Industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent on month in October, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in Monday's preliminary reading. That missed forecasts for an increase of 1.8 percent, although it was up from 1.1 percent in September. On a yearly basis, industrial production slipped 1.4 percent - also missing expectations for a decline of 0.9 percent following the 0.8 percent drop in the previous month. Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production, saying that it has been fluctuating indecisively. (full story)