sumitomo mitsui group earned $6.9 billion up 28%. and mizuho financial group about $5.5 billion, showing a rise of nearly 44%. sumitomo's and mizuho's were the highest since the 2008 financial crisis. it was attributed to an increase in the value of share holdings. strong sales of stocks and investment trust by securities affiliates also helped. the bank of tokyo mitsubishi ufj and mizuho bank are considering increasing their base salaries this spring. if they do go ahead with the pay raises that would be the first in 19 years. >>> car buyers here in japan are rushing to show rooms before the consumption tax goes up in april. new auto sales surged nearly 30% in january, from a year earlier. industry officials say new models that have hit the market recently are selling well. industry groups say january sales totalled a little more than 496,000 units, including mini vehicles. that's up 29%. and a fifth consecutive increase. but officials of japan automobile dealers association predict that the brisk demand ahead of the tax hike will p

union officials and managers at nippon steel and sumitomo metal kicked off negotiations on friday. labor representatives are demanding an average wage increase of about $7 a month over the next two years. >> translator: our request is based on the need to reward the workers' hard work and maintain their morale. as well as to help create a virtuous cycle of the industry's growth. >> in response, he said they will improve how to improve longer-term competitiveness. they also said they will build the company's financial health, and try to keep its workers happy. now these wage negotiations at japan's major corporations will peak in mid-march. >>> let's get a check of the markets now. the euro fell after germany's top court questioned the legality of the european central bank bond buying program. euro dollar right now is at right around 1.3571. germany's constitutional court decided to refer the ecb's unprecedented bond buying program to the european court of justice, saying it may exceed the bank's monetary policy mandate. meanwhile, dollar/yen is at right around 102.08. trading at a

union officials at a major bang sumitomo miss u have joined the campaign to press for a salary increase. the labor leaders are demanding a base pay raise for the first time in 17 years. they want a half a percent hike and plan to submit their demand to management by the end of march. the focus is whether bank executives will agree to raise the monthly pay, not just giving bigger twice a year bonuses. labor unions at two other major banks, tokyo mitsubishi ufj and mizuho are considering making similar demands. senior bank managers have been cautious about pay raises until now, because many financial institutions receive government bailouts when they fell on hard times back in the 1990s. >>> many people in japan are worried about the possible impact of a sales tax hike in april. the chairman of the association of car dealers is one of them. he sees sales falling about 10% this year from 2013. >> translator: we expect auto sales as a whole to show a sharp drop this year. >> he said a drop seems inevitable despite various measures the government has taken. they include a cut in the automobi

goodyear has managed to to boost its bottom line and they are also boosting its relationship with sumitomof japan. -- a lot ofdecline concerns about slowing sales growth at the grocery, cutting its forecast for full-year sales eatingwith competition into its sales and gross margins he cause it is trying to keep its prices down to key people shopping. onto the big stories -- time warner cable just ended the love triangle. this is going to create the largest cable operator in the united states of america. the question is will washington give the go-ahead to the comcast-time warner union? my guest was the first publisher androlling stone" magazine ed lee. tot are the obstacles here see this through? aren't there some significant antitrust issues at play? >> there could be and that's a big part of what the regulators want to look at. as far as consumers go, it does not change their choice. cable is a monopoly kind of as it is anyway. >> it does not change the calculus for consumers and that is what regulators want to look at. they also want to look at how comcast will play with the tv networks