pivot towards the asia pacific region are two different and two separate strategy what about the timing the timing is very interesting you have to admit that don't you think the timing is yes it is it but i do believe it is a coincidence the really really balancing of u.s. military forces is not something that you can just do overnight it takes years upon years of decision making and strategic planning it is the reach shifting of military forces from afghanistan and iraq into two new interests and that kind of situation has been in play for the past decade. and i also want to add to that i'm i'm getting a lot of. concern about this idea of china being attacked china against the world and that the united states is was leading this global attack against china if we do look at the numbers the us china relations have never been as as close as they are now in terms of capital flow from one side to the other in terms of people to people networking and ideas exchange this is not the cold war it is not the united states against china so i think that really needs to be highlighted and never has

pivot towards the asia pacific region are two different and two suffrage strategy would have all the time either trying is very interesting you have to admit got. don't you think the timing is yes it is it but i do believe it is a coincidence the really really balancing of u.s. military forces is not something that you can just do overnight it takes years upon years of decision making and strategic planning it is the reach shifting of military forces from afghanistan and iraq into new interests and that kind of situation has been in play for the past decade. and i also want to add to that i'm i'm getting a lot of. concern about this idea of china being attacked china against the world and that the united states was leading this global attack against china if we do look at the numbers though u.s. china relations have never been as as close as they are now in terms of capital flow from one side to the other in terms of people to people networking and ideas exchange this is not the cold war it is not the united states against china so i think that really needs to be highlighted and neve

let's take a look at other markets in the asia pacific. south korea's kospi down a thirthird of a percent. let's see what's going in australia. it's down to 5,018. we'll see where other markets take us as they open in next hour. japan's prime minister abe has made his choice for the new bank of japan leader. looks like many leaders of the oppotion party of japan wi goalong with it. kuroda is the chief of the asian development bank. abe is planning to present his nominees to the diet for approval by the end of this week. the government needs support from opposition parties. some members have expressed concerns. they say signing off on his appointment could be construed as approving the there isn't much doubt about his ability. some say there's not much mileage in continuing its opposition because his no, ma'am nominees are being received vorly.o, ma'am nominees are being received favorly., ma'am nominees are being received favorly. ma'am nominees are being received favorly.ma'am nominees are being received favorly.a'am nominees are being re

in the asia-pacific, it gets more and more prosperous. japan remains. for investment properties, labor, environment, and the like. secondly, japan must continue to be a guardian of global commands. like maritime command (enough to benefit everyone. japan will work even more closely with the u.s.. throughout the region. we are and effective ally and partner to the u.s.. i also looked at the globe. as your longstanding ally and partner, japan is a country that has benefited from and contributed to peace and prosperity in the asia pacific for well over half a century. needless to say, it has been our alliance. it is high time in this era of a resurgence for japan to bear even more responsibilities to promote our values. and grow side-by-side with high achievers in the region. no luxury is allowed for japan to be absorbed against economic malaise. they also told me that japan must remain a robust partner in fighting against terrorism. the result is even stronger now after what happened in algeria. the killing of 10 japanese and three american engineers. the

pivot the rebalancing towards the asia pacific is one issue than say die you dispute as another what the united states has declared is that whilst they are a neutral party in these in these tense disputes if japan feels obliged to take some kind of military action or react in some way the u.s. japan alliance kicks in and then the united states which would. align itself with japan ok manas let me go get a there to ok but the u.s. is involved in ok very much involving let's go to philadelphia what do you think here we got to the pivot real early in this program i'm glad go ahead lynn go ahead well i would respectfully disagree with that assessment because i think u.s. is really behind this dispute the u.s. is playing off japan's fear of falling behind china or losing is primacy in asia and is also playing off the fear of all in the asian nations towards a resurgent china so just the philippines and another countries so the u.s. is using this. as a catalyst as a mechanism to stay relevant in the western pacific so as long as these asian countries fear chinese of bullying them but u.s. h

pivot the rebalancing towards the asia pacific as one issue and say could die you dispute as another what the united states has declared is that whilst they are a neutral party in these in these tense disputes if japan feels obliged to take some kind of military action or react in some way the u.s. japan alliance kicks in and then the united states which would. align itself with japan ok manas let me go get a that ok but the u.s. is involved then ok very much involving let's go to philadelphia what do you think here we got to the pivot real early in this program i'm glad go ahead lynn go ahead well i would respectfully disagree with that assessment because i think u.s. is really behind this dispute the u.s. is playing off japan's fear of falling behind china or losing is primacy in asia and is also playing off the feel about in the asian nations towards a resurgent china so just vietnam the philippines and another countries so the u.s. is using this. as a catalyst as a mechanism to stay relevant in the western pacific so as long as these asian countries fear chinese of bullying them

