. >>> let's get an update on how investors are reacting to those numbers, ramin mellegard is standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning, ramin. what can you tell us? >> thank you very much, ai. those numbers you just mentioned coming in a little bit wider than market consensus, but let's have a look at how the nikkei and the topix are reacting for today, wednesday, august 20th. both are in the positive, nikkei up 0.25%. we'll see how that progresses. the nikkei hit a two-week closing high on tuesday and both indexes registered seven days of gains in a row. now investors may be prompted to continue buying shares here today, after inflation and housing data released in the u.s. on tuesday eased some worries about the u.s. economy, and helped push the dollar higher, and that of course should continue to support exporter shares here in japan. the dollar has risen even further from this time yesterday, so that bodes well also. ai? >> so where does the dollar stand against the yen this wednesday morning, ramin, and what are you hearing where the trading may be headed? >> the doll

ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. i will be back next hour with more of your business headlines. here is a look at some of your other market he is. >>> officials with the world health organization have been tracking the ebola outbreak in west africa, and they say the epidemic continues to accelerate. they say more than 20,000 people could be infected in the next six months. the w.h.o. has published new figures. they show 3,069 people have been infected or believe to have been infected with ebola, and the fatality rate is reaching more than 50%. 1,552 of them have died. the u.n. health agency officials say the number of actual patients could already be several times higher, and they say there could eventually be more than six times as many cases as doctors currently know about. officials are calling for a global response to the spread of the virus. the agency says it needs $490 million to combat ebola as it set out a road map for tackling the outbreak. researchers suspect the first case was a 2-year-old boy in guinea i