JAPAN DATA: Sentiment among small businesses improved slightly in
May, after showing the largest month-on-month drop in April, monthly
data released by Shoko Chukin Bank showed. The business sentiment index
for small firms stood at 37.8 in May, up 1.7 points from April.
Automakers and shipping lines contributed to the improvement in May. In
April, the index fell 13.4 points to 36.1 in the aftermath of the March
11 earthquake disaster. The bank surveyed 1,000 small businesses in the
first 10 days of May. The data can date to January 1985.