:00:00. > :00:00.heavy rain, strong winds and high tides in the coming days. People
:00:00. > :00:18.living close to the coastline are said to be particularly vulnerable.
:00:19. > :00:27.Japan's stock market had a stellar performance last year. Outrageous
:00:28. > :00:37.predictions in the world of business. What one investment bank
:00:38. > :00:44.is watching out for in 2014. Thank you for joining us. We begin with
:00:45. > :00:48.the Japanese stock market, which opened earlier today for the first
:00:49. > :00:59.time this year. Investors will be watching very carefully after the
:01:00. > :01:04.Nikkei recorded its biggest annual rise in 40 years. So far, it's not a
:01:05. > :01:14.good start to the New Year for the Nikkei. It is currently down 340
:01:15. > :01:17.points. In general, investor confidence has been driven by
:01:18. > :01:22.government initiatives to boost the economy, encourage expansion and the
:01:23. > :01:35.weakening of the Japanese yen against the US dollar. Thank you for
:01:36. > :01:38.joining us. They have done a great job from having the tightest
:01:39. > :01:42.monetary policy in the world to the loosest. The yen has collapsed,
:01:43. > :01:54.which has helped exports and tourism. Will it get even cheaper
:01:55. > :02:01.this year? I think so. The yen is going to keep coming down. As we saw
:02:02. > :02:12.in the past year, it is a simple dynamic. We saw the stock market
:02:13. > :02:18.rise by almost 57% in 2013. Can this be sustained with Abenomics? We
:02:19. > :02:23.believe it can go up but possibly not at the same rates. The point is
:02:24. > :02:28.that so far, we have not had any premium in there for Abenomics. It's
:02:29. > :02:37.all about what monetary policy does for profits. There has been no... It
:02:38. > :02:42.is not like in the US. If genuine reform comes in, there is more room
:02:43. > :02:47.to grow. This is a critical year because consumption tax will be
:02:48. > :02:55.raised up to 8%. Could this stifle consumption? Not on its own.
:02:56. > :02:58.However, the real issue is whether Shinzo Abe will deliver on any of
:02:59. > :03:04.these reforms. He has been promising and talking and not much has
:03:05. > :03:10.happened. Just lip service. Will we see genuine action this year? What
:03:11. > :03:17.will push him to do that? If something pushes him, it will be the
:03:18. > :03:22.concern about being overtaken by China. That will focus attention on
:03:23. > :03:27.more uncomfortable reforms. I will not say it's impossible. We have to
:03:28. > :03:34.be sceptical. But at the moment, he is riding on the benefits of the
:03:35. > :03:38.weak currency. In India, whoever wins the general election this year,
:03:39. > :03:43.there will be a new prime minister. Manmohan Singh announced that he
:03:44. > :03:46.will not seek a third term. The country's economic crisis means the
:03:47. > :03:56.election will be closely watched by the business community and
:03:57. > :04:00.investors. The battle for Indian votes has already begun but the
:04:01. > :04:18.general election is expected to take place soon. The 42 -year-old sire of
:04:19. > :04:22.India's powerful Mary Gandhi dynasty -- Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. He and his
:04:23. > :04:29.competitor have been making public appearances. Russell Dravid took
:04:30. > :04:38.centre stage to address the country's business community last
:04:39. > :04:44.summer. -- Rahul Gandhi. His speech focused on economic growth and
:04:45. > :04:55.public-private partnership. On the other hand, when the prime
:04:56. > :04:59.ministerial candidate of the opposition held his summit,
:05:00. > :05:04.corporate and foreign officials and lined up to support him. He is seen
:05:05. > :05:09.as one of India's most dismiss friendly leaders. He is known for
:05:10. > :05:15.efficient local governor and a lack of red tape. Critics say that growth
:05:16. > :05:18.has not been shared broadly enough. Some states have done better than
:05:19. > :05:23.others at bringing down poverty levels. But that did not stop
:05:24. > :05:30.industrialists from lavishing their praise. He remains a divisive
:05:31. > :05:36.figure, having been Chief Minister during the deadly riots in 2002. The
:05:37. > :05:41.UK and other Western governments suspended ties with him for many
:05:42. > :05:47.years and has only recently renewed their relationship with his states.
