the aggressive bank of japan's monetary policy. now, the question is whether abe -- and he had this strong majority n lower house, whether he will use that to vote down overall the upper house if they want to change the mandates or anything else for the bank of japan. is he going to do that or not? >> i think abe needs to be very careful. the election was more an attempt to punish the dpj rather than a ringing endorsement of the ldp. abe is not particularly popular and i think he's aware of this. i think initially he would be very careful in trying to do this. >> so what will -- are you saying expectations, he will lean on the bank of japan early are wrong? >> possibly, yes. >> why wouldn't he act? would he wait until we have upper house elections in the summer? >> well, i think, yeah, turn house elections in the upcoming summer are going to be very important. stimulating the economy is something he will do to help him enact controversial security policy changes. >> having been at the boj yours, would you agree what you're hearing

incoming leader shinzo abe met bank of japan governor on tuesday. he said he wants to set an inflation target of 2%. policy makers decided to discuss the inflation target in their next meeting scheduled for next month. >>> after the meeting shirakawa stressed the board members will discuss at length abe's demands. >> translator: we will spend the next month preparing for the discussions. i hope we will reach a conclusion at the next policy meeting in january. there is no final decision at this point. >> abe gave a cautious comment on the bank of japan's decision. >> translator: the central bank is putting into practice one by one what we campaigned for in the lower house election. i hope to see a good outcome from these moves before the upcoming upper house election. we work hard so people won't vote against our party as they did to the democratic party in the recent general election. >> abe may not be completely satisfied with the boj's decision. apparently he thinks the central bank can do more. nhk world's raiko asked the professor at a universit

the bank of japan on the japanese economy. clearly, it is an indication that bank of japan is strongly considering changing this target and it would be surprised if no changes ensues. if no change ensues, then you would have political pressure saying we said that bank of japan was inadequate from the ldp and thereby, we have to do something for their independence. so there is no question that this preannouncement means something and there is more than a 50% chance they're going to change their inflation target next month. >> luca, stay with us. we want to bring you major news out of neighboring korea. south korea has chosen its first ever female president. cheri kay has all the news. how significant is the election of miss park? >> well, i mean, she's really made history, set to become south korea's first woman president. it was a very tight race, a very polarized election with park winning 51.5% of the votes. but in the end, south korea made a choice that means more hope of economic recovery. scenes of joy as the v in south k

abe just met the governor of the bank of japan yesterday and he's to told what he wants the bank to do and we'll see what happens as central bank officials gather for a two-day policy meeting that kicks off on wednesday. they'll discuss additional credit easing measures and a higher inflation target. abe urged the bank of japan governor to set a 2% inflation goal. that's after a new administration is established. the central bank policy makers say these aggressive measures could be risky, it could have a negative impact on the economy if prices go up without wage increases. they also worry an accord with the government would restrict the central bank's independence in setting monetary policy. >>> in the u.s. president barack obama and republican house speaker john boehner are scrambling to avoid the looming fiscal cliff. they're trying to reach an agreement on how to tax the wealthy. the president offered to limit tax hikes for people earning more than $400,000 a year. instead of his original proposal of $250,000. but republicans are calling for more concessions. >> what we've offered

there's a lot the bank of japan can do. >> reporter: the boj can take a number of measures. one is to expand the balance sheet. the bank can buy more government bonds and even foreign bonds. another important step is for the boj to have a clear target for price increases. >> reporter: monetary easing alone cannot overcome deflation. >> defeating deflation is possible, unrealistic and not feasible and also destable ieid. >> what's needed to end japan's deflation and rescue japan out of its slump. >> deregulating medical industry, agriculture and maybe try to increase a number of immigrants. that'd be very important. collapse of the japanese markets that probably lead to a significant deposits. when it starts to fall out and banks cannot bjb's, interest will go up. that's how effects are huge. financial system may become really unstable. >> reporter: there's also different views. >> translator: if the boj buys all the bonds issued that's going to raise the problem of fiscal discipline. money is abundant in japan. that's why confidence is not going to disappear. >> reporter: ec

shinzo abe has gotten straight to the point with bank of japan governor. the ldp leader made a direct push for the bank to aim for a higher inflation target. boj governor visited ldp headquarters on tuesday. during their meeting abe urged him to consider setting up policy accord for 2% inflation target after the new administration is established. he declined to elaborate on his discussion with abe. the central bank's policy meeting starts from wednesday. abe repeatedly called for bold monetary easing during his election campaign to help defeat deflation but the boj governor stressed the central bank has been providing the largest amount of market liquidity among advanced countries, implying the boj has already taken sufficient monetary easing. abe told business leaders he plans to pull through on promises and pull japan out of inflation. >> translator: we have to beat deflation, curb the strong yen and grow jobs. we'll do anything to grow the japanese economy. i deeply believe reviving the economy will lead to a stronger japan. >> members of the japan busi

