Japanese firms boost capital spending

The Bank of Japan's business sentiment report says the country's leading manufacturers as well as non-manufacturers plan to spend more on plants and equipment for the current fiscal year. The central bank's tankan quarterly survey released on Monday shows planned capital spending of leading manufacturers rose 12.4 percent from the previous fiscal year. That's the largest increase in 6 years, according to Japan's (NHK World) website. Planned capital spending of major non-manufacturers also rose 3 percent for the first time in 5 years. Economists say the results indicate many business executives believe the economy in China and other emerging countries will pick up. They also say there's a belief that high demand stemming from post-disaster reconstruction will continue for some time to come.