to see how stocks are opening in tokyo, let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, looks like profit taking after last friday's gains from strong u.s. jobs numbers. how are stocks kicking off this tuesday morning? >> good morning to you, ai. let's look at the opening levels shall we for nikkei and topix. marginally lower this tuesday morning. as you can see on the screen, the nikkei closed above 8900 yesterday for the first time since october last year. trading value ao eeeded 1 trilli yen for the last five trading sessions. strong moves there. may trade in a range as on-going concerns about greece's latest debt package is weighing on global markets. and that may mean we might lose a little momentum which we're seeing in the first few minutes of trading. for the dow and nasdaq, u.s. markets lost a little ground monday. it ended friday on a high not seen since prehma crisis and solid job numbers. the big focus today is earnings. and with that, toyota, coming out with earnings after the closing bell today, and a lot of focus on manufacturers. we have seen a shar

to see how stocks are opening in tokyo, let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, looks like profit taking after last friday's gains from strong u.s. jobs numbers. how are stocks kicking off this tuesday morning? >> good morning to you, ai. let's look at the opening levels shall we for nikkei and topix. marginally lower this tuesday morning. as you can see on the screen, the nikkei closed above 8900 yesterday for the first time since october last year. trading value also exceeded 1 trillion yen for the last five trading sessions. strong moves there. may trade in a range as on-going concerns about greece's latest debt package is weighing on global markets. and that may mean we might lose a little momentum which we're seeing in the first few minutes of trading. for the dow and nasdaq, u.s. markets lost a little ground monday. it ended friday on a high not seen since prelehman crisis and solid job numbers. the big focus today is earnings. and with that, toyota, coming out with earnings after the closing bell today, and a lot of focus on manufacturers. we have se

to see how stocks are opening here, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, looking at the opening levels, looks like markets may tread a careful line ahead of the u.s. payroll data. >> we could see that. and hopefully won't get any more glitches at the tse when trading was halted at 241 shares due to some malfunction in one of the servers. let's look at the opening levels this friday morning. a bit of a mixed picture. topix up slightly, nikkei down 15 points. nikkei closed in the positive, despite the half day trading suspension on key issues, stocks like sony in trouble. they came out with earnings yesterday after the close saying that net loss, reporting net loss of $2 billion and also saying that it expects a net loss for the rest of the fiscal year close to $3 billion. other major companies like hi tach ee have a net loss, profits fell 45%. and keeping to its outlook for the fiscal year on hopes of increase in sales in its automotive systems, and a shift away from consumer electronic goods to infrastructure, it, and electrical power. let's look at

for that, we are crossing over to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, very good morning to you. u.s. markets were closed for a public holiday. so i guess we're taking our cues from europe, what they did monday. >> definitely, ai. very good morning to you. as you said with the eu finance ministers gathering in brussels, markets got a little bit of hope there or optimism that a deal would go through. we saw that reflected in indexes in europe, having to look on the screens. you can see uk's ftse, the dax, and cac 40 ending higher. u.s. markets were closed. let's look at how japan and tokyo are kicking off. a little mixed picture. topix slightly higher, nikkei, marginally lower. we will see if the nikkei reverses during the day. it did end up 1% yesterday, the highest close since august 4 last year, largely on the back of the weaker yen. we'll keep an eye on key exporters to see if that continues today in the short term trend after bank of japan's move last week, stepping up monetary easing which sent the yen lower. speaking of currency, let's look a

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

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,

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 that, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, the u.s. on holiday today. looks like all the focus could be on the eurozone and greek debt deal. >> yeah, exactly, ai. very good morning to you. the u.s. is closed for president's day later today, and a lot of focus on the greek deal, and also on 17 finance ministers gathering later today in brussels. markets are expecting them to sign off on that new funding package for greece. we will keep focus on that. let's look at the opening levels this monday morning. 9,549. so we are well above the key level. that's the highest since august last year. it did close above 9500 last friday as well, so we're seeing the momentum carrying through here. another factor that could help us carry higher is that weaker yen against the dollar, and especially against the euro. let's look at the currency levels as well this monday morning. you can see there if you look at euro yen, 105.27-29, and the euro gaining on hopes that break through deal for a second bailout package for greece will go through. look at the dollar yen as well.

