growingthe -- the kospi 4% in dollar terms.ecause of this anger and political tension as well as geopolitical tension, consumer confidence has been hit. take a listen to what one of my guest told me about what the markets will do, especially with consumer confidence getting hit. as a weak link, the consumer confidence was pretty weak but with the ruling today, that could dart to improve because it removes a lot of the uncertainty from the economy. the kospi target is a 2250 which is higher from where we are at right now. the thing is, what about protests today? pat toomey expected the constitution court to proceed today? shery: just an hour away, we are it acting a lengthy proceeding. remember, the last time we had this situation was with former president's impeachment case. we are expecting this time around to be a bit longer ranging from 40-50 minutes given the complexity of the case. out of eight judges, six have to uphold the national assembly motion to impeach the president to be ousted. if even three of them reject the mo

we have the nikkei and the kospi coming online.he nikkei 225 snapping a four-day drop, up 4/10 of 1%. a lot of focus given what is happening. toshiba has concerns about chip sales. asahi reporting it may not meet its earnings update by march 14. over on the kospi, up 1/10 of 1%, extending its gains for a fourth day. geopolitical risks for china and its neighbor to the north. 200 marginally lower. this cut the regulation with a proposed deal. a quick check of oil prices and the yen are playing out. that 114.42. this is cap, the dollar-yen, since the start of february. we see momentum gaining ground. of of $50. willould it go above, that make it interesting for markets, given that reflation story. likely toices are have strengthened again in february according to surveys. let's bring in our china correspondent, tom mackenzie, with the preview of the numbers do in the next hour. we saw those trading numbers yesterday. they were described as bizarre. can we see any disappointment here today? tom: let's not be fooled. these numbers may

kospi in south korea down half of 1%.icole: after stocks tumbled here in the states yesterday, much of the same in europe. the cac quarante in france also three quarters of 1%. same with the german dax, led lower by energy, materials, financials, technology, that's what we are seeing, worst day of the year yesterday falling for the fifth day in a row. s&p futures down 4. nasdaq hit an all-time high during trading yesterday. closed more than 100 points town to the downside. nicole: gold has been up, a safe haven has been up four sessions, 12.47 a troy ounce. lauren: dollar hit a four-month low yesterday and now you see the euro, uk pound and mexican peso weaker. nicole: that's why you see the yield lower here. 2.14% for the ten-year bond. lauren: seres is in doubt with filing with security and exchange commission sears holding that it faces substantial doubt about staying in business unless it can borrow more money and draw on cash from selling of its assets, sears is working to find ways to stay in business. in january se

look at the korean kospi up by over 1%. we have seen a lot of positive moves coming through in the stocks rising, analyst saying this is on speculation that the hedge fund elliott management has purchased a stake in hyundai motor. you are seeing hyundai motor rising to its highs level in a year, trading blames five times the 30 day average for this time of day, and other stocks in the group also doing incredibly well. wia is the strongest performer on the regional index. chinese stocks listed in hong kong continue to rally the hang seng index up by .3%, solid moves on the hong kong -- csi 300. news even coming back after that big drop we had coming through in its session yesterday. seeing a retreat coming through in these fields, on's tracking generally higher across the board. the motto these, not such a great day, copper continues its losses. we had that run of six sessions of gains, then copper retracted, down 2%. still the wind you look at the big picture, we are not seeing the declines in the materials space we were se

the copy rounding more than -- the kospi rounding more than a present.ne, it is korean the strongest level since october. one of the best-performing asian currencies this year. losing ground after touching a two-week high. followingly treasuries higher. this is the picture in asia. yousef: we are under two hours away from the opening of the emirates market at dubai and abu dhabi. just slightly to the downside. we are seeing interesting moves specifically when it comes to energy and financial, those weighed heavily on the index. bank pushing at we dobby stocks higher. awaiting the higher batch of earnings and companies from egypt. key asset classes that i'm watching free this morning across the board starting with what is happening with the turkish lira and the south african currency. we did see a note from jpmorgan chase. african stocks at an over grade rating. the futures call higher on s&p 500. shery: we do have a guest joining us in 30 minutes, the israel minister of national infrastructure, energy, and water your is also a member of the security cabi

