Virgil
01-29-2009, 10:25 PM
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d328245a-ee7b-11dd-b791-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
========
TOKYO, Jan 30 – Japanese industrial production fell a record 9.6 percent in December, while core annual inflation almost evaporated, reinforcing expectations of a record economic contraction as the global financial crisis worsens.
Unemployment hit a three-year high, household spending dipped, and manufacturers saw no quick turnaround in the outlook for industry – the main driver of the world’s second-biggest economy – as inventories hit record highs despite factory closures and lay-offs.
Subsiding inflation and worsening economic conditions are also stoking deflation worries, as in other major economies, which may prompt more central bank steps to support the staggering economy and free up frozen credit markets that are starving key companies of cash.
Economists said fourth-quarter GDP figures, due out in February, would show Japan’s economy shrinking at a double-digit annual rate, and Tatsushi Shikano, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, said early 2009 also looked bleak.
”As output adjustments continue, weakness in the overall economy will persist in January-March, and the degree of worsening depends much on how exports turn out,” he said.
<snipped>
========
TOKYO, Jan 30 – Japanese industrial production fell a record 9.6 percent in December, while core annual inflation almost evaporated, reinforcing expectations of a record economic contraction as the global financial crisis worsens.
Unemployment hit a three-year high, household spending dipped, and manufacturers saw no quick turnaround in the outlook for industry – the main driver of the world’s second-biggest economy – as inventories hit record highs despite factory closures and lay-offs.
Subsiding inflation and worsening economic conditions are also stoking deflation worries, as in other major economies, which may prompt more central bank steps to support the staggering economy and free up frozen credit markets that are starving key companies of cash.
Economists said fourth-quarter GDP figures, due out in February, would show Japan’s economy shrinking at a double-digit annual rate, and Tatsushi Shikano, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, said early 2009 also looked bleak.
”As output adjustments continue, weakness in the overall economy will persist in January-March, and the degree of worsening depends much on how exports turn out,” he said.
<snipped>