The weekend was full of sometimes conflicting and always fluid reports on the state of emergency at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. As recovery efforts slowly get under way across the disaster-struck nation, the human and economic toll is coming into clearer focus. Not only are Japanese markets and businesses under pressure but major multinationals are seeing significant supply-chain disruptions of their own, with Ford announcing it will idle a facility in Belgium to conserve parts. The Nikkei opened down slightly in Monday trading.
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force via Kyodo News/AP
