Also. . .

* Japan’s economy probably shrank in the latest quarter, as companies and consumers reduced spending, Economic Planning Agency Director-General Taichi Sakaiya said. Gross domestic product was “on the minus side” in October-December “because of sluggish consumer spending, which was affected by a drop in winter bonus payments,” he said. The remarks indicate the world’s second-biggest economy sank back into recession after expanding in the first half of last year.