the bank of japan whether to join the plan at the policy meeting next week. it was introduced last november when commercial banks had trouble getting money from the markets due to the european credit concerns. the bank leaders say their decision shows they're taking all possible measures to ease global financial strains. >>> more business headlines for you next hour. here's a check on markets. >>> north korea's state-run media say the country's media oversaw the highly publicized launch this week. others say it was actually a long-range ballistic missile test. they say kim jong-un ordered the launch of the satelte a 8:00 a.m. on wednesday. he's then seen clapping his hands in celebration at what seems to be the control center in pyongyang. following the launch kim said the north must put more satellites into orbit to develop its if he can nolg and stimulate the economy. the north's media was broadcasting footage of the launch and showing images of people celebrating. observers say north korea wants to give kim's leadership a boost ahead of the first anniversa

the bank of japan whether to join the plan at the policy meeting next week. it was introduced last november when commercial banks had trouble getting money from the markets due to the european credit concerns. the bank leaders say their decision shows they're taking all possible measures to ease global financial strains. >>> more business headlines for you next hour. here's a check on markets. >>> north korea's state-run media say the country's media oversaw the highly publicized launch this week. others say it was actually a long-range ballistic missile test. they say kim jong-un ordered the launch of the satellite at 8:00 a.m. on wednesday. he's then seen clapping his hands in celebration at what seems to be the control center in pyongyang. following the launch kim said the north must put more satellites into orbit to develop its if he can nolg and stimulate the economy. the north's media was broadcasting footage of the launch and showing images of people celebrating. observers say north korea wants to give kim's leadership a boost ahead of the first annive

there's a lot the bank of japan can do. >> reporter: the boj can take a number of measures. one is to expand the balance sheet. the bank can buy more government bonds and even foreign bonds. another important step is for the boj to have a clear target for price increases. >> reporter: monetary easing alone cannot overcome deflation. >> defeating deflation is possible, unrealistic and not feasible and also destable ieid. >> what's needed to end japan's deflation and rescue japan out of its slump. >> deregulating medical industry, agriculture and maybe try to increase a number of immigrants. that'd be very important. collapse of the japanese marts that probably lead to a significant deposits. when it starts to fall out and banks cannot bjb's, interest will go up. that's how effects are huge. financial system may become really unstable. >> reporter: there's also different views. >> translator: if the boj buys all the bonds issued tt's goint fiscal discipline. money is abundant in japan. that's why confidence is not going to disappear. >> reporter: economic policy is high up. th

abe just met the governor of the bank of japan yesterday and he's to told what he wants the bank to do and we'll see what happens as central bank officials gather for a two-day policy meeting that kicks off on wednesday. they'll discuss additional credit easing measures and a higher inflation target. abe urged the bank of japan governor to set a 2% inflatn goal. that's after a new administration is established. the central bank policy makers say these aggressive measures could be risky, it could have a negative impact on the economy if prices go up without wage increases. they also worry an accord with the government would restrict the central bank's independence in setting monetary policy. >>> in the u.s. president barack obama and republican house speaker john boehner are scrambling to avoid the looming fiscal cliff. they're trying to reach an agreement on how to tax the wealthy. the president offered to limit tax hikes for people earning more than $400,000 a year. instead of his original proposal of $250,000. but republicans are calling for more concessions. >> what we've offered me

dollar to take profits before today's announcement from the bank of japan. dollar yen is at 84.26 and the euro is lower against the yen. taking a look at other markets in the asia pacific region, south korea's kospi is trading slightly up. let's also take a look at australia. that's trading higher by over .1 of a percent. >>> ubs will pay about $1.5 billion in fines. that's for rigging key interest rates. the total amount that ubs will pay is greater than that of british bank barkleys. they paid over $400 million in fines for its wrong doing. ubs admitted that its employees across its global network has manipulated the london interoffice ras. e rate is use as a global benchmark for financial trading. at least 45 ubs employees were involved in the manipulation or recognized the ilegality their contact. the former trader urged his colleagues to make forged reports on the key rate. he also reportedly predicted when they are predicted by 0.01% point he could make a profit of over $1 million. that is the latest in business headlines. here is a check on regional m

the nikkei's gains are due to optimism that the bank of japan is likely to take further easing steps. there are hopes that exporters will post higher earnings. traders said overseas institutional investors are returning and taking an aggressive stance on tokyo stocks. let's look at the markets. market players are buying up dollars and selling the yen on the yeps the bank will take action. the pair is quoted at 87.75 to 76. earlier in new york the kou oh touched a high against the yen. dealers are closely monitoring how the negotiations on the u.s. fiscal cliff will progress. they resume later in the day. the euro is trading at 113.43 to 48 against the yen. the european currency has risen to a 17-month high. in other markets in the asia pacific region, south korea is trading a touch lower at 1,980. in australia the benchmark index is trading just a touch higher up 1/5 of a percent at 4,643. the new finance minister says the issuance of more government bonds may be needed to secure funds for the fiscal 2012 supplementary budget. his comment follows the prime minister's inauguration. >>