pivot the rebalancing towards the asia pacific is one issue since a call could die you dispute as another what the united states has declared is that whilst they are a neutral party in these in these tense disputes if japan feels obliged to take some kind of military action or react in some way the u.s. japan alliance kicks in and then the united states which would. align itself with japan ok let me go again i can't that be ok but the u.s. is involved ok very much involved in let's go to philadelphia what do you think here we got to the pivot real early in this program i'm glad go ahead lynn go ahead well i would respectfully disagree with that assessment because i think u.s. is really behind this dispute the u.s. is playing off japan's fear of falling behind china or losing those primacy in asia and is also playing off the fear of all in the asian nations towards a resurgent china such as vietnam the philippines and another countries so the u.s. is using this. as a catalyst as a mechanism to stay relevant in the western pacific so as long as these asian countries fear chinese of bullying

pivot towards the asia pacific region are two different and two suffrage strategy would have all the time in the twenty years very interesting you have to admit got don't you think the timing is yes it is it but i do believe it is a coincidence the really really balancing of u.s. military forces is not something that you can just do overnight it takes years upon years of decision making and strategic planning it is the reach shifting of military forces from afghanistan and iraq into new interests and that kind of situation has been in play for the past decade. and i also want to add to that i'm i'm getting a lot of. concern about this idea of china being attacked china against the world and that the united states as we're leading this global attack against china if we do look at the numbers though u.s. china relations have never been as as close as they are now in terms of capital flow from one side to the other in terms of people to people networking and ideas exchange this is not the cold war it is not the united states against china so i think that really needs to be highlighted a

the rebalancing towards the asia pacific is one issue and say kochadaiiyaan the dispute is another what the united states has declared is that whilst they are a neutral party in these in these tense disputes if japan feels obliged to take some kind of military action or react in some way the u.s. japan alliance kicks in and then the united states we wouldn't. align itself with japan ok minus let me go and get that to ok but the u.s. is involved then ok very much involved let's go to philadelphia what do you think here we got to the pivot real early in this program i'm glad go ahead lynn go ahead well i would respectfully disagree with that assessment because i think the u.s. is really behind this dispute the u.s. is playing off japan's fear of falling behind china or losing is primacy in asia and is also playing off the fear of other nation asian nations towards a resurgent china such as vietnam the philippines and another countries so the u.s. is using this. as a catalyst as a mechanism to stay relevant in the western pacific so as long as these asian countries fear chinese of bullying

pivot the rebalancing towards the asia pacific is one issue so the same could die you dispute as another what the united states has declared is that whilst they are a neutral party in these in these tense disputes if japan feels obliged to take some kind of military action or react in some way the u.s. japan alliance kicks in and then the united states which would. align itself with japan ok let me go get a there to ok but the u.s. is involved in ok very much involved let's go to philadelphia what do you think here we got to the pivot real early in this program i'm glad go ahead lynn go ahead well i would respectfully disagree with that assessment because i think the u.s. is really behind this dispute the u.s. is playing off japan's fear of falling behind china or losing those primacy in asia and is also playing off the fear of all in the asian nations towards a resurgent china so just vietnam the philippines and another countries so the u.s. is using this. as a catalyst as a mechanism to stay relevant in the western pacific so as long as these asian countries fear chinese of bullying th

it's likely to come in asia pacific, africa and the middle east. data traffic and asia pacific in north america will can want for almost two-thirds of the total by 2017. mobile operators worldwide face the challenge of boosting their infrastructure. the philippines has one of the highest birthrates in southeast asia. another key factor is pushing businesses to set up shop there. >> reporter: the middle class is boosting private consumption. this has attracted some of the world's best known brands. japanese retailer opened last year its on store in manila. >> translator: we're hoping to operate about 50 stores in the philippines within three years. other japanese manufacturers have chosen to philippines to relocate some of their factories. this industrial complex is located south of manila. over the past 18 months seven japanese companies have chosen to set up new production companies here. >> translator: we're facing a wave of investment. >> reporter: toy maker ban dai is among the new. the company produces the bulk of its products in china but soa