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. new condominiums posted 29% of growth on expectations for recovery and demand, mainly in the greater tok

and now to see how stocks are trading in tokyo, let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. the dow broke 13,000 at one point. what's the early impact on japanese stocks? >> very good morning to you, ai. as you mention, the crucial 13,000 level on the dow, interesting to see if we continue above that, but let's go to opening levels for the nikkei and topix, see if there's any positive momentum. we can see there's slight positive momentum. both in techses trading higher. the nikkei ended lower yesterday on a little profit taking after the day before closed at the highest since august, last year. obviously a lot of focus has been on weaker yen in the last couple weeks, losing some ground in a little bit of reshuffling of asset allocation by investors from relative safety of the yen and dollar. that follows stronger hopes of recovery in the u.s. economy, following some of the economic data we had, and also a little hope on fuller resolution to greece's debt problems. let's have a look at currency levels this wednesday morning. just looking at dollar yen, euro yen, yen is still

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

ramin mellegard is at the stock exchange. how are stocks moving? >> markets are hanging on every bit of news out of greece with the new austerity plan. we saw market reaction already in the u.s. as you mentioned with the dow ending in the negative. and also some moves in the currency markets. but let's look first at where the nikkei and topix kickoff this monday morning. a little mixed picture there. the nikkei is trading in the positive. the topix, dropping back a touch. as you mention, we also have japan's gdp numbers for october to december last year. as you mentioned, minus 2.3 on an annualized basis. so a little lowering of industrial production, due to flooding in thailand. consumer sentiment and strong yen playing into those numbers. the nikkei, saw it trading above 9,000 a couple times last week, but did see some profit taking into friday, and we may continue to see that, depending how the yen trades following the greece austerity measures. let's look at the currency markets as you can see on the screen now. a little fluctuation in the euro

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

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

for more on how stocks here are reacting, let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. so ramin, is the positive market momentum continuing after yesterday's gains? >> very good morning to you, ai. apart from the dow closing above 13,000 level, we also saw the nasdaq coming to a few points close to the 3,000 level as well, so that's positive momentum for markets here, and let's just have a look at the opening levels and see there for the nikkei and topix, both indexes trading higher in the first few minutes of trading. nikkei up around 10% this february. continues to see strong gains across the board in many sectors. exporters are the biggest winners as the weakening trend in the yen continues. rising tensions in the middle east and oil embargo against iran caused volatility in the brent and wti crude oil contracts. in fact, wti crude price is down 2%, and that's the second straight day of falls after gains of around 3% in previous sessions, highlighting the volatility we are seeing in oil prices. japanese shipping and trading companies will be in focus as insurance cost

to see how stocks are opening this friday, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, looks like a positive start for us as well. >> pretty positive stuff. let's go straight to the numbers, ai, look at the nikkei and topix this friday morning. you can see the nikkei almost up 200 points, 180 points for the nikk nikkei. largely because of the austerity plan for greece. go through possibly by start of business monday as greek and eu leaders come close to agreement on finer appointments. also economic data out of the u.s. shows positive signs there. we had weekly jobless claims coming out at 4 year low and also the philadelphia federal reserve bank coming out and saying business activity rose significantly in january. another aspect that may propell stocks higher today which we've already seen at the open is the slightly weaker yen, and that is against both the dollar and more significantly against the euro. let's look at the currency levels this friday morning as stocks kickoff in japan. you can see the euro yen at the bottom of the screen, 103.52-57. that was trad

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 race for prosperity, but that picture is starting to change. over the next three days, we take a closer look at how vietnam is trying to bring the central provinces up to speed. now, hanoi is at the forefront of the nation's economic development. earlier, i went to take a look at how things in the capitol are changing. hanoi is experiencing a construction boom. high-rise buildings are popping up across the city. you can also see many huge shopping malls all ove