for the entire year the nikkei advanced 23%. this is the first time in three years that the key index has climbed above the previous year's closing level. >> we got a boost on february 14th, valentine's day when the bank of japan set in motion asset easing. that weakened the yen and pushed the nikkei to its initial year high at the end of march. greek debt worries and overall eurozone debt issues really began to come to nature in early april, gradually cutting into earlier gains and pushing the nikkei to its year low on june 4th. the nikkei was also hit by concerns over the u.s. fiscal cliff in early november and it plunged nearly 400 points, it was down for seven trading sessions in a row. still another turn for the nikkei this time positive. when prime minister noda dissolved lower house of parliament in mid-november and then the possibility of a victory for the ldp led by shinzo abe really gave a boost to the markets because of his pledge to seek strong monetary easing measures and we did see the yen actually shed a lot of it

very big gain for the nikkei, 9,888. it did break to 9,500 for a very brief time. we're still up above 1.5%. we've seen the nikkei rise up above a thousand points since the election in mid-november. many are betting we could see 10,000. we're just over 100 points off that. let's not forget there are a couple key issues which may cause some bumps in the road. let's not forget japan is in a technical recession and the reports, which we covered, did show a big drop in the number for the last quarter reflecting the economy's domestic picture. it was down at minus 12 compared to minus 3 the previous quarter, you can see there. also a lot of market observers in the wider picture of the global stock markets are looking at the u.s., and if there's no resolution there to the u.s. fiscal cliff, that could also be a major drag on global markets which could reflect here on the nikkei as well. so market play is really looking at the new administration, and if they can actually enact some of the election pledges that they put forward to boost the domestic economy. now, with shin

that's pushing up the nikkei way higher today. in fact, the nikkei reached the highest level since early march 2011 which is prior to the major earthquake. the nikkei index is trading at 10,367 which is a gain of 1.3%. the nikkei's gains are due to optimism that the bank of japan is likely to take further easing steps. there are hopes that exporters will post higher earnings. traders said overseas institutional investors are returning and taking an aggressive stance on tokyo stocks. let's look at the markets. market players are buying up dollars and selling the yen on the yeps the bank will take action. the pair is quoted at 87.75 to 76. earlier in new york the kou oh touched a high against the yen. dealers are closely monitoring how the negotiations on the u.s. fiscal cliff will progress. they resume later in the day. the euro is trading at 113.43 to 48 against the yen. the european currency has risen to a 17-month high. in other markets in the asia pacific region, south korea is trading a touch lower at 1,980. in australia the b

the nikkei particularly a strong one. likely to be a theme for 2013.he shanghai composite, underperforming. the ftse 1100, .2% in the positive. the cac 40 having a strong day, up about .5%. the ibex 35 is now negative. it did open higher, but now shedding about .4%. now, president obama is due to arrive back in washington today after cutting short his christmas vacation in hawaii. congress is also back in town, but aides say little progress was made over the holiday on any potential deal to avoid if major cliff. john harwood sent this report from washington. >> just a few days of 2013. i want to bring you up to date on developments. first of all, the treasury has informed the united states senate that the government will hit its statutory debt ceiling on december 31st, new year's eve. that's part of an effort to pressure the congress to act to raise the debt ceiling. that is not directly implicated in the fiscal cliff talks, but it's part of the larger issue of debt and deficit that congress has to deal with. secondly, house run leaders conferred and s

for the nikkei, 10,098. with large volume, i may add coming from both domestic and foreign importers. also sectors who may benefit from the more expansive monetary policy measures that may be forthcoming such as banks and real estate sectors, too, so we'll follow those as well today. however, we should expect to see in trading a lot of key indexes across asia will be closed today, the hang sang as well as singapore and australian inde s indexes. but let's have a look at currency that's really been the main topic of conversation in the markets. dollar/yen, 84.83 to 85, top of the screen there, and the you e euro/yen, 111.78 to 85. a lot of investors are convinced that the latest weakening of the yen is not just a short-term correction but more of a long-term one there as even shinzo abe has been targeting a level of around 90 yen. now, with the u.s. markets closed for public holiday, there may be a little bit of thin trading today. there will be key housing data later this week which may indicate market direc

