the nikkei has been gaining considerably. let's see if it can close above 10 tour 10,000 for a second day in a row. >> that was ramin from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> chinese premier wen jiabao said they will let its currency float more freely against the u.s. dollar. >> translator: we're going to continue to gear up for currency reform. that includes expanding the daily fluxuation range. >> will be allowed to fluctuate more than half a percent a day. but a stronger is unlikely because he says it's close to what he considers a suitable level since 2005 since it was first allowed to go higher. wen also said to control real estate prices as the market is still overheated. >>> japanese automaker honda says it will resume production in thailand. honda is the last japanese automaker to return to normal operations in the country. honda says it will resume output on march 26th. the automaker suspended operations last october after its largest production hub in southeast asia was flooded in over two meters of water. the plant has a

seen, asian indexes and nikkei down two days in a row, nikkei might be down three days in a row judging by opening levels. the main concern on global markets is greece not being able to follow through on the latest debt deal. investors are taking a little money off the table until there are clearer sides. u.s. jobs data is also due out friday. may give investors an excuse to take a step back. domestically, looking at key sectors here. the auto sector, we had sales figures showing hybrid car sales increased for february for the big three manufacturers and toyota's prius showing a rise of almost 88%. so a lot of interest for hybrid cars. also with sanctions of oil imports against iran, the tanker shipping sector in japan also feeling a little heat there as actual insurance premiums have skyrocketed. we'll keep track of tankers and the shipping sector as well. let's look at the currency levels. that tells a bit of a story with the yen strengthening against both dollar and euro. you can see there against the dollar 80.65-66. euro 105.76-81. it was 109 a few days ago. overseas, yen gained gr

the nikkei 225 just opened. ai uchida from the business team is here with a check on the business markets. ai. >> as you mentioned, investors not completely convinced yet that the drama in the eurozone as a whole is over yet. that in addition to concerns about slower growth in china actually weighed down u.s. markets overnight. so let's see how stocks here are trading as a reaction. for that we're going to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning to you. a bit of a pullback in stocks. how is the nikkei doing this friday? >> very good morning to you, ai. let's take a look at opening levels for the nikkei and topix this friday morning. can you see a very clear-cut picture actually, and we can see thereto nikkei down over 100 points, but it's still holding above the 10,000 key level, so let's see if it can hold out there and close out the week there, but still a pretty negative start there. the topix down nine points. the nikkei average has actually been one of the outperforming indexes so far this

the nikkei and the topix just lower. the nikkei closing higher just two days in a row now. especially after the stress tests of american banks this week. a note of caution coming from asian indexes which we noted yesterday. caution about the path of growth in china and also a bit of a leadership change there causing a bit of concern in markets. let's turn to currency this friday morning during tokyo stock trading hours. the dollar has backed off a bit from the 11-month high of the yen yesterday. with expectations of recovery, the dollar will keep gaining. the wuan will move exporters to that with honda gaining with the south korea markets. ai. >> i hear there are key events for consumers in tokyo today. >> reporter: a couple of big events. un u uniqlo will open in ginza. it is opening stronger with the domestic demand and consumer spending following the march 11th disaster last year. quite a lot of interest on uniqlo. apple will sell its new ipad as of today also in the ginza district. that is a focus as well for users of that product. also, a lot of japanese companies make

but for now a bit of a negative start for the nikkei, down over 100 points. back to you. >> ramin thanks a lot for that update, ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange opinion. >>> the organization for economic cooperation and development urged eurozone nations to boost their rescue funds to dispel concerns about the region's credit crisis. the warning indicates the risk of a global spillover from the region's debt crisis remains. >> progress is under way but we're still not out of the woods. the mother of all firewalls should be in place strong enough, broad enough, deep enough, tall enough, all sorts of, you know, big. >> korea says the zone must double its so-called stability funds to at least 1 trillion euros, about $1.3 trillion to help debt strapped nations. eurozone financial ministers are to discuss boosting the funds in denmark later this week. here's a look at other market figures. and that is the latest in business. it is back to catherine now. >> thanks very much, ai. the japanese government will extend its sanctions on north korea for one m