not in europe as has been for 100 years prior to that, than the asia pacific region. secondly, that we would maintain freedom of access throughout that region. in particular, we would maintain the sea lanes in that area, whatever the challenge might be. even as we reduce our defense budget, therefore we must maintain and would maintain a powerful navy, and that that navy would be charged with maintaining the freedom of those sea lanes. we had, of course, to be concerned as to whether there would be a challenge for that. we observed that the rise and shine has more energy needs for more energy than they can produce themselves, and to maintain the economic growth which they believe is essential. we observed that the south china sea is a potential source of energy supplies for china and that there is a contention among the nations in that region as to where the ownership and rights of access are to the south china sea. and this is conceivable that china might seek to reestablish its claim there by military coercion and that could lead them into a confrontation with the u

america's expanding engagement in the asia-pacific. adapting our force posture is a key element of our strategy. but so is strengthening our alliances through new economic and security arrangements. we have sent marines but have ratified the korea free trade agreement. we reminded the entire region ofthe irreplaceable role america plays. this so-called pivott has been about creative diplomacy. it elevated a form for engaging on high-stakes issues like the south china seas. we have encouraged india's look east policy. we have used trade negotiations over the partnership to find common ground with a former adversary in vietnam. our effort has encompassed all the levers of power and more. you could ask a self-declared, how could we approach an issue in the south china sea without a deep understanding of energy politics, diplomacy, smart economics state craft? think about burma. this took a blend of economic and political tools. the country's leaders wanted the benefits of joining the global economy. they did not want to be an internationa

let's look at other markets in the asia pacific region. the kospi down half a percent. 1,951. in australia the benchmark index is trading higher at 4,912. major electronics makers are counting on greater strength in numbers. they're about to merge the struggling semiconductor businesses and looks like they will be partly funded by a government affiliated bank. sources say the two firms are wrapping up preparations to launch a joint company by march 2014 for the design and development of system lsi semiconductors. they are also in talks with the development bank of japan over a possible investment of several hundred million dollars. system lsi's are widely used in appliances and automobiles. japanese makers are struggling to make costs because of production and development. the two plasre planning to launch an adventure. that's the latest in business. i'll leave you with a check on markets. >>> the man at the center of a sports scandal in japan has apologized for his win at all costs attitude. he's admitted to abusing top athletes. he says he might resign. >> translator: i thin

in the asia pacific the kospi is down slightly about a fifth of a percent at 2,011. in australia the benchmark index is up by 1%, 5,036. london wine buffs have had chance to sip an exotic new vintage. 12 japanese wine producers from the leading wine area held a tasting on thursday. more than 100 local importers and restaurant owners flocked to the event. the hosts posted out the delicate aromas to the visitors. they offered japanese and western cuisine carely matched to go with the wine. >> the wines are great. >> they have exported about 10,000 bottles over three years. global buyers have held back because of the strong yen. now there's good news for wine exporters and wine lovers. >> that's the latest in business for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets. >>> u.s. computer security experts have linked the military to cyber attacks on american firms. they say the hackers have broken through firewalls and stolen trade secrets. but chinese leaders insist they're not to blame. nhk world reports. >> reporter: hackers have more and more u.s. firms and organiz

let's take a look at other markets in the asia pacific. seoul's kospi up at 1,945. australia, the benchmark index is trading higher, 4,923. paneseports have been watching the foreign exchange market every day and they like what they see. the yen's value against the dollar has been sliding since november. staples of japan's economy have benefitting from automaker, so are businesses that produce the basis of what we wear every day. nhk world's lauren lee explains. >> reporter: the yen's decline has opened way for growing the united states.e fabrics into we're at a fashion show in new york city. the show we're about to see is using a lot of japanese fabrics. the fashion show was held by a high end man's brand in new york. the man's shirt is priced at $290. like many other clothes in this boutique including pants and jackets, the shirt is made with japanese fabrics. fashion brands that use made in japan fabrics are on the rise in new york. >> i've learned about other japanese textiles and in doing that really began to understand why the japanese fabric is so good. >> re

. >>> naval officers from mainly asia pacific kcountries have gathered in japan to discussion security. it's aimed at promoting mutual understanding in the region. on monday 15 officers took part at japan's maritime defense college in tokyo. they represent 15 countries including japan, the u.s., south kor korea, china and australia. they hope the participants can discuss each nation's interest. >> translator: china's participation has great effect considering the timing of the meeting. >>> the ancient town of >>> the town of timbuktu in mali is charged with history, a crossroads of islamic culture. militants destroyed prime examples of that culture as they made a push through the region. now heritage experts convened by u nessco have decided to rebuild parts of the world heritage site. about 150 experts gathered at unesco headquarters in paris. they discussed ways to rebuild ancient tombs. >> translator: the destruction of world heritage site is an a of foolishness. people of the whole world are the victims of such an act. >> militants destroyed 500-year-old islam makes liums before be