stocks on the kospi leading the drop.ebruary reduce or prices, 4.2% yearly, up from january's revised reading of 3.7%. currencies, the korean won higher .2%. it did leave the of vance and emerging currencies last week with the indian rupee. currencies are taking advantage of the dollar pullback, especially those with high data to the dollar moves like a south korean won. the singaporean dollar slightly stronger against the greenback, seeing its february 28 support tested here. we do have the offshore yuan staying above the 6.88 handle for a second day. ramy: we are watching for some korean stocks at the open. how is it looking now? set to stocks, lotte stand trial, stocks opening 1.8% lower, halting a two day advance. we are focusing on related tillersonen what rex had to say about china's economic retaliation. amorepacific falling after rising on friday. merit securities forecasting its first-quarter operating profit at $8.8 billion for cathay pacific. more leaks around the new galaxy device, this time pricing in colors.

kospi closing 2/10 of 1% lower in asia.ed, 10hares points shy of the record hit on tuesday. -- the hunt same -- marginally lower. movers.ok at we had dairy shares being suspended from trading in hong kong. this after they plummeted to a record spiral. the chairman rejecting speculation its largest shareholder misused funds to tyson in a plot. reporting that the government held a meeting on thursday with 23 creditor banks to discuss the debt. this is china's biggest dairy firm operator. toshiba adding about 7.6% in tokyo. this after hedge funds see capital -- feeling optimism around its survival. matt: thank you. sophie kamaruddin in hong kong giving us an update. anna: leaders expected to vote on their health keller -- health care bill. pressure to act now. voteeaders approached the without knowing they have enough support to pass it. many as been viewed by a test of what a trump white house can actually get done in the legislature. doubts regarding that undermine the stock rally this week. joining us on set, charlie, head

i want to show you a little bit more in terms of what we have seen on the kospi.rough when we saw the constitutional court uphold the impeachment of president park on friday, the kospi rising two levels we have not seen since may 2015. today is the best gain on the korean equity markets since january 11, so a lot of movement coming through. the fundamentals show in terms of the valuation of korean stocks, there is a divergence between that and chinese stocks, but one market to continue watching. we did have a weaker effects of from the pboc for the yuan. reuters saying the pboc said there is no floor on the rate and fx reserves remain strong. is starting to speculate when we could see some levels, but we have seen that weaker fixed today. -- fix today. some diversions coming through, as we have been seeing from the offshore yuan. david: those two dance partners rarely jive in motion. the ousted korean leader park geun-hye has struck a defiant tone. she has moved out of her official residence, and her fall has left the country with a daunting and familiar task of r

taking a look at what is moving on the kospi.d to reports that china is curbing tourism to korea related to heighten tensions around the thaad missile system. on the other hand, we do have korean defense stocks on the rise. a closer look at what is moving in that space. as well as first , a weapons maker on the rise. in last time we saw a rise such a stock, it rose by a considerable amount when north korea launched a missile in february 2016. the south korean won earlier -- so easing-month the day losses. south korea's joint chief of staff says there is a low chance the missiles launched by north korea were icbms. we still don't have a confirmation regarding the categorization of those missiles. south korean officials saying they do not expect impact on markets from north korea's action. ,aking a look at the dollar-yen the broad dollar reaction to janet yellen's speech was more bearish than expected, so the dollar finding it hard to gain ground against the yen. bank of america said the pause in the dollar-yen rise is due to linge

matt: speaking of limbo, check out the kospi right now, just closing in south korea, down about 0.2%.bo as we talked about yesterday, just up, down, every day coming back to where it was the day before. right now trading

seoul's kospi is down. sydney's down 1.29%. china markets open in an hour and a half. we'll see the reactions. for now, nikkei down over 300 points. back to you. >> all right. thanks a lot. now some fresh data out of japan. officials at finance minister have just ri leased trade data. they say the february trade balance swung back into the black. imports were up 1.2% in yen terms. the figure was in positive territory for the second consecutive month. the value of all exports was so higher, up 11% from a year earlier. that's the third straight month of positive growth. >>> meat processors have been selling products that haven't met the country's health standards. they have been sold at home and abroad. authorities searched 21 companies last friday. managers are suspected of bribing officials to avoid inspections and selling sub standard meat and processed items. the investigators say they detained more than 30 people. authorities have closed the fak -- factories in question and the they' their goods have been removed. brazil is a major exporter of meat. for example, abo