the key factor gains in the nikkei so far has been the weaker yen. that helped propel the nikkei higher in the last few weeks, approaching 10,000. we have to wait and see for that one. let's switch to currencies as well. as i mention, the weaker yen playing a big part in gains we've seen in stocks, and 81.61-66 dollar yen, and euro yen, 107.70-74. weaker yen may boost oversees earnings in key sectors like autos, construction machinery, electronics, high tech products as well as we come to the next earnings reporting season here in japan, and also we have been seeing some of the reversal effects of the stronger yen, which we saw last year, and of course, a lot of the effects from the march 11th disaster. >> a big focus as we approach the earthquake and tsunami as well as fallout from the plants. >> definitely. a lot of investors are looking for a faster recovery in a lot of key sectors like the exporting sector for japan because of the weakening trend that we've seen in the yen, and also signs for domestic manufacturing, farming and also construction

the nikkei did trade above 10,000 yesterday and on friday. we still have not managed to close above that level. we are getting close, but let's see if we can do that today. oil and gas and construction and machinery and stocks traded lower yesterday on the back of the trade deficit out of china. investors trying to gauge the impact of slower growth for the world's second biggest economy. we are keeping track of those today. eurozone debt issues not too far away as you touched on that earlier as well, ai. of course, that has led to some further gains for the euro. let's have a look at some of the currency levels as well. you can see the dollar/yen. 82.33. and the euro/yen 108.43. ai. >> ramin, you mentioned the bank of japan meeting that is wrapping up today. what is expected there? >> reporter: the bank of japan meeting to be wrapped up today. a lot of economists and market watchers are keen to see if the bank of japan will enhance its monetary policy stance or asset-buying program. let's not forget it increased that last month and set a targ

marginally higher for the nikkei and topix. one concern of course for the markets is what you were talking about earlier about oil imports from iran. and also within the deficit -- within the trade numbers, the increase in energy imports here in japan still remains. that's a bit of a dilemmarom japan as it's caught up in the exemption from the sanctions which is one of the conditions there of lowering its imports from iran. then it gives the oil wholesalers a bit of a headache. by getting energy products from elsewhere in the gulf region. and then all the insurance and re-insurance questions come up as you mentioned earlier as well. so we're going to keep watch of that sector there. and specifically stocks like cosmo oil and nippon oil and other energy-related stocks. that's going to be a big story. the currency markets, as i said we're seeing a bit of shift into the yen. although not a massive move after the housing data in the u.s. and some growth concerns in china. and also following the trade surplus numbers we just had bef

we did see the nikkei up 10.5% for the month of february. boosted largely by the weaker yen, which helped exporters and sectors such as electrical machinery and i.t. and industry stocks as well. there were a couple of downsides, japan's largest memory chip maker, which filed for bankruptcy late in february is going to be d-listed at the end of this month. shares were down 97% yesterday. now, looking at currencies this thursday morning, again, we can see there the weaker yen does continue against the dollar and the euro, 81.20 to 24 dollar/yen, 108.26 to 28 against the euro. ai? >> key data later on today from china. >> definitely, that's going to be a major focus, we got the pmi out of china, which is going to be both from the government, the official release, and also for the private sector will be coming out with its own pmi index. that will give another insight into the world's second biggest economy as well. ai? >> and ramin, i wanted to ask you, ben bernanke yesterday seemed to suggest the recent data we've been seeing shows a better tr

the weaker yen has played into the gains for the nikkei. also on the back of the move from bank of japan last month if you remember, to ease the monitor policy, ease the asset buying program and this week we heard from the fed that it may not buy bonds and that's also helped the dollar again against the yen. economic data does show the u.s. economy improving slowly. let's have a look at the currency levels this friday morning. you can see the dollar yen does remain strong there. 81.14-16. the yen a bit weaker. euro yen, 108.06-08. again, the yen does remain in that weaker trend. >> and what about the price volatility in oil? >> definitely we've seen that the past couple weeks. wti shot up to over $110 a barrel at one point on the back of a report about a fire on a saudi oil pipeline. however, then it reverted a little back to present, 108.96 as you can see on the screens. japan of course imports a large percentage of oil from saudi arabia, and the persian gulf, so it is very susceptible to the current concerns over oil supply disruptions. a

