is probably limited in dollar/yen from here. our forecast for the second quarter is 80s. so we're getting quite close to that and we think it's probably time to book some profits on yen trades at this point. >> a lot of u.s. investors have taken the trade early on this year to short the euro. obviously the euro has performed relatively well. for the first couple months of the year goldman sachs came out and said now is the time it's going to come down. do you agree with that? is. >> if you look at the euro it's important what specific cross you are looking at. euro/dollar had a dip and then we came back high. if you look at euro crosses, we've seen a very, very sharp down trend since the ltro was announced. if you look at it on a broad basis, the euro has been quite weak even the last couple of weeks. in terms of euro/dollar 1.25 is a reachable target for this year. we've been trading that since last week. we did get lucky getting short around 1.33 and we think 1.25 is realistic and that relates back to the capital flow analyses

>> the dollar/yen is interesting right now. st year we saw the japanese intervene to the tune of $120 billion. they did that, because of the concerns about the strength of the yen, effectively on world war ii highs. we're now within 1% of that level, and now we're looking to come in around 1.4% annualized. the yen is actually 2% stronger than the last time they intervened. we also heard the finance minister came out last night sfresing his concern about the strength of the yen. the japanese typically will give you verbal warning before actual intervention. >> we'll watch that. you want to buy the dollar then? >> i would buy the dollar yen. on the down side, you have the protection of potential intervention. if we're to see u.s. interest rates pop up to 2% in the ten-year, the correlation with the dollar/yen is strong. target around 78 in the next week or so. >> we'll be watching that. paul, thanks so much. >> anytime. thank you. >> paul richards joining us, ebs managing director. >> 14 minutes to go before the bell. the dow righ

dollar yen and euro yen levels here. currently, the yen falling to more than a three month low at one point. dollar yen, 78.39-41. it was trading around 77 this time yesterday. euro yen, 102.88-93, trading around 101 levels this time yesterday as well. >> ramin, what's coming up as far as economic data investors may be watching for? >> a lot to focus on for the new york region. there's going to be a manufacturing index known as empire state index, that's a key focus. also industrial production coming out later today in the u.s. as well. >> so i guess we'll see if the numbers tally with recent positive data coming out from the u.s. >> exactly. and again, a little bit of a balancing act for investors, ai, with continuing concerns over greece and eurozone economies, especially following moody's downgrade of some eurozone countries, including spain, portugal, and that may weigh a little on sentiment. as you said there, recent data out of the u.s. has been largely on the positive side. so a bit of a balancing act there for in

the yen rebounded a touch against the euro and dollar. 80.46-46 dollar yen, was trading 81 this time yesterday. euro yen 107.90-95. it was around 109 this time yesterday. the yen gaining a little back from the recent gains of the last two weeks. >> ramin, in addition to currency markets, the price of oil a big issue for japan as well. how is that playing into markets? >> exactly. japan imports a large% of oil from the persian gulf and with the embargo against iran, it is causing concern for the oil industry. a lot of trading houses and energy related stocks. we will keep track of that. and oil is traded in dollars, so the dollar yen currency trades will also be looked at oh we will keep track of key stocks in those sectors and the currency markets. >> with nearly all the nuclear reactors in japan remaining idle following the march 11 disaster, it is looking like japan is more dependent on overseas energy now. >> exactly. japan is one of the biggest oil importers. that also effected its trade deficit numbers a couple weeks ago. so a lot of focus there on what is happening in the oil i

over to you b bill. >>> market is coming back, maria. >>> two weeks ago paul richard said buy the dollar, yen, we hit that and more as you can see, what do do you take profits or keep this trade going here? and what about euro dollar right now, as it continues? paul richards will talk about how to trade it. bottom line you like the dollar. >> i do, bill. the dollar yen trade works, boj surprised us overnight, inflation at 1%, increases assets by 10 trillion yen. target inflation at 1%, average minus point 3%. for my money, i think they will tie and dollar yen trades above 80. >> hang on to that one. now what about the euro dollar situation, 1.30 as it continues to move lower because what is going on in athens and brussels, what is your trade there? >> i think greece is not going away, bill. look, the eu ministers are very frustrated with the politicians in agregreece. i think the market has greek fatigue. you have to be long the dollar. when you see uncertainty u.s. dollar is the place to be, you have a fed you can trust, economic growth, you have political stability. that is where i would wa

just looking at dollar yen, euro yen, yen is still weak there at the upper 79 yen level against the dollar, and 105. actually touched 106 yen at one point, euro yen. it backed off a touch. it is mid 105 levels. investors are a little cautious as to the full outcome of the greece second bailout package hammered out earlier this week. greece is coming up with elections in april, and some worries there about the new government also pulling through on the resolutions. ai? >> and about exporters, ramin, one thing that stood out in trade deficit numbers for japan the other day was a dip in exports to china. >> exactly. that's a little focus point as well. japan had the worst drop in exports to china since 2009, around 20% drop. also the follow through on that was drop in china's exports to eurozone countries because of the crisis going on there. a lot of japanese manufacturers selling to china were hurt because of that. a bit of a domino effect there, and that's what a lot of economists are focusing on now as well, apart from other things. >> so i guess a lot of focus if february numbers show re

