JAPAN

No Interest-Rate Easing Is Expected Soon: The latest bank of Japan quarterly survey of business sentiment, or Tankan, released Friday offers further proof of economic slowdown but provides no incentive for an immediate monetary easing, economists said. Although the business condition index for major manufacturers in the August survey dropped to 27 from 36 in May, capital spending growth was revised upward, so fears that corporate financing is being pinched appeared to ease. Economists said they still expect a discount rate cut during the October-December quarter but stressed that the Bank of Japan has the luxury of choosing the timing of monetary easing.