japan's version of election night from abc in australia. >> the democratic party of japan charged to victory. in a seismic shift in japanese politics, the center left opposition has broken the conservative stranglehold on power ending decades of virtual one-party rule. >> translator: the people are very angry with the conservative ruling party. i thank the people who supported us. we now need to fight and work hard. >> hungry for change, the japanese turned out in droves. 70% of eligible voters cast a ballot. >> we need change to break the current situation in japan, just like the united states, we need change. >> in tokyo, only heavy rains from a typhoon stopped more people from making it to a polling booth. within minutes of the poll's closing, it was clear that the opposition had swept to power in a landslide. for the prime minister taro aso, the election put an end to an 11-month reign flanked by verbal gaffes and public paralysis. >> i feel it was my fate to take this election loss. i accept it. >> japan was hit by the perfect economic and political storm. >> people suffering un

japan will not have a second chance. if they do not get their act together, then this country will -- the decline will be irreversible. i think they have a real sense of this is a major turning point in japanese history. this election is not about an unpopular prime minister. this is about the end of the postwar political toddy system in japan. it is the only time since the end of the second world war with any party has won a majority of seats in the lower house. something new is beginning today. >> are the expectations too high? we had an e-mail that said -- will it simply be too much for this new government? >> the public yesterday did not really see that they had a great deal of hope in the dpj. what they said is enough is enough. they want change. is time for the dpj teacher and a frustration into a positive force for change. they have good ideas. they want to have the more consumer driven economy. they want to reduce the powers of the bureaucrats. they want to give more autonomy to local governments so they can inno

and a fading japan. we've got an election coming up this weekend. we may see a changing government. we may also see a change in where japan sits in the world's economy. from number two to number three? >> yeah, this is a real seismic shiftment. it will probably take place at the end of this year. in the second quarter in year, japan's economy contracted by over 15%. this is the worst contraction of any rich economy in decades. and when that means is that china is going to overtake them faster within a couple of years, faster than was initially thought. this is and going to put china in the spotlight yet again. we already than they're the 800-pound gorilla in the region. now the number one trade partner for japan over the u.s. but also as a political partner in the region. i think you can so that with the u.s./china strategic dialogue in july which made japan very nervous. >> japan going to number three. for the united states, what is the real impact here? just a psychological thing? we get over it and --

>>> tonight on "wldfocus" -- >> an election d landslide in japan. the par that has ruled that country for a half a century is ou what will it mn for the united ates? >>> with casualties counting, the british prime mister visits afghanistan pledging to do more to save his fighting men from the ieds that are killing them. >>> tonight from lya, new pictes of the frd lockerbie bombernd new questions about whether a business deal prompd his lease. >>> and om south africa, another apoach in the fht against aids. can theseimple spts drills save chiren from a disease at kills huneds of thousands of their cntrymen every year? >>> made possie in part by the llowing funders -- r support ha also been provided b the per j. peterson foundatn. dedicated to pomoting fiscal responsibility and adessing keeconomic challens facing america's future. >>> good evening. i'm daljitdhaliwal. he may not exactly be the rack obama ofjapan, but the man expected to come the ountry's next prime minister is talki aboushaking things up a way th japan has rarely seen. hatoyami will b

japan play a more assertive role.they talk about a more equal relationship. they want to emphasize japan's ties with asia neighbors a little bit more, sort of balance out the relationship with the u.s. with relations with asia. so there's some differences. and i think we could see some tensions over some issues as particularly as the new government takes power. there is going to be a transition or new people in office whose who've never been there before. you about i don't see this as a threat to the alliance itself. >> even though the op ed piece that we mentioned, the new leader said these american style free market economies are what lead us to the problem we are in now. we need to distance ourselves from that. that didn't feel like a rebuke at all to the u.s. relationship to you. >> i've heard the same thinged in the united states. the mean the japanese critique of what they call market fundamental comes out of the financial crisis, that the system of high finance and sort of hot money capitalism has been discredi