when it comes to the markets though, i have to say, the kospi has been pretty resilient.n dollar terms, the cosby has risen more than 4% since the president's in peach motion kospi hass -- risen more than 4% since the president has impeachment motion was announced. spi will move higher from here because we think global demand is recovering. korea is a trade oriented economy. that depends on the global market and emerging markets. global demand is starting to pick up and korea next words are doing really good, actually, at this point. in february, we were up 20% year on year. y: it doesn't really matter is notident park is or impeached today after the ruling. my guess is telling me the ruling has happened. that has removed one factor of uncertainty. that means the market will be a bit more optimistic. betty: tell us about the constitutional court, who the judges are, and how the process is going to happen. ry: out of eight judges, six have to improve the motion for president park to be impeached. even if three of them reject it, president park would not be impeached, would

the kospi and sidney indexes are also trading higher. back to you. >> all right. we'll check base with you in a couple of hours. now, the japanese central bank, officials there say they are going to check whether loans to build rental housing has become excessive. officials are planning on-site inspections at lenders. construction of rentedal housing is growing fast on the back of low interest rates. it's also a way for wealthy people to reduce their inheritance tax payments. officials say they'll check if there's a growing risk of late payments on housing loans. also they want to find out if risk management policies are in place. they cite a situation with monthly rentsz heading lower. are april is the time for annual wage negotiations here in japan. the government has been telling corporate executives to raise salaries to give people more money to spends. many of the large companies have decided their pay hikes will be smaller. and small and medium size firms are also feeling the pinch. >> reporter: he's still undecided. he's president of an industrial robot man

we're seeing seoul's kospi trading higher. australian shares are also higher. those are up by .3 of a percent. >>> officials from japan's trade union said about 1,500 union representatives attended. the confederation leader called for union members to work together to maintain recent wage rises. >> translator: we should return to the idea that pay rises are standard. we should not stop the movement to raise base pay. >> unions are trying to narrow the gap in working conditions between staff on regular and non-regular contracts. managers at leading car and electronics manufacturers are cautious. they say the economic outlook is uncertain under the administration of u.s. president trump. management representatives are due to respond to union requests next week. >>> japanese are spending more of their household budgets on food. economists use a special gauge to track this trend and it's called the engel's coefficient. in japan it's been declining since world war ii. the trend has reversed in recent years as people's live styfestl change. we report on what's happen

seoul's kospi up slightly. australia is down. china markets will open in under half an hour. >>> nhk has learned that on the part -- operators of the tokyo stock exchange had signed with s saudi. they want the firm to list its shares on their exchange. the oil firm is looking to offer its stock abroad in addition the exchange in the saudi capit capital. the tse is an affiliate of the group. the japanese side is called to provide technical advice. exchanges in hong kong and singapore are vying for the opportunity filling competition among asian markets. >>> some people may think of farming as man's job. but our next report is about a farm in japan where all the workers are women. >> reporter: this greenhouse belongs to an agriculture firm in oita prefecture in southwestern japan. it specializes in hydroponiccally grown leaf lettuce. lettuce grown conventionally in soil is harvested twice a year, but in this farm computers monitor temperature and nutrient levels so the lettuce can be harvested every month. the firm began operating

sid -- cops kospi is trading flat. >> >> toshiba must fulfill it's responsibilities under the deal says southern company's president. it provides utilities for nine billion household across the southern part of the u.s. >> one of the things that we're so focused on, we have a long relationship not only with westinghouse but toshiba that were committed not only financially, operationally, but morally to work through these challenges. >> fanning says he wants the reactors ready to go in 2019 and 2020 as scheduled. he says the firms have signed agreements that covers job and construction costs for the next 30 days. he says toshiba will help work out the schedule and cost of the project. loids of london is in brussels so it can continue to offer insurance in europe. lloyd's is the largest market for speshltd insurance. they'll be able to underwrite risks from all of europe after the brexit. british prime minister teresa may notified the u.a.e. of britain's plan to leave. brussels are competing to lure companies to relocate their bases within the bloc. workers in japan are getting a chance t

