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Japan's exports fell for the fifth straight month in July as th

Japan's exports fell for the fifth straight month in July as the country contends with a strong yen and the ongoing impact of the March earthquake and tsunami.

Japan's exports fell for the fifth straight month in July as the country contends with a strong yen and the ongoing impact of the March earthquake and tsunami.

Japan's exports fell for the fifth straight month in July as the country contends with a strong yen and the ongoing impact of the March earthquake and tsunami.

y as the country co

Exports are a key driver of the world's No. 3 economy, and the country is hoping that overseas demand will help it bounce back from the March 11 disaster.

A surging yen, which has recently tested record highs against the dollar, is painful for Japan's exporters. It reduces the value of their foreign earnings and makes Japanese goods more expensive in overseas markets.

The yen is hurting the bottom lines of companies like Nintendo Co., which makes 80 percent of its sales outside of Japan. It is also forcing manufacturers like Panasonic Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. to consider shifting more production overseas.

Japan intervened in currency markets earlier this month to try to reverse the yen's climb. The decision to sell the yen and buy the dollar worked initially, sending the greenback toward ¥80. But the dollar has been weighed by the dimming outlook for U.S. economy and is back down to mid ¥76levels.

speculators for the yen's sharp gains and described recent moves as "violent."

recession

0.4% in first three months of this year, after shrinking by 0.3% in the final quarter of last year.

Spanish retail sales were down 3.7% in March from the same point a year ago, the 21st month in row sales have fallen.

The rate has risen sharply since April 2007, when it stood at 7.9%.

The new government has announced reforms to the labour market, including cutting back on severance pay and restricting i

nflation-linked salary increases, that it hopes will ease the problem.

The government has also introduced drastic spending cuts designed to reduce its debt levels and meet deficit targets agreed with the European Union. These cuts are contributing to Spain's economic contraction.

S&P predicts the Spanish economy will shrink by 1.5% this year, having previously forecast 0.3% growth.

"We believe that the new government has been front-loading and implementing a comprehensive set of structural reforms, which should support economic growth over the longer term," S&P said. "In particular, authorities have implemented a comprehensive reform of the Spanish labour market, which we believe could significantly reduce many of the existing structural rigidities and improve the flexibility in wage setting."

The yield on 10-year bonds rose to 5.96%, up from 5.81%, suggesting investors were becoming more wary of Spain's ability to repay its debts.

Household spending

strong consumption numbers and an unusually large contribution from professional and scientific services

the sovereign debt crisis

falling demand for Australia's resources may hurt its economy

as the cost of gasoline spiked,

Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in February after advancing 0.2 percent

Gasoline accounted for more than 80 percent of the rise.

Consumer purchasing power

going to remain pressured by rising gasoline prices,

he said a trend toward lower inflation was still in place.

Consumer prices rose 2.9 percent last month from the same period a year ago, unchanged from January but down from a peak of 3.9 percent in September.

Consumer expectations for inflation

did not expect the steep climb in gasoline costs to last.

$4 gasoline has lost its shock value,

among lower-income households

Investor expectations of inflation

also been on the rise

Production at the nation’s mines, factories and utilities held steady last month after a 0.4 percent gain in January

expand moderately

Manufacturing output rose 0.3 percent

automakers cut production by 1.1 percent after two big monthly gains

Carmakers had raised production to meet demand for popular models in short supply

The consumer price report showed gasoline prices soared 6 percent last month, the largest increase

risen 0.9 percent

cushion against rising gas prices at the pump, salaries are not keeping up.

strengthening jobs market is providing

arnings, adjusted for inflation, fell 0.3 percent last month after slipping 0.1 percent in January

Food costs held steady

some price relief for households.

, airline tickets and used cars and trucks.

declines in the prices of tobacco

motor vehicle prices recorded their first increase

We are expecting the dollar/yen to head up to around 82 yen by the end of the year."

Meanwhile, policymakers have found it increasingly tough to boost domestic consumption, as they continue to fight deflation or falling consumer prices, which tend to make customers put off their purchases in hope of a better deal down the road.

needed to set an inflation target of 3% instead of its current 1% goal to help revive growth in the economy.

monetary policy would be key

Japan's exports, one of the biggest drivers of growth, have been hurt by a slowdown in key markets such as the US and Europe.

“A slow and incremental increase, like we’ve seen in the previous five years, has very little effect on consumption,”

The last significant drop in the number of daily smokers in France - 27% fewer from 2002 to 2004 – was prompted by a significant price rise in 2003.

It was the first deceleration in a year, but it was not nearly as severe as other setbacks in the last couple of years.

Mitt Romney

insisting that the president has held back the recovery and intends to do further damage.

White House focused on

solid growth in consumer spending and a surge in residential building.

the private sector is continuing to heal from the financial crisis,” said Alan Krueger, chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers.

subsidize the employment of teachers and first responders to emergencies.

Economists initially predicted a much weaker showing in the latest quarter, partly because of a large accumulation of inventories in the fall and winter that needed to be worked off. But in the last few weeks, expectations rose on strong jobs reports and rising consumer confidence.

Consumer spending did turn out to be the major strength

Business investment, which had been a bright spot, declined in the most recent quarter.

Government spending also fell more than anticipated,

thanks in part to a particularly large drop in military outlays.

Consumer savings declined.

decline in business investment.

Businesses spent more on equipment and software but much less on infrastructure.

in construction related to mining, oil and gas, while manufacturers actually increased their spending on factories and office buildings.

another significant slowdown, saying that last year’s hiccup was the result of a series of external shocks, like a spike in gas prices (this year’s was less severe and is already subsiding) and the Japanese earthquake.

Stagnation in Europe and a slowing of China’s breakneck expansion have weakened global demand even as corporate profits have continued to outpace expectations.

"The new tax on sugar in food will first be implemented from 2013, and the details will be discussed in the coming year,"

The rationale is to improve the health in the Danish population by giving a stronger incitement to buy more healthy food.

It's a trend that could be mimicked all over the world

Danish bakers, famed for their flaky cinnamon pastries, are predictably up in arms.

Mike Rayner, Director of Oxford University’s Health Promotion Research Group, said that combining the fat tax with higher taxes on sugary products would prevent people substituting fatty foods with sugary treats.

"I think the saturated fat tax by itself would not have been particularly useful, but a saturated fat tax in conjunction with a higher tax on sugary products means they are trying to tackle unhealthy foods on two fronts."

German business confidence fell more than economists forecast in May,

consumer spending also rose more than projected last month, increasing 0.6 percent

30% of unemployed people having been out of work for 52 weeks or more, compared with 9.5% in 2008.

The strategy focused on improving the quality of Target's products and in-store services.

The division has boosted food and liquor sales from $21 billion to an estimated $26.5 billion this year.

Several economists said the weak data strengthened the case for further interest rate cuts, following the ANZ forecast of another 0.75 percentage points in cuts by the end of the year.