europe auto free agrees on a plan to inject debt to avoid a debt crisis. welcome to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi. the european union summit tops headlines this thursday morning. comprehensive measures have yet to be hammered out. we go straight to business news. >> the discussions are ongoing. leaders of the eu have agreed to boost the capital banks in the region, but discussions still continue on how to gelt

commercial banks to cut their greek debt holdings to a sustainable level. the eu leaders gathered in brussels on wednesday to follow up a meeting held on sunday. they're discussing comprehensive measures to address the sovereign debt conrns posing a threat to the global economy. eu leaders agreed to ask banks to raise core capital ratios to 9% by june 2012. the meeting continues with talks on specifics of a greek debt writedown and expansion of the bailout fund. leaders and banks do not seem to have reached an agreement on reducing greek debt. on the planned expansion of the european financial stability, leaders are locking at how to acquire money outside the eurozone. details on the measures may be postponed. analysis, we're going live

with chief economist at credit suisse securities japan. mr. shirakawa, thank you for joining us. why does the action plan keep getting delayed? what is taking so long? >> i think there is a gap in understanding about, you know, how much of greek debt has to be reduced between france and germany. and i think that is one of the big issues. the ratio should affect the amount banks have to raise capital and also it should have ramifications on bonds. the gap between france and germany in terms of action is now a bit of an agreement to be reached. >> the haircut ratio, that's one of the two big issues that has yet to be resolved. the bondholder losses for those

who do own greek debt, and the bailout fund expansion. what are your thoughts on those issues? >> well, i think for the greek debt haircut, i think anyhow they will agree on 50% haircut, is my understanding. but, of course, going forward, they have to discuss about, you know, the necessity for them to engineer haircuts for other bonds, like italian bonds, spanish bonds and that should, of course, affect the amount of recapitalization. and the amount that the ebf has to provide the money. and i think the amount of haircut and esf side, and the guarantee scheme, two going on, but i think the sdf, sdv side,

they need to borrow money from china, that will take time. >> and lastly, europe's sovereign debt issues have affected currency issues. yen reached a new record high, while the euro weaker. what is your outlook for the euro and dollar-yen? >> i think presumably, the ecb is -- is possibly cutting interest rates, you know, even though they cannot easily increase quantitative easing so i think that there are some risks for the euro to continue to slide from here. in that situation, i think the yen will continue to appreciate in effective terms, so i think the boj may need to do something in terms of easing decision and today's b.o.j.'s meet willing be the focus in that sense. >> i see. so much to look for in the markets. thank you so much for joining us. that was hiros everythe chief e

from credit suisse japan. u.s. stocks closed higher. tokyo markets just opened. let's see how stocks are kicking off this thursday morning. live now to ramin melegaard. we just heard from shinarka? >> markets point to see how the full details of those proposed plans play through the markets today and the repercussions for the yen. let's look at the opening levels for the nikkei and topix. both indices trading higher, 8,791. up 42 points for the nikkei. market players are likely to pay attention to any move by the bank of japan. it will hold a policy meeting to

discuss monetary easing policies and the governor shirakawa will be giving a meeting later today. a lot of earnings coming out yesterday after the bell and more to come today after the bell. we'll see if stocks may just trade in a little bit of a narrow range. we'll keep track of that. quite clearly, the e.u. meeting and full reporsults will be the full focus today. let's have a look at some of the the levels for the yen. the dollar and the euro, currently trading around the upper 105.89-91 against the euro. same levels we saw pretty much this time yesterday. you can see a little bit -- the yen weaker against the dollar, at the lower 76 yen levels. let me tell you in london trading, it hit 75.71. the yen has weakened a touch since then. now, as far as earnings were

going, we had earnings from fujitsu, it came out with earnings yesterday after the bell and said net profit rose around 50% for the quarter through september and left outlook unrevised and said it's assuming the dollar-yen will stick to around 77 yen. nippon still and j.b. holdings, the two big steelmakers, came out with lower than expected earnings. later today, we'll have also from construction machinery maker komatsu, sharp, nec and nintendo. a lot for investors to take in. >> thank you, ramin. that was from the tokyo stock exchange. nikkei and topix trading higher bay a half percent so far. let's get a look at other market figures.

