chief executive officer edward whitaker will step down on september 1st and board member dan ackerson will take over. >>> the yen marked a 15-year high against the dollar this week. a major japanese commercial bank estimates if the dollar stands at 85 yen for a year, it will lead to the country's real gross domestic product shrinking by 0.4%. a bank of tokyo mitsubishi ufj survey says exports will decrease by 1.3% and capital investment will contract by 0.7%, compared to figures calculated at the level of 90 yen to the dollar. the bank of japan says most japanese manufacturers are projecting business forecasts on the basis of 90 yen to the dollar. the central bank is expecting the current fiscal year's gdp growth to be between 2% and 3%. however, the estimate also says that if the current level of foreign exchange rates holds firm, shrinking exports will lead to a 4% reduction in overall corporate profits. an official from the bank that conducted the survey says this will likely have an adverse effect on the japanese economy, which is now on a path to recovery based on exports. >>> 25

ceo edward whitaker, jr., out, board member daniel akerson in, at a crucial moment, just as the companyrepares to sell its stock to the public. the rest of the economy is also on a bumpy ride. on wall street, the dow was down 59 points, failing to recover after yesterday's precipitous drop. new jobless figures showed the number of workers filing claims for unemployment rose to the highest level in almost six months. 484,000 claims last week. on the front lines in atlanta, this job placement specialist says it's the worst job market she's seen in 30 years. >> the last two years have been devastating. however, we are definitely seeing a surge in hiring. we are definitely seeing unemployed candidates return to the workforce. >> reporter: the economy is growing, but now much more slowly than even nine months ago, a trend so worrisome the federal reserve this week downgraded its estimate of the strength of the recovery. >> the rate of economic growth right now is definitely slower than many people were expecting six months ago. >> reporter: the signs of uncertainty are everywhere. mortgage r