'Japan beats deflation for the first time in two years'

'Japan beats deflation for the first time in two years'

So reports the headline on this BBC piece. My immediate thought when I read the headline, and bear in mind that a lot of people don't read much if any of these articles was, if Japan the land of deflation is starting to experience inflation then we really could be in the early stages of a nasty period of inflation.

The BBC do go on to explain that this is not all good news:

'However, credit ratings agency Fitch has downgraded its outlook on Japan's debt to negative from stable.

Fitch said it was worried about the high levels of Japanese government debt.

...

Gross domestic product shrank 0.9% in the first three months of the year.

Japan's economy has now contracted for two quarters in a row, the generally accepted definition of a recession.'

However that headline really should be re-written.