>> a blow for europe as standard & poor's cut the european union's rating. >> chinese stocks slump for a ninth day. the bank of japan stays put with its stimulus program. >> fly high like michael jordan, nike beats estimates. >> the countdown to christmas begins with five days to go. we're live from london's oxford street.

>> welcome to countdown. >> it is 6:00 in london this friday morning. bloomberg reporters are standing by across the world. david tweed is following the ratings downgrade in the eu. we're watching the reaction in tokyo. >> lacing up his trainer is as he digs into sneaker sales at nike. consumer sentiment as retailers cut prices in the middle of their busiest season. caroline hyde is live from oxford street. ourou do not want to miss conversation about the top film picks of the year.

we have had some breaking news. the european union has lost its aaa rating. is our europe editor, david tweed, in berlin. how significant is this move? >> the timing could not be more impeccable. you have all of the european leaders hold up in london -- brussels this morning. it is not going to be hugely significant in terms of markets. we have seen many european union countries losing their aaa ratings. last, best only six left.ies - it is all to do with the negotiations over the eu budget.

last year, there were two meetings to get the eu budget through with lots of arguing over small amounts of money. the overall credit worthiness of the 28 european union member states have declined and as a result, whenever they are fighting over these negotiations and the fact that they are becoming much more contentious means there are rising risks to eu from somee member states. that is what they are concerned about. the outlook is stable and that is become some of the member -- the willingness to support the eu budget. >> politics very much at the center this morning. how much does the eu oh? -- owe? >> we are looking at 56 billion

euros. that is according to standard & poor's. interesting to note that ireland and portugal represent 80% of those outstanding loans to the eu. they will consider raising the ratings if we see some other european union countries get those ratings increases as well. a little bit of hope on the horizon. >> david, thank you very much. >> the bank of japan has maintained its record easing. for more, let's bring in our reporter in tokyo. good morning. >> good morning. to bank of japan decided make no policy change.

the bank will maintain its monetary base and maintain its two percent inflation target. the statement has a long list of improving japanese economist -- economy. corporate profits are up, housing investment increase, private consumption remained resilient and the bank saw that employment and income improving. the japanese economy is recovering moderately. that was part of the long list the boj had. the focus is on the governor's press conference, which begins soon. the emerging markets as one of the few weeks spots, some lackluster performances abroad. >> are investors anticipating additional stimulus ahead of the

sales tax increase in april? the number of economist predicting additional stimulus after april decreased in the latest survey. there are less economist expecting or stimulus to be added by the bank because they are also seeing the economy is on a steady footing in japan. back over to you. >> sales of high-end sports shoes help the world's largest sporting goods company, nike, to that beatits expectations. how is it doing on the european turf? >> do you call them sneakers? nutshell, buried in the earnings report, nike said that future orders for their product in europe was up 23%.

that is more than double what expectations were. nike's and ar of pair of adidas that i found at the local running shop. i asked the guy who sells the shoes which he sells more of and he said nike. why? nike makes more models. runners like to have choices and nike has more. new parachute is on the table. -- pair of shoes on the table. >> they are discounted 25% off before christmas. this is part of a broader trend of nike moving in on adidas territory. if you look at golf, tiger woods has helped nike tremendously. he is a one-man industry.

he has recovered from his fault -- his fall from grace. >> ascot ball shoes still all the rage? >> -- basketball shoes still on -- absolutely.k in europe, basketball is becoming more popular. nike is up seven percent. their sales in the first nine , they sell 50%s more product in europe and nike, they are down four percent. consumer sentiment has fallen. many retailers are forced to offer deep discounts. caroline hyde is on oxford street. >> we are all feeling more pinched.

we have energy bills on the up. where are not feeling we have quite as much cash to splash this christmas. that is why the fight is on among the retailers. they have been fighting it out for six weeks now. it just got that much more task out there. we have the discounts among the clothing retailers. 50% off at the likes of h&m. they might be doing a flash sale this weekend. rarely, they are worried. it looks like clothing retailers have hit the panic button. we really do up our

spending. united kingdom shoppers spend 40% more last december than they do the rest of the year. it is crucial for the retailers. >> it made me wonder whether we are generous at christmas time or tight the rest of the year. of which items are selling well, any trends? is clothing that seems to be taking the hit. electrical goods are not caring so badly. -- faring so badly. clothing is where the fierce competition is on. forhing did take up november. the weather turned cold there. -- coulter. lder.ulter

we saw third-quarter gross up in the united kingdom. days, many people are finishing work. i know it is your last day in the office, anna, for christmas. that leaves you four days left to shop for christmas. monday the 23rd, we will be spending 1.2 billion pounds. debit ashs though the the discounts are heavily on. >> i do not need any encouragement. thank you very much. only four days to get all of your shopping done. >> i am so organized. >> a former oil tycoon is set to be pardoned either russian president. ryan has the story.

