An independent central bank focused exclusively on price stability has become a central part of the mantra of "economic reform." Like so many other policy maxims, it has been repeated often enough that it has come to be believed. But bold assertions, even from central bankers, are no substitute for research and analysis.

CommentsResearch suggests that if central banks focus on inflation, they do a better job at controlling inflation. But controlling inflation is not an end in itself: it is merely a means of achieving faster, more stable growth, with lower unemployment.

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A cat trained by prisoners to deliver cell phones and tools to dig tunnels was caught at a jail in northeastern Brazil after sneaking in with forbidden items strapped to its body.

“An agent saw the cat and went to look at it closely because something about it seemed wrong,” Marcelo Avelino, the head of the prison guards’ union, told the O Globo newspaper.

The agent found a bag tied to the animal’s body filled with saw blades and drill parts for concrete drilling and digging tunnels, along with a cell phone complete with battery and charger, Avelino added.

The cat had often been seen coming in and out of the Alagoas jail.

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