and the new party, the democratic partyf japan supports the alliancemen but theylearly want to have japanplay a more assertive role. theyalk about a more equal relationship. they wantto emphasize japan's ti with asia neighbors a littleit more, sort of balanceut the relationshipith the u.s. wi relations with asia. so there's some differences. and i think we could se some tensis over some ssues as particully as the new vernment takes power. there is going to a transition or new people in office who whoe never been there before. you about i don'see this as a threat the alliance itself. >> en though the op ed piece that we menoned, the new leader said these american style free mket econies are what leads to the problem we are in now. we need distance ourselves om that. that didn't feel li a ebuke at all to the u.s. relatiship to you. >>'ve heard the same thinged in the united ates. the mean t japanese crique of what theyall market fundantal comes out of t financial crisis, that the system of high finance an sort of hot money capitalism has been discredited. i don't think that unique to the ja

eve chou, al jazra, nara, japan. >>there was some new sign today of warming relations between north and south kore the rth said tha it would free fourouth korean fishermen detained lastonth after their boat strayed into rth korean waters. beyond that, the two countries havegreed to ho a new round reions last month the firstreunions almost two years. > and there's this, south rea is promoting t idea o seing a joint group of scer fans to next year's world cupn south afca, where both countries will compete >>> turning to the middle eas a seni udi prince wo's had big hand in that country's aggressivefforts to fht rrorism was himself the target of a terrorist attac last night. a suicide bomber blewimselfp outside prince mohammed bin nayef's home. the prin was lightly wound and says that he's more determined than ever to fight rrorism in saudarabia. just last month, several hundre al qaedailitants were convicted inhat country's first known trials. four suspected members of th group. >>> let's take a deep look now at some o

they needed japan for economic and political reasons, and the united states also sought out japan as its ally as well against the forces of communism in asia. c-span: back in 1937, how many people lived in nanking? >> guest: before the bombings, before some of the evacuations,about a million people. c-span: and what was the relationship between china and japan back then? what--what was going on in the world and what was their relationship? >> guest: back in 1937? oh, things by that point had been tense. i mean, in the summer of 1937, japan had--had attacked shanghai. but this--i mean, th--this is the rea--they had--war was--had already broken out. c-span: but what was the reason? >> guest: well, it goes back a long a way, but i--the j--japanese had, actually, for hundreds of years, ambitions in china. it's--it's really--it's not something that--it was not something that just started in 1937. it--it was--it had--there is a long history of animosity here. c-span: what's the reason? >> guest: reason for? c-span: the animosity. >> guest: well, again, you know, we--i don't know if we have

>> well, japan is in a very tough position, isn't it? it's facing record levels of deflation after a long period of suffering from deflation and nothing that they've done seems to have worked. i think they need to start printing money, which is to say quantitative easing. i think they need to do so aggressively and get the money supply up into positive territory. numbers that they've done so far have not been successful in doing that. maybe a change in government will help to energize some of the policy initiatives. >> do you think the new government could be the linchpin that pressures the uk to do more to revive the economy? >> it's possible. i'm not so sure that the economic policies which have been suggested are radically different. but it may be that if, as seems likely, they get into power that they may very well start to be more aggressive about trying to get the economy going. i think you'll need more than just policy changes from the bank of japan, though. it will mean overall economic policy, opening the economy up to competiti

they have ruled japan for the last few decades. whatever the result, the names and faces will stay the same as our japan correspondent reports. it in japanese politics, the family name can be a valuable asset. >> katsuhito is trying to make a virtue of his humble origins. the lorry-driver's son has to struggle to become as well-known as his opponent. >> also running for office is shinjiro koizumi. in this town, he is a favorite son. his father is one of the most popular prime ministers in japan in recent times. as his seat is being passed down, he gets plenty of support. america has the kennedys and the bushes. but in few countries is it politics such a family affair as japan. the politicians go right to the top. [unintelligible] there seems to be some concern in japan about hereditary pot -- hereditary politicians. >> i went to overcome the criticism about hereditary politicians and overcome it to win. >> add this institute, they are trying to develop a new breed of leaders with plenty of old- fashioned japanese of virtues. studen