th kkei's gains are due to optimism that the bank of japan is likely to take further easing steps. there are hopes that exporters will post higher earnings. traders said overseas institutional investors are returning and taking an aggressive stance on tokyo stocks. let's look at the markets. market players are buying up dollars and selling the yen on the yeps the bank will take action. the pair is quoted at 87.75 to 76. earlier in new york the kou oh touched a high against the yen. dealers are closely monitoring how the negotiations on the u.s. fiscal cliff will progress. they resume later in the day. the euro is trading at 113.43 to 48 against the yen. the european currency has risen to a 17-month high. in other markets in the asia pacific region, south korea is trading a touch lower at 1,980. in australia the benchmark index is trading just aouch higher up 1/5 of a percent at 4,643. the new finance minister says the issuance of more government bonds may be needed to secure funds for the fiscal 2012 supplementary budget. his comment follows the prime minister's inauguration. >> th

that's because the market speculation, the bank of japan would take further monetary easing measures. the yen came under pressure against the euro on friday, the currency rose to the 114 yen level. that's more than 14 yen higher than when the year started. analysts predict the yen's decline is likely to continue for some time. investors are now focusing their attention on what japan's central bank will do when it's policy making panel meets next month. now let's check on the stock markets in other parts of the world. european stocks are trading in a tight range, investors are keeping an eye on the ongoing u.s. budget talks. london's ftse 100 is trading at 5945. in frankfurt the dax is down about .4 percent at 7625. in paris the index there is down about.8% trading at 3644. earlier in the day asia stocks were higher almost across the board. today was the last trading day the year in many markets. south korean shares ended 0 high pressure 49% higher. mainland china stocks rose touching higher levels in more than six months. the hang seng closed at its peak for 2012. here in japan busine

of japan law which adds more pressure onto the central bank of japan. now, a bit of background, the boj decided last week to extend its asset purchase program by 10 trillion yen, but many investors think the bank needs to do more, still. let's go to ramin mellegard who is at the tokyo stock exchange to get a check on how all of this is affecting tokyo markets. ramin, good morning. >> good morning to you. markets really keeping a close eye on the weaker yen here, and if it's going to weaken further, in fact, and really that's been leading to the gains in stocks that we've been seeing. i also need to keep an eye on the developments of the u.s. fiscal cliff and whether that's going to be resolved or not in the coming days. let's have a look at the opening levels for december 25. 10,000. we're back above that level today, 10r,097. for the nikkei, 10,098. with large volume, i may add coming from both domestic and foreign importers. also sectors who may benefit from the more expansive monetary policy measures that may be forthcoming such as banks and real est

investors are eagerly awaiting whether the bank of japan will take further monetary easing steps. let's take a look at the currency markets. the yen is little change against other major currencies. the dollar is trading slightly lower against the yen. that's after it rose near a one year and eight month high in overseas trading on wednesday. some traders are selling the dollar to take profits before today's announcement from the bank of japan. dollar yen is at 84.26 and the euro is lower against the yen. taking a look at other markets in the asia pacific region, south korea's kospi is trading slightly up. let's also take a look at australia. that's trading higher by over .1 of a percent. >>> ubs will pay about $1.5 billion in fines. that's for rigging key interest rates. the total amount that ubs will pay is greater than that of british bank barkleys. they paid over $400 million in fines for its wrong doing. ubs admitted that its employees across its global network has manipulated the london interoffice rates. the rate is used as a global benchmark for financial trading. at least

would require the japanese central bank to aggressively lower interest rates a policy the bank of japan has been reluctant to adopt abbay could force the confrontation and try to chip away at the bank's independence unless it relents they're going to force the yen lower to try to boost their exports because their economies are not self-sufficient at the same time europe is going to lower their rates jack their rates lower us is going to the rates are going to go lower stand to global currency wars going on global currency debasement and so make up for the shortfall best shadow banking system continues seventy eighty ninety one hundred trillion and shadow banking claims and as long as interest rates are zero or less than zero the shadow banking system is invisible once interest rates tick up which will come with a bond crash because bonds are at multi hundred your eyes then the shadow banking system will eclipse the real banking system and everyone is thought they had something to nickels to rub together will be flat out broke remember and japan is about to enter the global bond market t

would require the japanese central bank to aggressively lower interest rates a policy the bank of japan has been reluctant to adopt abbay could force the confrontation and try to chip away at the bank's independence unless it relents they're going to force the yen lower to try to boost their exports because their economies are not self-sufficient at the same time europe is going to lower their rates jack their rates lower us is going to the rates are going to go lower santa global currency war is going on global currency debasement and so make up for the shortfall that shadow banking system continues seventy eighty ninety one hundred trillion and shadow banking claims and as long as interest rates are zero or are less than zero the shadow banking system is invisible once interest rates tick up which will come with a bond crash because bonds are at multi hundred your eyes then the shadow banking system will eclipse the real banking system and everyone is thought they had something to nickels to rub together will be flat out broke remember and japan is about to enter the global bond marke

