ai, back to you. >> good stuff, ramin. thanks a lot. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> now, china says it is ready to help europe tackle its credit crisis, but has yet to reveal how or when. state run news agency says the vice premier expressed support for the eurozone sunday during his meeting with the irish prime minister in the capital, dublin. he backs it, but he says his country will choose how to help. other chinese leaders expressed support for europe, the country's biggest trading partner, but they remain vague about details. >>> now a recap of the latest market figures. >> that's the latest from business. back to catherine. >>> the governor of okinawa says it is impossible to build an airport for forces. he was respond to go a defense minister report on the environmental impact of the plan. the government submitted that report in december. it was one of the final stages in a plan to construct an airfield in a coastal area of nago city. it would replace some functions of the futenma station. but he listed 175 pr

ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> as ramin said in his report, sony is facing a huge loss. the newly appoint ceo announced his resolution. e ceo announced his resolutiod ceo announced his resolution. >> translator: i feel a sense of crisis. we are faced with a tough situation. if we don't act quickly, we will be beaten by the competition. >> he will take the helm of the electronics maker april 1st when the current president howard stringer steps down. he vows to turn around their loss making television business by cutting costs through more outsourcing. the tv operations are set to make a loss for the eight this straight year, offered to raise profitability boosting digital cameras and game consoles. let's look at the latest market figures. >> that's the latest in business this hour. >>> europeans are bracing for more snow and freezing conditions. the eastern region gripped by a strong cold snap since last week, leaving at least 120 people dead. in ukraine and poland, the cold wave was responsible for 30 deaths thursday. the two nations have seen more than 90 people d

ramin, thanks for that update. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> labor unions held massive protests throughout spain on sunday. the demonstrations are in response to government reforms intended to help the country rebuild its finances. spain is burdened with huge debt. major labor unions organized marches in 57 cities, including the capitol city, madrid and barcelona. they introduced measures february 10th to reduce labor costs and increase the global competitiveness of spanish businesses. one of the measures makes it less costly for companies to fire their employees. unions oppose the measure, saying they make it too easy to staff workers. they will call a general strike unless the government reconsiders the reforms. >>> japan and china agreed to boost a multi national financing framework in asia to prevent european debt problems from spreading to the region. japan's finance minister met with the chinese vice premier in beijing sunday. the three ministers agreed to make use of a currency swap prog

ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. and let's also look at other markets that are open this hour. >> and that's the latest from business. >>> workers at fukushima daiichi are trying to cool the plant's number two reactor. they are injecting water into the facility but the temperature remains high. spokes persons maintain it is in a state of cold shutdown. tokyo electric power company issues say a thermometer at the bottom of the reactor monday read above 73 degrees celsius. the temperature has risen more than 20 degrees in the past four days. spokespersons say two other thermometers stayed at44 degrees. tepco has been injecting more than ten tons of water per hour into the reactor. spokespersons say the temperature rise indicates the flow of water may have changed direction after plumbing work was carried out, disrupting a cooling system. but they maintain radioactive zen in hasn't been detected in gases around the reactor, and that nuclear criticality is not taking place. they say workers will increase the amount of wa

ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. and let's also look at other markets that are open this hour. >> and that's the latest from business. >>> workers at fukushima daiichi are trying to cool the plant's number two reactor. they are injecting water into the facility but the temperature remains high. spokes persons maintain it is in a state of cold shutdown. tokyo electric power company issues say a thermometer at the bottom of the reactor monday read above 73 degrees celsius. the temperature has risen more than 20 degrees in the past four days. spokespersons say two other thermometers stayed at 44 degrees. tepco has been injecting more than ten tons of water per hour into the reactor. spokespersons say the temperature rise indicates the flow of water may have changed direction after plumbing work was carried out, disrupting a cooling system. but they maintain radioactive zen in hasn't been detected in gases around the reactor, and that nuclear criticality is not taking place. they say workers will increase the amount of w

