mo4ch:>Japan's economy shrinks at fastest rate since 2014

Japan's economy shrinks at fastest rate since 201417 February 2020 Related TopicsTyphoon Hagibis Image copyrightGetty ImagesJapan's economy shrank at the fastest rate in five years at the end of 2019 as it was hit by a sales tax rise, a major typhoon and weak global demand.Annualised gross domestic product (GDP) fell by a much steeper than expected 6.3% in October-December.There are also concerns the coronavirus outbreak will mean the slump continues this quarter.That has raised fears that the world's third-biggest economy may fall into recession.During the period Japanese consumer spending fell 2.9% after the country's sales tax was raised in October to 10% from 8%. In the same month Typhoon Hagibis hit large parts of the country. Last quarter, capital spending dropped by 3.7% and exports slipped 0.1% amid the ongoing US-China trade war.Investors are now watching to see whether the economy will rebound after the coronavirus forced China to shut down factories and led to …