Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called a snap election and announced a delay in the second sales tax hike by 18 months after the country fell into recession. The move announced on Tuesday comes after growth numbers on Monday showed the world's third largest economy shrunk by an annualized 1.6 percent in the third quarter after a 7.3 percent contraction in the second quarter, shocking the markets. "I have taken their [experts'] opinions…the need to exit inflation and to ensure Abenomics…is on track…and as a result I have decided not to raise the consumption tax to 10 percent next October and I have decided to delay ... (full story)