JAPAN

摘要

The Bank of Japan's Tankan report for the June quarter confirmed the slowdown in activity. The diffusion index for large manufacturing firms dropped to a five-year low, marking a third consecutive dip in the quarterly survey. Rapid rises in energy and commodity prices dampened profit projections, with large firms expecting a 7% (y-o-y) fall in profitability during FY2008. On the upside, capital spending is set to rise by 2.4%. Moreover, industrial data has not been entirely gloomy either: production rose 2.8% (m-o-m) in May, while core machinery orders jumped by 10.4% (m-o-m). This year's investment forecast has consequently edged upward.