let's go to ramin. he's at the tokyo stock exchange. a bit of a boost from the weekly jobless claim figure but some concern in the tech sector to watch out for as well. >> you mentioned some record closing highs for the dow. however, we did hear an industry report in the u.s. which said pc shipments globally plunged 14% in the first three months of 2013. we'll have to watch out for tech sector shares as well. let's look at the opening levels for april 12th, friday here in tokyo. both indexes trading lowing in the first few minutes of trading. let's remind viewers that the nikkei did close above 13,500 yet. despite talks among investors we have yet to see science igns of off. there's a bit more faith into japanese shares. we've seen the yen weaken even further falling and approaching that hundred yen level against the dollar. meanwhile the drop in pc sales may be of concern especially we saw shares in the likes of hewlett-packard. >> ramin, with regard to the yen, we were approached that psychologically crucial 100 yen level a few times

back to you. >> thanks, ramin. that's it for me for now. i'll leave you with the market figures. >>> japanese prime minister abe defended visits by his cabinet ministers to a war related shrine. he says they should not bow to criticism from japan's asian neighbors. three ministers visited the shrine over the weekend. the shrine in tokyo honors japan's war dead, including some convicted of war crimes. the visits triggered protests from chinese and south korean officials. speaking in the diet, abe questioned the timing of those countries' complaints. he said china did not object to visits by japanese' leaders to yasukni when those convicted of war crimes were enshrined there in 1978. he said the chinese protests began only later and that south korean official began to strongly object only during the n the mid-2000s. >> translator: it is natural for us to pay our respects to the people who sacrificed their precious lives for the state. it is also only natural for ministers in my government to act freely without bowing to pressure. >> abe said

back to you. >> thanks, ramin. in other business news italy's new prime minister has expressed his intention to pursue more growth oriented policies to rebuild the country's finances. italy has gone through political turmoil after the february election. the new coalition government was finally launched on sunday. he delivered his first speech to parliament on monday. >> translator: up to ten years without growth. growth policies cannot wait any longer. >> he said he will halt the collection of a property tax due in june. the coalition has been demanding the abolition of the tax. the new prime minister also stressed the importance of european unity. he said it will keep the budget deficit. he said he will work on reforming the country's current law. he elected he will resign if results are not apparent within 18 months. let's take a look at the global economic scene. first, the euro zone jobless rate for march will come out on tuesday. in february unemployment in the 17 nation. p in the united states the february wi

dennis quaid, the director ramin, thank you, ramin, thank you, dennis.een watching all my life. you didn't know i was out there watching. >> you, too. >> thank you. let me ask you about this -- it's almost like roller derby. the job of the farmer is to screw other farmer to get more land. >> this is not your typical farm film for sure. wall street has come to the heartland of america. the only thing missing are the skyscrapers. the family farm is disappearing in this country and it's become -- it's pitting neighbor against neighbor because the motto is expand or die, get it big or get out. henry wipple is involved in this system and has been corrupted by it in a sense. and it's -- he -- the character is based loosely on chasing the american dream and becoming corrupt by that and it's a weight that he gives this exterior of a very sure confident person but there's a lot of self-loathing that goes on inside him. >> ramin, what is this about the american -- the farmer, it's like the small single screen movie theater has a hard time, right? >> yeah. >> every

for more on how stocks here are trading, let's go to ramin standing by at the tok stock exchge. od morning! good results from apple and how about the overall data and how are tokyo stocks acting. >> despite that flash crash, a lot of folks really focusing on apple's numbers you touched on there. they seemed to take it positively in after-hours trading, it was trading around 3% at one stage. let's have a look at opening levels for tokyo april 24th this wednesday. both index in the positive. 14,074 for the nikkei and 1,156 for the topix. we should be on the lookout for components for apple products showing smartphones and tablet devices are out-pacing pcs as a product of choice for many who want to use the web. yahoo! japan for instance has already started taking steps to introduce smartphone ready online stores ahead of pc websites. so that's a trend that we really should be watchingut for. we should also keep a eye out for financials, after u.s. stocks gains in the likes of bank america and jpmorgan led the indexes higher there. also, we had economic data. new home sales rose by

for more on how stocks are trading let's go to ramin who is standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. investors are closely following the report but can you tell us a little bit about a few economic figures. >> very good morning. we had consumer price index coming out just before the nikkei and the topix open this morning. consumer prices in japan excludesing volatile food prices fell marking a fifth straight monthly drop compared to a year ago. that's an important factor right there. l let's have a look at the opening levels for friday. both indexes in the positive. we're approaching that 14,000 leve if we break above that it will be the highest level since june 2008. the bank of japan will release report on price trends for the upcoming two-year period. bank of japan governor will give a meeting later today. japanese prices have ended higher. investors still looking to continue to buy exporters despite some of the earnings results which were weaker than consensus. i'm talking about canon and nintendo. some big names released yesterday after the bell. sony returns a pro

