back to you, ai. >> thanks ramin. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> german car manufacturers have reported record profits for 2011. a weak euro boosted sales in china a oth emerging markets. volkswagon says the sales hit a record price ofof sales with8.3 million vehicles. gm held on to the top spot with 9 million units. daimler reported $140 billion andecord profits of $7.9 billion. and bmw had sales of 90 billion dollars and profits of $6.4 billion. time for the latest recap of the latest market figures. >> and that is the latest in business. back to katharine. >>> thanks ai. the head of the bank of china may indicate they may ease policy to spur economic growth. zhou xiaochuan said they may lower the requirement ratio. the ount of cash the chinese banks must hold in reserve. >> translator: the requirement now stands at 20%. we have much room to bring it down. >> zhou said it is closely necessary to monitor the debt crisis on his country's economy. he says global economic trends recommend the policy.

back to you. >> ramin, thanks for that report.hat was ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. here is a look at other market figures. >> that is going to do it for now in business. >>> we're bringing stories leading to the first anniversary of japan's disaster in our series, lessons of march 11th one year on. the earthquake triggered a tsunami and crisis. more than 15,000 died and 3300 others are missing. our coverage comes from the hardest-hit prefectures in the northeast. iwate, miyagi, and fukushima. today we have a story on the city of koriyama. radioactive material was leaked into the air, sea and soil. people evacuated nearby areas, but contamination is still an issue farther away from the nuclear plant. parents are limiting time children play outside, so that's prompted officials to get creative. here is a report. >> reporter: i'm standing outside a new indoor playground called pep kids koriyama. kids can exercise and have fun without worrying about radiation. koriyama is about 60 kilometers from fukushima daiichi, and

ramin mellegard is standing by to give us the latest levels. ramin, very good morning to you. how are markets being affected? >> very good morning to you, ai, and pretty negative start here following on from the case hi case-shiller home price index. let's have a look at the hoping levels for the nikkei and topix, down over 100 points, still above 10,000 though but down over 100 points for the nikkei and down 10 points for the topix. the nikkei closed yesterday, however, at its highest point since the march 11th, the day the disaster struck japan actually last year, and yesterday a very large percentage of stocks on the first section of the nikkei 225 traded at their highest levels this year. so still yesterday was very positive. we're seeing a little bit of a pullback today. domestic and foreign buyers also flocking in to buy japanese stocks. now, looking forward, of course, a lot of high dividends may be paid out so investors also trying to lock in some of those stocks before the fiscal year ends this week here in japan. on a negative note, though, elpita memory, one of japa

thanks a lot, ramin. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> japan and vietnam are enhancing their ties. japan's top business group is visiting southeast agency nation this wiek. the two sides talking about continued cooperation in infrastructure development, including construction of nuclear power plants. japan business federation chairman met the vee knap east minister. he is touring southeast asia through saturday. the vietnamese minister called for assistance, stressing progress in infrastructure for the nation's economic expansion. he said mutual cooperation was necessary to create a favorable business environment and to promote continued growth for asian economies. he also called on vietnam to help japan join the trans-pacific partnership trade talks. vietnam is one of nine nations discussing the free trade initiative. the vietnam minister expressed support and said the two countries are in dispensable partners for economic development in the asia pacific region. >>> one of japan's bigges

ramin, markets are seeing a bit of a correction. how is the nikkei acting this morning. >> very good morning, ai. let's go and have a look at the nikkei and topix. quite clearly, nikkei down over 100 points. 9,532. topix down 9 points. nikkei and asian indexes were in fact the first to react to china's lowered growth estimates as we've 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 shippi

and ramin though, u.s. economic data, still, that continues to show steady improvement, so markets i guess in a bit of a twist with positive u.s. data, but, you know, as you said, slowing growth in china. >> yeah, exactly. a bit of a twist there because a lot of investors are looking at, for instance, weekly jobless claims numbers which came out yesterday in the u.s. which showed a new four-year low, leading indicators, another indicator which shows business cycle in the u.s. also showed a rise but then, of course, we have the slowing growth concerns in china. japan counts china as its biggest trading partner but also relies on the u.s. markets for a lot of its exports, and with the economic data so far out of the u.s., looks like overall markets are taking more of a cue from the u.s. markets. today we're seeing a bit of a pullback, if you will, with the nikkei down over 100 points but still above that 10,000 level. let's see if we can close the week out above 10,000. back to you. >> all right. sounds good,

let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, good morning. blue chips and tech stocks are higher. how are stocks this friday? >> reporter: we may see a bit of a break from that right now. looking at the nikkei and topix trading lower. you mentioned key levels for the dow and nasdaq. the dow holding above 13,000. the nasdaq above 3,000. the standard & poor's 500 closing above a key level not seen in four years. 1,400. the dow there. keeping above 13,000. that is strong. let's have a look at the opening levels in tokyo this friday morning. you can see what i'm talking about there. 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-mont

