let's get ai uchida from our business desk with more on that. >> premier wen jiabao has announced several shifts one being slower growth, the other being that his government will wean the economy off it reliance off external demand and foreign capital. wen made the remarks in his annual work report to the national people's congress in beijing on monday. >> translator: this year's first priority is to expand domestic demand especially consumption. we should pursue the goal of long-term stable and rapid economic development. >> china's economy is heavily reliant on exports and foreign investment and has been hurt by the credit crisis in europe. but analysts say the world's second largest economy is better placed to boost domestic consumption than japan, the united states or european countries. >>> japan and vietnam are enhancing their ties. japan's top business group is visiting the southeast asian nation this week. the two sides are talking about continued cooperation in infrastructure development including construction of nuclear power plants. japan business federation chairman met the vi

uchida reports. >> tokyo stock prices are falling fovnit plunge we saw in new york. investors are placing sell order on a wide range of shares. the nikkei average isrelyat9555 in. e bader topix is down 7 pointst819. both of them are down above 8%. sources say thatlol investors are focusing on the ouof negotiations between the greek government and private investors including commercial banks over debt writedns. d currencieses, the yen is gaining ground against both the trinthis wednesday.tokyo e dlas currently changing hands at 80.72 to 73, t euro/yen at the bottom of the screen is at 6. to 05. sources say that investors' atntn now drawn to greece with the negotiation deadline is set for thursday. and a look at the latest long-term interest rates. e el ohe benchmark ten-yearapes geren bo down just about one basis point. >>> tokyo prosecursla t serve new arrest warrants during the day on former ecuve o olympus. the executives are alleged to have kept hiding losses after 2009. osuts previously arrested kikukawa the president of the optical eipntkealong with vice preside

ai uchida joins us from the business desk. >> good morning to you. agency, european, even u.s. markets fell. the dow-jones industrial average fell for a second day in a row on that news about china. it is a brand new day. let's see how stocks are reacting to that in tokyo. for that, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, how is the nikkei looking this tuesday morning? >> good morning, ai. a lot of focus on china as you mentioned, lowering its growth estimate and a lot of focus on growth prospects for the world's second biggest economy, and also exposure for a lot of sectors for japan's economy as well. heavy industry and export sectors. let's look at how the nikkei and topix are kicking off this morning. both indexes are trading higher. we are back above 9700 level. we closed below that yesterday first time in a week. markets just taken a little step back after substantial gains we have seen so far this year. china's lowering of growth estimate sent some indexes low. we saw a slip in stocks with heavy exposure to china's growth in japan, such as constructi

ai uchida from the business desk is here to tell us more. >> that's right, catherine. general motors is tieing up with citron, the world's eighth biggest automaker. the u.s./french tie-up will create the world's largest alliance. annual sales are likely to exceed 12 million units. that's over 50% more than any other car maker in the world. the firms say gm will acquire a 7% stake in citroen, which coincides with the french car maker's pl to boost its capital. the automakers plan to share key components. they'll set up a joint venture to coordinate the procurement of parts and materials. that's to bolster their operations mainly in the sluggish european auto market. there u the brand alliance, the firms will develop small and mid-sized cars using a common framework. aaim to launch new models within four years and eventually boost their profits to about $2 billion annually. general motors and citroen together sold over 12.5 million cars last year. that's far above the unit sales for the world's second largest auto worker, volkswagon. third biggest, toyota, sold nearly 8

ai uchida has the latest on that. >> just yesterday i'm sure you remember the united states decided to exempt japan from its sanctions. now japan is calling on the european union to exempt it from a planned embargo on iranian crude oil. japan depends upon iran for 10% of its crude oil imports. the eu compiled a new set of sanctions against iran because of its nuclear development program. includes banning insurers from covering tankers from carrying iranian crude. japan's trade and ministry said if the sanctions become effective in july as planned, all oil shipments to japan will have to stop. that's because most crude oil importers have contracted with european insurers. the japanese government says it will step up efforts to persuade the eu to accept the japanese plea. the eu is likely to finalize the embargo later this week. >>> sony will sell its chemical products business to a state affiliated bank. the move is part of the firm's efforts to turn around its finances through streamlining. the japanese electronics maker is in talks with the development bank of japan over a sale of its