for that, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, u.s. and european data providing a bit of boost to the market. how are we doing this morning? >> very good morning, ai. weekly joblelaims showing unemployment benefits remains low and business sentiment survey in germany showing uptick for the fourth month in a row, offsetting a little negative sentiment surrounding greece and its debt deal. let's have a look how the nikkei and topix kickoff this friday morning in japan. a bit of a mixed picture. the nikkei for the last couple minutes has been trading in and out of negative. the topix there slightly in the positive as well. the nikkei and topix sidestepped lingering concerns about eurozone debt issues as the weakening yen has played strongly into japanese talks not only from foreign buyers but the domestic market as well, across a lot of different sectors for small to mid size companies as well. we are tracking not only exporters because of the weakening yen but also some key domestic producers of components and parts. the yen, of course,

for that, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, good morning. what can you tell us? >> very good morning to you, ai. let's look at the opening levels for nikkei and topix. straight away, markets are higher. yesterday, the nikkei closed a touch lower. if you look there, we're at the 8900 levels. if we touch 9 thousand, that will about the first time since october last year. we will keep track of that. the market is hanging on every bit of news out of greece as far as a draft deal being negotiated there to present to the greek leaders, and that may have pushed up u.s. stocks. but we're going to see slight range trading until we get further news regarding the new deal for greece. the currency markets had something to say about that already, and just having a look at the levels for the euro yen this morning here in tokyo, you can see the euro has gained on the back of hopes of a new deal being pushed through for greece. you can see there 101.68-71. this time yesterday, trading around 100 level. so the euro gaining on the back of hopes for that greek

back to you. >> ramin, thanks for that. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. let's also look at other market figures. >> that's the latest from business. >>> tokyo electric power company says a faulty thermometer is likely to blame for the rising temperature at the fukushima daiichi power plant. one of the thermometers inside the number two reactor started to show high readings late last month. temperature exceeded 80 degrees celsius, the critical level sunday. it rose to 94.9 degrees at noon monday. the utility says it thinks the thermometer is broken. two other instruments in the reactor showed the temperature dropped to about 33 degrees. >> translator: a cable inside the thermometer is probably cut, resulting in a false reading. but since the actual temperature is below 80 degrees, we think conditions are okay. >> tepco has received billions in public funds since the march 11 disaster. now the government is demanding more say in how tepco runs its business. the industry minister issued a warning to tepco, saying the owner of the crippled "nuclear watch" pla

ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. the nikkei higher by eight-tenths of a percent. >> that's the latest in business. back to catherine. >>> the russian military plans to build more outposts on a group of four disputed islands off northern japan in a move to tighten control over the region. russia state run news agency says the military will construct two outposts next year on two islands. the agency quoted the cheech of the general staff as having said that five outposts already exist on the islands. he also disclosed plans to repair a military airfield and to replace some tanks with light weight armored vehicles more convenient for snowy roads. russia has been building roads and other infrastructure and upgrading equipment for 3500 personnel stationed there. >>> a territorial dispute between japan and russia has been simmering for decades. we just mentioned in our earlier story about the issue. the two sides have been engaged in negotiations over four small islands off japan's northern prefecture of hokkaido, but a so

let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, good morning to you. what else can you tell us about the currency market as the week kicks off in japan. >> very good morning to you, ai. a major talking point of the markets, lost ground against the dollar and euro the last couple weeks, investors a little less worried about european debt issues if you will, and also hopes as you said for a faster recovery in the u.s. economy. let's have a look at the euro yen and dollar yen this monday morning. you can see 81.44-45 yen. compare that to 76 yen at the beginning of february. euro yen now, 109.63-69, euro yen was trading around 99 yen at the beginning of the month. you can see quite a move against the yen with the dollar and euro. let's have a look at the actual stock levels with nikkei and topix this monday morning. both indexes trading higher. we got positive momentum going. however, markets may be facing a little head winds on the back of rising oil prices due to geopolitical tensions. we may see pairing back as we head into a heavy week as economic date

