Business Confidence Improves for First Time in 3 Periods
The level of business confidence at large Japanese companies is up -- and up substantially -- for the first time in three quarters. The index of business conditions for the July-September period for companies capitalized at over Y1 billion yen rose to 10.5 from 1.8 in the April-June period; for large manufacturers, the index rose to 12.7 from 1.4. The index is expected to be 10.7 for the October-December quarter and 7.9 for the January-March period. For midsize companies capitalized at 100 million yen or more but less than 1 billion yen, the index rose to 3.2 from minus 1.5 in the previous quarter. 日経, Kyodo