we have more from the nikkei, live from tokyo. >> reporter: hi, kelly. japan's trade deficit widened the most in ten months in november. last month japan recorded an 11.4 billion dollar trade gap after exports dropped 4% on the strong yen and weak global demand. shipments to china slipped 14.5% hurt by the mainland's growth pullback and anti-japan sentiments there which muted the demand for japanese goods. there were bright spots. car exports to the u.s. grew which meant that in november japanese trade to the -- japan's trade to the u.s. was bigger than trade to china. still, the overall weak numbers play into the hand of incoming prime minister ibe. he is likely to push the fwoj stimulate growth. the central bank will announce its latest policy decision tomorrow. back to you. >> okay. thank you very much for that. >>> now samsung electronics has decided to quit its lawsuit aimed at halting the sale of apple's products in europe. this decision comes just one day after the south korean tech giant scored a victory in one of its patent battles with apple in

and overnight in japan, the nikkei, the yen falling to a 20-month low. you have the nikkei up 1.5%. the nikkei -- yen versus the dollar as shinzo abe returns to office as japan's new prime minister, promising monetary and fiscal reforms. we have the shanghai composite there up about a quarter percent. >>> all right. in today's top stories, the u.s. is five days away from going over the fiscal cliff. president obama is cutting his holiday vacation short, returning to washington tomorrow to continue talks to try to avoid that automatic tax hike and spending cut combination. that's the same day that congress returns to town. before the president left town on friday, he suggested a stopgap measure to freeze tax rates for people making less than $250,000 a year and extend unemployment benefits. reports say white house staffers have been quietly working with senate democrats to come up with a plan to avoid the fiscal cliff, but little progress has been made. >>> a chinese ratings agency is putting the u.s. on negative watch citing troubles with long-term debt issues. on a statement on its

we are seeing the nikkei trading positively. i'll leave you with a check on markets. >>> most spoken ahead of the award ceremony. he referred to the control of the publications by chinese authorities. he says he does not support sensorship but says it exists in every country and is sometimes necessary to stop rumors and defamation. reporters asked whether he intends to call on the chinese government to release the writer who remains in prison. he said he hope lu would be freed as soon as possible. >>> as the governments of japan and china over the islands, some japanese were caught in the middle. we have one man's story. >> reporter: people in the city mark the 40th anniversary of normalizing diplotic ties between japan and china. he remained in the city where he lived for 50 years. a china couple adopted and raised the japanese youngster. as an adult he worked for a railway company and eventually he became station master. >> translator: i couldn't have survived after the war if my foster parents hadn't taken me in and given me

the nikkei index right now trading at 9521, a gain of over .5% from wednesday's close. traders said positive remarks about a fiscal cliff deal by president obama are aiding share prices. i guess port-related issues are leading the gains as the weakening trend of the yen is continuing. so let's take a look at the currency markets. the dollar is higher against the yen. that's on better than expected nonmanufacturing data out of the u.s. 82.40-43. euro/yen, that's in the mid 107 yen levels this thursday morning. taking a look at other markets in the asia-pacific, south korea's companiespy is 1949. let's take a look at australia. the benchmark index is lower by about.25%, 4508. let's see where china takes us when they open the next hour. >>> european commission regulators have imposed a fine worth almost $2 billion for running two price-fixing cars sells. they say it's the highest-ever anti-trust penalty in their history. the commission leaders said they fined six companies a total of $1.47 billion euros for anti-competitive behavior. the firms are panasonic and toshiba, sa

overseas, the nikkei gained six, the hang seng climbed 85. >>> and while wall street is watching for any new fiscal cliff developments, the folks at fedex will be hustling and bustling on their busiest day of the year. the shipping giant expects to make 19 million deliveries. that's thanks to this year's double digit growth in online shopping. there's also going to be a lot more packages to ship as shoppers pick up green monday deals. >>> all right. if you are flying home for the holidays, you had better book soon because one consumer group warns airfare goes up $10 a day after the second week of december and after the 19th forget about it. you want to save big, then fly on christmas or new year's day because those days are the cheapest. >>> investors serious about getting a piece of the hostess pie must submit ofrs today. >>> today u.s. and nikkei regulators will make a proposal for the too big to fail idea. >>> they're selling to chinese investors. >>> our sister network nbc sports teaming up with yahoo to share information on air and online. new york mayor michael bloomberg is put