seoul's kospi and sydney closed in the positive. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that. we'll touch base with you in a few hours time. >>> here is a question for you. when you want to buy a piece of cake, where do you go? in a cake shop. if you want ramen, where do you go? sometimes you still go into a cake shop. things aren't always what they appear to be. >> reporter: noodles and miso soup are sold next to cakes. he began making the look a likes five years ago to impress his customers. the noodles are made of chestnut cream. the soup is tea flavored jelly. >> translator: i wanted to surprise people. well, i wanted to have fun while making people laugh. >> i haven't triped any yet but i'm curious about the miso soup. i think i'll by ouy one. >> reporter: this mom could hardly wait to see her reaction. >>. >> translator: cool. looks like miso soup. yummy. is this almonds jelly? >> that's right. the soup is made from almond jelly and caramel >> translator: it's good. next time i'll buy for the whole family. >> reporter: to make it he used ingredients found in traditional

the kospi slipping there. 2091 the closing number snapping three days of gains. bank of japan officials have provided a look at on going renovations to their head office in tokyo. workers are bolstering the 120-year-old structure to give it better protection against major earthquakes the workers are layaying reinforced con kred foundations. they plan to put down rubber shock absorbers between each layer. they built it on concrete foundations. it was rare at the time. he requested thin bricks for the upper part of the building to make it lighter and more resistant to shake. the building survived the 1923 earthquake that caused widespread damage throughout the area. the government designated the structure as an important cultural property. they will cost $52 million and are expected to be complete around the middle of 2019. a zen style stone garden is being unveiled in manhattan's grand central station. it's similar to the famous stone garden of the temple. >> this is so beautiful. i hope that everyone comes to see this event enjoys this beautiful garden they creat

seoul's kospi rose. the shanghai composite rose for a second straight day as the national people's congress supported market sentiment. they will seek more innovation-driven development. the s&p in australia added .26%. the country's central bank kept its key interest rate. >>> the head of one of japan's largest department stores is to resign following poor sales report. onishi will step down at the end of this month. he had been trying to diversify the firm's business over the last five years. in one new venture, they teamed up with a tour agency. but overall, earnings have been dented by poor sales and a slow in the shopping spree by foreign tourists. the net is expected to fall by 50% from the previous year. they also plan to close some stores and reduce floor space. >>> japan's yamato transport has been suffering from a shortage of drivers due to the surge in online shopping. they are planning to raise rates across the board. they have not increased prices since 1990. the executives have yet to decid

seoul's kospi down. australia is higher by quarter of a percent. china will open in under half hour. >>> the carp are still jumping in koriyama city. proper is business is not. fishermen say sales have fallen steadily since the 2011 disaster. >> translator: fukushima carp used to be the best known and fetch the highst prices but now they are the cheapest. we won't be able to survive unless we get back the brand power we once had. >> reporter: city officials decided it was time to get outside help. they teamed up with businesses from around japan to promote the fresh water fish. >> so delicious. >> people will love them. >> reporter: one of the compa companies take part is a leading beer maker. they assemble a carp promotion team. it's developing dishes that go well with beer and supplying the recipes to restaurants in fukushima. >> translator: in this project, we're helping to reinvigorate carp farming while trying to raise our brand value. >> reporter: carp farms aren't the only breeding grounds for business in the region. doctors at this clinic a

so seoul's kospi is lower. many really waiting for the central bank moves not only from the fed but we have the bank of japan and the bank of england to announce policy measures as well. that's all for me. back to you. >> thanks a lot for keeping us up to date. the international monetary fund is urging major economies to avoid protectionism. that's a warning for donald trump. the officials began a two-day meeting on friday in germany. it will be the first meeting since trump took office in january. the report says a strong commitment to a rules oriented multilateral trading frame work maximizes the benefits from global integration and safeguards against risks. the trump administration has indicated it may ignore world trade organization decisions on trade disputes ifnot to be in w. the draft of a joint statement to be released after the g-20 talks. it doesn't include the phrase resist protectionism which was something that was included in a previous communique. attention is focused on whether they will put the

seoul's kospi is in the positive up a third of a percent. china markets open in an hour and a half. for now, i hand it back to you in the studio. >> sounds good. thanks a lot. >>> let's check our global economic calendar for this week. that's out of japan as well. on the same day, singapore officials give us the key inflation figure. that's the consumer price index for february and on friday we get the figures for u.s. durable goods. that's for the month of february. >>> at the start of each week we do have specialists to share their perspective on what's ahead. trade figures from japan put in the spotlight by u.s. president trump will be under special scrutiny. he says february results will show an increasing surplus. >> translator: imports will be the same level as lower clothing imports will set the level. the higher oil prices will begin to squeeze japan's trade surplus for march. >> he says there's no easy way to erase the trade surplus with the u.s., but he says imports of shale gas from america may help to hold it down. >> translator: as long as the u.s. economy stays on the