ai uchida from the business team with important trade data. >> i'm going to start off with credit account balance, money made from exports minus imports plus any foreign investment japan may have. japan's been in surplus for a while on a month basis. it's been shrinking steadily and in january the country posted the largest current account deficit on record since 1985. the finance minister said the figure in january showed a deficit of about $5.4 billion. the current account deficit was mainly due to a trade deficit and service balance deficit combined which stood at slightly over $18 billion. exports tumbled 8.5% as europe's debt crisis slowed down the global economy. meanwhile, imports surged over 11% due to rising demand for natural gas after the nuclear plant accident in march of last year. higher prices of crude oil also boosted imports. now, i also have gdp for you. japan revised up its economic growth to minus 0.2% in the period from october to december 2011. that's compared to the previous quarter. in annual terms that translates into a 0.7% drop. this is up from the 2.3% decline

ai uchida is here. >> we saw a small pull back after a strong rally. investors may have been taking profits ahead of key economic data. ramin, judging by the open investors taking a step back here as well until hearing more about jobs data in the u.s. this week. jobs data is a key focus due out friday. a couple of events in europe may get focus of investors. mainly the greek bond swap deal, and also european central bank meeting thursday. also a bit of focus in europe as well as jobs data in the u.s. let's look at the opening levels this monday morning. looking at the nikkei and topix, both indexes trade marginally lower. let's not forget nikkei ended friday higher, despite data friday which showed a slight rise in unemployment in january and slight dip in the consumer price index. the key factor gains in the nikkei so far has been the weaker yen. that helped propel the nikkei higher in the last few weeks, approaching 10,000. we have to wait and see for that one. let's switch to currencies as well. as i mention, the weaker yen playing a big part in gai

ai uchida joins me. what's behind the drop in new york? >> uncertainty in one word. we have greece and the slow down in china worrying investors. in fact, that was what was behind the dow-jones industrial average registering the biggest daily loss this year. let's see what's going on here in the tokyo markets. for that, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, markets are seeing a bit of a correction. how is the nikkei acting this morning. >> very good morning, ai. let's go and have a look at the nikkei and topix. quite clearly, nikkei down over 100 points. 9,532. topix down 9 points. nikkei and asian indexes were in fact the first to react to china's lowered growth estimates as we've seen, asian indexes and nikkei down two days in a row, nikkei might be down three days in a row judging by opening levels. the main concern on global markets is greece not being able to follow through on the latest debt deal. investors are taking a little money off the table until there are clearer sides. u.s. jobs data is also due out friday. may give investors an e

." >>> let's check in with ai uchida. >> they are looking for direction from wall street, stocks ended higher due to encouraging economic date a let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, some key data out here in japan as well before the markets open. how are stocks doing? >> definitely, ai. very good morning. cpi numbers, consumer price index fell 0.1%, fourth straight month of declines for cpi, and also unemployment data which rose to 4.6%. let's look at how the markets are reacting to some of the data and look at the nikkei and topix. pretty positive, both indexes trading higher. don't forget nikkei fell back slightly yesterday at the close. modest losses compared to the overall upward trend we have seen for the nikkei this year, and volume of shares traded has been high, showing the upward momentum, seeing a lot of buying from domestic and foreign buyers. the weaker yen has played into the gains for the nikkei. also on the back of the move from bank of japan last month if you remember, to ease the monitor policy, ease the asset buying program and this week we