dollar yen, 78.85-88. euro gaining against the dollar and yen on hopes of the deal going through for greece. ai? >> all right. olympus back in focus after former executives were arrested yesterday. >> yeah. that was obviously some big news and included in that was former president tsyoshi kikukawa who was involved in hiding losses $1.5 billion in the past 13 years, in what's become one of japan's biggest bookkeeping scandals. so we're going to keep track of that as well. >> how have the shares been trading? >> that's an interesting point. yesterday it was down 2%. however, the overall effect may be muted because a lot of the officials arrested had already resigned. olympus will have a new management team in place as of april. they're already making a lot of moves there. however, market players are saying you have to look at some of the related sex ters involved with olympus over that period. and that might be the next focus. so we'll keep track of developments in that sector as well. as i said, on monday a

the euro/yen at the 106 yen levels now and the dollar at the 80 yen levels. looking at the dollar yen rate, weaker by almost five yen since its peak in october last year when it was trading around 75 yen. that's going to help exporters as they calculate sales in the u.s. the euro gaining despite questions about greece's ability to go through with the latest austerity deal. it was trading around 97 yen in january, now it's at 106. ai? >> we'll be keeping track of oil markets, as you mention earlier, going higher recently. >> definitely. that's obviously a major focus for investors and some of the oil supply disruptions, which has caused volatility for both brent, the contract in europe, and west texas intermediate crude, which trades on nine mex and that has really been showing some volatility in a lot of the energy-related stocks as well, ai? >> ramin, let me get this straight, a weaker yen makes oil imports to japan more expensive? >> exactly. any energy products, especially oil, is going to add to some of the concerns. we already heard japanese oil companie

to see dollar/yen down and they intervene as well.wo currencies, especially the swiss, where you expect the swiss to 0 benefit interest safe haven flows like gold has. you don't want to fight the central bank if n that sort of scenario. i think the dollar benefits from that. this the euro problems of its own. you haven't seen anyone trying to weaken the euro but they're happy to see it go lower if it does. i think it helps the situation over there and desperately in need of help. there are rumors this morning of potential -- another downgrade of portugal. a lower euro alleviates the stresses in that region and i think they're not unhappy to see it go lower. the united states would still have the strong dollar policy. a weaker dollar will help as well but i think the dollar benefits because some of the other currencies are either, "a," in very bad shape fundamentally or, "b," aggressively trying to keep their currencies weak. >> and that's a great point. thank you for that. george will stay with us. coming up next on the show. we'll lo

the dollar yen and the euro yen at the bottom of the screen there at 100.37 to 42. speculation is building that greece and its private sector lenders are getting closer to a deal. participants are also waiting for the u.s. jobs data which is due out on friday. >> a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. now, in other news, the world's biggest social networking service, facebook is set to join the u.s. stock market in a bid to expand its business. facebook's total market value is expected to reach $100 billion, making it the largest initial public offering for an i.t. company. the company has more than 800 million active users worldwide. registered members create personal profiles and other users as friends and exchange information. a commission wednesday shows facebook intends to raise up to $5 billion. facebook has not yet announced the exact date or on what exchange it will sell its stock. >> the european commission has blocked the planned merger of the new york and frankfurt stock exchang

a weaker yen helped give a boost in tokyo. the dollarctually broke the 80 yen mark just briefly, which is the first time that has happened in about 6 1/2 months. that was good for exporters today. and chinese e-commerce site aliba ba's shares jumped 43% after it returned to trading on wednesday. shanghai indicated it was going to loosen property regulations of buying second homes in shanghai, which also boosted the market. now, in the u.s., the major indices were rather flat at tuesday's close. the dow ended the session 15 points higher at 12,966 after pushing through the 13,000 mark for the first time in almost four years in earlier trading. the nasdaq shed .1%, and the s&p 500 closed just one point higher. the markets do actually look set for gains at the open when trading gets under way on wednesday, about five hours from now, with futures from all three indices in powerful territory. that 13,000 mark breakthrough on the dow may have been the first since may of 2008, but enthusiasm over that debt deal in greece just wasn't quite enoug

the dollar/yen is changing at 80.02-04 yen currently whereas the euro/yen is at 107.01-06 yen. observers say the fall in long-term interest rates in the united states has prompted some dollar selling. here's a look at the latest long-term interest rates. the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond down nearly one basis point. >>> greek lawmakers passed a bill on debt reduction on thursday. this was the deal they made with private sector investors and paves the way for more debt restructuring in greece. earlier in the week, eurozone finance ministers decided to -- decided on an extra bailout of 130 billion euros for the country. they also agreed to ask private sector investors for a voluntary writedown on their greek debt holdings. the request will mean a loss of 53.5% on the amounts they invested. the bill was passed soon after the deliberations and includes a bond swap with bond holders. the greek government will get the formalities under way on friday and hopes to complete the swap by mid-march. now the focus is how many private sector investors will cooperate