quick look at asia pacific markets before i go and seoul's kospi is trading higher. jittery moves expected ahead of the fed meeting. >> thanks for that >>> knock offs are glrowing around the world. we look at how authorities are fighting back. >> reporter: saudi arabia, one of the world's largest exporters of crude oil. large malls are filled with luxury brands. in local shopping areas imitation goods are easy to find. many made in china. the world customs organization says more knock offs are confiscated than in any other country. in 2015 alone, saudi custom officials seized 140 counterfeit items. fake products flow from saudi arabia and china and other countries. it's the united arab emirates that hold the key. connecting the middle east to asia, europe and africa. many fake products are shipped through the uae. that's because many of its airports and ports are registered as free zones and the use simplified customs procedures. take this port. it deals with 15 million containers a year. fake products pass through customs inside containers. customs authorities use s

kospi, 2164 the closing number.amsung electronics was higher after it announced the launch of a new galaxy smart phone. australia's s&p/asx200 index rose. energy and material related shares were among the winners as futureres and material prices climbed. >>> in south korea, samsung electronics has rolled out a new smart phone. the company is hoping to gaiain lost ground over batteries that overheated and caught fire. samsung unveiled its galaxy s8 at an event in new york. >> it has been a challllenging year for samsung. valuable lessons, hard decisions and important new beginnings. >> samsung's battery problems helped apple overtake it in the final quarter of last year works as a touch screen. the model has fingerprint and iris scanners as well as facial recognition that enables users to unlock their phones by looking at them. >>> supermarket operators in japan face big challenges, including steep price competition from other retailers and consumers are keeping a tight hold on their purse strings. many stores are lo

seoul's kospi is trading higher and australia up by 1.1%.h china's market will open in under half an hour. >>> u.s. officials have frozen the assets of certain investors for suspected insider trading. the move relates to a deal involving japanese i.t. giant soft bank. the scc officials say the unnamed investors made $3.6 million in profits through soft bank's takeover of fortress investment group of the u.s. softbank announced the deal after the new york stock exchange closed on february 14th. the scc alleges that the investors obtained information about the acquisition before it was made public, bought fortress shares and later sold them at higher prices. they plan to demand to return the profits and pay fines. >>> the head of taiwan's precision industry for hon hai says he's very interested in buying a majority stake in a semiconductor business that toshiba will spinoff. >> yes. i'm sure yous. >> you're serious? >> very serious. >> more than $20 billion? >> i don't know the details. this is not disclosure in this moment, but we are very se

seoul's kospi is down more than .9 of a percent but australia leading the losses this morning. it's trading down more than 1% at 5,716. china markets will open in under half an hour. >>> now, here in japan, this prefecture is famous for its seafood. one company has found a new way to enjoy this fish. >> this fish sauce is made from fermented yellow tail. it's used as a dressing in this restaurant and customers love it. unlike ordinary fish sauce it has a light aroma so it doesn't overpower the taste of food. the company that produces the sauce has been making soy sauce for more than 180 years. the executive was concerned about poor sales caused by changes in eating habits. >> translator: people love yellow tail. we thought, why not make it into a sauce. >> the new product is made from parts of the fish that are normally thrown away. the amino acids they contain produce a rich taste when fermented. >> translator: it's better to use these things rather than throw them away. >> 40% of a yellow tail's weight consists of fat. that makes the fish's flesh delicious but it also makes t

looking at what is going on the kospi .2% to the upside.ere we go. 56 93 on the asx 200 in sydney in the green. that is what we have at the moment. coming up, a look at what is going on with the federal reserve, janet yellen speaking later, investors looking for clues as to the future and the timing of future rate hikes and what she has to say as well. that is on the way. ♪ haidi: this is "bloomberg markets: asia." i am haidi lun in sydney. rishaad: i am rishaad salamat in hong kong. china's annual blowout bringing together executives and leaders of international organizations. this year's theme is globalization and free trade. our correspondent stephen engle is there for us. take it away. globalization and trade, the asian perspective is the official tied up here at the forum in china. china a major player, but also the u.k.. that's where i want to start with james mccormick, head of sovereign ratings at fitch ratings. thank you for joining us. the unfortunate terrorist attack overnight on top of the impending trigger of brexit, scotland r

