Japan's April exports marked a recovery from the 2011 earthquake disaster but the pace of growth came in slower than expected as the slowdown in China and Europe partly offset robust demand from the U.S., data from the Ministry of Finance showed Wednesday. Shipments to the world rose 7.9% to Y5.57 trillion in April from a year earlier, posting the second straight y/y rise after +5.9% in March, but it was sharply below the median forecast for a 12.7% rise in a MNI survey of economists. The 7.9% rise was the highest gain since +9.0% in February 2011, however. Economists had expected a sharper rise in global shipments ... (full story)