DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: The Fed Chairman's words were heard loud and clear in Asia. But there were other remarks that resonated even more loudly in the region.</s>DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Dalton Tanonaka has more now from our studios in Hong Kong. Good morning, Dalton.</s>DALTON TANONAKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, David. Good morning, Deborah. Greenspan's comments did pressure Asian markets early on, but then domestic factors took over. In Japan, calls for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to resign resurfaced in a report issued by a senior member of the ruling coalition. Critics charge Mr. Mori's lack of leadership is hindering Japan's economic and market recovery. They say the Nikkei will sit at current lows until he quits. On this trading day, the Nikkei closed slightly firmer. Hong Kong also ended barely higher. In Taiwan, investors shrugged off the government's decision to resume construction of a stalled nuclear power plant project. Political bickering has hurt sentiment for the past three months. The TAIEX slipped more than 2 percent as techs were sold off in that market. United Microelectronics fell 5 percent. And after the Taipei market closed, the chipmaker beat estimates and reported annual net profits of $1 1/2 billion U.S.. That's a surge of 383 percent from last year. United Microelectronics, the world's No. 2 custom chipmaker. The robust earnings will likely move that stock in New York later today. It's American depository receipts are traded under the ticker symbol UMC. And one more hot stock to keep an eye on when Wall Street opens: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. It rose nearly 4 percent in Australia after a Merrill Lynch upgrade. It's ticker symbol NWS. Deborah and David, back to you in New York.</s>HAFFENREFFER: All right, thank you very much, Dalton.
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori Faces Renewed Calls to Resign