to see how stocks here are opening this thursday, let's go to ramin at the tokyo stock exchange, what can you tell us? >> nikkei closed above 9,000 last year, helped largely by prospects of renewed optimism of the u.s. economy. the crux of the problem for greece, of course, is the plan for the country to repay its debt by tightening its belt, by cutting costs, is also eating into prospects for growth for greece's economy itself. that's playing into concerns as well. if greece fails, which other weaker euro zone economy would be next. the currency is painting a daily picture for us about the prospects for issues. let's have a look at currency zone issues as well this thursday morning. the euro/yen, the focus there, you can see they are holding steady actually, 102.10 to 16, dollar/yen holding steady as well. ai? >> ramin, here in japan yesterday, we had earnings numbers from nissan, up-beat numbers will. >> definitely. after the bell yesterday showing a net profit for the three months ending in december of last year and also saying that operating profit was up 3.6%, vehicle sales were

back to you. >> ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. now let's look at some other asian markets that are open this hour. >> more updates next hour. >>> let's go to bangkok to find out what's making headlines. >>> in afghanistan, days of chaos and outrage following the burning of the koran by u.s. soldiers escalated in one day when a car bomb exploded near an american military base. the taliban has claimed responsibility for the deadly blast. nhk world has this report from kabul. >> reporter: the explosion occurred in jalalabad and in the eastern province early monday morning. a car bomb went off near the gate of a u.s. military base. local government officials say at least nine people were killed, including afghan soldiers. another 12 were injured. the taliban issued a statement claiming responsibility. it said the attack was retaliation for the burning of the koran and it said it will continue its violent response. protests have been ongoing throughout afghanistan since the incident. as of sunday, at least 30 people have died, with 200

for now, back to you. >> thanks, ramin. the nikkei up 1.9% so far this friday morning. >>> japan's trade deficit with china grew nearly six fold in 2011 over the previous year. this was due to the natural disasters in eastern japan and the historically high yen which pushed down exports from japan while imports from china soared. the japan trade organization said last year's trade deficit with china stood at $22 billion. that's almost six times larger than in 2010. exports to china rose 8.3% to over $161 billion. however, the pace of growth slowed sharply compared with the increase of 36% in 2010. the march 11th disaster and strong yen caused a fall in exports of vehicles, food and semi conductors. imports increased 20% to over $183 billion. smart phones produced in china are rapidly growing in popularity in japan. another factor is a surge in the import of dry batteries, electric fans and other energy efficient products. they say it is likely the trade deficit with china will increase further. the organization says japan's

for now, back to you. >> ramin, seeing flat movements on the stock market as of now. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> the european union says it will investigate whether south korea samsung electronics breached antitrust rules by accusing rivals infringing on technology patents. they notified samsung and regulating authorities in member countries it launched a formal investigation. the european commission says it suspects the south korean firm is not giving other companies fair access to the patents it holds on smart phone technology. this technology is considered essential for european mobile phones. samsung and u.s. rival apple are involved in patent litigation in several countries around the world. both seek injunctions to block each other's sales, claiming infringement of technology patents. >>> housing starts in japan improved slightly in 2011, but remained below 1 million units for the third year in a row. the land and infrastructure ministry said on tuesday that housing starts totalled 834,117 units last year, up 2.6% from the previous year. n

>> ramin, let me get this straight, a weaker yen makes oil imports to japan more expensive? >> exactly. any energy products, especially oil, is going to add to some of the concerns. we already heard japanese oil companies and trading companies have to maybe reduce oil imports from iran and get a large percentage of oil there. so we'll keep track of all of those stocks within the oil and energy sectors, but for now, back to you. >> thanks for that. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> south korea just opened, let's get a check on those levels. >>> that is the latest in business for this hour. it's back to catherine now. >> thanks very much, ai. >>> next we go to vietnam for a first in a series of special reports about the rapid economic development of central vietnam. >> reporter: international media often refer to vietnam as a country with a vibrant economy, but in reality, economic development has taken off primarily in the north around the capitol hanoi, where i am now, and down in the south around ho chi minh. until recently, they had been left behind the ra