to find out how stocks are trading let's go to ramin at the tokyo stock exchange. there's some negative spilling over. what is expected? >> markets are really focusing on what may come out of that g-20 meeting. let's have a look at how the markets here are opening this friday, april 19th. both indexes in the positive. 13,263 for the nikkei. the nikkei ended lower on thursday and so far it's down on the wheat. it may give direction as we heard that ibm's earnings fell for the last quarter highlighting the fall. microsoft and google beat some estimates. that may also give some direction about the outlook for the u.s. economy. earnings and economic data there, a little bit of a focus as well. >> the g-20 is a meeting of international financial leaders. a lot of focus on currency moves. gives us an up dadate on where are now? >> let's have a look at it right now this friday morning as tokyo stocks kick off here. 98.24 to 25. it hasn't shifted that much but hasn't retreated too much either. compared to monday when it dipped to 95 yen levels, if you remember. as you ment

to find out how stocks are trading let's go to ramin at the tokyo stock exchange. there's some negative spilling over. what is expected? >> markets are really focusing on what may come out of that g-20 meeting. let's have a look at how the markets here are opening this friday, april 19th. both indexes in the positive. 13,263 for the nikkei. the nikkei ended lower on thursday and so far it's down on the wheat. it may give direction as we heard that ibm's earnings fell for the last quarter highlighting the fall. microsoft and google beat some estimates. that may also give some direction about the outlook for the u.s. economy. earnings and economic data there, a little bit of a focus as well. >> the g-20 is a meeting of international financial leaders. a lot of focus on currency moves. gives us an up dadate on where are now? >> let's have a look at it right now this friday morning as tokyo stocks kick off here. 98.24 to 25. it hasn't shifted that much but hasn't treatedoo much either. compared to monday when it dipped to 95 yen levels, if you remember. as you mentione

let's go to ramin. how are stocks starting off this tuesday? >> very good morning to you.eally earnings was a bit of a focus and earnings from the likes of texas instruments as well as caterpillar boosted sentiment in the u.s. markets. we saw gains in energy and commodity related shares and prices as well. they were some of the best performers on the dow. let's have a look at the opening levels. both indexes in the negative. 13,537 for the nikkei and 1,143 kicking off for the topix. investors in tokyo should be look out for shares in the tech sector after caterpillar rose 3%. executives at the firm said that demand would pick up in china as well as emerging markets. housing data in the u.s. also weighed down touch on the dollar and that's after existing home sales fell in march. that also put a halt to any further advances in the dollar yen up to that elusive 100 yen level that everyone has been looking out for. >> haven't seen that level yet. maybe investors waiting for further data or words from the upcoming boj meeting this week. >> exactly. fundamental news and central

let's go to ramin at the tokyo stock exchange. the boj took out all the stops yesterday. we saw a positive reaction in the markets. are we seeing that momentum continue this friday morning? >> what a reaction indeed and debut for bank of japan chief. he announced pressures that not only met market players expectations but in some cases exceeded them. let's have a look at the opening levels for today. we can really see a strong positive reaction. 13,1 13,171. topix up 4%. that's the first time we're above 13,000 since august 29, 2008. the boj has not done enough in its main mission. that was then. let me just remind viewers about the shift in the markets yesterday that before the boj announcement went through we saw a 559 point swing from the low of yesterday to the end of the high of yesterday's session on thursday. now let's have a shift to currencies as well. dollar/yen 96.48 to 50. thursday traders really originally betting the yen had weakened enough leading up to that meeting but the actions of the bank of japan proved them different. let's have a look at the euro as

for more on how stocks are trading let's go to ramin. earnings are a big focus but the minutes of the federal reserve seem to have grabbed the investors attention. >> very good morning. that's been a focus, earnings. let's go to the opening levels first for april 11th here in tokyo. both indexes in the positive. 13,4 13,465. let's see if we can approach that. pretty positive start. the hopes are that earnings will show an improvement in the u.s. for companies and also corporate outlook and guidance will determine whether we will break higher or whether stocks might falter a touch. the minutes show some officials were open to the idea of scaling back the bond buying program if the jobs picture warranted it this year. that will be interesting to see the jobs picture in the u.s. measures taken so far will have ample staying power. the focus is when yen may break above the 100 yen level. >> where do we stand now? must be very close. >> very close indeed. the closest was around 99.85. it's bounced back just a touch. 99.67 to 72 as you can see

