Japan firms' April-June pretax profits hit record, investment up 7.4%

Pretax profits at Japanese companies hit a record-high 35.77 trillion yen ($244 billion) in the April-June quarter and their capital spending rose 7.4 percent from a year earlier, government data showed Monday, reflecting improving corporate activity amid an economic recovery.Pretax profits grew 13.2 percent, rising for the sixth straight quarter, lifted by brisk overseas sales, a weak yen that boosts exporters' profits when repatriated and a surge in the number of foreign tourists to Japan.Investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes such as building factories and adding equipment t…READ FULL ARTICLE