the nikkei extending up by another .75%. it's really on a tear at the moment, the nikkei, boosted by the ever wakening yen, which lists the japanese exporters. i'll show you the yen in a moment. ad for the other numbers, hong kong up after closing in the red yesterday. property stocks continuing to get hit in hong kong, but that was offset by gains in the banks, particularly the hsbc. property stocks getting hit, lingering concerns over chinese premier wen jiabao's statement that real estate prices remain too high and that restrictions will remain in place. take a look at that, the composite down after closing down 2% yesterday, another .75% today. there is a real concern about exactly how long the chinese authorities are going to maintain that choke hold on the property market. okay, i told you about the japanese exporters. it's been a long time since the japanese exporters have had actually something to smile about. natural disasters at home, plus the floods in thailand put a squeeze on supply last year, and the european d

we broken above the 10,000 on the nikkei for three days in a row. let's see if we can close above that today. it is looking good for that. the nikkei weakened a bit yesterday following the bank of japan move that it left rates unchanged and did not add to the asset buying program. the government officials have said they are keen to keep that 1% inflation goal and also keeping a very close eye on the yen which has been weakening in the last couple of months. let's have a look at currencies and the dollar/yen. it rose to the highest level breaking above 83. it is to 83.04 right now. the euro holding strong following more positive news that we have seen so far this week concerning greece. ai. >> the weaken yen is good news. there is still some concerns about growth in china following the trade deficit a few days ago. >> reporter: definitely. that caused a ripple of concern, if you will, in global markets as japan ships more goods to china than any other country, of course. japan is sensitive to any economic data coming out of china. some of thcurrency

domestic firms that trade on the nikkei jazz daq, has been popular there.t hit closing level which it hasn't touched since the premarch 11th disaster last year. a lot of market indexes trading higher. also, domestic issues, tokyo electric power may be in focus. the government saying if tepco receives any further capital injections, the government will essentially be running that firm and control its management. tepco expected to report a net loss for fiscal year ending in march of around $9 billion. >> so pretty strong gains in japanese shares. let's talk about currencies. yen continues on a weaker trend. ramin, how is the trading this friday morning? >> yes. let's look at the currency levels. the yen against the dollar and euro continuing in a weakening trend. if you look at the bottom of the screen, 108.18-20 euro yen. a few days ago it was trading at 105. the yen is weakening against the euro on optimism of the greek bond swap going through. dollar yen at the mid 81 yen level. touched on 80 yesterday. again, yen weakened against the dollar as well. howev

the nikkei down 0.4%. the nikkei was up quite a lot at the start of the day's session. as the other markets opened and there's a distinct lack of enthusiasm despite the u.s. jobless numbers on friday, concerns about the state of the chinese economy seeming to weigh down all the markets. the hang seng finishing up by 0.25%. now, a nation joined together in mourning on sunday. the one-year anniversary of the killer earthquake and tsunami that slammed into the east coast of japan's main island was marked this sunday. across the country, tears, prayers and silence in honor of the 20,000 inhabitants who lost their lives when disaster struck. the largest ceremony was held in a theater in tokyo where hundreds gathered to remember the dead. the emperor and empress of japan were in attendance there. the prime minister, yoshihiko noda was among those publicly expressing their grief. after the service, citizens and government officials laid flowers in memory of those who lost their lives. >>> away from tokyo, residents reflected on the tragedy of march 11. kyung lah visited the to

so that's a level we should be looking out for on the nikkei. the nikkei did manage to close yesterday in the positive as well. we saw major gains in a lot of exporters and also in china-related stocks because we also saw the hang seng and the shanghai composite yesterday halting some of the losses that we saw from last week. so we'll keep track of stocks in those sectors today. but again, today the focus might actually be on communications sector. we had oracle japan yesterday coming out and saying that net profits rose 7%. helped a lot by its business software sales. and also operating profit for its licensing products jumped 50%. so another focus there. and also ntt docomo looking to heat up the mobile phone sector as well as it's going into joint venture with some commercial broadcasters and its going to be coming out in a new venture which could be broadcasting tv programs straight to mobile phones. so that's another area to look forward to. let's have a look at currency levels as well this tuesday morning. again, currencies have a major sa