japan has a shrinking population. it's getting smaller every year, lou. >> of course, always, the demand on the health care system, right? >> right. >> well, it's fascinating. that is quite a life expectant cy. that's huge. >>. >> health care system is excellent but there is also a big lifestyle difference between western nations and the japanese. >> so they choose to be active and not fat. is that right? hope there's a little message there. kitty, thanks a lot. kitty pilgrim. >>> well, most other nations require a higher tax rate to pay for the health care systems. only one of the nine countries has a lower tax rate than the united states. the national personal income tax rate in this country is 35%. canada is, of course, 29%. in france, the rate is much higher. 40%. the 40% as well in japan, the highest tax rate there is 40% and they rate that at 50% and in switser. >> land, the tax rate is as high as 41 1/2%. the highest tax rate in germany, 45%. the netherlands, the rate for the dutch, 52%. in denmark, 59%. tomorr

he's risen to become japan' leading elderly porn aor. >> translar: in japan, there's a sense ofppressionn societ so i want to prove that elderly people can be aive and virous. that's why got involved in porn acting. >> rorter: despite a heart attack a few years o, the form travel agent has now arred in more than200 adt films. often with fele co-starsive decades hisjunior. eldey porn in japan is a billion-dollar industry. one whh director konos keen to cash in with his74-year-old superstud. >> tralator: mr. tokuda is very diffent from a dferent young n in his 20s or 30s. he has a lot of life expernce so that's why asked himto appear in my lms. >> reporter: another lg day of shooting is aout to begin, but it's timefor the script meeng. although thereoesn't seem to much a script, not in paper form yway. >> tranator: i think it perfectlyine to have an unusual person lik me in this industry. i want to be a role model for men my a and to encourage them. >>eporter: back at the over-60s rugby championship, his am is copping -- leadi a crge for the opposition is their 82-year-old. ut for this bri

hours late japan was in the eye of the storm. nearly 50,000 residents in western japan sought shelter in local schools and community centers from the rising floodwaters. the water rose in a moment, up to here, this resident says. japan is a mountainous country, and mudslides are a by-product of tropical storms like this one. this deadly combination of flooding and mudslides has paralyzed transportation lines in central and western japan, grounding airplanes, halting train lines, and forcing the closure of highways. in central japan, meteorological officials are warning citizens to brace for up to 10 inches of rain before the storm abates. lucy kraft, cbs news, tokyo. >>> just ahead on the morning news, bidding on ebay for new gm cars. >>> plus the popularity of the cash for clunkers program creates a run on vehicles. >>> first, katie couric has a fre view of tonight's "cbs evening news." >> less than 20% of children with autism learn to ride a bike, and it's even fewer for those who have down's syndrome. now one program is teachi

so, you know, my point is, yes, this is a big but -- if you play japan, i think japan is one big cyclical stock, if you like. so if you look at global recovery, the japan should be the place to be. and japan has lacked such a long time. >> how would you play it, ron? >> i largely agree, although i think that given the dtj coming to power would likely mean a party that's much more focused on promoting domestic demand and promoting sort of raising the -- what's in the pocket books of the typical japanese person, and we should be looking for domestic opportunities for consumption. >> ron mullencamp, is this an emerging economy, if you will, that you want to invest in? >> we have a different take on japan, they seem to be trying to do this through government spending, as opposed to giving the incentives to individuals to produce more and spend more on their own. >> so would a new party and party in power change that strategy? >> exactly. that's my question. >> so you want to know that question. ross, is that what's going to happen? >> a new party in power is actually going to significantly ch

>> in japan? >> i mean overall.d you compare this situation with the japan scenario. >> well, i think japan started from the same basic situation which is that they had a debt of 300% of gdp at the end of the 1980s, around 1990. in the u.s. and uk, it's probably worse than that. in japan, the debt was mainly in the corporate sector. in the anglo-saxon economies, it's the household sector carrying the majority of the debt. we're seeing the government handle it in different ways that they're trying to commercialize the debt. we as taxpayers are covering the costs of the banks'makers. but that's shifting the debt from one pocket to another, as it were, from the private sector to the taxpayer and there it has to be covered in another way. so the overall effects are going to be the same way. >> i think it's unfortunate that you -- >> i think we're going to have to leave it there. paul, you're leaving us, so thank you very much, the editor of index universe.eu. epin, you're saying with us. still to come after posting soli