another factor that could help us carry higher is that weaker yen against the dollar, and especially against the euro. let's look at the currency levels as well this monday morning. you can see there if you look at euro yen, 105.27-29, and the euro gaining on hopes that break through deal for a second bailout package for greece will go through. look at the dollar yen as well. 79.65-70, close to the 80 level. dollar climbed more than 2.5% against the yen since last week's surprise easing move by bank of japan, a move welcome by the japanese exporters, and based on currency levels we saw now, could see further gains for key japanese exporters today as well. ai? >> and ramin, economic growth still remains the main issue for many economists we have spoken to recently. >> exactly. despite the slightly weaker yen and other factors, economic growth really a major factor, and that's also for the eurozone countries, especially with greece with the possible bailout package going through. but a lot of economists arguing with the strict measures with the austerity package, it could be very diffic

let's look at some of the levels for the dollar yen and euro yen. currently at the mid 80 yen levels against the dollar, 108.46 against the euro. >> how has economic data played into markets this week? >> bit of a mixed picture. i'll go through that. we had durable goods orders falling 4%, then consumer confidence at 12 month high. a bit of a mixed picture, a lot of focus on ben bernanke. he is giving his testimony to congress about monetary policy later today. >> and the state of the economy and jobs playing heavily into the upcoming u.s. elections, too, i'm sure. >> definitely. you have politicians, economists and investors looking at every single economic data coming out of the u.s. a lot of focus on that. back to you. >> ramin, thanks for that update. ra memin mellegard from the tok stock exchange. >>> and a positive economic cater, industrial output rose 2%. they released a preliminary report this morning, said the increase is mainly due to rising auto and digital camera production. they forecast it will rise 1.7% in february and another 1.7% i

you can see there at the upper 79 yen levels against dollar yen, touching 80 yesterday. euro yen, 106.87-92. it touched 107 at one point, and that's really around ten yen higher than it was trading mid january when it was around 97, the euro yen. >> ramin, nikkei may be down a little bit on the day, but the bottom seems to be holding firm. can markets maintain this momentum and what's expected next week? >> that's a very good question. as you know, we did actually touch 9600 on the nikkei, so the high levels there coming for a little profit taking. we see if that momentum can carry through. a lot of economic data in the u.s. next week, crucial for manufacturing and housing and the jobs data, a week later, and a lot of analysts look to go see if that can carry through. >> a fine balance between economic fundamentaling angie oh political tensions. >> yes. due to the embargo against iran. it looks like economic data has been winning out so far. even central bank moves following the bank of japan move last week which helped the yen weaken to the levels you see now. we will ke

have a look at some of the curren levs this tuesday rnin you can see they're pretty steady there, dollar yen and euro yen, still showing a little yen strength. ai? >> ramin, what about the big meeting on trade issues in washington between japan and the u.s.? >> that revolves around the trans-pacific partnership, tpp, and japan's prime minister noda is making that one of his central issues, but may come into a lot of opposition from the opposition party and also from other sectors, both domestally and ihe.s. ai? >> and the opposition liberal democratic party is likely to raise concerns as well as the farming lobby in japan. >> some opposition from those fronts, but japan's prime minister noda is trying to push that forward, especially since south korea set up its own bilateral deal separately last year with the u.s. as well as europe, and that has helped or is likely to help boost auto and electronics sectors, which japan competes heavily with with south korea. we'll check that. e focus o toyota earnings today and guidance and outlook. back to you, ai. >> thanks for that. ramin mellegard from

you can see they're pretty steady there, dollar yen and euro yen, still showing a little yen strength. ai? >> ramin, what about the big meeting on trade issues in washington between japan and the u.s.? >> that revolves around the trans-pacific partnership, tpp, and japan's prime minister noda is making that one of his central issues, but may come into a lot of opposition from the opposition party and also from other sectors, both domestically and in the u.s. ai? >> and the opposition liberal democratic party is likely to raise concerns as well as the farming lobby in japan. >> some opposition from those fronts, but japan's prime minister noda is trying to push that forward, especially since south korea set up its own bilateral deal separately last year with the u.s. as well as europe, and that has helped or is likely to help boost auto and electronics sectors, which japan competes heavily with with south korea. we'll check on that. the focus on toyota earnings today and guidance and outlook. back to you, ai. >> thanks for that. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. and let's