convincing the central bank, the bank of japan, to embark on unlimited easing until inflation is stamped out. >> whether the boj would be able to decrease the currency through the monetary ease sg very much debatable. but i think it's possible if boj commits to 2% inflation goal and begin to -- the assets on this balance sheet. >> although the polls suggest the dpj losing in this election, the polls say that 40% of voters are undecided. many of them, though, are very disappointed the dpj failed to deliver on can of the processes they made back in 2009. this comes, of course, at a critical time in terms of national security with a very punishing territorial ongoing dispute with china, so a lot is at stake in this national vote on sunday, which is the first since the march disaster necessary 2011. that's the late freft tokyo. back to you. >> joining us now for more is richard martin. richard, what i find interesting about your notes here is that i at a time when everybody is talking about abbe riding to japan's rescue, you're saying not so fast. >> yes. there's a battle on policy settings

let's talk about the bank of japan, sir. i guess my question to you is, it isn't any surprise that they're moving down this road, you know, weakening their currency in export economy. even though we're at 20-month highs in the dollar versus the yen, take that chart back a few years, and you can see we're making up from low levels. what are your thoughts? >> -- >> listen, we have a sound problem. we're going to have to try to rectify it and come back. carl, i apologize. >> we'll work on that, rick. thank you for that. it has been a big week for crude oil. after the break, we'll go live and see if there are anymore games to come. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] at scottrade, you won't just find us online, you'll also find us in person, with dedicated support teams at over 500 branches nationwide. so when you call or visit, you can ask for a name you know. because personal service starts with a real person. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our support teams are nearby, ready to help. it's

abe is pressuring the bank of japan again to swiftly join his government and put an end to deflation. he says it's only natural for the government to get involved in shaping monetary policy noting that conventional steps have failed to pull japan out of the drawn-out price downturn. abe made his call with officials of the japan business federation or keidanren on tuesday. >> translator: soon after we form a new cabinet tomorrow, i hope the government can establish a policy accord with the bank of japan to set an inflation target of 2%. the bank should be held accountable to meeting the target. >> last week boj policymakers decided to decide whether to set the 2% target in january. the bank's current goal is 1%. meanwhile the keidanren chairman is stepping up efforts to lift the nation's sagging economy. he said the landslide election victory signals the party's hope to regain a strong japan. >> translator: i think a wide variety of policies including monetary policy should be implemented to get the economy back on track. they will together help trigger economic growth again. >> he als

would require the japanese central bank to aggressively lower interest rates a policy the bank of japan has been reluctant to adopt abbay could force the confrontation and try to chip away at the bank's independence unless it relents they're going to force the yen lower to try to boost their exports because their economies are not self-sufficient at the same time europe is going to lower their rates jack their rates lower us is going to the rates are going to go lower stand the global currency wars going on global currency debasement and to make up for the shortfall that shadow banking system continues seventy eighty ninety one hundred trillion and shadow banking claims and as long as interest rates are zero or less than zero the shadow banking system is invisible once interest rates tick up which will come with a bond crash because bonds are at multi hundred your eyes then the shadow banking system will eclipse the real banking system and everyone is thought they had something to nickels to rub together will be flat out broke remember and japan is about to enter the global bond market

would require the japanese central bank to aggressively lower interest rates a policy the bank of japan has been reluctant to adopt abbay could force a confrontation and try to chip away at the banks independence unless it relents they're going to forced again lower to try to boost their exports because their economies are not self-sufficient at the same time europe is going to lower their rates jack their rates lower us is going to the rates are going to go lower standard global currency wars going on global currency debasement and so make up for the shortfall that shadow banking system continues seventy eighty ninety one hundred trillion and shadow banking claims and as long as interest rates are zero or are less than zero the shadow banking system is invisible once interest rates tick up which will come with a bond crash because bonds are at multi hundred your eyes then the shadow banking system will eclipse the real banking system and everyone is thought they had something to nickels to rub together will be flat out broke remember it japan is about to enter the global bond market th

would require the japanese central bank to aggressively lower interest rates a policy the bank of japan has been reluctant to adopt abhi could force the confrontation and try to chip away at the bank's independence unless it relents they're going to force the yen lower to try to boost their exports because their economies are not self-sufficient at the same time europe is going to lower their rates jack their rates lower us is going to the rates are going to go lower stand the global currency wars going on global currency debasement and so make up for the shortfall that shadow banking system continues seventy eighty ninety one hundred trillion and shadow banking claims and as long as interest rates are zero or less than zero the shadow banking system is invisible once interest rates tick up which will come with a bond crash because bonds are at multi hundred your eyes then the shadow banking system will eclipse the real banking system and everyone is thought they had something to nickels to rub together will be flat out broke remember it japan is about to enter the global bond market th

would require the japanese central bank to aggressively lower interest rates a policy the bank of japan has been reluctant to adopt abbay could force the confrontation and try to chip away at the banks independence unless it relents they're going to forced again lower to try to boost their exports because their economies are not self-sufficient at the same time europe is going to lower their rates jack their rates lower us is going to the rates are going to go lower standard global currency wars going on global currency debasement and so make up for the shortfall that shadow banking system continues seventy eighty ninety one hundred trillion shadow banking claims and as long as interest rates are zero or less than zero the shadow banking system is invisible once interest rates tick up which will come with a bond crash because bonds are at multi hundred your eyes then the shadow banking system will eclipse the real banking system and everyone is thought they had something to nickels to rub together will be flat out broke remember japan is about to enter the global bond market they've bee

