Japan's household spending in October fell 2.5 percent from a year earlier, down for the eighth consecutive month, as the unusually warm weather drove up prices of some vegetables and prompted people to refrain from buying, government data showed Friday. Households of two or more people spent an average of 301,974 yen ($2,097), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The rate of decline shrank slightly from a 2.8 percent drop in September. The weak spending came as separate data showed inflation-adjusted real wages in October dropped 2.3 percent from the previous year for the 19th straight monthly ... (full story)