let's have a look at the euro yen and dollar yen this monday morning. you can see 81.44-45 yen. compare that to 76 yen at the beginning of february. euro yen now, 109.63-69, euro yen was trading around 99 yen at the beginning of the month. you can see quite a move against the yen with the dollar and euro. let's have a look at the actual stock levels with nikkei and topix this monday morning. both indexes trading higher. we got positive momentum going. however, markets may be facing a little head winds on the back of rising oil prices due to geopolitical tensions. we may see pairing back as we head into a heavy week as economic date an u.s. is concerned. nikkei rose friday, ending above 9600. now above 9700. it was helped by recent weakening of the yen. that boosted exporters. also have seen gains in financials and domestic retail stocks and manufacturers. we will keep a close eye on those sectors as well. >> you mentioned it briefly, one major stumbling block seems to be the price of oil. it was also mentioned in the g 20 statement. rising prices weighed on the u.s. markets. >>

i want to show you yen/dollar. euro/yen, excuse me. so even weak on the yen there. and the pound as well 1.5707. as far as the bond markets are concerned, bunds back firmly below 2% at 1.92%. italy raising up to 6 billion euro's worth of btps. the 2014 will take a chunk of that, 4 billion. the yields have come down steadily across that auction so we'll keep our eyes on 20914 issue. it was 7.8%, the issue 4.8%. we should be looking 3.6%. this is where we currently stand on the two year in italy. 3% on the cash market for the auction yield will be important. what is worth noting ten-year btp down to 5.9%. out of the ukgilt today not a big reaction to the moody's announcement. yields at the moment 2.13%. they are off a little bit. we have key inflation data coming out in about 20 minutes. expect that to come down to 3.6% ahead of inflation report this week as well which gives us a key indicator whether we get more qe or not. so that's where we stand with the markets. also coming up in today's program, "sports illustrated" is unveiling its 2012 swimsuit issue cover star

you can see the dollar yen at the top of the page, euro yen, 100.44-49. again, we have seen further concerns over greece. we will see how it plays into the euro yen. >> ramin, we should still keep an eye out for key earnings reports due out, as well as economic data from asia. >> indeed. we have inflation data out of china. a lot of focus how that country is trying to reign inflation. in japan, earnings from toyota and nissan, again the focus there on the japanese auto industry, how it is trying to regain global market share following the disaster last year, and flooding in thailand. that's a big focus as well. >> and we can't forget about greece. >> exactly. later today, in fact, greek leaders decide whether they accept the new measures to help ease their debt burden for their country. we'll see how that plays into currency markets and key stock indexes globally. but for now, the nikkei having a positive start this monday, up over 100 points. back to you, ai. >> thanks a lot for that update. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> japanese pri

euro/yen is still stronger at 103.256789 we saw the dollar yen substantially up. people continue to see orders after the bank of japan's entry yes. as far as the bund markets are concerned, better than expected out of germany. actually not a contraction out of frachbls 10-year bund yields still above 2%. ten year italian bonds sewed off slightly. weaker than expected. minus 0.7%. in the quarter, 5.63%. gilt yields. coming up in a half hour, whether we might get more. brent, keep your eyes on this. 118.15. there are two pools on the oil marktd, of course. global slowdown and supply disruptions. supply disruptions winning out this morning as we look at sudan. we saw the sudan and also strikes in yemen. those are just adding into other political tensions in the middle easement christine. >> asian forces getting a lift today. yesterday they offered additional easing measures. that lifted sentiment. also commented coming from the pcob. nikkei, 2.63 high. topix, 2.1%. in the news today, comments from the central bank pledging to increase the country's holdings of europe

dollar/yen at 79.83 to 86. euro/dollar at 1.3230 to 3232. market analysts say that concerns about europe's debt crisis have receded, but they add that many investors are still cautious about buying euro. >>> the european union's 27 member nations have agreed to tighten oversight of national budgets in a bid to prevent the nation's debt crisis -- the region's debt crisis, that is, from escalating. the decision was made at an eu meeting on tuesday after another aid package to greece was approved by the eurozone countries. a new measure attempts to stop nations from breaching the limit on budget deficits of 3% of gross domestic product. it will also apply to countries receiving eu financial aid. the measure means that governments will be required to submit draft budgets to the eu before their parliaments approve them. the eu will screen the budget and can request revisions. the eu hopes to introduce the regulations in june after winning approval from the european parliament. another eu bailout package has saved greece from default for the time

dollar/yen holding pretty steady, ai? >> we're going to monitor the oil markets, any effects of the media report about the embargo against iran? >> definitely, we're going to keep track of that. you already mentioned wti crude oil prices rising about 1% and markets taking in the daily threats of oil supply disruptions and the geo-political risk. >> how about stocks in the energy sector? >> definitely, that's going to be a focus as a sector, but individually, we're going to be looking at the trading houses such as mitsubishi, but also specific oil companies such as shoa shell, we're going to track that. it traded higher yesterday, but we'll see how it trades throughout the session today. ai? >> thanks for that update from the tokyo stock exchange. the nikkei and topix lower. let's see where south korea's markets are trading. that is the latest in business for this hour, back to catherine. >> thanks very much. we go to bangkok to find out what's making headlines in the region. >> investigators are hunting for clues followin