we'll get the bank of japan's decision tomorrow. but this comes on the day when, remember, it's on the weakening of the yen which we can show you on hopes that that will help the japanese corporate sector. remember, we saw export figures showing a drop of 20% in exports to the use. 15% to china. again, there's a lot of expectation built to this. the aussie/dollar remains the underperformer as we continue to evaluate china's internal rebalancing. now the sterling is stronger, the dollar/yen you already mentioned. and the euro/dollar to get back to the point about the ifo survey is adding .3% to 132.-- 1.3274. we get a rally in the euro. our guest this morning suggested it will be the 150 to 160 range before that becomes any real problem for competitiveness. guys, if we get anything near there, that will certainly be a troublesome development, shall we say, for the rest of the periphery. a lot of cross currents this morning. back to you. >> did you see the -- berlusconi saying that italy might have to leave the euro -- i love this guy

fedex office. >>> words of caution from the bank of japan chief at forum in tokyo. the governor said central bankers need to take a long term policy perspective if they want sustainable growth. he quoted saying central banks must not look for markets to guidance and not overreact to expectations. this after the bank of japan has been the center of a heated political debate ahead of the election. a special report on how japanese lawmakers have been threatening to invoke the central bank's independence unless the 130-year-old institution does more to support growth. joining us is chief correspondent for policy at reuters. thanks for joining us. is independence under threat? is there such a thing really as an i said central bank? because surely they have to set policy in conjunction with the government. >> i think the boj's independence is important and politicians understand that, but what politicians want is more coordination and bolder steps from the boj. and these threats made by the politicians are difficult to be realized given that parliament at both houses need

this is on expectations that the bank of japan may take additional monetary easing measures when the liberal democrats leader shinzo abe assumes power in a week. analysts say buy orders placed on a wide range of issues. export-related issues were also bought on hopes that u.s. democrats and republicans may reach an agreement to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. >> translator: i think many people are pinning their hopes on mr. abe to revive the japanese economy, because his party won a landslide victory in the election. >> translator: i'm not sure whether this upbeat trend will continue or it's just temporary. i'm concerned the u.s. fiscal cliff may have a downward effect. >> market players are, for the time being, are cheering the bold monetary easing measures put guard by the democratic liberal party leader. however, some say measures by the central bank may not be enough to pull japan out of its prolonged deflation. there are also concerns that price hikes without wage increases could dampen consumer spending and that could eventually pull down the country's economy. gee the global

the bank of japan plans to exam how its inflation target should be sent and when it shoultd be reached. let's g let's get a check on markets. the nikkei rose to an eight and a half month high. it's trading at 10,098. investors are placing bets on a wide range of stocks as the yen weaks. let's take a look at the dollar yen. that's changing hands at 84.26 to 28. that's after the gdp final estimate came in better than what many analysts had expected. the euro is also higher. that's changing hands at 111. let's take a look at other markets open. south korea's kospi down bay third of a percent. the index is trading higher. a bit of a mixed picture in the asia pacific today. the head of mitsubishi electric has decided to take it were fault. they will decide on the penalty at an executive officers meeting on friday. sources say the president will have his entire compensation cut for six months. other kexecutives are expected o receive pay reductions. the companies have been overcharging clients. they're set to pay over $800 million to the state and other entities. that's the latest headlines.

do you bet on the bank of japan here? >> we expect them to loosen and of coursively push the yen down. the only qualification one has there is it's a little bit like the government bond call going into 2013. absolutely everybody seems to be saying it. >> okay. we'll leave it there. kevin gardener, head of investment strategist at barclay's. your top call for 2013? >> we think growth will be weak around the world. the u.s. is the best game in town. >> i want to hear what john walsh thinks. what's your top pick of the year, sir? >> bullish across all the understand i ises. why not? >> john walsh is bullish. why not? we still appreciate you coming in. arnab das, from robini global economics. >>> straight highway on the program, the storm clouds are darkening in d.c. as house speaker john boehner saufrs a major rebuke from his own party over efforts to pass a tax bill. how much harder does this make it in the white house? we'll get the latest from ug wa, next. i always wait until the last minute. can i still ship a gift in ti

bank of japan policymakers are scheduled to discuss issues, including the 2% inflation target, at their meeting next month. >>> the abe administration is facing another big challenge, how to carry out its pledges to improve japan's economy while at the same time controlling government spending. concerns are mounting as the country entered a recession. this means the economy shrank for two straight quarters. the new government plans to immediately compile a budget for fiscal twefrmt the ruling liberal democratic party vows to place importance on public works project he is, which would make the nation's ground stronger against disasters. introduction and promotion of renewable energy is also a pledge to go ahead with these policies, the government will have to continue issuing bonds, as no major increase in tax revenues can be expected. >>> u.s. lawmakers will resume budget talks as the year-end deadline for the fiscal cliff looms. u.s. president barack obama is cutting short his christmas holiday to carry on the negotiations to avert drastic budget cuts and tax increases. obama is schedu