he's risen to become japan's leading elderly porn actor. >> translator: in japan, there's a sense ofppression in society. so i want to prove that elderly people can be active and vigorous. that's why i got involved in porn acting. >> reporter: despite a heart attack a few years ago, the former travel agent has now starred in more than 200 adult films. often with female co-stars five decades his junior. elderly porn in japan is a billion-dollar industry. one which director kono is keen to cash in with his 74-year-old superstud. >> translator: mr. tokuda is very different from a different young man in his 20s or 30s. he has a lot of life experience so that's why i asked him to appear in my films. >> reporter: another long day of shooting is about to begin, but it's time for the script meeting. although there doesn't seem to be much a script, not in paper form anyway. >> translator: i think it's perfectly fine to have an unusual person like me in this industry. i want to be a role model for men my age and to encourage them. >> reporter: back at the over-60s rugby championship, his team

>>temporary workers but long lasting problems, japan is turning its back on permanent staff.>>now that we have long-time stagnation, and we are facing an aging population, we have to change that labor market. >>and breaking the back of bonus culture, how the downturn is forcing firms and staff to reassess remuneration. >>i think this is an emotive time. there is a lot of speculation and not enough facts when it comes to dealing with this issue >>hello and welcome. i'm raya abirached and this is world business, your weekly insight into the global business trends shaping our lives. this week we are looking back at some of the best stories of the past year. as global trade worsens china is braced for rising unemployment and social unrest. tocounter the downturn, beijing is encouraging the chinese to spend, in particular, the 700 million living in the vast hinterlands. this is a tall order, as these are china's poorest people. >>reporter: there's a saying in china, that ôif you want something done, then give something first >>here in changpo, southwest china's guizhou province, 1

this is the case in japan as well. that made some disappointment in the equity market today in japan. >> we'll have to leave it there. thank you very much for your time today. the managing director at capital markets. >>> let's move on to the middle east and get the latest there. what's the latest? >> christine, after what was -- seeing a positive run over two weeks at dubai financial, yesterday the market closed down 2%. the sell-off continues today. the market is down more than 3%. obviously taking its cue from global markets. european markets as well. we're seeing sell-off over the last couple of weeks. as i just mentioned, this up trend on thursday, last week, the market goes up 2.7% following an announcement that -- by the ruler of dubai which appointed and named the board of the support fund, in charge of allocating the funds from the $20 billion bond fund issued back in february. this committee will allocate the funds to government-relateded entities which has been the most affected by the economic downturn. als

i had small stent teaching english in japan, i promised myself i'd go back to japan to do it right. and to absorb the food culture and to stay there almost a year, it changed the way i viewed food. food didn't have to be good just for the nine dining level. that was one of the misconceptions that i had about food that you could only eat well like fine dining restaurants in new york, for instance. in japan from cheap restaurants to very fancy restaurants, everything was cooked with so much passion, very in gradient driven. everyone cared about food. >> charlie: they love food in japan and practice the art of cooking to a high level. >> it's amazing. people that travel japan need to take there longer than a week, need to go for three weeks and soak up tokyo and other cities, it's unique culture, there's a lot to learn. but particular about food. >> charlie: one of the things that's clear about you is that you have a passion for chefs, period. you want to see that chefs get their due and have an opportunity to spread out. if you have your drdruthers there would be a lot more restaurant

japan's benchmark nikkei added .5%. hong kong stocks rose .66%. >>> on wall street, the bulls are hoping to recharge the five month old rally that had stocks up 50% from their march lows. the dow jones industrial average starts the day off 32 points. the tech heavy nasdaq eased back 8. the >>> the federal reserve opens its two-day meeting on interest rates today. it's widely expected that ben bernanke will keep interest rates at a historic low. even though all signs are pointing to the recession ending, they know the economy is still in a fragile state. investors will be looking for any hints in the fed's policy statement about an exit strategy from the unprecedented steps it's taken to prop up the economy. >>> the steep drop in home values across the country is slowing, according to real estate website zillo.com, the value of homes fell by 12% in the second quarter from a year earlier. but the rate of decline slank for the first time since prices began to fall back in 2007. even so, rising foreclosures and a high level

