China and Japan economy growing

China's economic growth for third quarter is seen as up to 9%
China's GDP is forecast to increase 9% for the third quarter compared with the same period of 2008, said Zhao Jinping, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council. GDP was up 7.9% in the second quarter and 7.1% in the first half year. The Asian Development Bank gave a slightly less optimistic forecast for the third quarter, forecasting an increase of 8.5% to 9%, which was explained by "China's proactive fiscal policy and moderately loose monetary policy," said Zhuang Jian, a senior economist with the bank. China Daily (Beijing)/Xinhua (China)
 
 
Growing Japanese economy sees increasing demand for services
The Japanese Trade Ministry has released a report showing demand for services increased in August for the third month in a row. The Trade Ministry said the tertiary index increased 0.3% from July to 97.1 -- its highest level since January and an increase that exceeded analyst estimates. "We're starting to see a shift from buying goods to buying services, and that means that spending fluctuations are likely to stabilize," said Noriaki Matsuoka, an economist at Daiwa Asset Management in Tokyo. Bloomberg (18 Oct.)

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