Japan is in recession, govt official confirms

The world's second largest economy-Japan, according to its top government official is indeed in recession as the economy once again fell another 0.1 percent in the third quarter aside from a 3 percent drop on the second quarter.

Since Japan is such a big exporter of goods, a more robust yen hurts profits for Japanese firms as sales from abroad get translated back into yen. The more that the yen has climbed, the worse Japan's stock market has performed, which has resulted in a ripple effect on European and U.S. exchanges.

After an early selloff Monday, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index rebounded with a gain of about 2 percent late in the morning.
more...