bbc. >> hi. >> there seems to be some concern in japan about hereditary politicians.ink that might hurt your campaign? >> i am criticized every day for succeeding my father's seat. i want to overcome the criticism aimed at hereditary politicians and overcome it to win. >> at the matsushita institute they're trying to develop a new breed of leaders without family connections but with plenty of old-fashioned japanese virtues. students are given a taste of humble tasks. on their way, they hope to high office. some in japan blame what's perceived as ineffectual government on the large numbers of family dynasties in government. >> they have money. they have supporters. and they have a name value handed down from parents. it's not good for japan, because the dynamism of the political power is not strong as other countries. >> katsuhito is hoping he can win but he likens his campaign to an ant taking on an elephant. come election day, it will be up to the voters to decide. roland burke, bbc news, yokosuka. >> just briefly before we leave you, to italy where there is unbearab

in japan, the nikkei 225 is up 0.6%. the bank of japan kept rates steady and the kospi is up 0.2%. the bombay sensitive index in india is up 0.2%. nymex light sweet crude, this is how the picture is looking for oil. nymex light swede crude is way below the 72 highs we saw on friday, $70.89. and brent is down, trading at $73.70 a barrel. bertha, over to you. >> thanks very much, christine. joining us now for market strategy is art hogan, managing director. and julian pendock is with us. arty, i want to start with you. today everybody everyone will be focused on the fed. but let's start more widely. we've had a really nice move in july. the markets are at new highs for the year. is this kind of as good as it gets for a while? have we maybe stolen a little momentum from the fall? are we due for a pullback? >> you know, it's interesting. that's the $64,000 question. everyone wants to know how we got to where we are on news that was less bad. second quarter earnings season came in better than expected, but still not where we have not them to be. i think what we've effectively done is pr

unemployment figures are the highest in 16 years in japan. polls were suggesting the liberal democratic party faced defeat in sunday's election. this looks like a death blow. from tokyo, we have this report. >> after the worst recession in decades, it is difficult to ignore the signs of poverty. unemployment has been rising in japan. so have the numbers of the desperate. temporary workers have borne the brunt of the recession. the future looks bleak for this woman after she lost her job in february. she worked for a card company for six years. -- for a ca companyr 6 years. >-- for a car company for six years. >> we are the generation that is left behind. we are not appreciated now. >> it is hoped that this would bring this man to the prime minister's office. he promises to focus more on consumers and workers, rather than corporations. a backbench member of parliament for the governing party is working hard to defend his party. he seems to have plenty of local support, but he understands the problems weighing against his party. >> we want to m

japan's factories are coming back online. production is up, although the economy is running far below capacity. in japan, the prime minister -- the general election is to before the end of the month. he is trailing badly in opinion polls. >> i have been putting all my efforts into the economic recovery. as a result, we have begun to see the future of the economy. the gdp numbers show -- we have not reached the stage where the people of japan can feel the recovery. >> the stock market showed unease, but a sustainable recovery may be some way off. shares rose were not as strong as some had hoped. there is continued worry about the strength of the japanese yen. bbc news, tokyo. >> still to come for you -- and getting away from it all. first though -- north korea says they want to restart cross border tourism from south korea, raising hopes the tension between the two countries is easing. it is unclear whether the south will allow the tours to resume. the have more. >> tightly controlled and managed, this is tourism, north korean

japan is a big exporting country. until other countries get into good shape, they have nothing to sell. >> of course, last week we heard that france and germany was pulling out of the recession. >> ending a yearlong recession again. it all comes down to sustainability, all down to the united states of america. weighing on the market is the figures that we have on friday, saying the consumer sentiment was really depressed. a few signs that the housing market was starting to pick up again. what happens if oil suddenly raises up to $600 per barrel? we have an awful long way to go. good news but not as good as we wanted it to be. >> thank you very much. for more features on the economy and video blogs from our correspondent, go to our new web site, bbc.com, where you can get all of that. afghanistan, it is the last day of campaigning the head of the presidential action. the first time that it is being arranged by afghans themselves. voting takes place on thursday, the 20th of august. there are 50 presidential candidates i

