Abenomics is back to square zero as Japanese inflation disappears

Japan's inflation rate, stripping out the effect of volatile items and tax changes, is now back to zero. That's according to figures out overnight. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.2% in the year to February -- but that includes a sales tax hike the government brought in during April last year. The zero inflation figure is a challenge for the government of Shinzo Abe, which set out on a programme to end Japan's deflationary decades -- and an even bigger struggle for the Bank of Japan, wh...