are counting the cost of october's government shutdown. they say worker furloughs and national park closures led to billions of dollars lost. analysts from the white house budget office released their estimates of the impact of the government shutdown. people were unable to visit sites like the statue of liberty which cost more than $500 million in lost revenue. at one stage 850,000 federal employees were kept home from work costing an additional $2 billion. private estimates are 2 to $6 billion in lost output. observers say the white house is warning opposition republicans against a recurrence, a stand off over the budget resulted in the shutdown. poll significances agreed on a stopgap agreement through january 15th.

now twitter has made its debut on the new york stock exchange. shares of the online networking service soared 73%. nhk reports from new york. a banner of a little bird that's become a familiar trademark hangs on wall street. today media all around the world are watching twitter's debut on the new york stock exchange. with 200 million user, it's most anticipated tech ipo since facebook. company owners say they owe their success to users. three prominent users rang the opening bell, including actor patrick stewart. it opened higher than the $26 a share public offering. it hit a high of $50.09 but dropped to $44.90 by the time the market closed.

overall, there was a positive response from investors. but some on wall street see some financial tests ahead. >> so far it hasn't been so much profit, so it's a wonderful product, but there are challenges on what they can make from it. >> reporter: the initial public offering is generating much excitement. and the equity market is already at an all time high. investors will be watching closely to see if twitter can keep up this momentum and produce some profits. nhk world, new york. japanese government and ruling liberal democratic party officials are considering a substantial reduction in a key subsidy for rice farmers. they are hammering out a plan for the rice production adjustment system. rice faerms currently receive a subsidy for capping production. each participating farmer receives about $150 per 1,000 square meters of rice producing land. but lead earns are planning to cut that about $50 starting

fiscal 2014. they tend to keep the program unchanged until the program ends in fiscal 2018. they are hoping to make the competitive. sec for more they are to make a final decision this month. more and more people are going online when they want to buy something. and many brick and mortar retailers find themself the struggling for survival. some have turned to analyzing their customers' behavior right before they make a purchase. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: at this technology fair in tokyo, a firm demonstrates sensors that infer a person's sex and age range. the system doesn't store images but compiles the data into demographic information. >> translator: the system allows store managers to see where their customers are, to adjust their marketing tactic it is

based on that information. >> reporter: if i feel like a snack i might pick up a package of vegetable chips or this one with a picture of an onion looks good, but i pick this because it looks healthier. this decision-making process is something retalers have wanted to see for years. and that 3d sensor may be able to help. the system captures the customer's movements and recall theirs behavior. it shows what product they picked up, what they compared it with and which one they left behind. >> translator: the system identifies items that customers tend to put back. and it shows which products are in direct competition. retailers can then change their placement, put them next to even other for example. the information comes in handy when trying to sell products that need that last push.

>> reporter: a firm that provides marketing support is working with a supermarket operator. they launched a study last month to analyze the eye movement of customers. they want insight into the best possible layout for the store, based on where customers are looking. this woman is choosing scallions. the blue dot represents her line of sight. she chooses the opposite product where her eye is stirred to the discount tag. she's then interviewed about her experience. >> translator: does this kind of notice help you make a decision? >> translator: yes, it's handy. anytime i see an ad that says today only or something, i feel like i should take advantage of the sale. >> reporter: the marketing representative for the

supermarket is watching from the next room. a discount section meant to encourage women pulse buys was set up near a checkout line. but the customer didn't even notice the sign. >> translator: we realized the pe positi position of the sign was too high. we need to isolate the information we want customers to pay attention to and make it more eye-catching. >> translator: the eye can only focus on a small area at a time. that means very little information can be processed at a glance. retailers need to figure out how to effectively direct customer attention. >> reporter: people in the retail business say they see potential in these technologies. they hope a systematic approach

based on hard data could help them boost sales. nhk world, tokyo. for years, chinese who live in the countryside have migrated to cities in search for a better leave. now who live in the city are heading to the country in search of something else -- cleaner air. >> reporter: a long six-hour drive from the capital of the region. this may not match your idea of a village deep in the mountains. several years ago, only 200 people lived here. but in recent years the population has surged. it's estimated that thousands of people now live there.

