Japanese Big Makers' Biz Confidence Up 1St Time In Two Qtrs

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TOKYO, Dec 13 (KUNA) -- Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers improved from three months ago in December, marking the first improvement in two quarters, reflecting a recovery in auto production, the bank of Japan said Friday.
The central bank's quarterly survey showed the business sentiment among big makers, such as automakers and Electronics makers rose to plus 14 in December, compared with plus 13 in the previous September survey.
Confidence among large retailers, banks, Real estate companies and other non-manufacturers worsened by one point to plus 33, down for the first time in two quarters, chiefly due to weak sales of clothing as well as staff shortages and rising labor costs.
The headline index represents the percentage of companies which are positive about their business minus the percentage of those who gave negative replies. Thus, a positive number means optimists outnumber pessimists. The "tankan," which means short-term economic outlook, is the most closely watched index of business confidence for the world's third-largest economy.
Looking ahead, large manufacturers expect their business sentiment index to worsen by one point to plus 13 in the next March survey, while large non-manufacturers predict the reading to slide five points to plus 28. The latest survey was conducted between November 11 and December 12, covering 9,004 companies, of which 99.4 percent responded. (end)
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