ai uchida joins me with what is doing what. >> in order to avoid the u.s. financial sanctions january naez oil companies are voluntarily reducing crude oil imports from iran. the top wholesaler jx nippon oil and energy plans not to extend its contract with iran beyond april. meanwhile, cosmo oil sharply lowered its quota when it renewed its contract with iran in january. to make up for the cuts the whole salers are boosting imports from saudi arabia, the you nated arab emirates and other oil producers. if the middle east situation worsens japan has about half a year's worth stock for domestic use which it plans to reduce to ease market jitters. >>> let's get a check on how stocks are trading with ramin mellegard who is at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. tokyo had a day off yesterday while the u.s. saw some of these developments in the issue of sanctions on iran. >> ai, very good morning to you. as you said there, the markets were closed yesterday, tuesday, but let's have a look at the opening levels here this wednesday morning for the nikkei and the

ai uchida from the business team is here with a check on the business markets. ai. >> as you mentioned, investors not completely convinced yet that the drama in the eurozone as a whole is over yet. that in addition to concerns about slower growth in china actually weighed down u.s. markets overnight. so let's see how stocks here are trading as a reaction. for that we're going to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning to you. a bit of a pullback in stocks. how is the nikkei doing this friday? >> very good morning to you, ai. let's take a look at opening levels for the nikkei and topix this friday morning. can you see a very clear-cut picture actually, and we can see thereto nikkei down over 100 points, but it's still holding above the 10,000 key level, so let's see if it can hold out there and close out the week there, but still a pretty negative start there. the topix down nine points. the nikkei average has actually been one of the outperforming indexes so far this year despite some of the negative news that has been coming out of china and j

ai uchida joins us with details. >> the leaders have been monitoring greece's austerity measureses. the leaders of the you're peen union countries have approved a second greek bailout package making it likely that one part will be implemented next week. the leaders 130 billio euro package. they agreed last week that the bailout package would be implemented. this is on the condition that the request to private sector banks of reducing the value of their greek debt holdings would go smoothly. >> eurozone leaders support the efforts undertaken by greece and the assistant offered by the european commission to strengthen the country's institutional capacity improving also tax collection is a case in point. >> the leaders also discussed boosting the european bailout fund for countrieses in serious fiscal trouble. the participants agreed to postpone making a decision on the issue by the end of march as germany, the largest contributor is opposed to boosting the fund. >>> the ongoing european credit crisis has pushed the jobless rate in the 17-nation euro zone to it highest since the launch

ai uchida joins me with details and a check on tokyo levels. good morning. >> good morning, catherine. as for wall street, traders sold because the most recent housing data was disappointing. unfortunately that follows a series of other disappointing housing data. let's she how tokyo stocks are reacting to all of this. the tokyo stock exchange has just opened. ramin mellegard is standing by to give us the latest levels. ramin, very good morning to you. how are markets being affected? >> very good morning to you, ai, and pretty negative start here following on from the case hi case-shiller home price index. let's have a look at the hoping levels for the nikkei and topix, down over 100 points, still above 10,000 though but down over 100 points for the nikkei and down 10 points for the topix. the nikkei closed yesterday, however, at its highest point since the march 11th, the day the disaster struck japan actually last year, and yesterday a very large percentage of stocks on the first section of the nikkei 225 traded at their highest levels this y

let's get ai uchida to tell us more. >> good morning, catherine. exactly. bernanke says more needs to be done to create jobs. he says that that will require keeping credit easing measures in place. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke spoke to a group of economists. bernanke welcomed the recent decline in the u.s. jobless rate, but he said employment at -- unemployment at 8.3% remains far from a normal level. >> we kant yet be sure the recent pace of improvement in the labor market will be sustained. conditions remain far from normal as shown, for example, by the high level of long-term unemployment and the fact that jobs and work remain well below precrisis peaks. >> the fed chief said having many people out of work for extended periods could lead to structural problems for the whole economy. he said they will have more difficulty finding jobs the longer they are unemployed. >>> now following his speech, the dow jones industrial average ended higher regaining almost all of the losses made last week. so let's see how stocks here in tokyo are kicking off. w