market participants are becoming more certain that the bank of japan may take further action to pull the country out of deflation, since the consumer price indecision fell in november. that was for the first time in two months. participants added that the yen's first slide is sending shares of exporters higher. so let's take a look at the currency markets. the dollar is hovering near a 29-month high against the yen. the yen is falling on expectation that the boj will initiate further monetary easing. the euro is trading at around a 17-month high against the yep. 114- .58. let's take a look at australia. the benchmark index is there is trading higher, 4,685. looks like a positive start to the asia-pacific so far this friday. we'll see where trading takes us. here's a look at some other markets. >>> myanmar's president spoke the nation on wednesday in a speech broadcast state run television and radioations he described his country as falling far short of the international standards for good governance and urged government workers to do more. >> the president also said reforms are neede

the bank of japan plans to exam how its inflation target should be sent and when it shoultd be reached. let's g let's get a check on markets. the nikkei rose to an eight and a half month high. it's trading at 10,098. investors are placing bets on a wide range of stocks as the yen weakens. let's take a look at the dollar yen. that's changing hands at 84.26 to 28. that's after the gdp final estimate came in better than what many analysts had expected. the euro is also higher. that's changing hands at 111. let's take a look at other markets open. south korea's kospi down bay third of a percent. the index is trading higher. a bit of a mixed picture in the asia pacific today. the head of mitsubishi electric has decided to take it were fault. they will decide on the penalty at an executive officers meeting on friday. sources say the president will have his entire compensation cut for six months. other kexecutives are expected o receive pay reductions. the companies have been overcharging clients. they're set to pay over $800 million to the state and other entities. that's the latest headline

they are hoping the bank of japan will take action at its upcoming policy meeting next week. euro yen quoted at 108.22 to 99. japan's nikkei average went above 9700 at one point. a weaker yen and the u.s. fed's policy decision that's what's lifting a wide range of issues here in tokyo. let's take a look at other asian markets open now. we are seeing seoul's kospi up and over in australia the benchmark is trading unchanged at 4,583. we'll see where trading takes us throughout the rest of the day. greece is buying back bonds. it exceeds the 30 billion euro target. greece had been seeking investors willing to accept at 30 to 40% of the bond's face value. the program is designed to reduce the debt burden. analysts estimate greece will be able to shave about 20 billion euro's off its debt. this will clear the way for greece to receive a new infusion of more than 43 billion euros in aid from the eu and other principal lenders. the organization of petroleum export and countries held a general meeting in vienna yesterday. representatives of the 12 oil exporters agreed to retain the c

bank of japan has obtained reits as part the monetary easing policy. analysts have seen the reit value index go up by 32%, giving fresh hope to the tokyo market. >>> japan is stren thenging relationships with nation who's have a population of 580 million. our reporter at our bureau in bangkok has details. >>> japan is strengthening relations with asean member nations with a total population of 580 million. on friday, it took steps to make further inroads into myanmar, which is continuing efforts to democratic reforms and opening its economy. officials from the governments of myanmar and japan signed a memorandum giving japan exclusive rights to develop a special economic zone. the park is 20 kilometers from myanmar's largest city. >> i possibly hope and i'm very confident that this creation and the friendship between the two countries will be even deeper and stronger. ever after and the years after. >> translator: myanmar has officially confirmed that we will take a leading role in the development. it is a huge step for japan. >> combining the strength

they are hoping the bank of japan will take action at its upcoming policy meeting next week. euro yen quoted at 108.22 to 99. japan's nikkei average went above 9700 at one point. a weaker yen and the u.s. fed's policy decision that's what's lifting a wide range of issues here in tokyo. let's take a look at other asian markets open now. we are seeing seoul's kospi up and over in australia the benchmark is trading unchanged at 4,583. we'll see where trading takes us throughout the rest of the day. greece is buying back bonds. it exceeds the 30 billion euro target. greece had been seeking investors willing to accept at 30 to 40% of the bond's face value. the program is designed to reduce the debt burden. analysts estimate greece will be able to shave about 20 billion euro's off its debt. this will clear the way for greece to receive a new infusion ofore th bilon eos in aid from the eu and other principal lenders. the organization of petroleum export and countries held a general meeting in vienna yesterday. representatives of the 12 oil exporters agreed to retain the current prod

market participants are becoming more certain that the bank of japan may take further action to pull the country out of deflation, since the consumer price indecision fell in november. that was for the first time in two months. participants added that the yen's first slide is sending shares of exporters higher. so let's take a look at the currency markets. the dollar is hovering near a 29-month high against the yen. the yen is falling on expectation that the boj will initiate further monetary easing. the euro is trading at around a 17-month high against the yep. 114- .58. let's take a look at australia. the benchmark index is there is trading higher, 4,685. looks like a positive start to the asia-pacific so far this friday. we'll see where trading takes us. here's a look at some other markets. >>> myanmar's president spoke the nation on wednesday in a speech broadcast state run television and radio stations. he described his country as falling far short of the international standards for good governance and urged government workers to do more. >> the president also said reforms are n