the nikkei average isrelyat9555 in. e bader topix is down 7 pointst819. both of them are down above 8%. sources say thatlol investors are focusing on the ouof negotiations between the greek government and private investors including commercial banks over debt writedns. d currencieses, the yen is gaining ground against both the trinthis wednesday.tokyo e dlas currently changing hands at 80.72 to 73, t euro/yen at the bottom of the screen is at 6. to 05. sources say that investors' atntn now drawn to greece with the negotiation deadline is set for thursday. and a look at the latest long-term interest rates. e el ohe benchmark ten-yearapes geren bo down just about one basis point. >>> tokyo prosecursla t serve new arrest warrants during the day on former ecuve o olympus. the executives are alleged to have kept hiding losses after 2009. osuts previously arrested kikukawa the president of the optical eipntkealong with vice president hisashi mori and hideio yamada. they've all resigned. the exmanageme iccedf inflating the firm's assets by over 10 billion yen in

let's have a look at the opening levels for the nikkei and topix. both indexes trading lower. the nikkei may trade in a tight range. the fiscal end being the last day of the business year. most japanese companies have gone through the usual repatriation or window moves. profit taking also after recent gains with the yen a little bit stronger actually following weak economic data in the u.s. now, housing, jobs and manufacturing data are gauging the pace of a recovery in the u.s. economy. so we're going to be watching those closely. we just got production numbers domestically for japan which show that all three major japanese automakers increased production boosted by government subsidies for buyers of fuel-efficient cars and the generally weaker yen that we've seen so far this year. >> ramin, speaking of domestic demand, next week we're going to have the business survey. what's expected there? >> that's going to be a major focus from next week and, of course, a lot of focus there on large manufacturers. the business is expected to improve and from the december numbers that's la

let's look at how the nikkei and topix are kicking off this morning. both indexes are trading higher. we are back above 9700 level. we closed below that yesterday first time in a week. markets just taken a little step back after substantial gains we have seen so far this year. china's lowering of growth estimate sent some indexes low. we saw a slip in stocks with heavy exposure to china's growth in japan, such as construction machinery and also the steel companies as well. we keep track of those sectors as well. on a positive note for retail sector, we were keeping track of retailing. they're going to increase overseas stores and sales and expects further, bigger portion of sales to come from its overseas operations, even than domestic operations. we'll keep track of that sector as well. switching to currency markets, yen holding a little firm this week ahead of a couple key events in europe. we have european central bank and also agree bond swap deal that will be a focus. let's look at the currency levels, you can see what we're looking at. 81.56-58.

the nikkei average is currently at 9865 points.t is up almost 1% or 65 -- excuse me, 75 -- 95 points. investors are buying a wide range of shares on the expectations greece and most private sector bond holders have agreed to debt reductions. now over the currencies and tokyo trading the euro regained some ground against the dollar and the yen on encouraging signs in greece. the greenback is changing hands at 81.60 to 64 against the yen while the single currency is moving at 108.23 to 29 against the japanese currency. hopes for a greek deal have lifted invest are sentiment. this is causing a shift away from the yen, which has up to now been seen as a safe haven asset. >>> here is a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark ten-yearapanese government bond. >>> in corporate news, sharp is to build largescale solar power plants in japan. the company aims to earn stable revenue as legislation to promote renewable power generation is set to go into effect later this year. the japanese consumer electr

for now the nikkei and the topix marginally lower this wednesday morning. back to you. >> thank you for the update, that was ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> the united states started building fewer new houses in february. the commerce department says housing starts fell 1% from the previous month. the figure stood at nearly 700,000 units in annual terms, that's lower than the market forecast. the decline is due to a fall of nearly 10% in the construction of single-family houses. by region, housing construction marked a huge drop of about 12% in the northeast, and a fall of nearly 6% in the west. but new building permits, which is a gauge of future construction, that marked a rise of about 5%. >>> tokyo stock markets are down. let's see how south korea's markets are doing. more business news for you next hour. back to catherine now. >> thanks very much, ai. >>> a magnitude 7.4 earthquake has hit mexico. tremors shook through the south at midday. there are no reports of casualties. officials with the u.s. geological survey say the quake occ

