Japan’s Tankan index measuring business confidence fell to a 3-year low.   Here’s Bloomberg,

Big Japanese manufacturers are the most pessimistic in almost three years after a diplomatic dispute with China and Europe’s austerity measures dragged exports to a fifth monthly decline in October.

The quarterly Tankan index for large manufacturers fell to minus 12 in December from minus 3 in September, the Bank of Japan (8301) said in Tokyo today, a fifth straight negative reading and the lowest since March 2010. The median estimate of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for minus 10. A negative figure means pessimists outnumber optimists.

Cue Abe and the Bank of Japan.

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