Japan's industrial output rebounds 4 percent (AP)

Japan's industrial production rebounded 4pc in December and household spending increased, suggesting the stressed economy is gaining some steam after last year's tsunami disaster.

By Willem Thorbecke Today, we're fortunate to have Willem Thorbecke, Senior Research Fellow at Asian Development Bank Institute and a Consulting Fellow at Japan's Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, as a guest contributor. Asia's role in the propagation of the global recession has been a subject of study, but relatively little attention has been devoted to the interaction of exchange rates a

Japan's industrial output shrivelled in November, as flooding in Thailand added to woes for companies already battling a strong yen and the global economic chill.Factory production dropped 2.6 percent month-on-month, worse than market expectations of a 0.7 percent fall, government data showed.Production of passenger cars and mobile phones were among the hardest hit as Japanese-run plants in Thailand were crippled by devastating floods that hit the country.Output rose 2.2 percent month-on-month in October.

Individual Global Investor submits:Debates abound regarding the shape of the global economic recovery. Economists are quickly coming up with new symbols to describe the path they believe recovery will take; V, U, √, L, and W are all being tossed about. The conclusion from last week’s article on trade was that German exports are making the strongest showing of industrialized countries.

Japan's industrial production falls in November, pulled down by a strong yen, weak global demand, and flooding in Thailand.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Industrial production was unchanged in February as a sharp drop in mining output offset a third straight monthly gain in factory production, the Federal Reserve said on Friday. Manufacturing output overall climbed 0.3 percent despite a decline in auto production after a January spike. Automakers have been trying to meet demand that had been pent up by a lack of popular models after natural disasters in Japan early last year disrupted supply chains. The sharp drop in mining output partly reflected a drop off in natural gas extraction. ...

Factories produced more goods last month, bouncing back after Japan supply disruptions and tornadoes in the South cut their output in April. Factory production increased 0.4 percent in May. However, overall industrial production, which includes activity in mines and utilities, was basically flat for the second month in a row.