Japan's housing starts growth accelerated sharply and construction orders rebounded in June, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed Friday. Housing starts logged a double-digit growth of 16.3 percent in June, after increasing 5.8 percent in May. The annual growth was forecast to slow to 3 percent. Annualized housing starts increased to 1.033 million in June from 0.912 million a month ago. The expected level was 0.913 million. Construction orders received by 50 big contractors climbed 15.4 percent year-on-year in June, the first increase in three months. Orders were down 7.4 ... (full story)