Japan’s Machinery Orders Decline for Second Month

Japanese machinery orders fell for a second month in October because of declining demand from the service sector, adding to signs that the nation’s export-led recovery is stalling.

Factory orders fell 1.4 percent from September, when they dropped 10.3 percent, the biggest slide since March 2008, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. Orders, an indicator of capital spending in three to six months, were projected to fall 0.1 percent, according to the median forecast of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.