UAE aviation authorities consider return of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft

UAE aviation authorities consider return of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft

TOKYO: Confidence among major Japanese manufacturers has plunged to its lowest level since the global financial crisis, a key survey showed Wednesday, as the coronavirus dries up global demand.

The Bank of Japan's June Tankan business survey “” a quarterly poll of about 10,000 companies “” showed a reading of minus 34 among big manufacturers, the lowest since June 2009 when worldwide financial shocks hammered the world's third-largest economy.

It was the biggest quarterly drop since early that year, and even worse than analysts had feared after the index turned negative in March.

"These figures show that companies believe it will take a long time for the economy to recover,“ Yoshikiyo Shimamine, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, said.

The coronavirus has hit Japan less hard than many advanced nations, with fewer than 1,000 deaths and about 19,000 cases. Nevertheless, the contagion has taken a bitter economic toll, knocking the country into its first recession since 2015.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has passed two record stimulus packages worth nearly $2 trillion to cushion the impact, including handing out 100,000 yen ($925) to every man, woman and child in Japan.

Unemployment is rising, albeit to a rate that would make most countries jealous. Data released on Tuesday