- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered Cabinet ministers to prepare an extra spending package (likely over ¥3T), including cash handouts for the poorest pensioners, to boost the country's stalling recovery.
- The measures reflect a new focus for Abenomics, which has been criticized for benefiting mostly big businesses instead of the average Japanese.
- Data for October released Friday: Japan's jobless rate fell to a 20-year low of 3.1%, but household spending fell 2.4% and average incomes fell 0.9%.
- Nikkei -0.3% to 19,884.
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