for more on how is to bes here are trading, let's go to ramin who is at the tokyo stock exchange. hello. assignments inv it seems investors are shifting focus. >> investigators have been cheering by the measures taken by the bank of japan. now the focus is on how that will benefit cooperations. let's have a look at opening levels for april 9th, tuesday here in japan. both indexes trading in the positive in the first new minutes of trading here. just to recap for our viewers. on monday let's not forget the bank of japan decided to buy $12 billion worth of japanese government bonds and that's the largest amount it's ever done at once. that was a big move in the markets yesterday. despite the move, despite the fact the bank of japan has just only started implementing the measures to boost japan's economy the nikkei has been powering ahead already. we've seen a weakening trend. that's really enough time for a lot of moves to have trickled down into the earnings reports for a lot of exporters and banks and other key sectors. we'll be looking out for that especially considering the fact

for more on how stocks are trading, let's go to ramin at the tokyo stock exchange. seems like we're having a bald week with stocks up and down every day. >> it does seem that way. we had housing data on tuesday that rose and now we see the likes of bank of america and some of the major tech suppliers coming out with weak numbers and forecast this which pulled down the key indexes as well. let's look at how that is translating into the opening levels for today, thursday, april 18th here. both indexes in the negative. 13,247 down one 1% the nikkei. down 1,125 for the topix. the nikkei rebounded on wednesday. the focus today may shift to financial and tech related shares especially as shares of apple fell in relation to one of the suppliers on its outlook sighting in ipad shipments. we're going to being looking out for component suppliers here in japan that make a lot of parts that go into products such as tablets and smart phones of which apple makes many of those as well. we keep track of that sector as well. >> kicking off later today the g-20 over in washington, d.

to see how stocks in japan are trading let's go to ramin. good morning. a bit of hesitation in markets here in japan and the u.s. >> a couple of key events this week and the bank of japan policy board meets on wednesday. both could dictate where dollar/yen trades in the days to come. let's have a look at the opening levels for today. we're seeing both indexes trading lower considerably. the nikkei down 2.3% and the top topix down 2.5%. we're weaker than what many had expected. some of the marketplace also warning that if the bank of japan policy meeting fails to inspire and if the u.s. jobs data falls short of expectations then stocks could take a bit of a hate especially with indexes just as the nikkei and the s&p 500 have been hitting highs. there's a bit of a concern. the nikkei has been down over 300 points in the first few minutes of trading. we could be seeing that slide correction right now in fact. we've also seen the yen regaining strength ahead of bank of japan meeting. that's also going to be very closely watched. >> seems like u.s. manufacturi

for more on how stocks here are trading let's go to ramin. he's at the tokyo stock exchange. tokyo traders waking up to some unfortunate news this morning. how is the markets over there looking? >> a lot of focus on the explosions in boston and u.s. markets did take a tumbles. concerns about the global economic outlook as well. let's go straight to the opening levels for tokyo for the nikkei and the topix for april 16th, this tuesday. both indexes in the negative following on from the u.s. markets. 13,054 for the nikkei. topix down just under 2%. we saw a sharp decline on monday following the worst than expected gdp data out of china. it's caused investors to shift funds back into what they consider safer assets. one of them being the yen. we have seen some fluctuations in the u.s. financial markets keeping a very close eye on gold. the price of gold had its biggest one day drop falling around 9%. you can see the graph there and the figures coming up to a two year low on monday. that's due to fears over the sale of the precious metal by central bank. also interesting to see h

for more on how stocks are trading here in tokyo let's go to ramin. he's at the tokyo stock exchange. investors are focusing more on the boj in the u.s. how are stocks trading? >> markets focused on the bank of japan policy meeting later today. markets have literally been buying into the aggressive talk of boosting growth here in japan, achieving the 2% inflation goal set by prime minister abe. today we're going to see what exact measures the central bank may take. let's have a look at the opening levels for april 4th here in tokyo. both indexes trading lower. the nikkei down by 2% and the topix down by 1.6%. in addition to the jobs numbers that you're talking about we also saw a decline in nonmanufacturing ism data. to say we have had a volatile week ahead of the boj meeting would be an understatement. the nikkei had seen a 579-point swing between the low and high this week. that's a big move. the markets seem to be placing bets on whether the bank of japan will disappoint or surprise the markets. >> a lot seems to have been priced in it. also the ad

now to ramin at the new york stock exchange. it got a sharp downgrade and how's the u.s. trading? >> we did get a bit of a boost and the u.s. economic data was supportive. housing starts jumping 7% in march. industrial production also rose and consumer price index or inflationary numbers fell. gold also jumped 2% and earnings results from the likes of coca-cola and johnson & johnson also boosted sentiment. you would think all of that would result in a positive start to tokyo. let's have a look at the levels. both indexes are in this positive. almost up 1% for the nikkei and the topics is up 1% as well. the nikkei ended lower yesterday, to remind viewers but did rebound quite a bit towards the close as we saw the yen reversing earlier gains on the dollar and continue over its weakening course and boosted stocks and we're seeing continuation helped by the u.s. market. we will watch closely for further indications. investors may be wary making further moves ahead of that g-20 meeting later this week as the yen's weakness has been a concern and we touched on that several times. >> we