to see how stocks here are trading let's go to ramin mellegard. we've seen a mixed picture for u.s. stocks but i hear trade data was just released in japan. >> we have the trade figures for japan. a bit of a surprise there. showing a surplus for the first time in five months of around $400 million. and we're seeing a little bit of reaction there. the yen gaining a touch which is actually capping any upside for the nikkei. let's have a look at the exact levels for the nikkei and the topix. trading in and out of positive territory for the past 15 minutes. a bit of a mixed picture there. 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 produc

back to you. >> thanks for that, ramin. ramin mellegard from the tokyo sto stock exchange. let's see where south korea's kospi is opening. and that is the latest in the business for this hour. it is back to you. >>> thanks, ai. chinese leaders are getting to grips with economic reality. the premier says it must show it can protect the environment at the same time growing the economy. he acknowledges that chinese businesses are doing environmental damage. we have the story from beijing. >> reporter: chinese government officials will say there were more than 500 environmental accidents in the country last year. some of the main causes were oil spills and explosions at chemical plants. one big problem is pollution by factories. here is a look at some of its effects. >> translator: arrest warrants have been issued for ten people at a factory that released cadmium into the river. >> translator: officials came across the chemical here. industrial waste water containing cadmium was flowing into the river. this factory was releasing the contaminated water. public prosecutors think

ramin, some key data out here in japan as well before the markets open. how are stocks doing? >> definitely, ai. very good morning. cpi numbers, consumer price index fell 0.1%, fourth straight month of declines for cpi, and also unemployment data which rose to 4.6%. let's look at how the markets are reacting to some of the data and look at the nikkei and topix. pretty positive, both indexes trading higher. don't forget nikkei fell back slightly yesterday at the close. modest losses compared to the overall upward trend we have seen for the nikkei this year, and volume of shares traded has been high, showing the upward momentum, seeing a lot of buying from domestic and foreign buyers. 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 currenc

ramin, stock markets are kicking off well in 2012. what do you think, can the momentum continue in march? >> that's the multi-billion dollar question, ai, and by that, i'm referring to whether greece can repay its bondholders later this month, even after its second bailout, and also geopolitical tensions in the east. those are the factors that may hold the markets back. march 1st for the nikkei and the topix this thursday morning, both indexes continuing to upper momentum there, the nikkei up 52 points and topix up three points. 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

>> ramin, the yen's weakening trend appears to be continuing. what can you tell us there? >> definitely, major story there, the currency markets really helping a lot of the key blue chip exporters, we'll keep track of that. let's look at the levels as well today. the dollar and the euro rose against other commodity related currencies such as the australian dollar and also the yen still in a weakening trend there. you can see the dollar/yen 83.61-66 and the euro/yen upper 110 levels, 73-78, so really ai a lot of the major story there, growth concerns in china, also oil-related stocks regarding the iran story as well, and the weakening trend for the yen, which has really been helping a lot of key export stocks. we'll keep track of that. 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

back to you. >> ramin, thanks for that update. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock germany says it may be willing to stump up more cash for the eurozone bailout. germany's softer stance means they may be able to reach a deal on boosting rescue loans. german chancellor angela merkel on monday signaled for the first time a willingness to boost europe's bailout fund. merkel suggested raising the total lending capacity by 200 billion euros to 700 billion euros. eurozone nations set up the european financial stability facility as a temporary measure two years ago. they planned to set up a permanent rescue fund in july called the european stability mechanism. merkel said it might be possible to run the two funds in parallel for a couple of years. germany, the biggest donor, has long opposed expanding the bailout fund. many germans are unhappy about shouldering most of the costs of rescuing weaker european partners. >>> here's another look at market figures. >> that's the latest in business. back to catherine. >> thanks, ai. >>> the ope

ramin, judging by the open investors taking a step back here as well until hearing more about jobs data in the u.s. this week. jobs data is a key focus due out friday. a couple of events in europe may get focus of investors. mainly the greek bond swap deal, and also european central bank meeting thursday. also a bit of focus in europe as well as jobs data in the u.s. let's look at the opening levels this monday morning. looking at the nikkei and topix, both indexes trade marginally lower. let's not forget nikkei ended friday higher, despite data friday which showed a slight rise in unemployment in january and slight dip in the consumer price index. 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, electr

. >> 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 an annual production capacity of 240,000 vehicles. they're sold in thailand and other southeast asian countries where the company is expected at a fast pace. to recover to fu

. >> 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 largely on the weakening yen. let's have a quick look at the currency levels there. currently 87.17 to $19 yen. we're still seeing a little bit of yen strength there short term but we'll see jernly this year we've seen a reversal of that strong yen from last year and that's expected to improve the survey. i'll have all of the numbers when we come back on monday. back to you. >> all right. thanks a lot for that. from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> now, as he just mentioned, japan's unemployment rate was -- did improve slightly in february. the internal affairs ministry says the seasonally adjusted jobless rate stood at 4.5%. that is down 0.1 percentage point from january. now, the number of people without jobs was about 2.9 million while people with jobs, that stood at over 62 milli