QUANTITATIVE EASING

Japan has been trying to drive its currency down in order to make its exports cheaper and strengthen corporate profits earned abroad.

Investors also will be looking at the European Central Bank for its next move on its bond-buying program.

Lending to eurozone companies and households grew at its fastest pace since late 2011 in February.

The European Central Bank surprised financial markets Thursday morning by dropping its main refinancing rate to zero from 0.05 percent.

Despite February's encouraging data, consumer inflation is expected to remain mild in coming months.

Facing the growing risk of a deflationary spiral, the central bank looks set to cut its deposit rate even further at its policy meeting Thursday.

The drop in stock markets and the rise in the dollar are acting like a brake on the U.S. economic recovery, Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan said.

"The markets are clearly starting to price-in a sharp slowdown in the world economy," a chief strategist at Mizuho Asset Management said.

Sweden’s central bank surprised investors with the extent of the cut and said it was prepared to further ease monetary policy.

After years of near-zero interest rates and monetary easing, Fed Chair Janet Yellen has few conventional tools left if the economy takes a downturn.

Bankers and finance leaders on a panel at the World Economic Forum differed on ways to reboot Europe's financial confidence.

Bank after central bank eased rates or pumped stimulus into the economy in 2015, more than 40 of them, in a bid to boost growth, fight deflation, or both. The results, though, are questionable, with many investors asking whether 2016 will be the year when ultra-loose monetary policy is seen to reach the limits of its potential.

The central bank kept its monetary policy and stimulus target unchanged, but took other steps to instill confidence in the country's economy.

Hot on the heels of the Federal Reserve, Hong Kong's central bank raised interest rates by a quarter point. Are others likely to follow too, or will many go the other way and ease monetary policy?  David Pollard reports.

Economists said the U.S. central bank's monetary easing would generate runaway inflation and financial bubbles. They were wrong.

Friday’s robust jobs report has cleared they way for the Fed to begin raising interest rates later this month. The pace of those rate hikes is key.

“At this point, I see the U.S. economy as performing well,” said Janet Yellen, head of the Federal Reserve.

Data released Thursday showed that Japanese exports fell for the first time in over a year in October -- the latest in a series of weak data coming from the world's third-largest economy.

In the July-September period, the GDP of the world’s third-largest economy shrank by an annualized 0.8 percent, according to government data released Monday.

Earlier on Friday, the central bank had decided to hold back on announcing additional stimulus measures despite weak economic indicators.

On Tuesday, Asian stocks were largely down with the exception of Japan as investors await results of the U.S. central bank meeting.