that's all for this hour in business news. it is back to catherine now. >> thanks very much, ai. the leaders of the philippines and vietnam will agree to resolve territorial disputes with china. philippine president akino met the vietnamese president in man yale on wednesday. they signed an agreement that will allow navies to share information. a hotline will also be set up between the philippine coast guards and the vietnamese marine police. >> maritime corporations between the two companies will become

one of the principal pillars of our bilateral relations. >> the agreement comes as china increases dispatch of naval vessels and fishery patrol boats in the south china sea. the philippines is reportedly eager to discuss regional territorial disputes in indonesia next month. the united nations says the world population will mark a milestone next week. come monday, 7 billion people will be sharing the earth's resources. the u.n. population fund released an annual report on wednesday. the number of the people on the planet has more than doubled in the past 50 years, from 3 billion in 1959. forecasters say the figure will surpass 10 billion this century. asia, the world's most populated region, is expected to reach 5.2 billion people by the middle of the century. africa's population will triple and climb to an estimated 3.6 billion by 2,100. developed countries including

japan and european nations are expected to see their populations shrink. falling birth rates are largely to blame. the u.n. reports say the global population increase will accelerate urbanization and spread poverty mainly in developing countries. it also says water shortages will worsen and developed countries will have difficulty maintaining economic growth and social security systems because of aging populations. the report calls on governments to respond by drawing up plans and investing appropriately. starting next month, japanese politicians will be putting their money where their mouths are. prime minister yoshihiko noda and his cabinet are going to take a salary cut to help pay the cost of rebuilding after the march 11 disaster. the decision announced on wednesday will see noda return 30% of his salary while his ministers will return 20% each. they are taking the action to win public understanding for

reconstruction tax hikes that are under discussion. it's estimated that more than $118 billion will be needed to rebuild the devastated areas over ten years. the government also hopes to enact a bill that will cut by an average of 7.8% the wages and bonuses of government employees until the end of fiscal 2013. some people living in japan's devastated northeast feel no one is answering their calls for help. they're not eligible for government benefits after the march 11th disaster. so they're not sure how to make ends meet. nhk world's jun yotsumotu has that story. >> reporter: ryu harei's factory was busy at this time last year. now it's empty. he runs a company that processes and ships scallops nationwide,

has done for 24 years. the tsunami shut things down. it washed away all the scallops and farming facilities. now the 62-year-old has no income. >> translator: the sea would have been bustling right now with fishermen harvesting scallops if it had not been for the tsunami. it's tough to think about it. >> reporter: workers won't be able to harvest scallops again for at least two years. until then mori's business will remain closed. he says he's worried he and other scallop processors will go out of business for good if things don't change. >> this is the most bountiful fishing area. it would have been unbearable if we couldn't deliver quality scallops to our customers.

>> reporter: 37,000 people in iwate prefecture are unemployed. over 13,000 live in temporary housing. all of them need some sort of help. i'm on a site at a dentist in tono city in iwate prefecture. aid supplies from all over the world are being gathered in a warehouse here. gaku uchikoshi delivers essential goods to survivors. >> translator: there's a big gap. there are places where people receive no supplies. we still get many individual requests. >> reporter: uchikoshi's group focuses on helping people who lost their businesses and have no income.

the government offers aid to people who have lost relatives or homes. it doesn't cover damage to every business. self-employed workers are not eligible for unemployment benefits. that includes this man, who lost the ramen shop he ran for 30 years. >> translator: now i'm about to run out of savings. i'm worried about food. i'm afraid we won't have enough if we don't ration what we eat. >> reporter: sakai's ramen shop used to stand here. nothing is left except payments

on the ten-year loan. sakai can't get any help from the government. he says he feels alone and desperate. sakai met gaku uchikoshi and the people at project next. now he says he's feeling more positive. sakai will need some of these things to reopen his shop. people all over japan donated the supplies through project next. >> translator: this kind of stockpot is indispensable to a good ramen chef. it gets me excited, making me feel like okay, i'm ready. i can't get anything from the government. not even one yen. so i really appreciate the kindness of people. >> translator: the official benefits system is creating inequality.

we're still small. but we do our best to cover the loopholes. >> reporter: many people who have survived the disaster have become impoverished. it is necessary to expand the safety net to help these people so that they don't have to suffer anymore. jun yotsumoto, nhk world, ofunato, iwate. we go to china now, where a drop in property values has sparked protests around the country. angry homeowners say they paid too much for their properties and they want their money back. the real estate market in china began toover heat as housing units became targets of speculative trading. prices began to drop sharply after the government introduced restrictions on speculative purchases. chinese media reports residents in shanghai, beijing, and elsewhere are demanding

contracts be nullified or be refunded. they say the price they paid for their properties was too high. some of the protests have gotten out of hand. on saturday, protesters invaded a property developer's office on the outskirts of shanghai, which they proceeded to demolish. about 400 protesters gather at the same office on wednesday. this follows the developer's announcement it will slash housing prices by 25%. the chinese government faces the difficult task of cooling property prices while discouraging protests. there has been a major plitt in call shakeup in south korea. an independent has become mayor of the capital city, seoul. this is a major loss for the ruling grand national party which held seoul for most of the past decade. >> reporter: the new mayor won support from young voters by

