Japanese business mood turned pessimistic in the three months to December, the central bank's tankan survey showed, a sign the stubbornly strong yen, Europe's debt crisis and slowing global growth were taking their toll on the export-reliant economy.
The sobering reading adds pressure on the Bank of Japan to offer further monetary stimulus, although the bank has signalled it would prefer to stand pat next week to save its limited ammunition in case the pain from Europe's crisis deepens.
The December tankan's sentiment index for big manufacturers worsened to minus-4 in December from plus-2 three months ago, indicating pessimists outnumber optimists.
(Sydney Morning Herald)
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