IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Retail sales fall

Japan's retail sales dropped for the first time in 14 months in September as tumbling stocks and stagnant wages discouraged households from spending. Sales fell 0.4 percent from a year earlier, the first decline since July 2007, after rising 0.7 percent in August, the Trade Ministry said in Tokyo yesterday. The median estimate of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for sales to be unchanged.

G7 statement helped Japan