Japan's coincident index suggests economy at "turning point"

TOKYO (Reuters): Japan's coincident indicator index fell for a third straight month in January, prompting the government to downgrade its outlook on Thursday as the index indicated the economy could have reached the peak of its long-term business cycle.

Calculated from a range of data, including factory output, employment and retail sales, the index along with other data will be assessed retrospectively by a government panel of economists and academics to determine where the economy is in the cycle.