assessors in 2010 triggered the increase. a survey revealed that an extremely high number of centenarians lived here. that showed a healthy environment that is conducive to a long life. its unpolluted water and air, fresh food and simple lifestyle has attracted droves of people from all over china. many are retirees with extra money. elderly newcomers say they want to spend the rest of their lives in good health. >> translator: i came from beijing. it's hardly polluted here. there are mountains, uncontaminated water and fewer

people in vehicles. >> translator: my friend told me that staying here is good for health, so i followed my friend here more than two weeks ago. >> reporter: this man comes from northeastern china. the 64 year old retiree and his wife moved here in 2011. he has diabetes and high blood pressure. >> translator: the city thrives on the chemical industry, and it's very smelly there. it's also harmful to humans. that's why i left and came to this village. >> reporter: the couple sometimes visits a huge limestone cave. people believe that the springwater here is especially clean. it has a small amount of alkaline. residents and tourists like to

fill up their containers. >> translator: many old folks want to come to this village. the air and water are clean. we can feel the good sunshine, and it's possible to live for a long time, so i took my wife with me. >> reporter: some of the native villagers welcome the change. >> translator: we sell more vegetables and make higher profits as more people move into the village. >> reporter: new buildings sprout up all the time. developers from urban areas are building hotels and condominiums. they've even built a home for people who are elderly and rich. in the parking lot, the license plate numbers of the luxury cars show the owners come from all over china. a massive project is said to be

transforming a whole area into a resort. a condo salesman says buying a home here is a worth while investment. >> translator: rents keep going up and up. so it's cheaper to buy a condo than to rent it. >> reporter: many new residents came here to escape the pollution of china's big cities. but in doing so, they risk changing this country oasis into the kind of city they fled from. >> and earlier i spoke to a reporter and asked him how he saw the village. >> i was surprised to see all those people living in this remote mountain village that is slowly resembling a city. i live in beijing, so i could immediately feel the freshness of the air. the village still has the kind of clean environment that cities have lost.

i can see that new residents like it. developers are putting up a lot of buildings in the countryside, mainly to promote a long stay. people in the communities largely welcome the project since it helps develop the local economies. what's worrying though is that there is no order for the projects. it already faces environmental problems. for example, waste disposal is become more difficult. to preserve the clean environment, authorities need to make well thought out plans. they need to act to stop farming villages from becoming polluted. >> and that was our reporter in beijing. japan has demanded for decades the return of four islands held by russia. now a government survey has found that over half of japanese respondents are aware of a

campaign to get japan's sovereignty back over the islands. the government asked 3,000 people if they know about the territorial row. 62% responded. 41% said yes. the same number said they know about the dispute to a certain extent. 16% said they don't know the details. the survey also asked about petition drive, government public relations events and other events to campaign tor the return of the islands. 21% said they know about these activities. 31% said they why aware of them to a certain extekd. cabinet officials say they plan to use the internet to boost awareness, especially among the young. garment workers in bangladesh often work in harsh conditions for little pay. many make clothes and accessories for shoppers in the west. one japanese designer is working to change their plight using local resources and traditional

craftsmanship. >> reporter: these handbags featuring natural motives are in the color of fruit. the bags are popular both among men and women. these are the shop's signature items made from local bangladeshi jute. all the merchandise is produced in bangladesh. this woman started her business in japan in 2006. the company has grown since then and now has 16 stores domestically and abroad. >> translator: you're not only designing products but building human relationships in stores which means you're managing a business too. creating a company here means forging a relationship between an economically developing country and an advanced country. >> reporter: after graduating from college, yamaguchi worked as an intern at an international financial institution. she visited bangladesh, one of

the poorest countries in asia, during a period when she was searching for ideas for development assistance. the visit completely changed her life. she saw people struggling in their every day lives, but without any hope and unable to escape the rut. soon she came to believe that business can be a force for social change. yamaguchi struck upon an idea for a business using jute, a natural resource made from hemp. it's commonly used for making sacks to store produce and coffee beans. she developed the thought and decided to make handbags from jute. in 2008, yamaguchi set up a fact fry in bangladesh, planning to sell the products in japan. her aim was to provide a business that could provide sustainable employment in bangladesh. she uses only local materials and people from the area work in

the factory. yamaguchi now spends most of the year in bangladesh working on new lines. there are currently over 100 employees at the fact fry. yamaguchi knows the importance of training her staff. >> translator: she's taught me how to make bags to a deadline. >> work with her so this can be a process for me to grow my dream. >> translator: i'm interested to see how this brand develops and how all of our staff will have matured in ten or 20 years. >> reporter: yamaguchi is constantly on the lookout for ways to incorporate local resources and traditions into her designs. it takes 14 hours from the capital to a hilly area home to an ethnic minority community. >> translator: we weave our own cloth at a house in this

