Japan core machinery orders down 2.3pc in February

TOKYO, Apr 11 (AFP): Japan's core private-sector machinery orders, a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, fell by more than expected in the month before a massive earthquake, data showed today. Core machinery orders fell 2.3 percent from a month earlier in February, with the bigger-than-expected fall during pre-quake conditions raising concerns about the severity of the March 11 quake's impact in the months to come. The first fall in three months compares with the median forecast for a 1.1- percent fall in a poll of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei.