Japan enters first recession since 2001

The country's Cabinet Office revealed seasonally-adjusted GDP from July to September shrank 0.1% in real terms from the previous quarter, translating into a 0.4% annualised decline rate. Japan joins Germany, Italy, Spain and Ireland on the list of major nations to suffer two successive quarters of negative growth. "The economy is in a recessionary phase. The downtrend in the economy will continue for the time being as global growth slows," Japanese economy minister Kaoru Yosano says. The Nikkei 225 closed 60 points higher on Monday, or 0.71%, to 8523. Its currency, the yen, fell to 97...