:05:48. > :05:54.Rahul Gandhi and his competitor are widely seen as the front-runners to
:05:55. > :05:58.enter Parliament after the general election but voters will not simply
:05:59. > :06:02.be choosing between these two men. Indian politics is much more
:06:03. > :06:06.complex. Their backgrounds will play a part as will their plans for the
:06:07. > :06:11.economy. However, with small regional parties likely to hold the
:06:12. > :06:25.balance of power, this fiercely fought competition promises many
:06:26. > :06:28.surprises in the months ahead. China's state news agency says that
:06:29. > :06:33.thousands of officials were investigated for corruption last
:06:34. > :06:39.year. They were allegedly involved in more than 27,000 cases. Since
:06:40. > :06:43.coming into power just over one year ago, the new leadership has taken a
:06:44. > :06:51.tough stance on corruption, warning it could ruin the party. Shares in
:06:52. > :06:56.HTC are down by as much as 2% today after the company reported worse
:06:57. > :07:00.than expected profits on Sunday. HTC has been losing ground to its rivals
:07:01. > :07:05.and said that the net profit in the three months to December was $10
:07:06. > :07:12.million, compared with more than $33 million during the same period last
:07:13. > :07:20.year. In Japan, a giant bluefin tuna sold at option on Tuesday for a
:07:21. > :07:25.significant amount less than the price paid for a similar fish last
:07:26. > :07:31.year. $70,000 was paid for the fish in Tokyo. It's a steep fall for the
:07:32. > :07:34.price amid worries that bluefin tuna numbers are being depleted on the
:07:35. > :07:40.back of increased worldwide consumption. Interesting or
:07:41. > :07:44.outrageous? There are plenty of predictions being made about what
:07:45. > :07:51.this New Year will bring. One technology giant believes everyone
:07:52. > :08:03.will eventually have a smartphone. But what about some big economic
:08:04. > :08:09.predictions? What about emerging markets and the US technology
:08:10. > :08:16.industry? These are the effects of the US Federal Reserve's qualitative
:08:17. > :08:19.easing policy. Money is looking for yield anywhere and is piling into
:08:20. > :08:23.various things with the hope of greater growth. Particularly US
:08:24. > :08:29.technology. Emerging markets as well. We have seen lots of money
:08:30. > :08:34.injected into emerging markets as the interest rates of the developed
:08:35. > :08:38.world lingered at 0%. People have been looking for yield everywhere.
:08:39. > :08:43.With the US appearing to come out of what has been a long period of low
:08:44. > :08:46.growth and with the Federal Reserve tapering that quantitative easing,
:08:47. > :08:51.and with higher interest rates on the horizon, they are now focusing
:08:52. > :08:55.more on fundamentals. Blue-chip companies with a high dividend
:08:56. > :08:59.yield. This is not what technology companies in particular would
:09:00. > :09:04.normally produce. They tend to be high-growth companies that do not
:09:05. > :09:09.pay high dividends initially. What impact will this have on Asian
:09:10. > :09:11.manufacturers and suppliers? Not necessarily a huge negative affect
:09:12. > :09:16.on Asian manufacturers and suppliers. What you may find is that
:09:17. > :09:23.this stress is felt in industries that are more exposed to the US
:09:24. > :09:28.interest rates rising, which in my opinion would be the property sector
:09:29. > :09:33.that. US technology manufacturers and suppliers... As long as Gross
:09:34. > :09:41.holds its course, I don't see much of a change there. The currency
:09:42. > :09:46.markets? The Indian and Indonesian currency is depreciating against the
:09:47. > :09:51.US dollar? The hot money that has been in the search for yield has
:09:52. > :09:54.flowed into emerging markets. When you paid your currency to another
:09:55. > :09:59.country's currency, you effectively import their monetary policy. Most
:10:00. > :10:08.of Asia, for example, has been running at a 0% interest rate. What
:10:09. > :10:18.about the Japanese yen? The end of the quarter, it will be much lower.
:10:19. > :10:23.Looking at Asian stock markets again. Investors have been by
:10:24. > :10:33.jesting comments by the Federal Reserve -- digesting comments by the
:10:34. > :10:37.US Federal Reserve. South Korea is bucking the downward trend on
:10:38. > :10:55.bargain hunting. Thank you for joining us. Goodbye for now. This is
:10:56. > :10:57.BBC News. The headlines: a stream of bitterly cold arctic air is sweeping
:10:58. > :10:59.through the US, where temperatures are expected to fall to record low
:11:00. > :11:02.levels. As negotiations to resolve the conflict in South Sudan show
:11:03. > :11:04.little sign of progress,