the nikkei average up by 1%. 9672 currently. the topix up about the same amount, currently 831. sources say that u.s. job figures released wednesday were better than most analysts had expected. this raised expectations for a u.s. economic recovery. japan's record-high current account deficit for january, that's weakening the yen prompting investors to buy export-related issues. let's take a look at currencies. on the tokyo foreign exchange, the dollar is gaining ground against the yen. the dollar/yen at 81.25. your owe/yen, 106.76 to 81 yen. taking are selling their yen. here's a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. >>> apple has launched a new ipad tablet computer. it has a sharper screen and faster data processing than prior versions. >> today, we're announcing the new ipad. and it is amazing. >> the company says the tablet's display has been upgraded. this will allow users to enjoy images as sharp as those of high-definition television. apple says the new model is compatible with the next generation

in japan, the benchmark nikkei fell 20% to close at 9698.rofit-taking is under way in tokyo after the nikkei gained more than 10% last month. investors were selling off export-oriented shares. they had made firm gains as the japanese yen recently weekend. but asian markets became even more nervous after reports that u.s. president barack obama would not rule out a military strike against iran. >> for more, let's bring in our markets correspondence stefan wolff who is standing by on the floor of the free for stock exchange. not only in asia were stocks lower. in europe, stocks were not reacting well. >> absolutely. chinese forecasts are waiting on shares. also here in germany, germany's economy is very dependent on exports. and china is a very important market. so this is really weighing on shares here. >> and we have another outlook lower but this time on the earnings front. >> and germany's second-biggest steelmaker reported results earlier today. these results have been far better than predicted. profits and sales. but the forecast has bee

we saw retail sales rising for the month of february but the nikkei managed to fall for a second dayit comes to the hong kong hang seng index it was the worst performer after icbc and bank of china closed down more than 1% each. the hang seng put on a decline of 1.3%, the nikkei was down by about 0.66% and the shanghai composite down 1.4%, the asx in sydney still ending the day in negative territory. about five hours away from the opening bell on wall street now. when trading rules, investors will be hoping to try and recoup some of the losses on wednesday that i was telling you about. here's alison kosik with the details from the new york stock exchange. >>> stocks in the u.s. followed on the heels of global markets ending the session sharply lower. investors sold their positions on worries about spain's economic health along with a weaker than expected reading on u.s. manufacturing. at the close, the dow slid 71 points to 13,126. the nasdaq and the s&p 500 each lost 0. 3 3rers. durable goods orders rose 2.2% last month. that's not a bad number but fell short of forecasts. the repor

is really flats and the hang seng is about a quarter of down so not doing much good at all the nikkei actually. yesterday hit an eight month high so it's dropped from that and that's largely because the weakness is not so any more it's strengthened slightly where the exporters have outs and that's not doing the nikkei any good till hundreds down or one percent it really could be us close from yesterday we can see how it's very much a domino effect because they had a strong finish up in the early hours of more sky. extended it's a winning streak for us seven session as you can see there nearly half a percent up in posted territory it was financials and industrials that did take as we know the payrolls they were positive and hold cell phone calls as well they posted. strong results as well as out going to the gold because it's all connected because gold is that it's nice to have a choice and that's a largely because the federal reserve board to have no problems and therefore that has a direct effect on the gold prices if we move on it will take a look at the russian mafia because they'r

positive territory the previous hours now down zero point one percent same down half a percent now the nikkei is down stocks are seeing support from a weaker yen in china we have just received the purchasing managers' index come out the states figures indicate that the state sector the government sector is showing some expansion and manufacturing is a fifty one points that means it's it's expanding whereas the private sector this data is coming from h.s.b.c. is at forty nine point six it's less than fifty that means there's contraction so manufacturing is pretty much where it is investors are not that much impressed now in the u.s. the markets and the previous session of the session on a negative note the dow jones was down zero point four percent the nasdaq point seven percent all of the ben bernanke the speech the fed chairman basically indicated there's little chance of a new wave of quantum. easing you never mentioned anything about that and that was the gloomy sentiment investors' minds and so a lot of money was transferred into the dollar notably from gaul the safe look at what's going

