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Japan Consumer Confidence Drops to Lowest Level Since August ’11
Japan’s consumer confidence fell in March to the lowest level since August 2011, a reading that may tumble further this month after a sales-tax increase on April 1 sapped the public’s spending power. The reading of 37.5, down from 38.5 in February, was released by the Cabinet Office in Tokyo today. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe risks the public souring on his campaign to sustain growth in the world’s third-biggest economy as prices start to rise while wages (JNLSUCTL) stay stagnant. Weaker sentiment could make it harder to drive a rebound from a contraction forecast this quarter, and raise the odds that the Bank of ... (full story)