Japanese consumers are closing their wallets as the economy’s outlook darkens, making it harder for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to stave off the nation’s third recession in four years. Households are holding the most cash since 2005, shunning risk as they grow gloomier, Bank of Japan data shows. Sliding private consumption contributed to an annualized 3.5 percent decline in gross domestic product in the past quarter, a Cabinet Office report showed yesterday. While Noda may avoid a fiscal cliff as the opposition becomes increasingly open to a deal on deficit-financing legislation, the consumer malaise highlights the ... (full story)