Japan's business investment rises in July-September period

Capital spending by Japanese firms rose for the second straight quarter in the July-September period, as the weaker yen helped bolster corporate profits, prodding companies to beef up investment, the government said Monday. Business investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes such as building plants and introducing new equipment gained 1.5% from a year earlier to 8.94 trillion yen ($87.20 billion) in the three months through September, following a 0.02% climb in the previous quarter, the Finance Ministry said. "With corporate profits improving, capital spending has been moving upward," (Kyodo) quoted a ministry official as saying. The official expressed hope that an upturn in domestic demand would contribute to conquering nearly two decades of the nation's deflation.