UPDATE 3-Japan's Aeon posts H1 loss but keeps outlook

By Taiga Uranaka TOKYO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Japan's second-largest retailer, Aeon Co Ltd, (8267.T: ) posted a first-half net loss for the first time in three years as consumers rein in spending amid a slowing economy, but it stuck to its full-year outlook on the back of further cost-cutting. Supermarket operator Aeon is the first major retailer to report first-half earnings, setting the tone for a sector struggling to maintain profits as consumers, worried about the sluggish economy, spend less on a variety of items such as furniture and clothes. Aeon president Motoya Okada said he expects a tougher time ahead as fears of a global recession grip consumer sentiment. "I think the year-end shopping season will be a very tough one this year," he told a media... [read full story]