brazil's bovespa, germany's dax or japan's nicky nikkei. which is up 25% to date. >>> welcome back. i'm sharon epperson. we've been telling you about the comments from bh billiton and how much they can pump trying to calm the oil markets and then and due to reduction supplies they have already made. we did have the expiration of the april contact still skepticism. >> back on the floor of the exchange, it's the stock of the day. this is the one that set the tone for this morning's trade. i'm talking about bhp billiton. kind of a double whammy. they expected china's iron ore demand to flatten out but in fact it may have already dropped to single digits. the other whammy on this was taxation out of australia. the australian senate approving a 30% tax on iron ore and coal mining companies expected to raise more than $11 billion over the next three years. ironically, the idea behind this tax was to spread the mining company's wealth driven by china's growth to other parts of the australian economy. you can see it's come full circle. it was origi

and the hang seng are in the red the hang seng is losing more than a quarter percent the nikkei was holding onto its gains for most of the morning trade but it has slipped into red a little more than an hour ago and here in law school predictably the indices are also losing value. basically the r.t.s. and m i six are seeing some serious losses in the second hour of trade but of course one of the major factors of for the russian equity markets is the price of oil and oil is certainly lower of this monday morning mainly on concerns about the economic growth slowing economic growth and say in china the biggest energy consumer and let's now take a look at how the currencies are trading the euro is lower against the dollar and the russian ruble is losing value against. the euro and the dollar. and we see some other negative headlines that really add to the bad mood for instance capital outflow. outflow continues to dog of the russian the russian economy on monday commerce on daily reported that some statistics from the central bank and specifically said that russian banks continued to bo

the nikkei is up more than 10%. as you can see we saw profit takinging going on that 9,800 level is touch and go it. a lot of people are seeing whether that particular index level can be reached as well. the kospi for the month of february is up 3.6%. over in india had this particular market for the month of february is up 1.7%. february was a good place for the hang seng up more than 5% and, of course, the shanghai market is up 6%. so overall china markets, everywhere else in asia, is doing nicely for the month of february. let's just see whether all that activity is going to filter through into the real economy. of dorse we talked about the real economy, about manufacturing in particular. india's manufacturing activity, of course, is showing signs of easing in february. let's get more details live from mumbai. >> reporter: the manufacturing index has come this at 56.6 in february. 56.7 in january. however, it indicates an expansion. that is a tad bit of a scaledown. the economists who we have spoken to earlier sai

going to keep their key interest rates stable is on hold after last month's surprise listening to the nikkei is still up but it was much further into positive territory . so that's taking taking its toll just there and also the. explosions are loving mass but still positive for now we're going to head over to oil and see how they're going to go on just the conflicts are still having an effect on the prices exports from the persian gulf could be put on hold as we know also we've heard some news in that china made the raising the price of gasoline because it's now prices have now gone up the state threshold marks that could be having an effect to see how the metals are getting on gold is coming for a full day in high as you can see and what this is. general all posting positive gains is out. of the current says let's see what they're doing the year is down against the us told the ruble is down against the greenback the us dollar in the us then we can see the closing figures from yesterday now is a thin day of trade which means that not many investors were spending money basically and that's a

in tokyo, the nikkei dropped. and in hong kong, the drought 276: today on wall street, investors will be watching for important data. the stock market reacted negatively yesterday. oil is down to 105 gallons a barrel. they tried to lower cooingle and prices. a hbig pay hike last year as the company stock more than halve attests video. family dollar discount stories. more than 10% in the second quarter. porn push blarng blank the biggest starts were an i easter, its opo. shipments of flat panel televisions he creates them for the first time this year. according to a cnb see survey, they're got to play 61 menthe of kids with iphone, i badge and it's important. teamed up for a hiring our heroes job fair in new york. the unemployment rate for veterans is more that be 12 per. getting 500 thousand vets or their stitchs into the way eel have sophisticated work. the niner's snap a jack and the kimmed blanked the fides rob it. >> in weather, all eyes are on the west coast. still storms are coming up. ahhh, now that's a cle