the nikkei is already up about 23% so far this year. you know, to be the best performing developed market in 2013 on top of already 23% this year, it's a big call. >> i know. look at a 30-year chart of the nikkei. it seems to hit about 8 to 10,000, bottoms out, comes back. that level seems to also be a little bit of support. little bit. >> remember where it is right now. it is a long way below the nearly 39,000 it hit at the end of 1989. i think it's about 1/3 or something of what it used to be. anyway, this is my next prediction. i believe that microsoft will continue to lose relevance and may cease to exist in its current form in five years' time. my reason is this, brian, it's kind of fighting losing battles in too many sectors at this point. mobile, pcs, even enterprise. so i think mr. softy is definitely one to watch. >> i've got to push back. listen, you might be right on microsoft losing relevance. >> push back. >> microsoft is a multi-hundred billion dollar company. >> ceasing to exist in its current form is what i said. >> fair

the nikkei 225 keeps gaining. dollar/yen, pretty flat today. although we were sitting on that 84 handle a little bit earlier. all eyes now on the central bank meeting later this week. expectations for some aggressive monetary easing for all of shinzo abe's talk. over in south korea, the kospi managed to gain about .5%. there was a lot of caution in this market today. this is because it will be closed tomorrow for the presidential election. so we have seven points shy of that 7,000 level. this index has been struggling a little bit, particularly exporters on the back of a stronger dollar and the japanese yen. the greater chinese markets, they were very volatile today. there is optimism a deal will be reached stateside. we have the shanghai comp in and out of the red and dranking the hang seng along the way. there is skepticism in shanghai. up nearly 10% in the month of december. it is still one of the worst performing indexes in asia. keep in mind, it is a government-orchestrated rally. the economic data has been better in china. offer, that has

the nikkei in particular, up 2.4%.he first time that the nikkei has been back above 10,000 since, when is it, march? this is, again, just the idea that there's going to be stimulus coming from the bank of japan with the change in leadership in that country. oil prices have been a little bit higher this morning. you see now they're up about 37 cents to 88.30. the ten year, we looked a few minutes ago, the yield was above 1.8%. it's still there. 1.803%. the dollar has seen interesting moves today, as well. down against the euro which is all the way up at 132.77. it is up against the yen, though, because with that stimulus from the bank of japan, that would put pressure on the yen. you see this morning, dollar/yen at 84.42. gold prices up slightly, well below $1,700. up $1.70 at 1.629. >> -- at 1,672.4 an ounce. i'm not going to speculate but we have clarification that the plan b plan in the house definitely keeps the sequester in there. and that is part of the negotiation. >> all right. >>> consumer confidence could be p

. >> an eight-month high for the nikkei there. cnbc is taking a closer look at how the new war ondy flagz is playing out in tokyo. head over to our website, krn.ckrn cnbc.com for more information there. if dwrur wondering what is in store for 2013, contributors and analysts are delivering their boldest calls for the trading year ahead. >>> if you're looking for more clues on the european outlook for next year, david jones will be here to take a look in his very own crystal ball coming up in just a few moments. >>> shares of the world's biggest cementmaker dipped to restructure its european operations. they could put charges of over 500 million francs. carolin has more out for us out of europe. >> hey, ross. let's take a look at the market reaction. initially, the reaction on the markets is quite subdued. now accelerating its declines, off by 7.1%, the second worst decliner on the market. let's come back to holcim. it is responding to the sluggish construction environment in europe and that is why it's restructuring its european op

that's all from nikkei business report. back to you, kelly. >> thanks very much for that. >>> now, plans for the london and moscow listings suffered a blow this year when goldman sachs withdrew as a lead individualser on the ipo of alleged corporate governance issues. in a cnbc global exclusive, geoff cutmore asked alisher usmanov if events in october hurt his relationships. >> translator: i have always respected lloyd blankfein. goldman sachs is a company with which we are working with, the company that i control is working with. that is to say, i believe we will continue to work with gold pan sacks in the future. there is no doubt in my mind about that. what happened at that time is there were certain procedures that exist in goldman sachs. lloyd is the leader of a huge financial organization that have certain procedures. so given those procedures, they felt that they needed, at the time of os restructuring, our assets, they needed to make certain verifications, certain clarifications and we for our part felt that we coul