pledging to fight inflation and create jobs. his decision to campaign as an independent was backed by voters, disillusioned with existing political parties. >> translator: i solemnly declare this a victory for all of the citizens of seoul. we chose to begin a new era in the capital. >> reporter: pak won 53% of the votes, beating the grand national party by about 7 percentage points. pak was backed by an alliance of the ruling national party. now, despite having the backing

of the national party. >> translator: i humly accept the result of the citizens. i only hope the new mayor will work for the future of seoul. >> reporter: the grand national party has held the mayor's seat in seoul for nine straight years. calls for the party executive to accept responsibility for the defeat will likely grow. the grand national party now faces the task of rebuilding ahead of a general election next april, as the presidential election in december of next year. ryojo ito, nhk world, seoul.

pilots in japan took flight on wednesday in one of the most talked about airplanes in the world. all nippon airways debuted its 787 dreamliner. an exciting day. [ applause ] >> reporter: this is the latest thing going in civil aviation. it's lighter, more fuel efficient and a better ride for passengers. after years of delays, 787 dreamliner is finally taking its first flight. just a short hop from tokyo to hong kong. >> translator: i just want to get on it right now. >> so far, i've only seen pictures of it. now i'll see it live.

>> translator: i want to be a pilot someday. >> reporter: ana sold tickets for this flight by lottery because of high demand. more than 25,000 people applied, but only 100 got a spot. >> translator: i'm so lucky i got picked. >> translator: i've been looking forward to this. we wanted to go on a family trip. >> translator: we wanted to ride a brand new aircraft. >> reporter: boeing engineers made the dreamliner out of lightweight carbon fiber. the plane uses 20% less fuel than other mid sized aircraft. the 787 is the first plane of its size to be able to fly nonstop from tokyo to the u.s. east coast. along the way, passengers benefit from an improved humidity control system. they will also enjoy the view out of the wider windows.

the dreamliner is now part of all nippon airways regular fleet. ana pilots will begin flying the 787 on domestic routes next week. they'll take it on the first overnight flight between tokyo and frankfurt next year. that lottery rena mentioned had a special theme. all nippon airways used it to pay tribute to 787. it sold the economy class seats for 787 yen. a little more than $1,000 u.s. it includes an overnight stay in hong kong. not bad.

now a look at the global weather forecast. >> hello. time for your weather update. let's start off with east asia. crisp and clear weather, blanketing much of japan. lots of sunshine for you. widespread showers can be found across inland areas of china. some rain will move eastward and could become heavier. down toward the south a northeasterly monsoonal flow across vietnam and the southern end of the indochina peninsula as for bangkok, a slight chance of thundershowers today. temperatures looking like this. another cool day for you in tokyo with 18 degrees, the same with seoul. manila expected to be 34 degrees, with mainly clear skies. heading over to central america then, hurricane rina downgraded to a category 1 system, but still packing winds of 140 kilometers per hour.

moving in a northwesterly direction and expected to hit the northeastern end of the yucatan peninsula by thursday. after it makes landfall it could become a tropical storm and head toward western cuba. right now, hurricane warnings have been issued along the northeastern corner of the yucatan peninsula. torrential rain and fierce winds will affect the coast. starting wednesday. as for rainfall accumulation, we're talking about 200 to 400 millimeters by friday. and strong winds could create a dangerous storm surge as well as distracted waves, so watch out for coastal flooding. we'll keep you posted on the situation. meanwhile, cold air continues to invade southward and is creating heavy snow across colorado as well as new mexico. up to 40 centimeters of snow are possible in higher elevations by tonight. and we are seeing scattered thunderstorms as well as rain from the mid mississippi valley,

all the way up to the northeastern states and that will move eastward. temperatures looking like this. very cool in denver, with 6 degrees and 10 in chicago and 6 in toronto. but southern portions still on the warmer side. 26 in houston and 29 in miami. let's go to europe. a line of rainshowers stretching from southern scandinavian peninsula through italy. heaviest rain across southern italy. there are thunderstorms popping up here. things gradually weaken, that's good news for you. down toward the northeast, very severe and powerful low pressure syst moving across the iberian peninsula, bringing torrential rain and fierce winds. strong winds have created high waves along the east coast and some light precipitation falling across the southern u.k. and rain spread to southern france in the next 24 hours.

meanwhile, it stays dry and settled across eastern europe. temperatures are shaping up like this. there you are, 18 in athens. chilly in moscow. here is your extended forecast.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. cl

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