for japan the first recession since the end of world war ii. for our country, worst recession really since the great depression. we don't know official if we are out of the woods yet, but what this means for the united states is that countries abroad that consume products made in japan from big companies like toyota or sony also consume products from our country. so the hope here will be as we see the markets open up tomorrow morning, will the same be true for demand for american products abroad even if our demand is still lagging. what about demand abroad? again, with when we look at this, we have to take it in context. we saw a lot of stimulus packages around the world. you see it in china where it's working. you saw a lot of government stimulus in different ways in japan, don, and that's obviously working, but is our stimulus package working? not even half the money so far has been spent and that's still a huge question, don. we'll see how the markets react early in the morning. >> everyone will be watching the markets tomorrow. let's hope i

for more on japan, nie ohmy finck. how much of the move do you think is because the fund loss record of $100 billion in the year that ended in march? are they under a lot of pressure to perform? >> the pension fund is one of the longest investments around. it must produce and payout pensions upon retirement. so i don't think year on year results are all that relevant. however, i think the allocations of assets have to be revisited. the gif is reducing their holding of debt. the euro/yielding japanese regional and filp debt and allocating these more towards what it calls market assets. unfortunately, a lot of these have gone to jgbs, which don't yield very much more. so there has to be an al cage out of the jgbs into foreign stocks and funds as well as japanese stocks. this announcement doesn't surprise me. it's one of the necessary diversifications in order to raise pension returns over the long-term. >> naomi, do we know how much allocation will be given to these emerging markets? >> as far as i'm aware, the gps does

but spending at home in japan remains weak. why is that?ges are either falling or stag nating and the jobless rate is rising. and it's a similar thing here. yes, the stock market here has rallied for months over the sense that things are stabilizing. but for the market to continue to rally, a lot of folks are telling me that you need to see improvement. where do you need to see improvement? with consumer spending. we've been hearing from some of the nation's biggest retailers. last week, walmart, which has done well in this recession, says the quarterly fell. today it's lower than we've seen. so last week, on friday, consumer confidence fell. we're the biggest consumers, about 20%. so it's a concern here and it's a concern overseas. and it's playing out. a lot of people are saying that we're right for a pull back. back to you. >> yes, indeed. all right. thank you so much. we appreciate it. >>> listen to this. it may seem like a hod day but it is not. the city is cutting back on services to help save money and shore up the ailing budget. pub

for japan the first recession since the end of world war ii. for our country, worst recession really since the great depression. we don't know official if we are out of the woods yet, but what this means for the united states is that countries abroad that consume products made in japan from big companies like toyota or sony also consume products from our country. so the hope here will be as we see the markets open up tomorrow morning, will the same be true for demand for american products abroad even if our demand is still lagging. what about demand abroad? again, with when we look at this, we have to take it in context. we saw a lot of stimulus packages around the world. you see it in china where it's working. you saw a lot of government stimulus in different ways in japan, don, and that's obviously working, but is our stimulus package working? not even half the money so far has been spent and that's still a huge question, don. we'll see how the markets react early in the morning. >> everyone will be watching the markets tomorrow. let's hope i

good session as we heard in japan in japan in particular today. nick kay off ten-month highs. one hour into their trading week taking profits from the ten-month highs we closed in at on friday. household goods, construction, weakest sectors at the moment.t. dollar is trying to retain most of its gains. lost a little bit of ground to the yen.n. still 97.40. ua dollar 141.89. bank of england's meeting last week and u.s. selling 85.33. nice to see you. >> hey, nice to see you, too. hope you had a good weekend. in asia, nice start to the week. duty optimism of the u.s. jobs on friday. fueling optimism. u.s. could lead the world into a recovery. that is providing support to the markets. ten-month high.. rise in machinery orders. first time in four months it's helping to support sentiment in this market. hope you had a good weekend. >> i did, christine. thanks very much. this is shaping up to be a very busy week. the fed starting ail two-day meeting tomorrow.w. we'll get lots of data on the consumer and number of retailers reportings earnings and a very nice read on where things are

