Japan's economy contracts 2.4% in second quarter (by Chris Oliver)

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japan's economy contracted in the April to June quarter on an annualized basis, as softer consumer spending and weak capital investment threaten to bring the country's long post-war expansion to an end. The economy shrank 2.4% in the second quarter, after expanding a revised 3.2% in the first, according to preliminary figures released by the Cabinet Office Wednesday.