>> and about exporters, ramin, one thing that stood out in trade deficit numbers for japan the other day was a dip in exports to china. >> exactly. that's a little focus point as well. japan had the worst drop in exports to china since 2009, around 20% drop. also the follow through on that was drop in china's exports to eurozone countries because of the crisis going on there. a lot of japanese manufacturers selling to china were hurt because of that. a bit of a domino effect there, and that's what a lot of economists are focusing on now as well, apart from other things. >> so i guess a lot of focus if february numbers show rebound in exports. >> because of the lunar new year holiday in other countries, february numbers may show improvement. the u.s. economy indicators show signs of recovery, and of course, high demand for japanese autos, high tech components and parts. that's crucial. the march 11 disaster and disruptions, they see japan returning to trade surplus in 2012 when the sectors return to normalcy. very quickly, wti crude oil prices surged overnight in new york. wanted to t

back to you. >> thanks a lot for that, ramin. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> major japanese electronics maker completed a turbine factor in india where economic growth is likely to boost demand for electricity. a ceremony to mark completion of the factory was held in chennai sunday. the plant will produce state of the art super critical steam turbines and generators. in india, the supply of electricity has not kept pace with the country's economic growth, causing frequent blackouts. the indian government plans to increase total electrical output by 150% over the next five years. at the ceremony, toshiba president expressed his intention to expand his company's business in the field of electricity infrastructure. >> we place particular emphasis on the energy sector by applying our own cutting edge technologies. >> other japanese giants are also entering the electricity market. mitsubishi is manufacturing turbines and boilers at a factory in india. hi tach ee also building a factory there. with chinese and frenc

ramin mellegard is at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. what can you tell us. >> good morning to you. the dow had the highest close since may, 2008 after the surprisingly strong jobs data friday in the u.s. and nasdaq hitting an 11 year high as well. it could be good for exporters and financials. the banking sectors one of the biggest gainers friday. let's look at the opening levels this monday morning here in japan. the nikkei well up over 100 points in the first few minutes of trading as you see, topix up 10 points. stocks in japan have been trading on positive sentiment out of the u.s. economy so far, but a couple of factors may hold back some momentum. one, the continuing concerns as you mention about greece and weaker eurozone countries, and also some earnings that we have had out of japan, especially if you look at the outlook and guidance from some of those companies. but let's look at currencies as well this monday morning. the yen may still be supported there because of continuing concerns over greece, means investors may keep mon

back to you. >> ramin, thanks for that update. ra memin mellegard from the tok stock exchange. >>> and a positive economic cater, industrial output rose 2%. they released a preliminary report this morning, said the increase is mainly due to rising auto and digital camera production. they forecast it will rise 1.7% in february and another 1.7% in march. a recap now of the latest market figures. more business for you next hour. >>> researchers around the globe are working on a vaccine against the most deadly type of bird flu, h 5 n 1. the u.s. government halted the publication of some of the latest research saying the information could be used by terrorists. alex kurs has the story. >> reporter: they attended a symposium on h1n1 in new york. the debate was heated. >> you could have benefits ten years down the line. that's why it is important to share the information with everyone. never know who is going to do the right experiment. >> if we are wrong, the consequences will be so catastrophic, we will all go back and ask ourselves wh

tens of thousands of people, including the president ramin and cabinet members took part in prayers. colorful parades were held. to mark the day, many muslims provided alms that will be used to help the underprivileged. >>> malaysia's community has been gearing up for one of the most important days in the hindu calendar. the festival. on the day, they parade through the streets of kuala lumpur. they smashed coconuts, symbolizing the defeat of the ego. flowers and incense was offered. some people climbed the 272 steps to the temple in the caves in the area to fulfill their vows. >>> i had to open up my umbrella this morning and that cold snap we were having in tokyo has given way to a warm spell. sayaka mori has the latest weather picture. >> welcome back to the weather update. let's begin with japan. a lot of clouds are covering much of the nation. underneath them are heavy amounts of precipitation blankets much of japan. particularly right along the pacific side. thunderstorms, gusting winds and high waves will accompany the torrential rain. as for the back side of the nation, the p

