Japan’s Deficit Hits Record HIgh

Japan’s current account deficit swelled to $15 billion in January, the largest in its recorded history.

The bad news comes on the heels of another unsightly indicator, GDP growth, which officials revised from an anemic 1% in 2013 to an even more anemic 0.7%. Not even consumer spending, which was expected to rise before a new consumption tax went into effect, escaped the downward drift. Officials revised it down from 0.5% to 0.4%.

The Nikkei index slid 95 points following the news of the slowdown.

[BBC]