shares of hitachi lost 3.6% in tokyo trade today, 293 japanese yen. still in japan, toyota continues to feel the industry downturn. for the april to june period, sales worldwide fell by more than 25% on year to 1.8 million units. toyota is ramping up its hybrid lineup. the company is launching a hybrid compact for under $16,000 in japan in 2011. toyota may produce the new hybrid not only in japan but also in france for sale in europe. toyota shares ended half a percent higher in tokyo today. bertha? >> one of the fed's biggest inflation hawks says the central bank may have to raise rates before too long to keep price pressures from getting out of hand. philly fed president charles plosser tells the "wall street journal" that the 1970s proved that the economy can have an inflation outbreak. he sees risks in at least 2010. plosser is also expressing reservations about president obama's financial reform plan saying it could leave the fed with an ill-defined role as bank regulator making it less effective at its main job of fighting inflation. the commodi

hitachi ended higher and the nikkei soared 1.9% higher. the kospi closing up 1.4%. in china, the market gets a lift from the country's first ipo in about a year. shares and toll road operator, sichuan expressway, more than doubled, prompting authorities to suspend the stocks several times. seeing sichuan express there. closing at 22,251. australia, closing up thanks to gains in commodity prices. over to you, bertha. >> a very busy week for economic data. nobz housing, consumer confidence and the first read on second quarter gdp. one report of note today. new home sales, which are forecast to rise just over 2% in june to an annual rate of 350,000. of course, the earnings parade matches on this week with about another 140 companies in the s&p 500 reporting results. today, we'll hear from dow component verizon before the opening bell, along with corning and honeywell. amgen reporting after the close. >> coming up on "worldwide exchange," shares in sichuan expressway, we've been talking about it, soar. is this another sign of a market bubble such. >> plus, fed chairman

likely go to westinghouse electric and the other to a joint venture between general electric and hitachi. that was the nikkei business report today. back to you, christine. >> kondo-san, thank you very much for that. >>> still to come, texas instruments beats forecasts in the second quarter, but remains weary on the economy. will it set the tone for other companies such as apple and yahoo! which are reporting today? businesses more efficiently, so we've brought in a team of experts to help. one suggestion is to make your shipping more efficient with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. call or go online for a free supply and up to $160 in offers from authorized postage vendors. shipping's a hassle! weighing every box... actually, with flat rate boxes you don't need to weigh anything under 70 pounds. if it fits, it ships for a low flat rate. ok, but i ship all over the country. you can ship anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. ship international, too. yes, but i ship hundreds of things, in all sizes. great, because flat rate boxes come in four sizes. call now and

shares of hitachi fell. the kospi was up 0.1%. airlines and banks were firmer today. in hong kong, investors continue to pile into property stocks sending the hang seng higher about nearly 1.8%. in shanghai, the composite finished flat. china state construction will make its debut tomorrow. elsewhere, low interest rates could prompt some to speculate the rba could be first to hike rates in this environment. joe, back to you. >> christine, thank you. to the u.s. markets, joining us is beth ann bovino, standard economist economist at standard & poor's. we saw the new home sales yesterday. we have seen the market up 40%, 45%, depending on what index you look at. i think it's on the cover of one of the pop news magazines -- >> "newsweek." >> "newsweek," the recession is over. in hindsight, looking back a year from now, when will we think the recession has ended? >> we have a ways to go. not far, though. we think sometime in the third quarter we will see a bottom out of the quarter -- of the recession. we think the recovery will start moving on into the fourth and on. we t