i'm raja pradhan in tokyo.s "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so don't go away. ♪ >>> this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. japanese retail giant seven & i holdings says it'll close a quarter of its main supermarket and general merchandise outlets. the company is planning to focus on its 7-eleven convenient stores. seven & i is shuttering 33 of its 126 ito-yokado stores in japan, mostly in regional cities. seven & i will seek to grow in the tokyo metropolitan area. it's seen clothing sales struggle as more people opt for specialty retailers or online sellers. seven & i said it'll completely withdraw from operating an apparel business and focus on food sales. >>> nissan motor says it plans to bring down costs for electric vehicles to the same level as gas engine cars by 2030. the japanese auto maker says it'll get there partly by sharing more components across power trains for evs and hybrid models. the firm believers this will reduce production cost by 30%. it aims to first bring down manufacturing pr

i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. next is "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so stay right there. ♪ >>> this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. now, japan's upper house is formally approved the new bank of japan governor. a former board member and economist, he is set to assume the role april 9th. a majority of the lawmakers voted for him on friday. the decision follows the lower house's endorsement the day before. the upper chamber also improved the government's two deputy governor nominees by a majority vote. they are himino ryozo and current boj executive director uchida shinichi. both take office on the 20th. they all serve five-year terms. >>> friday also saw policymakers unanimously agree to leave the central bank's monetary easing program unchanged. the announcement followed their two-day meeting. the boj will keep the short-term interest rate in negative territory. it'll also continue asset purchases to hold long-term rates at around 0%. the yield on the japanese bond will be around a range of plus or m

i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. coming up next and "newsline biz" with gene otani. so stay right there. ♪ >>> this is "news line biz." i'm gene otani. a visit by south korea's to japan is spurring expectations relations may return to normal. tokyo announced on thursday it's set to drop tighter controls on high shipping costs of materials. that came after a meeting between the countries. japan tightened rules for exporting free materials used for semiconductors and organic led displays in 2019 citing security concerns. japanese companies are major manufacturers of these goods. south korea reacted to the controls by filing a complaint with the world trade organization in 2020. japan's decision to ease the controls came as it has confirmed that south korea will drop the wto case. >>> japan has posted its biggest ever trade deficit for february as soaring energy prices pushed up the value of imports. the finance ministry says the deficit last month was nearly 900 billion yen or about $6.7 billion. it was the largest deficit for february since comparable data became avai

i'm raja pradhan in tokyo.right there. ♪w3r >>> this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. now, u.s. federal reserve policymakers haveq pushed aside fears that a further interest %■ system that is already inxdó[■ they have managed to slow inflation through a series of increases and the latest one is a quarter of a percentage point, bringing the8■ target range to ■ we spoke with a senior economist about how heu the numbe2■p one priority has beetoxd lower inflation close to their 2% target, and chair powell has been verye1 clear abt this for the past ei1■ months ore1 a year. however, it was a surprise for me today they are taking into account the current turmoil as the rise in credit costs pretty strongly. but the fed will conm hike the rates until may or maybe june and stay there for the rest of the year. >> some had predicted the recent loss of confidence in the banking sector would force 1 fed to hold off on any ratee1 increases for now. we first saw the collapse of two mid-sized banks in the u.s., and in eu