village. >> reporter: this traditional embroidery is a technique that has been passed down through many generations of women from mother to daughter. but in recent years, this traditional craft has been dying out. yamaguchi began to integrate modern textile, threads and colors, giving it a more urban look. >> translator: at the moment, i'm learning a hand dying technique from a village in nepal. next month i'm going to laos to look at textiles. in about five years i'd like to make african fabric and use middle eastern stones too. i want to use my work to show the potential of developing countries and bring about new cultural encounters. >> reporter: yamaguchi is aiming to create world class products for sale in japan but crafted in

developing countries. her mission has begun in bangladesh, one of the least developed countries in asia and seems set to grow from there. time now for a check on the world weather. it's a sunny day here in tokyo. sayaka mori joins us once again with the updates. >> hello there. it's nice weather to end the business week in the tokyo area. plenty of sunshine and warm conditions today. in northern japan you dealt with stormy conditions this morning but things are steadily improving. winds are easing. but cold air is coming in. so that will provide some snow flurries in parts of hokkaido. good news for skiers. and sapporo could see the first snow of the season. there will be icy precipitation for north ireastern china and affect most of japan as we go into sunday.

and as the precipitation moves through, temperatures will drop significantly. so your high in seoul on sunday could be in the single digits. now down towards the south, as we have been reporting, a violent typhoon is crossing and is now heading toward vietnam. it could affect central veets number by sunday as a violent typhoon. now over towards the americas, things are looking drier over the northeast coast of the u.s. but back behind it a big high pressure system is dominating, creating calm conditions, pleasant conditions for most of the u.s. and central canada, but it's not the case for the northwest, a series of lows is moving into this area. that's dropping some heavy snowfall for western montana, up to 50 centimeters likely into the next 24 hours. this one will head toward the

east but a new system is approaching. that will affect the pacific northwest once again starting on friday. temperatures are on the warmer side in l.a. at 25 degrees with plenty of sunshine. in the single digits in chicago. 7 degrees in toronto. and 13 degrees for the high in washington, d.c. across europe, not much change since yesterday. we are seeing rainfall and windy conditions from the black sea up toward russia. meanwhile wet and windy conditions are still conditioning across the british isles. tim tea temperatures are going to be in the low teens in berlin and paris for your friday. here's extended forecast.

and a reminder of our top story at this hour. police in central china have detained a man in connection with a bombing outside a communist party building. a series of bombs went off on wednesday in the city of taiyuan. one person was killed, eight others injured. the state run news agency says police found evidence in the man's home, including a device to set off bombs and the car they believe was used in the incident. the agency says the man is in

his 40s, is from the city and has been convicted in the past for burglary. the report said the man admitted to the crime. and that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. thank you very much for joining us.

tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, a conversation with actress nia long about a career that will stand the test of time. she is starring in a sequel called "the best man holiday." a group of friends reunite after years of being separated. we are glad you have joined us. coming up, right now.

>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: nia long was one of the reasons the best man was a huge hit in 1999. working years later, the sequel is finally here. it reunites all the actors from the first film. timehis sequel, the long- friends a strange for nearly 15 years come together for a long holiday weekend where they discover how easy it is for

rivalries and romances to be reignited. ooh. take a look at the clip from "best man holiday." >> i have to do they'll on dinner tonight. lex i get it. you could have called or e- mailed. it you could have sent the text. >> the damnedest thing. and none of my devices were working so i figured i should deliver the messages myself. i changed my flight so i can come to you -- come with you. if it is important to you, it is important to me. >> do you want me to wait outside? >> don't worry about it, i have to go anyway. i will talk to you later. i will see you this weekend. >> i hope so. to ski in vermont with my devices.

>> i hate you so much. >> was that you kissing a white man? >> it was not my first white man. i know, but just -- >> i like all flavors, tavis. tavis: we know one piece of the story line here. what is your character doing 15 years later? segment producer in the first film and now she is sort of running the network. she is doing her thing as a producer. taking her time, focused on her career. she put love and relationship on the side burner to be this amazing producer. she made it and is realizing through the story -- i don't went to give too much away, but she sees that she truly is recognizing that there is power

in being vulnerable and finding love. finding a partner. career isn't everything. that is something a lot of women struggle with. tavis: was there something or some things that you needed to see to come back to this? i am just a hollywood fan. sometimes people do stuff a second or third or fourth time and i wish they would stop after the first time. what did you need to see in this script to make you want to come back and do it again? thing was that the entire cast supported the idea of doing a sequel. that was it for me. i don't think any of us would've really done it if we had not been part of it. all friends and we have grown our careers. terrence howard as a grandfather. life has changed.