Japan 3rd-qtr GDP down 3% hit by COVID emergency, global chip crunch

Japan's economy in the July-September period shrank a real 0.8 percent from the previous quarter, or an annualized 3.0 percent, much worse than expected as a COVID-19 state of emergency sapped private consumption and a global chip crunch took a heavy toll on car exports, government data showed Monday.Japan saw the first decrease in two quarters in real gross domestic product, or the total value of goods and services produced in the country adjusted for inflation, following growth of 1.5 percent in the previous quarter, according to the preliminary data released by the Cabinet Office.The GDP…READ FULL ARTICLE