Japan Tankan Business Confidence Falls to Near 3-Year Low
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Big Japanese manufacturers are the most pessimistic in almost three years after a diplomatic dispute with China and Europe’s austerity measures dragged exports to a fifth monthly decline in October.
The quarterly Tankan index for large manufacturers fell to minus 12 in December from minus 3 in September, the Bank of Japan said in Tokyo today, a fifth straight negative reading and the lowest since March 2010. The median estimate of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for minus 10. A negative figure means pessimists outnumber optimists.