THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: Asian markets looked a lot like the U.S. markets did yesterday. Lisa Barron is live in Hong Kong with our report. Hi, Lisa.</s>LISA BARRON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Deborah. Japan is teetering on the brink of its fourth recession in a decade. Its economy shrank .8 percent in the second quarter. That is roughly in line with analysts' expectations but worse than government estimates. It was the first quarter-on-quarter decline in nine months and the first year-on-year drop since 1999. Meanwhile, shares of Asahi Bank plummeted in Tokyo on reports that it, along with 13 other banks, will fail to pay interim dividends. The company denying the claims and says it may ask the Securities Exchange Surveillance Commission to look into them. Later in the day, rival Daiwa Bank said the two were in talks over a potential tie up, however, no further details were given. Trading in Daiwa and Asahi were halted by the Tokyo Stock Exchange after reports of the discussions surfaced. In the broader markets, the weak GDP numbers weighed on the Nikkei as did shares of chip giant NEC as wary investors sold most tech issues. Selling was also prevalent in the Singapore markets with the Straits Times index tumbling below the 1,600 level. Weakness in telecom counters mostly to blame there. Wall Street's economic gloom cast appall over Hong Kong shares. Property and technology counters especially hard hit. That's the business day here in Asia -- back to you, Deborah, in New York.</s>MARCHINI: All right, Lisa, thanks. Lisa Barron in our Hong Kong bureau. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Japan Teetering on Brink of Fourth Recession in a Decade