Global economy slowing rapidly....

The global economy is deteriorating rapidly and financial markets remain under heavy pressure, Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa said Friday...
‘The global financial markets remain, on the whole, under heavy strain,’ Shirakawa told a meeting of branch managers...
‘The global economy – including emerging countries that had been relatively buoyant until recently – is slowing down rapidly,’ he added...
Japan’s economy ‘is worsening and is likely to face tougher conditions’ as exports weaken because of the global economic downturn, Shirakawa said,
Domestic investment, consumer demand and production are all weakening, he said, according to an official summary of his speech...
The central bank downgraded its economic assessments for all of Japan’s nine regions after a one-day meeting of its 32 branch managers...
‘Exports decreased substantially due to the further slowdown in overseas economies and the appreciation of the yen,’ the bank said in a report...
‘Corporate profits continued to decrease, and business sentiment deteriorated. Private consumption weakened as the employment and income situation became increasingly severe. Production decreased substantially.’
The bank last month slashed interest rates to near zero to tackle a deepening recession in Asia’s largest economy...
The BoJ is reportedly considering spending two trillion yen (22 billion dollars) to buy commercial paper, a type of corporate debt, as it seeks new ways to ease a credit crunch...
The Nikkei business daily reported Friday the bank would start buying commercial paper from banks as soon as this month and continue the scheme until April.
The BoJ is expected to formally decide on the measure when its policy board meets next week, it said...