ai, back to you. >> sounds good, ramin. thanks for that update. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> more japanese consumers are using smartphones and tablets to get on line, and that's hurting the pc market. in fact, domestic computer shipments in january plunged to a record low. analysts at a japanese association for electronics in the i.t. industry say manufacturers ship nearly 650,000 desktop and laptop computers. that's down 13% from a year earlier. the value of the shipments also tumbled 18% to just over $480 million. that's the lowest figure since data became available in april 2007. >>> manufacturers in japan usually update their lineups in february. they release products in time for newt schothe new school yean business hires new graduates. >>> touchscreen computers are loaded with windows 8 operating system. the sales are sluggish. stiff competition is forcing manufacturers to drive down prices for corporate clients. >>> the "new york times" announced last month that it plans to sell the boston globe. the sale is a sign of

we shall see. >> ramin expectations is pretty high. that boj will take strong measures but you know that situation in europe must be a real headache for him. where do we stand today? >> he must be looking at the euro/yen trade right now. let's look at the currency levels on the screen. dollar/yen 94.36 to 41. that could change. eu euro/yen 120.62 to 64. two trading days left for there month. we'll be keeping a close eye on the yen and how that affects key blue chip stocks financials as well as real estate shares here. >> thanks for that update. mitsubishi may have identified the cause of a short circuit. the company has suspended production of the vehicle. it had partly melted from overheating. they are warning owners not to recharge the battery. pre-shipment inspections have found metal chips and other objects in the battery. some of the objects may have entered the battery during production and still passed inspection. they plan to increase sales of its plug in hybrid and electric cars. it wants to produce production to more than 20%

to see how stocks arer performig this thursday let's go to ramin. >> some of the data out of u.s. has pointed to a path of recovery. it should help boost blue chip companies here in japan. let's have a look at the opening levels for the nikkei and the topix for march 14th. 12,326 for the nikkei. let's not forget that the nikkei for for a second day in a row on wednesday but not enough to cause investors to question the recent rally which has seen the nikkei rise in the previous eight trading days. the 1.1% gain in retail sales if february which was the highest gain in five months may boost consumer electronic firms such as sony and we also have to watch developments in china as well and also concerns surrounding china's tax policy. also hong kong's hangsang has shed around 534 points just in the last three trading sessions. that's also a big focus there. >> following u.s. retail sales, where is the dollar yen trading now? >> big focus. let's have a look at some of the pairs there. the dollar is being bought on the positive u.s. retail sales data that we just went over. euro remain

to see how stocks are performing let's go do ramin. we've seen a pull back in european and u.s. markets. are we seeing that down trend continue here? >> yes, we are. the main drag on the market s the reemergence about concerns with the banking scenario surrounding cyprus. that led the euro lower including the yen. let's have a look at the exact opening levels for today, friday, march 22nd. both indexes are trading lower. we're going to see if the nikkei ends in the positive or the negative. we felt the jitters and volatility this week that's for sure. your zone pmi or business activity for march showed a bigger fall with the consensus. the markets here in japan really focusing very much on what the new bank of japan chief will do after he clearly stated at his first news conference on thursday that he's going to pursue bold monetary easing measures to achieve that 2% inflation target. >> that should boost the japanese government bond markets as well but currencies also a key focus as we've seen volatility because of the cyprus and the euro. what are we seeing this morning? >> th

ramin is at the tokyo stock exchange to tell us more. u.s. markets ended first quarter on an upbeat sentiment. we also have key data here in japan. >> we do. let me go over some of the numbers here. industrial out put for february fell 0.1%. that's the first fall in three months. we're going to see what kind of repercussion that has on the market. both indexes are trading higher. there's a focus fundamental economic data or getting back to basics but lingering concerns about cyprus's bailout is still hanging over the markets. investors may be looking for a reason to check their portfolios and perhaps book some profits or wait for further market cues. here we're going to get a big market cue when the bank of japan meets next weekend. it's going to be the big focus. of course, the first bank of jan policy board meeting. the new bank of japan chief and lot of focus there on what measures he may take. the nikkei has risen to fresh highs and the yen has weakened on the premise of the government and the bank of japan are going to do everything poss

