Optimism likely to fade as tax hike looms

Preliminary data show that the recovery slowed last quarter, but this follows unsustainably strong growth in the first half of the year, and is thus no cause for concern. Indeed, several business surveys have reached multi-year highs in recent months, even though the hard data have not been quite as strong. However, it seems likely that companies' high spirits are at least partly linked to increased spending ahead of next year's consumption tax hike. As such, this optimism is unlikely to last long.