because if it's fir time you've been japan y have no referenc the tea ceremonyn japan is cry. but you need to be willing to get in tothat special wld. beuse if not, you may think that that tea ceremony is something very superiopuffer laws -- superfluous and avant rde cooking is that. >> >> charlie: the word "molecular" mes up, you don't like it? >> don't like it. because when i heard the term molelar it's a very cold image. about cookg. i don't like the nam because it's really the ctrary tohat i want really tell the world. >>harlie: happy, warm, touchi, all the senses. wh word would you use to descbe the cuisine that you want to create? el bulli. finally h sees us clear. this is an importantoment because it took me 25 years to come with a name for my cooking. >> the cooking i do it'scalled el blli -- el bulli, no other names. >> charlie: that wo describes wh you do 123. yes. because this is theasy version because t difficult versn is way too difficult and complex to explain. >> charlie: you've also developesomething called "fast good." >> yes >> charlie: whais that? >> this wa

japan sells for 0.5 times sales. the u.s. sells for.75 times sales. japan sells for 1.3 times book. the u.s. sells for 2.0 times book. and lastly very importantly earnings in the united states are supposed to grow 33% next year. in japan the consensus is for 65% earnings growth in 2010. so we like japan and we would be adding here. >> thank you both. appreciate it very much. >> thanks. >> the "wall street journal" reports an overwhelming majority of investors in cerberus's hedge fund want out of that fund's core fund. this after cerberus tried to convince them to move assets to a new fund with lower rates but a longer asset lockup period. for more we're joined on the phone by vince farrel, the chief investment officer at soleil securities, also a cnbc contributor. vince, i was kind of stunned by the headline. 71% of investors in these two core funds want out. despite the offer of lower fees. what does that tell you? >> colossal failure of public relations, sue. not only a failure on the investment side, because they made such concentrated and huge bets in the auto sector. you might

it has been dominated by one- party for decades. -- it is time for change in japan. this will only be the second time the opposition has taken power in more than half of a century. >> iceland's parliament has agreed to pay more than $5 billion to britain and the netherlands to cover losses by the bank in iceland. they might need more help from the international monetary fund. the governor of the nigerian central bank has assured a meeting of finance years in london, the nigerian banking system is down. he told foreign investors that their money was safe. the latest figures here show the recession in the second quarter of this year was not as bad as predicted. there was manufacturing that went to 4.7%. there is still concerned about how sustained recovery will be. iran's president has stepped up pressure on the opposition leader. mahmoud ahmadinejad called for those responsible for the unrest that followed the elections to be punished. >> president ahmadinejad did not name the opposition leader specifically but he said the senior elements involved in the post-election

japan's prime minister says this is welcome news. with the general election before the end of the month, he is trailing badly in opinion polls. >> i have been putting all my efforts into the economic recovery. as a result, we are seeing light in the future of the economy. the gdp figures show an increase. we have not reached a point where the people of japan can feel the recovery. >> the stock market showed unease, and a sustainable recovery main be some way off though. the signs of strength were not as good as some had hoped. there are continued worries about the strength of the japanese yen, which undermined competitiveness abroad. >> good to have you with us on "bbc world news." stay with us if you can. the new afghan blue lake. first, north korea wants to reach out to south korea, raising hopes that the tension between the two countries is easing. it is unclear whether the south will allow the tours to resume. >> tightly controlled and managed, this is tourism and north korean-style. until they came to a stop last year, these fle

one election result that is not in doubt is in japan. the opposition democratic party has been swept to power. the country's next leader has begun putting his government together. she reports from tokyo on what is a landmark election result. >> a typhoon hit tokyo this morning. a brand new political order swept into power. a landslide victory, the biggest change to hit the country since the war. at this fish market you can piece together some of the reasons why. >> i have got high expectations for the future of my child. an aging, a shrinking population, the pledge of children's benefits attracted young families. she says that she will love another one, but even though they both work, they cannot afford it. they have their retirement to think about. he thinks that the result was right. he is a bit worried about the new government. he did not think they would win by so much, he expects a lot to change. it is now a two-party system. this is the moment in the early hours when victory was declared. no ticker tape, no crowds, no champagne. he