dollar/yen 80.61. lower than the 81.62, nine-month high, sterling against the dollar around the 1.58 mark. we'll take a pause. still to come, markets bracing for that all-important ltro but are banks relying too much on cheap money and how will they wean themselves off once the crisis is over? >>> ecb governing member novotny said it's not necessary this time to pour more money into the temporary and permanent rescue facili facility. the bond yields discussed the upcoming ltro saying markets should not expect cheap long-term loans to become the norm at the ecb. so are ltros the correct medicine? we have been asking those who should be in the know. >> little change the picture but i am convinced in the banks. >> in the circumstances in which the banking system had funding problems, i think it was appropriate to provide this liquidity. however, the sevcentral bank fo the ecb and also for other major banks have to be prepared to absorb the excess liquidity at a certain point in time. when the economy pick

the euro/yen, the focus there, you can see they are holding steady actually, 102.10 to 16, dollar/yen holding steady as well. ai? >> ramin, here in japan yesterday, we had earnings numbers from nissan, up-beat numbers will. >> definitely. after the bell yesterday showing a net profit for the three months ending in december of last year and also saying that operating profit was up 3.6%, vehicle sales were up 11%. that compares to weaker profit for toyota and honda, which came out with earnings before, so a little bit of a positive there for nissan, ai? >> the fact of the yen and getting parts and components seem to have less of an impact on nissan. >> yeah, it's positioned itself a little better, if you might, than its rivals, toyota and honda, procuring components and parts from overseas suppliers and also holding back the effects of that stronger yen by importing goods to domestic markets in japan with a partnership from france. that playing into it as well. also, the flooding in thailand hitting honda and toyota, a little bit worse than nissan. >> all right, ramin, thanks a lot for

among the news surrounding the eurozone, the euro is lower against the dollar and yen. euro dollar at the middle row is currently at 1.3169 to 3171. euro yen is at 102.07 to 12. investors are selling the euro taking the cue from moody's. the downside is limited as greece's approval is keeping the market relatively calm. shared prices changed little on tuesday morning as investors keep a watchful eye on debt problems. they are on the sidelines before the finance minister meeting to discuss the greek bailout deal. the nikkei at 8,983. the topix is at 781. here is the long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the bench mark ten-year japanese bond. >>> barack obama has unveiled a fiscal plan for 2013 that includes cuts in military spending and higher taxes for the rich. that's because 2012 will likely leave the country with the second highest definite on record. -- deficit on record. >> recovery is speeding up. the last thing we can afford to do right now is go back to the policies that got us into the mess in the first place. the budget that we're releasing today is a

dollar/yen pulling back as well. we did hit 81.66. the yen is weaker, around 7% on the month before this morning's session. sterling/dollar steady 1.5866. as far as the bond market, tr treasury yields back below 2% 6789 we have the minutes last week suggesting there might be more qe. gilt falls down. ten-year btp below the 5.5%. ten-year bunds below 1.9%. we're keeping our eyes on brent. $125 a barrel. a lot of profit taking since is then. back down to 124 flat and thigh mex as well. strong gains in oil prices. still to come on today's program. nokia is launching six new hand sets including two windows mobile smart phones. but will it be able to fight off competition from the iphone and android devices? we'll be joined by the ceo first here on cnbc. [ female announcer ] want to spend less and retire with more? then don't get nickle and dimed by high cost investments and annoying account fees. at e-trade, our free easy-to-use online tools and experienced retirement specialists can help you build a personalized plan. and with our no annu

dollar/yen up to a 3 1/2 month high. 79.02. the yen has been weak across-the-board. it's been down against the us assy dollar and the retail sales for january out of the uk, remember, volumes has boosted sterling up against the dollar to $1.5816. gilt after that retail sales number has put more of a damper on expectations. gilt yield is up. tr treasuries just now over 2%. we were below it earlier on. ten-year btp 6.5%. that's he nudged higher. ten-year bund yield is where we stand. oil prices key. you heard david talking about he thinks the big shock, if there will be one, will be 0 out out middle east. brent trading firmer again today and real supply situation going on when you add up what's going on. nymex is up 102.84. christine? >>> ross, we'll talk about u.s. tech darling apple. now the company may post an unblemished reputation anywhere in the world but possibly china. tracey chang has been following the story and joins us now with more. tracey, what can you tell us? >>> that's right. doing business in china hasn't been exactly easy for apple. apple shares of th

the yen is down against the dollar and euro. the dollar is at 79.02 to 03 yen.he euro/yen is at 103.75 to 80. market players are buying back the euro that extra support for greece will be finalized on monday. that is when the finance ministers meet again. here is a look at the long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the ten-year japanese government bond. >>> the appointment of the next world bank president is thought to bring tension between china and the u.s. it is set to raise clout at the institution. >> robt zelig has been head of the bank since 2007. on wednesday, he expressed his intention to step down when his term expires in june. when the world bank has been set up, all of the presidents have been americans. this is a sign of the disapproval about this u.s. centered custom as the person in this key position can exert influence on the global economy. >>> china's deficit grew six-fold over the previous year. this was due to the natural disasters in eastern japan and the high yen, which pushed down exports from japan while imports from china soared.

