Japan Exports Slide a Second Month as Europe Takes Toll: Economy

Japan’s exports fell and the central bank lowered its assessment of the economy for a second straight month as weakening demand in Europe and Asia weigh on the outlook for global growth.

Shipments dropped a more-than-expected 4.5 percent in November from a year earlier, a Ministry of Finance report showed today in Tokyo. The Bank of Japan separately kept its asset-buying fund and credit-lending program unchanged, even as it said that a pick-up in activity has paused.