Economic Overview

This week, The Economist published an overview of the previous weeks economic headlines. Here are the overviews:

Economic and financial indicators
Business conditions in Japan are improving, said the central bank's quarterly Tankan survey. Big firms expect to increase capital spending in the next quarter. They also complained about a shortage of workers. The earnings of salaried employees in manufacturing fell by 0.6% in the year to August. The country's industrial production grew by 1.9% in August.

Manufacturing growth in America slowed in September. The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing slipped to 52.9, from 54.5 in August, owing to the cooling housing market. Construction spending, though, picked up in August, by 0.3%, on the back of commercial and public projects. That month personal expenditure increased by $10.5 billion, or 0.1%, while personal income increased by $38.4 billion, or 0.3%.

Cheaper petrol and energy boosted the spirits of America's consumers. Confidence improved faster than expected, according to the final September reading of the University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment. It rose to 85.4, from 82.0 in August.

In the euro area economic sentiment reached 109.3 in September, its highest level since February 2001 and one point higher than in August. Annual inflation in the euro area slowed in September, to 1.8% from 2.3% in August. Unemployment ticked up from 7.8% in July to 7.9% in August.

Emerging-market indicators
India's GDP grew by 8.9% in the year to the second quarter, faster than expected, though more slowly than the blistering pace of 9.3% set in the year to the first quarter. Its consumer prices rose by 6.3% in August.

Turkey is still struggling to contain inflation. Consumer prices rose by 10.6% in the year to September, after rising by 10.3% in the year to August.

In its fifth cut this year, Indonesia's central bank lowered its key interest rate by 50 basis points, to 10.75%. The country's industrial production rose by 12.2% in the year to July. Annual inflation fell for the fourth month in a row in September, though it still remains high at 14.5%.