right now the dollar is trading against the yen at 76.92-93. investors are selling the yen and buying back the dollar and euro. that's on speculation that greece and the eu will soon reach an agreement over an aid package. share prices are rising in tokyo pushing the key index closer to 9,000. investors are placing buy orders on export-related shares as the yen weakens against the dollar and euro. the nikkei a gain of half a percent so far. the broader topix also up by half a percent. an overnight gain on wall street also gave relief to investors. the dow jones advanced to its highest level in three years and eight months on tuesday. a look now at the long-term interest rates. higher by over one basis point. and let's also look at some other market figures. >> and that is the latest in business. back to catherine. >>> we're going to toss over to bangkok to find out the news. >> famous for their sandy beaches and clear blue seas, but there's trouble in paradise. the country's president resigned on tuesday following weeks of public protest that h

the dollar/yen up since is its october's peak. head of currency strategy at rbc joins us for more this morning. adam, let's kick off with the reserve requirement cut by china. certainly greece and commodity currencies, we presume there are more cuts to come. what happens to those rates? >> i think we'll continue to see outperformance of the general risk proxies not just on the china reserve requirements but also the further central bank liquidity, the risk of qe-3 from the ped, the low interest rate commitment, all of these things, i think, will continue to keep the market biased towards adding to risk going forward and that will be long aussie, long euro and the currency generally. >> is euro/dollar -- i mean, that always was with greater risk appetite people went long against the dollar. so far we've seen short covering. trading at a very tight range. >> it still does change. as much to global risk appetite as it does to the peripheral risk itself and one reason why i think it is for euro/dollar to squeeze higher from here. whet

dollar and the yen, emerging currencies are benefiting from the upward friend the euro? >> yes, i think it is generally seeing that the safe haven currencies within the asian zone do follow the euro at this time. i think what we're seeing is a short-term effect but i'm not so sure that it will be sustainable. >> thank you so much for your in"bloomberg insight" on the foreign markets. >> this agreement announced within the last hour or so. comes against a backdrop of lots of disconcern among the greek people there have been protests. very difficult protests in the streetsor athens almost for 18 months or so when greece initially got into trouble back in 2010. this is the second bailout package to be agreed by them. let's get a reaction from athens now. we can speak to a journalist. thank you very much for joifpk us. -- joining us. we just heard from the e.c.b. president mario draghi saying that it is a very good deal for greece. perhaps no surprise there, but what is your reading of it? >> we don't know what happened in there. we don't know what they finally agreed to. we

the government developed the system with about 12 billion yen or 150 million u.s. dollars. former cabinet secretary yukio edano said he found out about the system in a media report several days after the disaster. at the time, the plant's number two reactor was spewing radioactive materials. edano said bureaucrats told him later that they decided not to inform him about sedi because its calculations were not credible. they cited a lack of precise data on radiation. the panel charges in its report that speedi was used as a tool to assure local residents about the safety of nuclear power and to obtain their consent to build the plant. the report also says the system should have been used more effectively to reduce residents' exposure to radiation as much as possible. >>> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

the index thanks to a boost from the weaker yen which has remained above 80 to the greenback in dollar-yen trading the day. exporters were also void by the japanese government's pledge to boost the imf. the nikkei was up by more than .4%, shanghai up by more than .25. the main aussie benchmark was in negative territory. meanwhile over on all street u.s. stocks pulled back as investors expressed doubts of greece's latest bailout. a negative reading on business activity in the eurozone. here is how it looked by the close of wednesday. all in negative territory with the dow down about .2%. the nasdaq by more than .50%. the s&p 500 down by more than a third of 1%. looking ahead to the start of trade, in about 5 1/2 hours from now u.s. markets appear set for a higher open. all the futures are in positive territory by quite a bit. at least by .30%. charles? >>> pauline we had big u.s. tech earnings out after the close on wednesday on wall street. hewlett packard, fiscal first quarter profit fell 44%, fell 44% from previous year, $1.5 billion. despite that plunge that still beats the estimates fr

it is closing about at a level on the dollar/yen, just shy of $1.81, the best since the fourth of july. >> we want to talk more about inflation sentiment -- i think sharon epperson is is joining us from the nymex as well. sharon, you have to believe even with the consumer sentiment number we're getting right now as gasoline prices go higher, the next report probably won't be quite as high, yes? >> consumer confidence from the university of michigan, that is a lagging indicator. gas prices are up on a six-month lead on that report. and so we're likely to see, as we see gasoline prices moving toward that national average above $4 a gallon, we're likely see consumer confidence drop significant significantly. as people are getting ready for the holiday season, the consumer confidence will be at a real low. >> rick, where do you see in the fixed income arena the greatest sentiment of expectations for inflation? would it be in the inflation protected securities, the tips? they've been bidding those up so high, yields are so low right now, would you say that they are expecting high inflation