meanwhile, the bank of japan was issues. one option considered was an open-ended commitment to buy ass assets. customers brought the case against toyota, claiming certain models accelerated unintention equally. 16 million vehicles are covered by this action, including popular models like the camry and toyota. toyota shares were rallying on the news, up about 1.3% in trade today. >>> the season of good wills has seemed to pass tech firms by. sang sung is seeking the bail of exports of ericsson products. the action follows a suit and similar blames just keep going. >>> coming you, the latest u.s. consumer data is heading in for the day. we'll take a check off what the. >>> a u.s. federal jurl jury found marvell infringed on several patents bhi carnegie mellon. carnegie mellon sued marvell in 2009 of patents. the company hopes the judge will r peel the verdict. shares were down on marvell this morning as investors worry about the future of that case. >> raj rajaratnam has agreed to pay $1.5 million in a civil suit filed by the

keep going down this suicidal path bank of japan just announce or they have a new leader going to buy quadrillion and bad debt they want to lower their currency they want to lower their interest rates again this is been going on for years now you correctly called it brilliant book and crash proof and this will and it seems to me there is a dead certainty at one hundred percent guarantee that the the end result of this will be a currency collapse yes or no well the currencies will go down dramatically relative to gold and some currencies will go down quite a bit relative to other currencies but at some point central banks are going to face a choice between destroying the currency and destroying the phony economy is that there are cheap money policies have helped to inflate but but either way it's going to be extremely painful course the worst possible outcome is if we destroy the currency because then we'll have an economic crisis even worse than the one that we're going to get if we save the currency but sacrifice the bubble economies ok so you have this we can see the end is is i don

he has got big plans for the bank of japan let me tell. he wants it to double its inflation target to two percent and he wants unlimited easing to ensue so what may be the results of the nomics we'll talk about at least change let's get to today's capital account. from the u.b.s. lie board settlement is expected to be announced wednesday according to the financial times others reporting it could come as early as tomorrow here are some more of the details we know from the f t's coverage so this settlement is over alleged rigging of the yen library interest rate over several years involving deaths from tokyo to london the bank will pay close to one point five billion dollars according to f.t. others such as bloomberg are saying that number could be slightly higher as much as one point six billion and an aspect of these settlements we don't typically see u.b.s. is japanese subsidiary will reportedly admit wrongdoing pleading guilty to a criminal charge however the f.t. cites a source saying the bank will not lose its ability to conduct busine

japan and is the central bank can as it were invite the banks to get up and and cha-cha or and that's a that's the wrong image for japan but they can invite the central banks to go forth and to create credit through the processes of buying securities or lending but if the banks are our capacity constrained through a lack of service through a lack of capital or through a lack of of courage they will do no such thing if people feel they are over encumbered they will not apply to the banks so the banks might create credit so it's there are many difficulties in the pan but i you know it was our own chairman chairman bernanke who some years ago said that in the extreme the central bank can read an aircraft and go up and drop senos from the sky it could do that and it would not be so shocking before the cycle is over that central banks in desperation do just that yeah i wouldn't be surprised when we look at japan compared to say the us have the japanese baked inflation into their cake as well as the us and even more aggressively because you. our lower they've been trying to reflate for long

the bank of japan will wind up a regular two-day meeting for its panel on thursday. in november the lbj promised to keep monetary policy unchanged. also on thursday, the u.s. will release a final dpg reading for november. they've already released the gdp growth upward saying the economy expanded at an annual pace of 2.7% during this three months. that's all for me for now. i'll leave you with how the markets are starting off this week here in asia. >>> voters in tokyo had an additional choice to make on election day, and they chose former vice governor nelki to lead their prefecture. he is the hand-picked successor of former tokyo governor ishihara. >> translator: tokyo is the center of japan, the heart of the country. i believe the revival of the entire nation depends on tokyo. i want to start the revival here in tokyo. >> inose has been the deputy governor since 2007. he's involved in management reforms of tokyo electric power company following the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant last year. inose says he'll carry on his predecessor's policies

bank of japan has obtained reits as part the monetary easing policy. analysts have seen the reit value index go up by 32%, giving fresh hope to the tokyo market. >>> japan is strengthening relationships with nations who have a population of 580 million. our reporter at our bureau in bangkok has details. >>> on friday, japan laid out strategies to make further end roads into two further countries. the first is myanmar who is continuing efforts towards democratic reforms and opening its economy. officials from the governments myanmar and japan signed an agreement. the park is 20 mill r kilom kil the largest city. >> i possibly hope and i'm very confident that this creation and the friendship between the two countries will be even deeper and stronger. ever after and the years after. >> translator: myanmar has officially confirmed that we will take a leading role in the development. it is a huge step for japan. >> combining the strengths of its public and private sectors, the japanese government is trumpeting the industrial park as a flagship project. japa

