JAPAN

Business Leaders More Upbeat: The country’s top executives are more optimistic than they’ve been in almost four years, suggesting that Japan is drawing closer to an economic recovery after a lengthy slowdown. That’s according to one of Japan’s most important economic indicators, the Bank of Japan’s tankan survey, which polls 10,000 managers nationwide. The key figure in the survey, the business outlook index for major manufacturers, rose to minus 14 from minus 18 in August. Economists had expected it to come in at minus 16.