look at the last chart, stimulus liquefication, you can see what it did to the dollar versus the dollar/yennship, yen high, six months. and on this valentine's day, i say, roses are red, violets are blue, if you're not sitting at the government table, you're probably on the menu. back to you. >> thank you very much, rick. >>> we want to draw your attention to the headline at the bottom of your screen concerning yahoo! and maybe we can take a look at how the stock is performing right now because it is getting hit. as a matter of fact, this is a pretty dramatic chart. it is now down 5.5%. all things "d" says talks regarding sale with alibaba have broken off. let's talk about that and zynga which is set to post its first-quarter reports as a company after today's closing bell. company behind "words with friends" and "farmville," up 57% since mid january. don't you wish -- simon can't believe it. don't you wish you had that in your portfolio? in part, that gain is because it made a boatload of money for facebook last year and because zynga is considered a leader in social and mobile gaming, a p

it's the dollar/yen getting the most talk on the trading floors. right now as we trade 80/20, and that's off its best levels of the day, these are the best levels for the greenback against the yen going back to july. back to you. >> a lot of explorers out there who are relieved about that move. rick, don't go anywhere, because we want to debate whether or not inflation is really creeping back into the market. some bond investors do think so, because the sprend between the ten-year treasury and tips is at a six-month high. what does it mean for your bond portfolio? let's bring in carl lance with credit suisse, and rick santelli live from chicago. carl, thanks very much for joining in on the conversation. talk to us about what you're seeing in tips and what that tells us about how people are feeling with regard to inflation on the horizon. >> right, i think most investors are sang win about the inflation outlook. with the fed's commitment, giving a pretty strong hint it will be on hold for the next few years. the economy seems to be recovering. that

you can see the euro lost a little ground against the dollar and yen compared to late hours yesterday. you can see there 100.03-06. >> ramin, given the surge in commodities, some commodities late last year, japan's trading houses look to have come through in pretty good shape. >> indeed. we saw arise in commodity prices and the likes of mitsubishi corporation, mitt sue ian company, all posting record profits and that's due to the rise in commodity prices. we did see a jump in copper, gold, silver, and resources there. we did see a significant jump in profits for japanese trading houses. we will monitor how they trade today as well. >> strong gains there. but speaking of earnings, more to come from energy and industrials. >> definitely a bit of a focus today, ai. we hear from mitsui, mitsubishi, and inpex, and gs yuasa. more on the green side, they make batteries for electrical cars. we will keep track of that. a lot of earnings to go through today. but nikkei and topix slightly in the negative this friday. back to you. >> all right, thanks for that. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stoc

, remember yesterday the dollar/yen, the dollar again the yen yesterday was at a six-point high.eter boockvar, thank you for drawing my attention. it was a bit light, but here's what stood out. if you look at china, they have pretty much were a net seller of close to 32 billion in treasuries, and if you look at their overall holdings still large, 1.1 trillion, it's still the smallest position in treasuries they've had since the spring of 2010. back too you. >>> thank you very much rick santelli. along with these filings, we discovered that john paulson is taking an activist approach when it comes to hartford financial. >> the largest single shareholders, talking to them for some time. apparently talk wasn't enough to get them to consider spinning off the pnc business, so he's become an activist. not something you often see from him. he's not unfamily with this terrain, bum we don't see him that often -- >> there's some liquidation, property and casualty business apparently a clean book at hartford. people have been telling me it's worth 30 to $34, so you have a very clean divisio

look at the dollar-yen. think about the energy usage and that's the best level for the greenback there since july. mandy, back to you. >> ricky, thank you so much. the dow is holding above 13,000. oil and stocks are surging since the beginning of the year. but the rise in crude has outpaced stocks in recent days. can both continue to move higher at the same time? let's bring in our power player, chief investment strategist at russell investments. great to have you with us this friday, eric. when you consider the spikes in oil have in the past quite often ushered in recessions, why hasn't the rise in crude prices held back stocks more? >> well, i think they actually are putting a cap on where prices of stocks can go. our watch point -- we think if you can see oil maintain a level of over $120 a barrel for an extended period of time, say three months, you have to begin to recalculate your expectations for economic growth and therefore earnings and prices of stocks. >> do you see crude prices holding above $120