overseas, nikkei gained 94 points but the hang seng lost 18. >>> traders paused for a moment of silence. stocks of gun makers continued to slide. smith & wesson down 8%. pension giant california state teachers' retirement system is reviewing a $400 million firm. which owns bushmaster. meanwhile, walmart has pulled that same assault rifle from its stores. >>> and gas prices are falling. the national average is just under $3.25 a gallon. for the first time this year, all 50 states have gas below $4. >>> banks rose monday and they could see a record fourth quarter. morningen stanley was fined $400 million. and apple shut down prompt pant that began. >>> this one interesting according to business trade arogot.com, the mini is outselling the bigger 2 to 1. >>> one new jersey girl is getting her wish. the toy maker hasbro will begin making gender neutral easy-bake ovens. it will also feature boys in the upcoming ads. >>> and feeling the aftermath of sandy hook. >>> and grieving moments in connecticut. >>> get ready for a snowstorm. in some cases, the first snowstorm of the forecast comi. you'

the nikkei average at 9,434. that's a loss of one-fourth of a percent. the dollar is slightly losing ground. dollar yen changing hands at 82.13 to 17. euro stands at 107.19 to 24. analysts say investors are selling the dollar following the release of u.s. manufacturing data. it was the lowest in almost three and a half years. more investors are showing interest in the weakening yen. taking a look at other markets, south korea's kospi is trading lower. let's take a look at australia. it's trading lower by almost a third of a percent. there's hope for floundering bas bas basic electronics firm sharp. the firm is expected to receive part of the that sum as early as this month. sharp is forecasting a record net loss for the current fiscal year of $5.5 billion. that's due to the slump in its main tv and crystal liquid sectors. strengthening its financials is essential if the firm will have hope for its business. the two companies plan to develop next generations screens. sharp's expertise will help provide qualcomm with high panels. they are developing the sc

the nikkei is trading at 9,911. that's up 8% from monday's close. some stocks are falling on profit taking. the yen is trading in a narrow range. dollar is slightly lower as trader buy the yen against major currencies. it's now quoted at the kospis up half a percent. the google website allows anyone to search through books and review some of their contents. in japan members of the pen club have protested the google project after the firm digitized copyrighted material without permission. both sides eventually found a compromise. investors in trouble times often put their money into safe haven investments. some germans have done just that. now they are finding some unusual places to park their euros. >> reporter: in germany vehicles more than 30 years old and in pristine condition are certified as classics. an index measuring classic car prices show they have doubled over the past decade. behind this is a uniquely vigilant germany against inflati inflation. this made the currency plunge resulting in hyper inflation. the european central bank is now p

the nikkei rose to an eight and a half month high. it's trading at 10,098. investors are placing bets on a wide range of stocks as the yen weaks. let's take a look at the dollar yen. that's changing hands at 84.26 to 28. that's after the gdp final estimate came in better than what many analysts had expected. the euro is also higher. that's changing hands at 111. let's take a look at other markets open. south korea's kospi down bay third of a percent. the index is trading higher. a bit of a mixed picture in the asia pacific today. the head of mitsubishi electric has decided to take it were fault. they will decide on the penalty at an executive officers meeting on friday. sources say the president will have his entire compensation cut for six months. other kexecutives are expected o receive pay reductions. the companies have been overcharging clients. they're set to pay over $800 million to the state and other entities. that's the latest headlines. here is a check on markets. >>> soldiers are shooting from re and more syrians are heading for the border. 5 500,

the nikkei average is down due days of gain.ing after three currently it's at 10,080. investors are eagerly awaiting whether the bank of japan will take further monetary easing steps. let's take a look at the currency markets. the yen is little change against other major currencies. the dollar is trading slightly lower against the yen. that's after it rose near a one year and eight month high in overseas trading on wednesday. dollar to take profits before today's announcement from the bank of japan. dollar yen is at 84.26 and the euro is lower against the yen. taking a look at other markets in the asia pacific region, south korea's kospi is trading slightly up. let's also take a look at australia. that's trading higher by over .1 of a percent. >>> ubs will pay about $1.5 billion in fines. that's for rigging key interest rates. the total amount that ubs will pay is greater than that of british bank barkleys. they paid over $400 million in fines for its wrong doing. ubs admitted that its employees across its global network has manipulated the london interoffice ras. e ra

