that japan faces a long and tough climb to get its economy back into line. even before this triple crisis hit in march, the economy of japan was weak and it was also getting weaker. as you mentioned, nina, the economy annualized rate of contraction of the economy now stands at 3.7%. that s almost twice what analysts had expected. behind that figure are some even gloomier statistics would you believe? i want to focus on this one. industrial output, down 15.3% in march. that s the worst monthly drop in japan s history. and businesses also took an unprecedented battering in the disaster zone. 10,000 of 24,000 enterprises were affected. that s 42%, nearly one out of every two businesses in the zone was asecond. 600 of those may never actually recover. the worst news for japan, financially speaking, the worst
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