in tokyo, the nikkei fell 67 per points. today on wall street, and last week's unemployment numbers. the stock machlett reacts necessarily for a car that afternoon other prism you can e you cans. oil is down to 105 drg for a bank of america. bank ah mei i'll just play it. >> you get income increase of more than 7 second. i know that an mat foods storing the biggest start for an ipo so far this year. and the company is halting the sale because it the televisions are expected to decareen you never had that. according to a cnby survey. 61 pn of kids and, yesterday, on the uss intertread it. the unemployment rate for vetter rans is 12 menthe. %. every job were zejing this year and combating 500,000 vieths is the trail love. chains the bob catts. and the kings blank the flames. plus, the rap tors swear the nuggets. your early morning straight cove line was ahead. >> good horning, if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, despite a long touchilyty list, the new york knicks pulled off a big win last night. her

and that's all from the nikkei business report. back to you. >> thank you very much for that and you have a good weekend. over in south korea, industrial activity ramped up to double digit growth rate in february. >> figures were stronger than forecast. rising demand for korean manufactured goods. exports of autos nearly surged 35%. q4 revised gdp was out soft at 3.3% on year. in fact the slowest growth in about two years. in 2011 as a whole, real gdp grew at 3.6% missing the government's initial target of 4 aboutment 5% and was almost half the rate of 2010. but despite weak domestic consumption and construction spending, exports were the shining light. looking ahead, the bok says first quarter growth will slightly approve more government spending. >> thanks very much for that. joining us to talk industrial output, director of economic corporate network at the economy group dan slater. looking at how industrial output fell unexpected in february, how much of the fall is due to slowing overseas demand and how much because of the str

. >>> taking a look at overseas trading, the nikkei dropped 113 points. the hang seng cropped 132. >>> but there may be a silver lining. at least some temporary relief at the top could be on the way after worries about dwindling oil demand dropped the price of crude down 2%. here's a global slow down. those warriors to a four-year low last week. >>> fed-ex also took a hit. after suspending dividends to stockholders. reporting increased spending by its users. dollar general also picked up 3% in better-than-expected earnings. t-mobile is laying off five% of its work force including ssfp call centers. and in the wake of an industry, bank of america has begun a pilot program to rent their home from the bank to avoid foreclosure. thousands of other federal workers from insider trading. president obama has vowed to sign it. finally, after one of mitt romney's compared his strategy to an etch-a-scotch, they nearly tripled. >> ohio and the underdogs prevail. plus, michigan state is the first number one to be planned out at the ncaa tournament. your early morning

the nikkei getting a boost after unexpected trade numbers. hong kong up just a fraction.n market coming back after yesterday's half a cent fall. just on the -- the holdings in japan, down nearly 1.3%. it's extending its losses, speculation there continues to grow over an insider trading case. we'll keep an eye on that one. if you have any comment on any stories you watch on the show shall get in touch with the entire team on facebook. let us know what you think. >>> you can also send us your thoughts on twitter. follow us at cnnwbt. as andrew cnn and n del santos. you can follow the sweets on our twitter feed. that's it for this edition of "world business today." i'm nina del santos at cnn london. >> i'm andrew stevens in hong kong. i shall return for the opening of new york this thursday. also, we'll be joined by maggie lake who will bring you all the news from all parts of the world related to business. we hopefully will see you then.

the nikkei has been on a tear. and it's very much the exporters who are driving the nikkei higher. just a quick piece of news, sales at south korean department stores were up by 3% almost in february, of a 4.1% drop in january. that's an interesting reflection, since south korea is so independent on exports. >>> today's gains in asia are lending more support to what the imf chief, christine lagarde said on sunday. in a the world economy has, quote, stepped back from the bring. at a speech in the chinese capital, she said positive news from the united states and europe, is brightening the outlook. and we've been following this. randy? >> christine lagarde had very strong words of praise for china, for pulling no less than half of its people out of poverty in the past few decades. one eye was firmly on china's future growth because a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy, would have impacted the region, as well as the world. and lagarde said she had three priorities to see that china keeps it up. >> we think that it's important that china can continue to support growth. and

