December 15, 2011
Japan business confidence falls in December
JAPAN’S central bank says confidence at major Japanese manufacturers declined over the last quarter.
The Bank of Japan’s “tankan” survey of business sentiment showed yesterday that the main index for big manufacturers fell to minus 4. Three months ago, it stood at two.
The figure represents the percentage of firms saying business conditions are good minus those saying conditions are unfavourable. A negative number indicates that pessimists outnumber optimists.
Japan relies on exporters to drive growth, but companies have been battling a strong yen and an increasingly precarious global economy.
