JAPAN

Gloomy Outlook: Business sentiment took a nose-dive in November, dropping to its gloomiest level since the mid-1970s, a key Bank of Japan survey showed. The survey, taken before the encouraging GNP report was released, also showed that Japanese manufacturers expect to cut more jobs as sales and profits decline further. The central bank’s tankan quarterly corporate survey, an important reference for formulating monetary policy, showed that companies increasingly expect business to deteriorate rather than improve.