Tankan Survey Buoys Spirits
The latest Tankan Survey had mostly good news for the Japanese economy. The main news was that the strength of the big manufacturers was spilling over to service businesses as well as smaller companies, which were increasing their capital spending. Japanese corporate profits rose at a 15.5% rate in the July-September period, the fastest quarterly increase in two years. Private consumption continues to be a problem, however; it declined 0.9% quarter over quarter.