JAPAN DATA: The Japanese government on Tuesday revised down its
overall assessment of the economy for the first time in 20 months since
February 2009, saying it is “pausing” after recent improvement as slower
global growth is denting demand for electronics exported via Asian
countries. The last time the government said the economy was “pausing”
was in July 2008, two months before the collapse of the U.S. investment
firm Lehman Brothers, which triggered the global financial crisis and
recession. Meanwhile, the longest for which the government described the
economy as “pausing” was a six-month period from July to December 1995,
when Japan was hit by the yen’s rapid rise to record highs against the
dollar, but it was followed by a rebound in economic growth.