Japan

Hello Kitty, the famous Japanese character, turns 50 today. She's earned billions for Sanrio, which created Hello Kitty and other cute characters. But it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the business.

Investors are reminded why its risky to invest with borrowed money. Subscribe to get the "Make Me Smart" newsletter every Friday!

In meetings this week, central bankers will consider cutting interest rates in the U.S. and U.K., while rate hikes could be on the table in Japan.

There are millions of empty homes in Japan. A growing number of immigrants are buying and renovating them.

The things we buy from China and Japan became cheaper in March, while prices rose on automotive goods and energy from Mexico and Canada.

Japanese autos have not dropped in price and U.S. exports now become more expensive.

In an effort to stimulate a sluggish economy, the government got creative and started applying negative interest rates.

There's a hot debate about what it's doing with its holdings, and the answer could affect how much it costs Americans to borrow money.

The Bank of Japan’s "yield curve control policy" could be on its way out as central banks around the world raise rates to beat inflation.

The U.S. isn’t usually thrilled when a country intervenes in its own currency. But boosting the yen is likely to help Japan’s economy, which could help the U.S. in turn.