japan's nikkei average went above 9700 at one point. a weaker yen and the u.s. fed's policy decision that's what's lifting a wide range of issues here in tokyo. let's take a look at other asian markets open now. we are seeing seoul's kospi up and over in australia the benchmark is trading unchanged at 4,583. we'll see where trading takes us throughout the rest of the day. greece is buying back bonds. it exceeds the 30 billion euro target. greece had been seeking investors willing to accept at 30 to 40% of the bond's face value. the program is designed to reduce the debt burden. analysts estimate greece will be able to shave about 20 billion euro's off its debt. this will clear the way for greece to receive a new infusion of more than 43 billion euros in aid from the eu and other principal lenders. the organization of petroleum export and countries held a general meeting in vienna yesterday. representatives of the 12 oil exporters agreed to retain the current production target of 30 million barrels a day. they say supply is sufficient and prices are appropriate f

the nikkei gained 72 points while the hang seng added 46. >>> as those fiscal cliff worries become more real on main street and wall street, a drastic drop in consumer stocks that sent stocks skidding thursday on news that house members will return to negotiations sunday evening. on investors' radar the latest pending home sales data comes out at 10:00 a.m. >>> meanwhile, the dairy industry is calling it the milk cliff. just like tax raises, if congress doesn't approve a bill by january 1st, the prices could skyrocket from $3.65 a gallon to as much as $ in fact, all dairy products would be affected. to think that wisconsin cheddar could cost more than frenchb bre that's imported. >>> dock workers are threatening to walk out on the job over contracts that are set to expire. strikes could cause a crippling domino effect. the white house is urging an agreement as quickly as possible. >>> monthly rents are on the rise. as of october the average was $1,044 up 3.7% over last year. >>> well, the tsa says travelers have attempted to carry as much as 1,500 firearms on in u.s. airports and airpla

let's get more on the market reaction from the nikkei. >> hi. a very strong earthquake hit at 5:18 p.m. the center was closest to miyagi prefecture. it had an estimated magnitude of 7.3. tsunami warning was issued for miyagi prefecture and around 6:00 p.m., a one meter high tsunami was recorded. tokyo electric power, the operator of the fukushima nuclear plant, reported no irregularities. a strong quake was also felt here in tokyo, lasted for several minutes and causing buildings to sway. but no damage has been reported so far in tokyo. back to you. >> all right. thank you for that. meanwhile a big stock market debut if picc. shares up after more than $3 billion in hong kong's largest offering in two years was raised. priced at the low end of their range, shares 17 times he oversubscri oversubscribed. strong demand also helped turn away the ipo market. picc stellar debut also reflects perhaps the grand demand for insurance products. eunice yoon has more. >> in the u.s. to protect against disaster, americans take out insurance to rebuild their li

the nikkei is down 1/4 of a percent at 9,409, a loss of 24 points from tuesday's close. they're sidelining after taking profits if recent gainers at the open. they're refraining from major moves to confirm the next steps in the u.s. budget talks. the obama administration and opposition republicans remain at odds over how to avert the falling off the fiscal cliff. let's take a look at currency markets. the dollar is also little change against the yen as u.s. budget talks continue. dollar/yen is in the upper 81 levels, 81.88 to 90. the euro, that is higher against the yen, 107.27 to 30 at the moment. worries are reseeding over eurozone debts. let's take a look at other markets in the apple open. kospi is trading flat on the day, 1,934. looking at australia, the benchmark index is trading higher by 1/10 of a percent, 4,508. modest moves so far this morning in the asia pacific. >>> japan and india launched a new framework to provide bilateral credit in u.s. dollars. the aim is to ease the impact of possible turmoil in the global financial markets on asia. the two countries w

overseas, the nikkei gained six points while the hang seng climbed 85. >>> wall street is watching for any new fiscal cliff developments. the folks at fedex will be hustling and bustling on their busiest day of the year. the shipping giant expects to make about 19 million deliveries. that's thanks to this year's double digit growth in online shopping. >>> and there will be more package to ship as shoppers snap of green monday deals. the second monday in december has gained traction on line over the past several years. >>> if you are flying home for the holidays, you better book soon. one consumer group warns air fare goes up $10 a day after the second week of december. and after the 19th, forget about it. if you want to save big, fly on christmas or new year's day. those are the cheapest to do so. >>> investors serious about getting a piece of the hostess pie must submit formal commitments by today in order to become eligible buyers. also today, u.s. and u.k. regulators will unveil the first concrete steps to end the problem of large international banks. >>> on the deal front, aig anno