tokyo the nikkei dipped 72. the hang seng lost 61. >>> a little wall street window dressing brightened up the markets. managers dress up portfolios with top performers. >>> ben bernanke says it is too soon to declare victory on the u.s. economy. on the topic of more stimulus says the feds have not taken options off the table. >>> consumer confidence was mostly flat in january while inflation expectations soared. apple shares hit another all time high above 100 or $616. meanwhile this morning apple offered refunds to australian buyers of the new ipad. >>> fresh off a phone scandal rubeert murdoch is facing another controversy over al sgagzs of piracy over rivals. >>> kohler is the latest to retreat from rush limbaugh's radio program after his on air attack of a student who spoke in favor of contraceptive coverage. >>> the website potter more where e books of the popular series will be sold exclusively. harry potter e books will be compatible on all major e readers. more piece of the pie. >>> the mavericks chop th

nikkei down .75%. hong kong down about the same. no reason why australia showed this strength today, up by 1%. certainly, it was the banks getting a boost in australia and some resource stocks as well. at the close in the u.s. on tuesday, stocks retreating from their highest level in nearly four years. that was the close. and at the close, the dow down by .33%, weighed by bank of america stocks downgraded by bad equity research. the s&p finishing about .33%, and the nasdaq finishing just marginally. let's take a look at futures. looks like a bit of a rebound in store for the u.s. equity market. but anything can happen to these numbers over the next few hours. >> we've got about four hours to go, four hours, 15, before these u.s. markets get trading. >>> now, to the north sea where an underwater gas leak has occurred in the drill run by the french giant total. more than 200 workers evacuated from the platform about 240 miles off the coast of aberdeen in scotland. total hasn't said what caused the leak but has said it could take up to

in japan, you'll see the nikkei off by 0.5%. exporters reacting to a poor trading day in europe yesterday. sony down by 4.5%. been a volatile stock of late, sony. nina? >> andrew, stocks have been up and down over the recent weeks. crude oil has been going basically in one single direction and that is north. thanks to ongoing concerns about sanctions on iran as you can see, prices today, though, leveling off a little bit on the back of news that saudi arabia and libya are now starting to help fill the gap in the market that's been left by sanctions on iranian crude. brent crude for may delivery is currently trading down a little as you can see, just shy of $125 a barrel. currently trading at 124.22 at the moment. that's down by $1.30 on the barrel. remember, obviously north sea brent is the one that's most reactive to those kind of sanctions. >> absolutely. let's explain the sanction news a little bit more closely now. the u.s. re-affirmed that it has the init engs to punish iran over its nuclear am bigs by squeezing the country

taking a look at overseas trading this morning, the nikkei surged 230 points and in hong kong, the nikke surged 378. >>> a report on consumer confidence. stocks not only recover last week's losses and more, they're on track for the best quarter for stocks in 14 years. the improving job market is a welcome development and says the policy should help produce long term unemployment. she's prepared to let the bail out program run at the same time as the planned permit european bail out found. china's industrial company suffered a rare drop in profits of more than 5% in the first two months of the year. apple executive is in china to meet government officials in beijing as apple gets ready to extend its market there for the ipad and iphone. >>> boeing has delivered two dream liners after a delay of almost three years because of production problems. an oil platform was released yesterday. and aig says when it repays about $45 billion it still owes for its bail out, taxpayers will still make a 10-billion profit. many large corporations are using video game technology. so between games and smart

taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 72 points, while in hongong the hang seng added 45. >>> after posting the biggest gains on tuesday, blue chips eeked out another gain. however, three of the four banks that failed the fed's stress tests, citigroup, metlife and allied financial struggled yesterday. news of stocks buybacks and possible dividend increases boosted wells fargo and key corp. meanwhile, apple, due to unveil the new ipad in stores tomorrow, jumped nearly 4% thanks to analyst upgrades. s&p broke its week-long winning streak. shares of proctor & gamble dipped before the day's close. chevron slipped lower at the end of the day as the price of crude traded near a one-week low. however, recent optimism about the u.s. economy helped lift the dollar to an 11-month high against the yen is examine one-month high against the euro. realtytrac said the number of americans receiving delinquency notices on their homes rose last month, while the number of overall foreclosures dropped. if you're going to use pay pal to vote on college basketball, yo