we also want to be a major trader, an investor to the region and with asia-pacific. and for the stability and the trade and investment, for prosperity and liberty to take root in this century, in a dynamic century with a rising asia pacific, it's going to have to take greater stability than north korea is right now letting it have. so with those initial comment, i'll turn it back to our chairman. >> well, thank you, patrick. as always, very comprehensive argument. now, the floor is open. before we open the floor -- [inaudible] >> i want to pick up on patrick's point, and elaborate on what i see as the elephant in the room, which is china. outgoing defense secretary panetta told the house armed services committee last year that china has, quote, clearly assisted north korea's ballistic missile program. it was also clear evidence that chinese nuclear technology found its way into north korean hands, via the a.q. khan network in pakistan. through north korea onto syria and iran. as i've written in the past, china is not only a proliferator of wmd materials and technolog

making china and asia pacific region the fastest growing.hief economic strategist says downside economic risks have diminished. yesterday, he says the u.s. economy will grow slowly this year as tax increases and spending cuts offset improvements in the private sector. bruce willis is "a good day to die hard" pulled in $25 million. "identity thief" rant and with a close second, 23.4 million. that is the latest from the fox business network. giving you the power to prosper. ♪ customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. ♪ dagen: $101.7 billion over the next ten years. the joint committee think this is the cost of a massive new sales tax to pay for obamacare. elizabeth macdonald is here with the bottom line. explain how this is, ultimately, being passed on. >> it is an excise tax or sales tax. look at this number. $7200. health insurers will pass this on. look at this. joint committee and taxation think that

looking at other markets in the asia-pacific, south korea's kospi up 1,935. let's look at australia. the benchmarken deposition trading higher by .3% at 4,950. >>> well, a prominent u.s. investor set to challenge apple to press for greater shareholder benefits. an investment fund led by david einhorn on thursday took the tech giant to a new york court. the action came amid the company's dwindling stock price. einhorn says apple's management policy fails to ensure benefits alling for retraction and demanding preferred shares with high dividends. this would unlock the cash hoard to investors. the activist investor wants shareholders oppose the plan for a clause of preferred shares. apple plans to make the change at a shareholders' meeting later this month. last year,pple offered its first dividends to investors in 17 years. the company plans to return $45 billion to shareholders over 3 years. but investor frustration is mounting as apple stock price has tumbled nearly 40% from last september. apple commented on thursday that management is currently discussing a

to other markets in the asia pacific. south korea's kospi up by a quarter of a percent. 1,942.n australia the benchmark index is trading higher by .9%. 4,925. tokyo clearly leading the advance. >>> the world's third largest personal computer maker dell is going private. its founder and a consortium of investors will buy out the u.s. company for $24.4 billion. ceo michael dell established the company in 1984. he said he will acquire the company with an investment fund and in partnership with microsoft. the software giant will invest $2 billion in the deal to forge closer ties with the pc maker. dell expanded his business through a produce to order system that required no inventory. his company was once the world's largest manufacturer of personal computers. but the popularity of smartphones and tablet computers put pressure on his firm and its share price tumbled. dell says the buyout will allow him to turn his company around without subjecting shareholders to market fluctuations. the deal is set to close this summer. >>> fewer drivers in ufrp have been heading to dealerships to

. >>> now, in other markets in the asia pacific, south korea's kospi is trading just slightly higher, just barely above that 2,000 mark at 2,001. let's see what's going on in australia. the benchmark index is higher by .6% at 5,033. looks like tokyo's one of the few down so far this morning. >>> well, women in saudi arabia are taking a firsthand look at japan's kawaii youth fashion and culture. the japan external trade organization has opened a trade fair featuring kawaii, or cute items at a department store in the capital riyadh. 17 makers of clothing, cosmetics, and other products are taking part. members of the saudi royal family attended monday's opening ceremony. >> fashion is a very good way of expressing the differences and the similarities in the cultures as well. so we're -- we are very happy to be hosting this and to start this relationship. >> saudi arabia strictly interprets islam and is said to be the most conservative muslim country. woman must carry themselves with head scarves and long coats when they go out. but visitors to the fair showed a keen interest in japanese