the nikkei, this is a new high for this year after rising above the highest level posted yesterday. it's currently at 10,421, getting closer to a gain of 1% from thursday's closing levels. market participants are becoming more certain that the bank of japan may take further action to pull the country out of deflation, since the consumer price indecision fell in november. that was for the first time in two months. participants added that the yen's first slide is sending shares of exporters higher. so let's take a look at the currency markets. the dollar is hovering near a 29-month high against the yen. the yen is falling on expectation that the boj will initiate further monetary easing. the euro is trading at around a 17-month high against the yep. 114- .58. let's take a look at australia. the benchmark index is there is trading higher, 4,685. looks like a positive start to the asia-pacific so far this friday. we'll see where trading takes us. here's a look at some other markets. >>> myanmar's president spoke the nation on wednesday in a speech broadcast state run television and radi

tokyo's nikkei average is extending gains from yesterday following the yen's weakness.t's currently trading at 10,149, a gain of 2/3 of a percent from tuesday's close. investors are placing buy orders particularly on exporters as the yen is losing ground. they expect earnings for exporters may pick up. >>> now, toyota motor has launched a redesigned crown, one of its signature models. the auto maker aims to attract japanese car owners who are thinking about replacing their current vehicles. ♪ strangers in the night ♪ exchanging glances it's the 14th restyling of the crown. a high-end model that was first released back in 1955. the new crown features drastic changes in design such as a large front grill. it has a conservative image and targets relatively older drivers and corporate customers. but toyota hopes that the new design will attract younger customers as well. >> translator: in a country like japan, where the population is shrinking, it's more important to encourage car owners to replace their vehicles than to develop new customers. >> toyota says the car maker w

overseas, the nikkei gained 94 points, but the hang seng lost 18. >>> traders paused for a moment of silence monday to remember the 27 killed friday in newtown. later, as broader markets rose on encouraging fiscal cliff talks, stocks of gunmakers continued to slide. smith & wesson down 8% since friday's mass shooting. pension giant california state teachers' retirement system is reviewing a $500 million investment with private equity firm calsirs. meanwhile, walmart has pulled that same assault rifle used by adam lanza from its stores. and dick's sporting goods has stopped selling guns at its store nearest to newtown, connecticut. >>> and gas prices are falling. the national average is just under $3.25 a gallon. for the first time this year, all 50 states have gas below $4. >>> banks rose monday and some analysts predict cash flush financials could see a record fourth quarter. morgan stanley was fined $5 million for improperly handling its ipo. apple is said to be in talks to integrate local data from foursquare to bolster its mapping app. and according to businesstrader.com, the ipa

tokyo's nikkei was closed. stocks stumbled on wall street and talks staaled on the fiscal cliff.pped nearly 121 points on friday while the nasdaq fell 29. >>> as the americans hit the road for holiday travel, they'll be paying less at the gas pump. according to aaa, the national average is about 3.25 cents for regular. that's town 16 cents from a month ago. >>> "the hobbit:an unexpected journey." took in $27 million. duarte? >> thank you, erica ferrari, here in new york. >>> in sports the seahawks put a damper on the 49ers' plan of winning the midwest. they have a field goal block. it's scooped up by the seahawks richard sherman who brings it back for a touchdown. blows out san fran, 42-13. >>> and the baltimore ravens are the champions of the afc north. the ravens get on the board first with a touchdown grab by torey. win. ass the giants for a 33-14 when we return, the holiday hit a high note. audiences around the world take part at an annual sing-a-long. ♪ oh, it's great! now i can brew my coffee just the way i love it. how do you do that? well, inside the brewer, there's this

the nikkei index gained 2.4% oar 237 points and ended the day's session at 10,160. this is on expectations that the bank of japan may take additional monetary easing measures when the liberal democrats leader shinzo abe assumes power in a week. analysts say buy orders placed on a wide range of issues. export-related issues were also bought on hopes that u.s. democrats and republicans may reach an agreement to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. >> translator: i think many people are pinning their hopes on mr. abe to revive the japanese economy, because his party won a landslide victory in the election. >> translator: i'm not sure whether this upbeat trend will continue or it's just temporary. i'm concerned the u.s. fiscal cliff may have a downward effect. >> market players are, for the time being, are cheering the bold monetary easing measures put guard by the democratic liberal party leader. however, some say measures by the central bank may not be enough to pull japan out of its prolonged deflation. there are also concerns that price hikes without wage increases cou