investors are selling yen on the tokyo foreign exchange on speculation policy makers at the bank of japan will agree to an inflation target proposed by the incoming administration. the new prime minister shinzo abe will take up office later in the day. analysts say the b.o.j. will likely further boost its monetary easing measures. the dollar is currently trading at 85.26-31 yen. ai uchida joins us now from the business desk for more on that. so ai, investors have been trading the dollar-yen quite dramatically over the last several weeks. >> that's right, catherine. just a month and a half ago that pair was trading in the mid 79-yen range. almost six whole yen weaker in just six weeks. a dramatic move indeed. so going forward, what can we expect? well, we spoke to disaburo nezo for his outlook. he is a senior executive fellow at fujitsu research institute. >> the yen's future is not so much the weakening but rather i think there would be se counterbalance. that is, already yen current rate, 85 yen per one dollar, is rather reasonable level. i think the japanese exporters have been worrying

but this all rests on shinzo abe's administration and the bank of japan delivering. should we expect they'll be able to succeed? >> it is a bit of an experiment. if they really change their target for the bank of japan to the 2% inflation target and they -- then they have to find these instruments to actually achieve it. because they've done what everybody else has been doing. they've printed money, they've created this huge fund to buy up assets, which, you know, they're ever increasing and they're ever increasing the rate of monthly purchases up to where it's quite similar to what the u.s. is doing. but still, they're not achieving a higher inflation rate. it does seem to take the government to spend more, as well. now, the government has been running huge deficits for a while. >> i still find it fascinating looking at the basis of the actual market. given as you say we're about to enter a recession again. you brought a very, very divided and different government scenario which hopefully will be sorted out. but whether or not the japanese underperformance on the ni

the ecb and the bank of japan is coming online. the only thing holding the market down is the potential consequences of the fiscal cliff. you get movement there, i think you take out the highs of the year and head toward 1,500 pretty quickly. >> meaning, you know, by the end of -- within days of reesk that deal? >> you know, the pace of assent may be not quite that rapid. i think we see that by the first quarter, if we get a good fiscal cliff deal. i think this morning's comments really, really advance that. i really take strong exception to mr. lindsey's point that the president does not want a deal. we actually believe that the president needs a deal almost as badly as the republicans. remember, he is a second-term president, and second-term presidents get very concerned about their long-term legacy. we have a recession in 2013, the republicans may be blamed short term, but that will bake in the cake four more years of weak economic growth and that would assure president obama has one of the weakest records of growth in history.

that water being the mediterranean the atlantic the pacific the sea of japan the arctic world water all the other. social banks including switching which has got no ocean at all central banks are doing not only what they had never done but really had never been imagine they nobody had mentioned that really could or would do the things they are doing. so here is japan japan has not been heard from for twenty five years the world's number two number three economy. for ever disappointing now is going to elect we think a new prime minister who finally has had it. with the underachieving central banks the japanese the japanese can't seem to procreate nor inflate is weak from that and that's a good one. they can't your brain or inflate you would think that human beings could do one or the other but they can't do both something is wrong so so japan has disappointed chronically everyone who believes that there was a radical different you know just a slightly different turn in the road but i'm thinking that this might be something worth watching because if for no other reason the japanese wi

the bank of japan's charter allows it to go out and buy stocks. the fed can buy treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. that's the ground that it's playing in. and, you know, as far as whether they're going to change traacti, i think the answer is absolutely not. the other really important message that came out of the fed today was that they're going full steam ahead on this strategy that they've been laying out all year. one thing they're doing here, there's all kinds of uncertainty about fiscal policy, about europe. the one thing we can be certain about is that ben bernanke is keeping his foot on the pedal right now. >> yeah, and john, when you compare what economists have forecasted when it comes to unemployment and what the fed is essentially forecasting. if you look at the officials and where they stand, 13 of the 19 officials say there won't be an increase likely until 2015, which would imply that the unemployment rate would remain above 6.5% for that amount of time. does that measure up with what wall street is forecasting? >> well, it m

other problems japan is is the central bank can as it were invite the banks to get up and and cha-cha boring that's just the wrong image for japan but they can invite the central banks to go forth and to create credit through the group the processes of buying securities or lending but if the banks are our capacity constrained through a lack of service through a lack of capital or through a lack of of courage they will do no such thing if people feel they are over encumbered they will not apply to the banks of the banks might create credit so it's there are many difficulties in a pan but i you know it was our own chairman chairman bernanke who some years ago said that in the extreme the central bank can read an aircraft and go up and drop senos from the sky it could do that and it would not be so shocking before the cycle is over that central banks in desperation do just that yeah i wouldn't be surprised when we look at japan compared to say the us have the japanese bake inflation into their cake as well as the us and even more aggressively because you . odds are lower they've been try

other problems japan is is the central bank can as it were invite the banks to get up and and cha-cha boring that's a that's the wrong image for japan but they can invite the central banks to go forth and to create credit through the group the processes of buying securities or lending but if the banks are our capacity constrained through a lack of service through a lack of capital or through a lack of of courage they will do no such thing if people feel they are over encumbered they will not apply to the banks of the banks might create credit so it's there are many difficulties in the pan but i you know it was our own chairman chairman bernanke who some years ago said that in the extreme the central bank can read an aircraft and go up and drop senos from the sky it could do that and it would not be so shocking before the cycle is over that central banks in desperation do just that yeah i wouldn't be surprised. when we look at japan completely have the japanese baked inflation into their cake as well as the u.s. and even more aggressively because you. odds are lower they've been trying