. >>> on the tokyo foreign exchange, the dollar gained against the yen to more than a three-month high on wednesday morning. this followed the central bank's decision on tuesday to take additional monetary easing measures here in japan. the u.s. dollar currently trading against the japanese yen at 78.55-58. the euro now stands against the yen at 103.03-08. sources say the boj's move to clearly set a 1% price target and apply additional monetary easing surprised market players. investors have been selling the yen since the announcement. >>> and here's a look at the latest long term interest rates. the yield on the benchmark 10 year japanese government bond is down by one basis point. >>> last year's floods in thailand are going to cost japan's top three non life insurers their third largest payout in history. ms&ad insurance group is expected to pay $3 billion. toki, marines holdings $1 president 4 billion. nksj holdings $1.3 billion. the total of $5.7 billion for the tai floods will be the third largest bayout ever following the disaster in march last march and typhoon in 1991. the hug

dollar/yen, euro/yen, a little lower. a reminder the euro is on track for the biggest fall in 11 years. and two-year biggest fall against the dollar and we keep the dollar a little bit firmer as well, christine. >> we saw some profit-taking today. the nikkei failed to hold on to the key 9800 level and pretty much flat. the ltro operation, keeping risk appetite buoyant across the region. the hang seng in greater china, the markets were indeed in focus. the hang seng is up 0.5% today. we had sharings of shanghai properties up. we'll talk more about this with tracy chong later. better than expected output data helping to lift it higher, 1.3%. the commodities government a lift. there was slower growth coming up for the december quarter. slower than expected. the pace more than expected. more than two-year. so that seems to be the story as the european crisis and the external factors weigh down on the indian market. let's talk more about china, of course. the losses in the china property plays a big drag. tracy chung has more o

the dollar is holding up against the euro and dollar/yen at 79.76. gold prices haven't been at the forefront but you can see up another $13. $1,739.40 an ounce. >>> ross westgate is standing by in london. ross, i guess european markets are down across the board. is this a sell on the news today? >> yeah. sell on the news and, also, of course we've had a really good run this year as well, scott. we closed up seven-month highs yesterday. markets like the xetra dax in germany up 18% for the year before the start of trade today so all those factors have to be put into consideration. but we are right now ahead of the u.s. open down of the low. advancers outpaced by decliners here by 8 to 1. the ftse 100 down about a third after percent. so far this year it's up nearly 7%. xetra a dax, talked about the yearly performance down. the cac down 3 three-quarters. key, though, perhaps has been what's been going on in the bond markets because you talked about the euro dollar. we got up to about a two-week high initially in reaction but as far as bond yields are co

yen/dollar a high. 7 79.80 is where we stand at the moment. sterling/dollar coming in better than expected. steady at 1.5851. gilt yields 2.24%. they have steadily climbed up over the last couple of weeks as there is a suspicion qe won't get extended. yield continue to come down. good t-bill auction from spain. yields down to 5%. and here in italy, look, that's key. portugal bond yields this morning did start rising first thing. take a look at the curb. while they're still up on the 30 and it ten year but the two-year yield has dropped. now 30.45%. whether we shielded portugal from contagion from greece. they started at seven-month highs have been negative. they are slim losses, the gains we had in germany, for example, which is up some 18% this year. christine? >> here in asia, ross, a little bit of a mix in reaction to the greek deal. people are starting to wonder if this will be a short-term fix and what will happen down the road. the shanghai composite is up 0.8% today. we had some buying momentum coming into this particular market. late s

dollar is currently at 79.71 to 74 yen whereas the euro is at 105.41 to 44 yen. maet playersreuying back the euro and dollar on expectations that greece will be able to avoid defaulting on its debts next month. a widening interest rate gap between japan and the u.s. is also weighing down on the yen. this comes after the japanese central bank last week decided on more measures to ease credit. share prices are showing little movement in tokyo this tuesday morning. the nikkei index is currently up one-fifth of a rcent. some investors are selling to lock in profits while others are buying as the yen remains stable for now. many investors have taken to the sidelines awaiting the outcome of the eurozone finance ministers meeting. the tokyo market is lacking direction as the new york exchange was closed overnight for a national holiday. nvr and here's a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. >>> china says it's ready to help europe tackle its credit crisis but it has yet to reveal how or when. st

the yen weakened as much as 0.6% to hit an intraday low of this, of more than 78 yen to the dollar. a weaker yen, of course, is better for japan's exporters. it's trading at 79.72 to the dollar. as for the nikkei, it reversed out of the morning's red. it had originally opened down. that was after ratings agency moody's cut its credit rating on spain, ireland as well as portugal but the boj investment -- excuse me, announcement, changed all that. you con see when the announcement came at 1:00 p.m. local time. the index finished up more than 0.5%. it turned out to be the biggest gain on the down day of trading in the asia-pacific. nina? >> it does indeed. ramy inocencio, thanks for that. asia business analyst in hong kong. >>> what better wa i -- way to spend valentine's day than with your trading partners in china's case? stay with us here on cnn. >>> welcome back to the show. i'm nina dos santos in cnn london. let's take another look at how the european stock markets are faring. we're about 90 minutes into the trading session today. as you can see here, we are seeing a sea of red. th