JAPAN

Business Sentiment Index Holds Steady: The Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan report, issued last week, shows that the business sentiment index--the percentage of business people expecting things to get better minus those expecting worsening conditions--is a level 56. The bank said corporate capital spending will fall 4.5% in fiscal 1994, on top of a 9.2% decline for 1993. Meanwhile, the Construction Ministry said housing starts shot up 20.7% from a year ago because of low interest rates and declining prices.