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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Japan falls back into recession

 

Japan falls back into recession
Japan slipped back into recession after the economy contracted sharply in the first quarter, underscoring the vulnerability of the world’s third-largest economy which has been battered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Gross domestic product fell 0.9 per cent in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, according to preliminary government data, even though the natural disaster struck Japan less than three weeks before the end of the period.

The decline follows a contraction in the final quarter of last year and will probably strengthen calls for greater government spending on relief and reconstruction, despite widespread worries about the impact of the extra borrowing required on an already highly indebted state.

The GDP contraction – equivalent to a 3.7 per cent fall on an annualised basis – was nearly twice as big as forecast by news agency surveys of economists.
http://link.ft.com/r/M2ZOXX/V13XP4/FXWIVG/6VGZGA/TPJ5GB/YT/h?a1=2011&a2=5&a3=18

2 comments:

Small Business Resources said...

Japan is an impressive country, but some observers seem to have underestimated the economic impact of the disaster.

Build A Home Brewery said...

Is it possible that Japan will sink just like the movie Japan Sinks? Kidding aside, just honest curiosity. Can anyone give out one point of view about this?