tok tokyo's nikkei ended up over 0.9% after nearly reaching the key 10,000 yen level. in china shanghai composite ended up 0.1%, while hong kong's hang seng slipped just about 0.1%. in india, the sensex closed up about 0.7%. >>> the dollar is little changed against the yen. traders are awaiting the outcome of the boj's two-day policy meeting start wednesday. dollar/yen changing hands at 83.87. euro/yen 110.50. they say a meeting between ldp and boj governor appears limit. >>> foreign direct investment in china fell in november for the sixth straight month due to global uncertainties. a chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said on tuesday that overseas companies invested $8.3 billion in building factories and other projects last month. that's down 5.4% from a year ago. foreign district investment for the first 11 months of this year was $100 billion. that's a decrease of 3.6% from the same period last year. rising labor costs in china and a slowdown in global economic growth triggered by europe's debt crisis is seen as the reason behind the decline. japanese direct in

tokyo's nikkei gained 1% to a seven-month closing high while hong kong's hang seng lost a fraction. the cautious optimism of reaching a budget deal sent blue chips higher. the dow added 82 points while the nasdaq was down nearly 23. >>> shares of citigroup rose 6% after the bank announced it is cutting 11,000 jobs. the layoffs represent about 4% of citi's work-force and will be felt worldwide. no word on how many jobs in the u.s. will be lost. >>> darden restaurants is backing away from its plans to limit health care costs. darden who owns olive garden and remember lobster was planning to bump full-time workers down to part-time status to avoid costs associated with president obama's health care law, citing a publicity backlash and a down graded profit outlook. darden announced that none of its full time employees will have their hours cut as a result of the new regulations. >>> well, believe it or not you'll be seeing more starbucks cafes popping up. the coffee chain is planning to add 1,500 locations in the next five years. more are planned for canada and south america as well. >>

the benchmark nikkei index rose 92 points or .90%. to close at 10322. that's the first time in nine months it exceeded this year's high. cars and export-oriented shares led the gain prompted by the weaker yen. gains were trimmed by profit-taking in the afternoon with some investors feeling that the market is surging too quickly. others are waiting to see if the u.s. can avoid the so-called fiscal cliff before the year-end deadline. >>> and bond traders in tokyo are selling japanese government bonds or jgbs. they expect the new administration will issue more bonds to finance its stimulus measures. this sent jgb yields to a three-month high. the ten-year yield on the jgb topped 0.8% on thursday, the highest level since september 21st. yields rise when bond prices fall. analysts say more investors are shifting their financial assets from bonds to stocks so this will cause interest rates to inch up for a while. >>> u.s. treasury department officials have alerted congressional leaders about the debt ceiling. the government will reach this in about two months

tokyo's nikkei gained nearly 1%. hong kong's hang sheng added a quarter percent.new report suggests the looming fiscal cliff is forcing consumers to lose confidence in the nation's economy. the conference board said on thursday that its consumer price index fell sharply in december for the second consecutive month. that's the lowest level since august. for the fifth consecutive year, individual investors have pulled their money out of the stock market. it's estimated to be about $380 billion. many are investing in bonds which are considered safer investments. wall street stocks sank for a fourth consecutive day. the dow lost 18 points. the nasdaq was off 4 points. >>> the housing market shows new signs of a rebound. they said on thursday that the sale of new homes increased by 4.5% from the month before. that's the fastest pace in two years. record low mortgage and stable job gains fueled the increase. >>> dangerously low water levels could force shipping to stop between st. louis and illinois on the mississippi river next week. the mississippi is suffering from m

shanghai composite index gained more than 1.5% while hong kong hang seng lost a fraction and tokyo's nikkeishort week on wall street because of new year's and promises to be another volatile week especially if no deal is reached on the fiscal cliff. on friday the dow dropped 158 points while the nasdaq fell 25 points. >>> ford motor's had another banner year. the automaker says they sold 2 president 22 .2 million. it's the second year in the row ford has topped 2 million in sales, the only u.s. company to do that. >>> there may not be many happy return this year especially if you don't have your receipt. the nation real retail federation says $63 billion worth of presents will be taken back to stores but receipts could be vital because many stores are tightening rules on refunds and exchanges. >>> and hollywood had a record-setting year at the box office with almost $11 billion in ticket sales. this weekend "the hobbit" came in at the top for a third weekend in a row pulling in nearly $33 million. quentin taryn teno's jango unchained came in at $30 million and the musical les mis rob came i