diane eastabrook looks at how the housing slump is rippling through the chicago area. >> reporter: for sale in upscale hinsdale, illinois, is this newly-built nantucket-style house. price tag: $1.6 million. >> in here is the kitchen. this is a white inset painted cabinet. >> reporter: steve subkoyack built the 3,600-square-foot home on spec, and he says it took roughly 175 people to do it. >> that goes from your architect, your engineer, demo, all the way through framers, electricians, plumbers, dry wall, all the way through final cleaning, window washers, everybody. >> reporter: the jobs created by the construction of this one home clearly illustrate why the stagnant housing industry is weighing so heavily on the rest of the u.s. economy. experts estimate one construction job can generate at least two more in other areas like landscaping and painting. and when construction tanks, it can take those other jobs with it. perhaps no company understands that better than mcilwee millwork. the nearly 50-year-old family- owned company makes frames for doors and windows. in 2006 before the hous

diane eastabrook, "nightly business report," hodgkins, illinois. >> tom: meanwhile in japan, good news for auto makers and suppliers there. the bank of japan says supply bottlenecks are easing faster than expected after the earthquake and tsunami disasters, known in japan as 3/11. the bank expects the economy will start to rebound this fall, but as lucy craft reports from tokyo, many analysts are still bearish about japan's prospects longer-term. >> reporter: while japan is experienced when it comes to bouncing back from natural disasters, the 3/11 catastrophe still weighs heavily on the economy. citizens are fearful about continued emissions from the crippled fukushima nuclear plant. >> ( translated ): we don't really know what's going on. the mass media doesn't know, and i don't think the government does, either. >> reporter: although background radiation has returned to normal levels in tokyo and throughout most of japan, the invisible radiation menace continues to depress consumption and taint the image of japanese products abroad. >> ( translated ): what's holding down spending no

diane eastabrook, "nightly business report," chicago. well, we're off to eye good start for the week, right, tom? i mean a lot more positive attitude in the markets. and there were more stocks in the green than in the red. >> tom: and certainly after seven down weeks in a row, maybe some relief ahead of the july 4th holiday coming up a week today here, susie. let's take a look at the monday markets with tonight's market focus. it was a strong day of stock buying led by financial and technology stocks. let's start with a big jump in microsoft. shares rallied 3.7%. big rally for a big stock. volume was heavier than usual. nice rally here. tomorrow, the software giant has scheduled an event to make an announcement regarding cloud computing. that's the practice of using internet-based applications, software and services. microsoft is expected to introduce a cloud-based version of its office suite of business software. there are rumors the company may also launch a tablet version of its windows operating system. that really helped boost share