Japan's tepid growth; World's biggest miner, BHP's profit jumps 31%; North Korea's Kim and memories of the Nazi era

1 Japan's tepid growth (Hiroko Tabuchi in The New York Times) The Japanese economy grew at the tepid rate of 1 percent in the final quarter of 2013, falling short of analysts’ expectations and heightening concerns that the country’s recovery might not be strong enough to weather an impending sales tax increase, a worsening trade balance and other problems expected this year.

On a quarterly basis, Japan’s economy expanded 0.3 percent from October to December, for the fourth-consecutive quarter of growth. Economic growth for the year came to an estimated 1.6 percent, separate data showed. The latest readings underscored the challenges facing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his three-pronged plan to put Japan’s economy, long in the grips of deflation, back on a path to robust growth.

The prime minister chose to go ahead with the tax increase to quell concerns over the government’s finances, as Japan’s public debt has risen to more than twice the size of its $5 trillion economy. But the tax increase could be ill timed, especially when the Japanese are already grappling with rising costs and their wages have not kept up.

This year, Mr. Abe is set to decide whether to raise the tax rate to 10 percent in 2015 to help pay for costs incurred because of Japan’s aging population. That decision highlights the challenges of chasing economic growth and fiscal consolidation at the same time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/business/international/tepid-economic-growth-in-japan.html?ref=business&_r=0

2 World's biggest miner, BHP's profit jumps 31% (BBC) The world's biggest mining company BHP Billiton has posted a 31% jump in profit due to improvements in its iron ore, coal and petroleum businesses. Underlying first half profit was $7.8bn, beating analyst forecasts for a $6.9bn profit. The Melbourne-based company also increased its annual payment to shareholders by 3.5% and signalled that may rise further this year. The company also said it thought the global economy would recover further over the rest of this year.

BHP earns most of its money from the production of iron ore, which is used in the production of steel. Profit from its iron ore business rose by 60%, and saw production from its Western Australia mines hit a record of 108 million tonnes. Last week its rival Rio Tinto raised its dividend by 15% after reporting higher profit following an aggressive cost-cutting program by its new chief executive Sam Walsh.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26236389

3 North Korea's Kim and memories of the Nazi era (Straits Times) North Korean security chiefs and possibly even Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un himself should face international justice for ordering systematic torture, starvation and killings comparable to Nazi-era atrocities, US investigators said on Monday. The investigators told Kim in a letter they were advising the United Nations to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court, to make sure any culprits "including possibly yourself" were held accountable.

The unprecedented public rebuke and warning to a head of state by a UN inquiry is likely to further antagonise Kim and complicate efforts to persuade him to rein in his isolated country's nuclear weapons programme and belligerent confrontations with South Korea and the West. North Korea "categorically and totally" rejected the accusations set out in a 372-page report, saying they were based on material faked by hostile forces backed by the US, the European Union and Japan.

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/world/story/north-korea-crimes-evoke-nazi-era-kim-may-face-charges-un-inquiry-20140218