[laughter] craig: no, because, i thought it was weird that ramin nazer the comedian was standing by justcase there was an opportunity for him to dash out and do four excellent minutes of comedy geoff: that's dedication, man. craig: that's what separates -- i was going to say the men from the boys. it is probably a bad night to talk about that. geoff: why do you smell like mangos? [laughter] craig: let's just say i've been dabbling in the dark arts. [laughter] nah, nah -- well, we got to go. good night, everybody. . >>> we arrived at the scene. >> love was found beaten to death on the uva campus and the suspect. >> george is withdrawing from the university of virginia and remains in the custody of the authorities. >> today george huguely wept in court. >>> this is 9news now. >> nearly two years after the murder that shocked uva and the whole nation, a guilty verdict for george huguely the fifth. jurors convicted him of second degree murder in the death of his former girlfriend yeardley love. >> just a few minutes ago, they recommended a sentence 25 years on the second degree murder charge

[laughter] craig: no, because, i thought it was weird that ramin nazer the comedian was standing by justcase there was an opportunity for him to dash out and do four excellent minutes of comedy geoff: that's dedication, man. craig: that's what separates -- i was going to say the men from the boys. it is probably a bad night to talk about that. geoff: why do you smell like mangos? [laughter] craig: let's just say i've been dabbling in the dark arts. [laughter] nah, nah -- well, we got to go. good night, everybody. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, . >>> you're watching cbs is 11 news. >> tens of thousands of animals abandoned, left to die. tonight this terrible clean up. >> vandals desecrate a church right at the beginning of lent. >> and the food you eat makes you sick. >> it can come out of nowhere. >> more are developing allergies as adults. the symptoms you shouldn't ignore. good evening. i'm dana king. >> i'm ken batista. it looks like one of the worst case of cruelty in years. >> tens of thousands of chickens starving to death. they were on a ranch. >> reporter: crews made every effort to keep u

thanks a lot, ramin. we've just gotten this in as well, theapor on stock exchange on hock cade o the northernmost island of japan. they've actually halted trading on all of their shares. there's only 74 shares that trade on the saporo stock exchange and they're experiencing technical difficulties. we'll keep our eyes open on how the stock exchanges do throughout the day. let's see how tokyo share prices are trading following all of this news. the ones that are trading actually opened higher this thursday morning following the overnight rise in european and u.s. markets. let's take a look. the nikkei index is currently up by almost 70 points at 8,879. that is a gain of 0 .8% and it is currently at 765. this, of course, excludes the issues that are not being traded due to the systems failure. let's take a look at the currency market. the dollar is moving at a lower range at the lower 76 yen level as players are watching developments in the greek sovereign debt talks. the dollar yen and the euro yen at the b

ramin, good morning to you. think is a two-woman race. >> it is. i think this will be the moment of the night and you can hold me to it. it's between meryl streep who was nominated 17 times, a record, for playing british prime minister margaret thatcher and then viola davis in "the help." i think she'll win and be emotional. last time an african-american woman won was halle berry in 2002. viola davis will be the second. >> best actor, jean dujardin and george clooney? >> i think jean, star of "the artist," the george clooney of france, will win. >> speaking of "the artist," that's almost a shoe-in for best picture. >> nine nominees for best picture. "the artist" will win. last time a silent film won was "wings" in 1929. >> if there is another shoe-in, octavia spencer? >> and christopher plummer for "the beginners." >> billy crystal hosts as well for the ninth time. now here's ann. >> nowambrose. what will the stars be wearing? first, a flashback to last year. michelle williams created a lot of buzz. >> she was v