Japan's economy sinks into contraction as spending, investment decline

November 15, 2023--Japan's economy contracted at a 2.1% annual pace in July-September as consumption and investment weakened, the government said Wednesday.
Weak wage growth in the world's third-largest economy also sapped its vitality, the Cabinet Office said. In quarterly terms, the economy contracted by 0.5%.

The numbers were unexpectedly weak. Private consumption shrank an annualized 0.2%. Corporate investment decreased 2.5%. With investment and demand weakening in other major economies, "we expect GDP growth to slow from 1.7% this year to 0.5% in 2024," said Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics.

China economic database update

November 17, 2025-The monthly update of the China Economic Database highlights a consistent trend of decreasing fixed asset investment in China, including in the real estate sector which shows no signs of bottoming out. This update incorporates data published today by China's National Bureau of Statistic.