Japan's capex jumps

Japanese companies unexpectedly raised expenditure in October-December from a year earlier, an encouraging sign for demand as the country rebuilds from last year's devastating earthquake and could mean that fourth-quarter GDP is revised to a positive figure.
The 7.6 annual increase in Japanese companies' capital spending was better than the median estimate for a 6.5 percent annual decline and follows a 9.8 percent annual decline in the third quarter of last year. "Reconstruction demand likely supported capital spending in the fourth quarter after rubble from the March earthquake was mostly cleaned up by September, although spending among exporting firms likely fared poorly due to the yen's strength," said Yuichi Kodama, economist at Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance. "October-December GDP is likely to be revised up sharply, probably to a positive figure."