kospi up to 2,081. the closing number there and the country's currency didn't reflect volatility. the shanghai composite ended in the positive. hong kong meanwhile tracked gains in shanghai on hopes for beijing's economic reform plans and sydney was also up supported by gains and resource companies. >>> china indicated the government will l be puttingng priority on jobs this year. >> translator: employment is an importantt issue in china with population of n nearly 1.4 billion. without a certain level of economic growth, it will be difficult to securure new jobs. >> the government aims to create morere than 1 11 million new jon urban areas this year. that's 1 milillion more new job than last year. another senior official with the commission talked about the plan to cut steel productioion c capy by about 50 million tons. he said this would put capacity at 80%. he said this is a standard level for market economy. pilots at japan airlines are preparing to fly a route they haven't taken in nearly four decades. they're launching a direct flight in april. the move comes 7 years after th

in seoul kospi finished at 2160. the rest of the country's former president park geun-hye seems to have little impact on the market. sydney was down half a percent. financials and property shares led the losses. >>> japan's finance minister has weighed in on the financial crisis at toshiba. he says managers at the electronics firm need to move fast to get their business back on track. toshiba's u.s. subsidiary, westinghouse, has filed for bankruptcy. it has to its losses from the subsidiary before moving on. he said it was inevitable that westinghouse would file for bankruptcy. >> translator: it's c car ta toshiba should rebuild its business in the long run, but it's difficult to see who is making the final decisions. >> aso added bringing everyone into discussions about the country's future cannot work in a crisis situation. westinghouse's filing for bankruptcy has cast a shadow over a couple of nuclear power plant projects currently under way in the united states. we take a look at what went wrong at the company. >

let's get a quick look at how the kospi and sydney exchanges are trading. china's markets open in an hour and a half. japan, a bit of a focus on toshiba. the share price continues to dominate. i'll have details on that later. back to you. >> all right. sounds good. speaking of toshiba, the company's restructuring efforts will soon be moving into high gear. the struggling japanese lex trongs maker is looking for buyers for its flash memory business, and wednesday is the deadline. the firm has set that for accepting bids. executives at sew sheba plan to turn the division into a separate company. they then want to sell a majority of its shares to secure needed funds. sources say several overseas companies are showing interest in buying the semiconductor business. these include u.s. precision device maker western digital. south korean semiconductor company sk hinex and tsmc, major electronics maker precision industry also among them. japanese industry minister hiroshike seko says they will screen foreign buyers due to national security concerns. they apparently

we do have the kospi coming online about .5% higher.eing a marginal drop for japanese shares. we are anticipating the fed meeting with the boj also set to hold its rate decision this week as well. given thatart really we saw u.s. stocks ending flat. as you noted, the dollar trading in a tight sheer, the bump in yields overnight. that is what we are looking at in the bond space. we do have the all the tenure rate as well as other yields across the curve tracking higher. let's take a closer look at what is moving on the nikkei 225. we do have what is going on in focus with toshiba, given that we are anticipating an earnings delay for that company. last week they were saying no worries, they will meet their target. take a look at what is moving in tokyo. energy leading the gain about 1.4%. telcos and property stocks leading the decline so far. energy very much in focus given that we have crude falling below one dollar a barrel. there is a question whether we will see opec extend its agreement into the second half of the year. we have kuwai

the kospi ended up .3%. 2, 097 there.property shares rose after the government said it will ease some restrictions on the real estate market. the overall picture in the region was mixed. the shanghai composite fell for a third day, side nye's s&p was up 0.6%. japanese business leaders have reacted to the decision by south korean judges to confirm president park's impeachment. the head of japan association of corporate executives said he is watching the unprecedented impeachment with interest. he said he hopes south korea will return to political stability quickly, so the two countries canan improve their security and e economic ties. the chairman of the japan business federation said he hopes the bilateral relationship will continue moving forward under whoever is the new president. he said the groroup will contin to promote exchange with south korea to achieve closer economic ties. >>> japanese government officials are closely watching a possible bankruptcy filing by toshiba's u.s. nuclear power plant unit. toshiba expec