. >>> now to other markets in the asia pacific.outh korea's kospi trading higher by over 1/3 of a percent. 1,952. let's see what's going on in australia. the benchmark index is trading higher by .9%, right above that 5,000 mark. >>> now, japanese business to business prices in january were down compared to a year earlier. that marks a tenth straight month of declines. bank of japan officials say the corporate goods price index stood at 100.7 last month against a reference value of 100 set for 2010. the figure slipped 0.2% from the same month last year. the price of iron and steel tumbled by 8.9%. information and telecom equipment prices fell 6.6%. >>> the nuclear crisis in fukushima is still having an impact on japanese exporters. officials at the agriculture ministry say shipments of farm and fisheries products in 2012 fell for the second straight year. many nations continue to restrict food imports from japan because of the nuclear disaster. ministry officials say exporters shipped about $4.8 billion worth of produce, seafood, an

. >>> now, in other markets in the asia pacific, south korea's kospi is up by .9% above that 2,000 mark at the moment. let's see what's happening in australia. the benchmark index there is up by 1/3 of a percent at 5,100. >>> well, u.s. president barack obama is pressuring lawmakers to avoid automatic budget cuts that could take effect in ten days. >> if they can't get such a budget agreement done by next friday, the day these harmful cuts begin to take effect, then at minimum congress should pass a smaller package of spending cutsnd tax reforms that would prevent these harmful cuts. >> the cuts include defense spending. they were put off last december in debates over the so-called fiscal cliff. but congress remains divided. the democrats want to increase taxes on the wealthy, while republicans are against it. obama strongly criticized the republicans' unwillingness to compromise. he said it's wrong to make the middle class responsible for deficit reduction while wealthy individuals and corporations contrite nothing. bank of japan governor will step down in march. and market participant

with 80 million faithful, it's the largest catholic country in asia pacific region, considered the last bastion of catholicism. the church is even over matters of state. >> this is saddening. why did it and like the spin? why did it end this way? >> pope benedict, catholics had high expectations that he would've been the man to lead to the traditional and conservative catholic church into the 21st century. parts one is going to happen? he's the first head of the church and that is actually on technology, keeping in touch with people. now he will give it to someone else because he is too ill. it is shocking. >> a paypal resignation was also making headlines in south korea where 11% of the population is catholic. asia is one of the fastest- growing regions for catholicism. as much shock as there is, there's a slight hope that this could possibly be the time that a representative from asia to be elected to the papal seat. it would usher in a new era in catholicism. the church has not had a non westernport in the modern age -- non-western pope. many feel it would create a more global church

boeing's vice president for sales in asia pacific and india says the company will address compensation claims from the customers but only after the aircraft are back in service. >> a deal to create a new air giant is in the works this morning. sources say a merger between american airlines and usa airways will be worth $10 billion and will likely be announced next week after a year of talks. the "wall street journal" reports the two are hashing out the last details right now. the new carrier will retain the american airlines name and be based out of texas. american debut add new logo and paint on the jet as few weeks ago that some say was a sign that the deal was good to go. >> president obama will speak at the national prayer breakfast underway in washington, dc, right new. the president is scheduled to address matters of faith. these are live pictures from the prayer breakfast. the president has not begun speaking. the event is sponsored by the evangelical fellowship foundation held at the hilton international hotel and provides a venue for president obama to deliver the first major

violence, and the mental health association and the hukle berry assess sxment referal center and the asia pacific out reach and the police department and we played an active role in facilitating solutions to a video of policing issues. we gave presentations about our services, to a number of audiences. pe made presentation to the san francisco youth commission, the commission on status of women, the san francisco chapter of the national alliance on mental illness, nami. the height, youth summit and institute familiard and that just names a few. we participated in a roundtable sponsored by the human rights commission, and attended a roundtable was attended by community health workers, the district attorney and the police department. and the issue was the use of condoms as evidence of prostitution. we also met with a staff of be magic representing youth in the bay viewpoint as well as the national council on crime and delinquency. we participated in advocacy day and discussed constitutional policing with high school students and provided them know your rights of youth in san francisco brochure. we

sales dropped more than 2% in europe, while they tumbled almost 10% in the asia-pacific region. but the results were better here in the u.s. with a surprise jump of about 1%, thanks to mcdonald's popular dollar menu. as for mcdonald's shares, up slightly to about $95 a share. >> susie: just two days after the u.s. post office said it will stop saturday deliveries so it can save money. we get more details on how bad things are. the u.s. postal service today reported a loss of more than $1 billion for its first fiscal quarter. that's the october to december period and tom, it's usually the strongest time of year for the post office thanks to holiday cards and packages, but there was as sharp drop in mail volume and this just makes a case for congress to help fix the finances of the post office. >> tom: it looks like it could be a difficult saturday tomorrow on the east coast for all those mail cariers with the snowstorm coming through. in our market focus here, susie, on this friday night, stocks were able stocks crept higher even as many traders paid more attention to the weather