i'm gene otani.apan's soft beijing bank group says the net profit jumped four and a halftimes from a year ago. that's as its investments in tech stocks jumped and sold off assets to shore up its finances. the company said on monday that net profit came to about 1. trilon yen. softn bank report ed a net loss of $9 billion last fiscal year. the company transformed itself from a telecon company to a tech firm. it holds stakes in a range of startups through its $100 billion vision fupd. >> we will lead in mobile technology. we will win asia. we push forward in these two key areas. i expect the sbrnt business to evolve into one ai tech nolgs. i want to invest actively to lead the revolution. >> the company has been selling asset ises to buy back shes and repay debt. so. >> a key gauge of business conditions in squa pan has improved for the fourth month in a row. potentially fanning hopes of economic recovery even as the pandemic continues. in particular it shows sectors such as the auto industry could be

. >>> this is "newsline" biz, i'm gene otani. the u.s.ernment says it is putting a hold on its plan to impose a ban on the chinese-owned video sharing app tiktok. the deparent of commerce released a statement on thursday, the day the ban was set to take effect. it cited a temporary injunctions issued by a pennsylvania court last month as the reason for the move. the trump administration has claimed that the app collects data that could be misused by the chinese government. the department of justice has appealed the injunction. washington has also ordered the operator of the app bytedance to sell its u.s. business. bytedance has reached a deal with oracle to launch a new company operating the app in the u.s. but the chinese firm says it needs more time to finalize the deal. >>> meanwhile, president trump has banned americans from investing in firms he says are linked to china's military. trump signed an executive order on thursday blocking investors from buying shares in around 30 chinese companies. they include china mobile communications

i'm gene otani.'s bench mark stock index rose on wednesday reaching its highest close in 29 1/2 years. this followed an overnight rally in new york where the dow jones industrial average surpassed the 30,000 mark for the first time on the expectation coronavirus vaccines will be available soon. the nikkei average ended at 26,296, up half a percent from tuesday's close. investors placed buy orders in a large range of sectors from the opening, but the index lost momentum after news the tokyo metropolitan government is poised to ask bars and restaurants that serve alcohol to reduce their business hours. the request is part of efforts to curb the spike of coronavirus infections. the nikkei 225 has gained about 14% so far this month alone. analysts say many investors are taking on more risk as they expect current monetary easing measures around the world to continue. but some urge caution. they say the rally may not reflect the state of the real economy. the latest report maintains the official assessment

i'm gene otani.issan motor is forecasting a net loss of 615 billion yen or about $5.8 billion for the business year through march. the prediction comes as the japanese automaker struggles to reverse a slump in global sales. the firm says it suffered a net loss in the april-to-september period of about $3.1 billion. >> translator: we're facing uncertainties such as the coronavirus pandemic and the global economic situation in the second half of this business year. we need to put our business in a stronger, more sustainable position by becoming more financially disciplined. >> nissan raised its full year forecast for global sales to 4.16 million units, an increase of about 1% from its previous forecast in july. the pandemic hit the auto industry across the board, but some firms, including toyota and honda, are weathering the storm better than others. stock prices of those two automakers are just 3% down from the beginning of the year. while nissan has shed more than 30% in value. >>> chinese consumers

i'm gene otani.motor will bring electric vehicles to the competitive auto markets of southeast asia. toyota announced it will start in thailand and indonesia with a compact suv from its luxury lexus line. it can run 360 kilometers on a single charge. they will be shipped from japan with a sticker price around $120,000. the announcement comes as several countries plan to ban sales of new bass vehicles to fight global warming. thailand and indonesia are promoting electric vehicles and also inviting automakers to produce them locally. nhk has gained exclusive access to the details of a new japanese government export plan. the strategy covers farm, forestry and fishery products as well as alcohol. the government wants to increase the value of annual shipments to 5 trillion yen or about $48 billion by 2030. the draft document focuses on 27 items, including beef, rice, apples, yellow tail fish, and japanese sake. it sets a midterm export target of $19 billion by 2025. the strategy involves boosting annual

i'm gene otani.onda motor plans to launch a self-driving vehicle with hands-free capabilities by the end of march. japan's transport ministry says that would make the auto maker the first in the world to commercialize a so-called level three self-driving vehicle. honda says it has obtained a government designation for the firm's autonomous driving system. the company plans to sell a legend model equipped with the technology. autonomous driving technology is categorized into five levels. levels one and two are fitted with automatic breaking and lane keep technology. many cars already have these functions. level three allows drivers to let the vehicle do all operations including steering and breaking. but that's only when certain conditions are met such as when a vehicle is in congested slow traffic on an expressway. that followed an overnight rally in new york on hopes for a coronavirus vaccine. the nikkei average ended at 25,349 at 1.8% from tuesday. opened more than 200 points higher to surpass the

i'm gene otani. benchmark stock index rose sharply on tuesday closing at its highest of the year. investors bought stocks after a long weekend that delivered good news about coronavirus vaccines. the nikkei average ended at 26,165, up 2.5% from friday's close. buy orders were placed almost across the board from the opening. it follows news that the coronavirus vaccine being developed by british firm astrazeneca and oxford university could be as much as 90% effecte. tuesday's trading marked a rebound after the three-day losing streak. the index dropped nearly 500 points after coronavirus infections spiked across japan. but analysts say the rebound might have been too strong on a day the government announced it was scaling back its incentive program to boost domestic tourism. >>> japan's nissan motor has unveiled a new version of its popular note compact car, but it's breaking with the past. the new model will only be available with the hybrid engine. the note will be released in december. previous mod

i'm gene otani.oronavirus pandemic has inflicted huge losses on airlines and cost countless jobs. it's also taken a big toll on airports. the operator of narita airport near tokyo says for the first time since going private in 2004, it suffered a net loss for the april-to-september period. narita international airport corporation says it was in the red to the tune of about $400 million. the number of international passengers using narita in that time plummeted to about 3% of last year's figure. >> translator: i think it's totally important that we strengthen the company's financial structure. by doing that, we can put ourselves firmly in a position where we can get through a crisis severe as this one has been. >> for the fiscal year, the operator forecasts a net loss of about $750 million. it expects international fliers will start to increas slowly as travel restrictions ease and quarantine systems improve. but it says the number for the whe year will only be about 6% of last year's figure. >>> chin

i'm gene otani. benchmark stock index extended its winning streak on tuesday, touching 25,000 for the first time in nearly three decades. that followed a wall street rally sparked by hopes for a coronavirus vaccine. the nikkei average finished at 24,905, up 0.3% from monday. it rose more than 400 points at one stage, but lost momentum, as many investors locked in profits. travel-related shares, including airlines, took off on hopes for a covid vaccine. major operators, japan airlines and ana holdings both soared about 20%. nikkei 225s run of gains has now stretched to six days. it added more than 1,900 points, or over 8% so far this month. some analysts are urging caution. they say the rally might not reflect the state of the real economy. a new survey shows that japanese workers in a range of industries are feeling more optimistic about the state of the economy. it may be a sign that japan's economy is improving, despite the pandemic. the economy watchers survey found the index for workers sentiment