the kospi climbed 2117, highest in two years. shanghai composite rose for the first time in four days with the sharpest one-day gain in three weeks. investors were cheered by comments by senior government officials for steady growth outlook this year. finishing number up .7, 3237 the closing number there. >>> officials in japan released a couple of pieces of economic data the first number is machinery orders. it shows managers at japanese companies have spent less on upgrading their facilities. the figure for january fell for the first tile in two months. government officials say this is partly due to a reversal from the previous month when there were large orders for components used in nuclear power facilities. officials at the cabinetet offi sayy orders down 3.2% in yen terms from december. figures include power which includes fluctuations. maintaining assessment of the economy saying it remains at a standstill. meanwhile companies continue to pay for more materials. index for prices on goods traded among businesses rose for a

seoul's kospi extended its rally for a third day, hitting its highest level in nearly two years. investors saw political uncertainty fade after the ouster of former president park. seoul's cospi ending up almost 0.8%. 2,133 the finishing number there. samsung electronics shares climbed to an a all-time high. >>> the operators of the tokyo stock exchange have agreed t to strengthen ties with saudi arabia's stock market. japanese officials are keen for the world's largest oil company to list its shares in tokyo. japanese officials will offer technical advice how a company could list its stocks in multiple exchanges under the terms. >> we see this as the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship that without a doubt opens up new prospects. >> saudi aramco planned to go public next year, and its market cacapitalizationon is estimated around $2 trillion. executives are looking to offer its shares abroad in addition to the exchange in the saudi capital. they are said to be reviewing markets in europe and the u.s. as well as japan. officials in hong kong and singapore have also la

seoul's kospi up 0.1%, australia down 0.1%. china markets will open in under half an hour. >>> a survey shows that fewer japanese companies are willing to expand in mexico because of concerns about u.s. president donald trump's trade policy. the survey was conducted shortly after the u.s. election. the japan external trade organization jetro surveyed 1,000 japanese firms operating overseas. 8.5% of them named mexico as a company which they plan to expand but that's down 2.4 points from the previous survey, among them manufacturers seem hesitant, 10% of them plan to expand in mexico which was down 4 points from before. jetro official cited the impact of president trump's plan to renegotiate nafta which involves the u.s., mexico and canada. >>> more japanese are warming up to wood burning stoves. some people like their romantic time. man has made a business out of that attraction he runs a firewood in his hometown of fukushima. he wants to help with the recovery from the 2011 disaster. >> reporter: five years ago, hiyoshe takada

seoul's kos kospi up a quarter of a percent, and the -- china markets open in an hour and a half. we'll see how the shanghai composite and hong kong hang seng, for example, react as well. so far now both of the broader topix ask in the nikkei after opening in the negative. a bit of a turnaround if they can hold that throughout the morning session. back to you. >> sounds good. thanks for that. >>> columbia was until recently racked by social unrest and violence, but a senior columbian trade official says the south american country has made great progress to restore civility since the long-running civil war ended last year, and now he is calling out to japanese investors. philippe is president of the government agency pro-columbia. he has been attending an investment seminar in tokyo organized by the japan external trade organization. he explained agriculture and tourism in western columbia once the crashes of insurgent groups. >> now we have throughout the country and many of the rural areas have the opportunity to receive foreign investment, to receive international tourists. >> a

let's also get a quick look at how asian markets are trading so far, seoul's kospi is up almost 1%, sydney is trading up 0.35%. china markets open in an hour and a half. ily' have more for you then. back to you, ai >> sounds good, rahmentin, thanks for keeping us up to date. we'll touch base with you in a few hours. >>> president trump has once again urged toyota to make more cars in america. trump made the personal appeal during a meeting with executives of major automakers. he said his administration is going to do, in his words, wonderful work, with the car manufacturers, but they have to help him out by providing jobs. the chief executive officer of toyota north america, jim lentz, says the company plans to make massive investments in the u.s. >> we got to build those new plants here though, jim, you know what i'm talking about, right? >> i understand. >> i know i gave you a hard time but you got to mr. them here, okay? >> reporter: trump asked representative of nissan how many of the vehicles the japanesemakers sold in the u.s. market are manufactured in the country. [ cheers and appl