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To: Les H who wrote (137576)	12/7/2001 12:55:58 AM
From: Les H	Respond to of 436258

Tora Bora smh.com.au

To: Les H who wrote (137576)	12/7/2001 12:57:55 AM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Japan confirms recession Japan's economy has entered a recession, according to the latest set of official figures. They show that Japan's GDP shrank by 0.5% in the July to September period compared to the previous three months, giving an annualised decline of 2.2%. The economy shrunk by 1.2% in the April to June period according to revised figures. This means Japan has now had two successive quarters of negative growth - which is the common definition of a recession. The news means the world's three largest economies - the United States, Japan and German - are all now in, or on the verge of, recession for the first time since the 1970s. Last month the US National Bureau of Economic Research, an official panel of senior economists, declared that the US entered recession in March this year. And many senior German business leaders now accept their country is also in recession. Although the country has so far narrowly avoided two successive quarters of negative growth, the next set of GDP figures are expected to confirm the situation. Record unemployment The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned that Japan's economy is likely to shrink by 0.75% this year and by a full 1% next year. Last month, the Japanese government said it was expecting the economy to shrink 0.9% for the fiscal year ending in March - a long way off its original target of 1.7% growth. Unemployment is at a record 5%, its highest level since the Second World War. Cautious consumers Japan is still suffering from an economic crisis that hit the country in 1989-90, when the "bubble economy" of high land prices and high stock market prices collapsed. The economy is trapped in a cycle of falling prices and rising unemployment as consumers stubbornly refuse to spend money on goods that are dropping in value. "All the factors on the demand side are annihilated," said BNP Paribas chief economist Ryutaro Kono. "The world economy is in a downturn so exports are down. Corporate profits are faltering so investments are down. With the economy slowing, incomes are down so consumption is down." news.bbc.co.uk