more than 250 prescription drugs, including the world's top-selling medicine, Humira, although the pace of price hikes was slower than last year. The industry has been under pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump ...
Tokyo inflation holds steady, offering little cheer for Bank of Japan
Tokyo's core consumer price inflation was unchanged in October from the previous month, government data showed Friday, offering little encouragement for Japan's central bank as it struggles to reach its ambitious 2 percent inflation target. The data comes ahead of the Bank of Japan's rate ...
Japan's exports seen slowing after natural disasters; core CPI up slightly
Japan's export growth was seen slowing in September after a series of natural disasters disrupted business activity, a poll found on Friday, but the setback was seen as temporary. Exports were expected to increase 1.9 percent in September from a year earlier, the Reuters poll ...
More Japanese firms hiking prices due to higher costs, not growth in demand, survey finds
A growing number of Japanese firms are raising prices as they grapple with a jump in materials, transportation and labor costs, although a slim majority remains skittish about doing so, a survey conducted on behalf of Reuters showed. The results highlight apparent progress, albeit slow ...
Japan's new fiscal year starts amid government scandal and higher food prices
New government recruits kick off 2018 with vows of transparency as their corporate counterparts start work amid rising prices driven by a shrinking population and costlier commodities.
Japanese consumers increasingly face stealth price hikes via 'shrinkflation'
In Japan, a phenomenon known as "shrinkflation" — an important economic countermeasure against inflation for businesses — has been catching the attention of consumers. The term, coined by American economist Pippa Malmgren, describes what happens when manufacturers have to contend with higher costs but don't ...
Vegetable prices surge as last year's typhoon and bad weather catch up to supermarkets
Crops damaged by Typhoon Lan and chilly weather in 2017 are causing prices for lettuce, cabbage and radishes to soar.
Osaka's ¥1 sales energize shoppers but not good for BOJ's inflation quest
Osaka is famed for it's cheap prices, with ¥1 supermarket sales, ¥10 drinks and discount train tickets sold right next to the station. That attracts thrifty consumers and tourists, but may be undercutting the central bank's efforts to generate sustained price rises. "If it's not ...
Quarter of U.S. fuel output shut down by Harvey, sending prices up, supply down
Tropical Storm Harvey inflicted more damage on the heart of the U.S. energy industry overnight after flooding the biggest U.S. refiner in Texas and then churning into Louisiana, causing fuel shortages and high gasoline prices that could afflict the country for weeks. Harvey's disruption of ...