to see how stocks are trading this tuesday morning here in tokyo, let's go do ramin. >> we could be in for a bit of a bounce here if currency markets are anything to go on. we've seen the euro rebounding a touch. we're seeing a bit of a rebound. the last time the nikkei fell that much in one day was back on august a 5th, 2011. we've seen a few set backs for stocks. the upward trend will be a big focus. we're seeing the rebound today. given the fact we'll have central bank meetings, the federal reserve in u.s. and also in japan we'll have the new bank of japan governor installed here. really following the news from cyprus we did see financial stocks falling here in japan and overseas. we'll keep track of that sector today and some of the other issues that feel as well. >> you mentioned currency markets. give us the levels. >> the currency levels especially the euro, yen and the dollar/yen. the yen continuing on that weakening trend. that's following the set backs that we saw yesterday. the euro has rebound and is back to the mid 12 levs a you can see on the screen. the yen has come back

to see how stocks are performing this friday we're going to switch over to ramin. the positive momentum just continues in the u.s. and the nikkei also saw gains yesterday. is that continuing this friday? >> it doesn't seem. we should see further gains. i'll come to the opening levels right now for friday march 15th. let's have a look at the nikkei and the topix. 12,458 for the nikkei. i have to add volume has been a little bit below average. with some of the profit taking moves we're seeing during the sessions lately it could be investors are a little bit undecided as to the levels that we're at right now. a lot of focus on that. we have been tracking real estate, banks and exporter sectors of the market. those are key sectors to watch out for especially given the fact they are the most likely to gain from further aggressive monetary easing measures. we are already seeing considerable gains in those secto sectors. i'll be tracking those again. >> against the dollar it looks like further weakening is the norm again. >> i'm seeing a little bit of that. let's look at

to see how this is affecting markets here in japan let's go to ramin who is at the tokyo stock exchange. concerns still seem to be far from over. >> exactly. it does seem to be rearing its head again. that's as the u.s. economy shows signs of vitality. here in japan the japanese government beginning steps to implement major changes after decades of inflation. concerns are coming from europe and affecting global markets. let's see how we're opening up here. the markets this time yesterday got a big boost. we did see the euro surge. the relief seems to be short lived as we're seeing in the opening lels. the rescue deal for cyprus could serve as a template for other european countries with strug e struggling banks. that comment really heightens some of the worries in global markets that the deal that was made may result in more problems down the road. now a bit of a negative reaction here in tokyo. we also might see which is a bit of a worry is a return to safer assets by investors including the yen. >> many investors watching the yen's movement. the japanese currency has been on a major w

ramin, good to see you. >> good morning, matt. >> we have a lot of childhood stars growing up and weted for "little miss sunshine." she's 16 now and plays a high school teenager who goes to the mall and gets abducted by this weirdo creepy creek and halle berry is on the other end of the 911 line and it's a thriller. >> this is a big leap here a couple of disney stars, vanessa hudgens and selena gomez. >> this was explicit, almost rated nc-17, both women are in their 20s, trying to grow up, they go on spring break and meet james franco this gold toothed character but parents need to be cautioned because there's a lot of sex, nudity, drug use and violence. >> how do you think the audience will feel about the leap the two ladies are making? >> i think audiences should stay home and see their next press. >> elsa fanning, sister of dakota fanning, a new movie coming out. >> she was in "we bought a zoo" and playing a london teenager coming of story in limited release. >> savannah? >>> what's up, jennifer paros is a reporter for "us weekly." >> good to see you.. >> miley cyrus and liam hems

to see how stocks are performing this friday we're going to switch over to ramin. the positive momentum just continues in the u.s. and the nikkei also saw gains yesterday. is that continuing this frid it was at ar and the euro are coming back a little bit. there were concerns regarding the euro yen about italy's finances and the government bond auction midweek but that looks to have subsided a little bit. 124.87 to 92 for the euro yen.