>> let me begin with japan. i'm beginning to understand a little bitetter japan's problem. japan had a bubble economy that was even a bigger bubble. they still haven't gotten back to the stock prices that they had before the crash, and they had of the real-estate crash and a stock-market crash. not surprisingly the banks wound up in bad shape. it is inevitable when you have a crash that bad. the japanese people were very convinced that it was inappropriate to bail out the banks. they thought it was morally wrong to bail out these guys who had made so much money, very similar in a w that a lot of people in the united states did. and at the same time -- so what happened is the bank's crippled on. they gave them a b of help, but they weren't able to either bring them back to live or to let them go. and that wenton for a very long time until they finally decided to let some of the banks go and have temporary nationalization andgo forward. i think we are getting ourselves in the same kind of paralysis. the amount of money that would be required to get the banks function is large

before the break, we heard from japan.this report earlier saying what works and what doesn't in cuba's clinics. >> is there a doctor here in cuba? >> reporter: when michael moore's film "sicko" came out in 2007, it put cuba's health care system under the microscope. pointed out that the poor island gave its people universal health care, something the united states doesn't do. critics charge that conditions in cuban hospitals are appalling and the cubans had to pay bribes to get decent care. how does health care work in cuba? it's not an easy question to answer. but there are some impressive statistics. according to the world health organization, cuba's life expectancy is 78 years, the same as chile and costa rica. in line with those of canada. this clinic a community outside havana is one of the country's newest and best equipped. it serves a population of some 15,000 people. the director tells us under one roof she has dentists, general practitioners, physical therapy, medicines and vaccines. >> this clinic is really a sy

isn't specific to a japan configuration or is it a u.s.-japan? >> know. the failure we had last year was driven by, one, the shifted magnificent job to do pollitt politically correct that was one of the best performance as we've seen today by any ship, u.s. or japan. number two, the missile flew all the way through in game perfectly. phenomenal all the way through. in the last few seconds of flight, the control system had a failure. and we lost it at the very interstate of flight, the last few seconds. so that wasn't anything to do with the ship, or any different. those rounds were the same. now, the process we went through in failure review, flight test better, failure to review process, it was exhausted between the government and industry. we brought in outside experts. we had a great panel, independent review team overseeing it. it was excruciatingly exhausti exhausting. out of that, we came up with what we thought was the center of the cost area. this flight in july was to verify that our processes were in place that we could fly with acceptable risk

ovary five minute every five minutes, there is a quake in japan. no reports from damages of this latest quake about 30 minutes ago. >> can i ask you one more? i don't mean to be mercenary and materialistic, is this shaking up the financial community and stock market open. >> the construction stocks monday have been gaining on the back of, not only the quake but a number of strong typhoons to hit the region not only in japan but taiwan as well and been a boost to some construction stocks. otherwise, fairly quiet on the financial front this is a traditional summer holidays where trading volume is expected to be fairly weak tomorrow. >> thank you very much from toky tokyo. >>> next up, bullish signs from the housing sector as toll brothers beats estimates. my goodness. diana talks exclusively with toll brothers ceo bob toll and joins us with details. >> hi, they reported their first jump in signed contracts in four years says price is no long their driving factor. home buyers are simply more seriou serious. >> we see a different market. we see market

despite its neon-lit cities, japan is relatively energy efficient. it's the second biggest economy, but only the fifth largest emitor of greenhouse gas. japan's government wants the country to be a world leader in environmentally friendly technology. as part of its strategy to try to beat the recession. but campaigners say consumers shouldn't think just buying a more efficient fridge will be enough to be truly green. >> of course energy efficiency is very important, and to buy energy efficient products is the first thing you can do. but still you have to think about the source of the electricity, how it's made. >> in the panasonic case, even the occurrence and lights are automatic to reduce power consumption. the company is betting that while people may want to live in a more environmentally friendly way, they won't be willing to give up the convenience of modern life. bbc news, tockio. -- tokyo. >> the latest headlines for you on bbc "world news." a lot of big, big political names stayed away, but iran's supreme leader has officially endorsed ahmadi