Japan's Bread and Butter: Cars and Electronics

" Japan's economy probably shrank 3.1 percent in the last three
months of 2008, which would be the worst performance since 1974,
as shock waves from the global financial crisis ripped through
the export-driven economy"

" Japanese companies, traditionally reluctant to cut staff,
have been shedding jobs, so far mostly in lower-paid, nonregular
positions, pushing up the jobless rate to a three-year high in
December."

"The Japanese economy contracted in the second and third
quarters, initially hit by a spike in oil and commodity prices,
and the government has said the economy has been in recession
since late 2007."
Source(s):
http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKT34902120090203

Permalink | Report