point, we don t have any confirmation about any of these other stories. andrew? absolutely. okay, nina. there is one other big story in asia that people are focusing on this thursday. it s clear the balance of economic power in the region is shifting ever further away from japan. japan s economy shrank by 0.9% quart ir-on-quarter in the first three months of this year. that s the second quarterly contraction in a row. the gdp is down by 3.7% and the march 13th disaster is only partially to blame. we have the full details just ahead. meanwhile, the nikkei has taking a bit of a hit from that economic data this trading day, given e contraction is almost twice what analysts had been forecasting. let s take a look at the broad numbers across this region. starting in japan, the nikkei down by about 0.5%, the hong kong index adding 0.66% to the
aftershocks, japan enters recession for a third time in a decade. as industrial output freefalls and consumers hold on to their cash. and the crumbling foundations of a failed property market. we ll look at the wreckage left behind by ireland s housing crisis. facing multiple charges of sexual assault in the united states, the managing director of the international monetary fund has resigned. dominique strauss-kahn tendered his resignation just a few hours ago in a letter to the imf. in it he writes i want to protect this institution which i served with honor and devotion and especially, especially, i want to devote all my strength, all my time and energy to provingmy innocence. in his statement strauss-kahn strenuously denies the allegations against him that alleged he sexually assaulted a maid last saturday at a new york hotel. he s still in a new york jail, his lawyers are going to court later on thursday to ask for bail. he s offering to post $1 million to stay in man