>> his arrest in 2003 really stunned the nation. the announcement yesterday that he would pardon himwas almost even more shocking. we will take a look at the rise and fall of the man that was russia's richest, 10 years in jail. >> coming up, our next guest says every effort to start with a small step. we will look at how the fed tapering will affect funny 14. -- will affect 2014. ♪

watching the european stock market open. the united arab emirates has halted talks. negotiations with saudi arabia are also delayed. earnings this year may be clipped should it fail to reach .n agreement with saudi arabia facebook is to sell shares for the first time since last year's ipo. it is expected to raise about $4

billion. mark zuckerberg says he will use the cash to pay taxes. chinese telecom companies may soon have a new rival. alibaba is applying for a license to offer mobile phone services. welcome back. our next guest says the fed looks likely to continue reducing its bond purchases through 2014. it will complete the program by the end of next year. good morning. has the federal reserve finally managed to break the link between the beginning of tapering and bond buying program and higher interest rates? >> they have built so much credibility that markets have said even if they reduce the stimulus and reach cruising ratesde, the interest

will stay low and there is a credible chance. rathernflation the key than the unemployment rate? is inflation the key piece of data that investors will be watching? >> that is going back to the roots. the central bank has always targeted inflation. dropping that 6.5% unemployment rate target, even though they still use it. they have given more on forward guidance. to be anot seem threshold to anything very much anymore. >> it is not needed anymore. at the time, they were above two percent.

that is why they looked at the unemployment rate. how inflation is firmly below two percent. no need to raise rates and they can go back to the old days. they will not shock markets with a sudden tightening. >> the guidance seems to be limiting the impact of this tapering on emerging markets. >> when it comes to the effect of the actions on the rest of the world, we had that shock last summer. that was a bit of a warning shot. now the fed has built the credibility to keep rates low and markets look more at that than the short-term impact. >> the bank of japan is trying to create inflation and a cap

its policy unchanged today -- cap its policy unchanged today. core inflation is around one percent. --ld it reach its target the in two years or is that asking for too much? >> that is very important. inflation expect tatian determine wage agreed -- expectation determine wage agreements. people expect inflation to be two percent. it will drive inflation in the long term. in the short term, it matters what the economy does. we have that fiscal tightening program for april. we will have to see. we expect the growth to decline a little. that may decrease the pressure. >> we will get christian thoughts on europe after s&p cut

its rating. whether that is significant or not. ♪

>> welcome back. we are back with christian scholz. the s&p ratings agency has cut

its rating on eu debt. i did not even know they get a rating on the eu. does it have significance in terms of sentiment? surprising they did not cut it earlier. you have big members of the eu the downgraded. downgraded. germany.ember, there is a political signal behind this. the eu is not in perfect condition. they are discussing some elements. in markets, it it will not have much of an impact. they are not going to lend to more because they do not have more at the moment.

it will not make much of a difference. >> let's look at your outlook for next year. >> it has been an interesting week for inflation. you were talking about the fed -- the unemployment threshold. is it time to abandon the u.k. threshold? >> it looks increasingly likely target ofnemployment seven percent will be hit a lot earlier than the bank of england thought back in july. that makes it difficult to sustain that communication that they will act right after it if they want to keep rates low. keeping rates low until 2016 looks increasingly difficult. through the housing data we are getting at the moment, the housing markets are really picking up.

is that going to be enough? >> how worried are you as we head into the new year about the chinese banking system? nine days of shares moving lower. bit -- the chinese central bank uses many different tools. they are trying to educate the financial system to not rely on the central bank to always reply -- provide all of liquidity that they need in order to provide a more privately led market. starts, theres will be some hiccups. when it gets really bad, the central bank weighs in again.

is going to be the big theme of 2014? fixing theunion, banking system immediately as quickly as possible to get lending going. we do have an export led recovery, which is good. the ecb does what in the meantime? >> the ecb stands ready to do more. there is downward pressure on the euro that would help trade for the eurozone. >> any gold, bitcoins in your stocking? >> you should always have gold to diversify, but i do not see any reason to hold a lot of gold. it's going is interesting to look at. -- bitcoin is interesting to look at. >> brazil could be on the verge of a comeback.

we are following that story. ♪

>> the eu has lost its top rating. standard & poor's cut the aaa rating to aa plus. european parliament is showing signs that recent moves towards banking union are unacceptable. negotiated aters resolution measure and fund to wind down failed banks. the measure must be approved by lawmakers. more than 80 people were hurt in

london's west end when part of the apollo collapsed. heavy laster fell from the .eiling during a performance more than 700 people were in the theater at the time. >> the deal with the uae fell apart and a potential separate ine to saudi arabia is also trouble. hans nichols has the latest. >> prime minister's david cameron's effort to bring more defense industry jobs back to the u.k. has hit some turbulence and stalled out because talks with the united arab emirates .it a breaking point

the uae announced the talks have stopped. this is part of buying 60 jets for $6 billion. there is a separate pricing dispute with saudi arabia. it does mark a big reversal for cameron. two or three weeks ago at the dubai air show, there was talk that the deal was on track. bargaining byhard the united arab emirates. they may be looking to other customers. to be --d be using bae for a better deal with france. let's watch the stock price this morning to see how much this deal was priced in and whether or not the stock takes a hit. angle to this and there is also this saudi deal.

is that more important to the bottom line? >> we are talking about more jets, 72 jets. bae has hinged their stock repurchase program on to finalizing this deal and they have said that if this deal is not finalized by the beginning a next year, you could see 15% decline. it seems like this saudi deal may be more important. lanesre still delivering to saudi arabia, but they just have a pricing dispute. >> for a decade in prison, a former oil tycoon is said to be pardoned by russian president vladimir putin. since 2003.in jail

this coming?e >> not really, it is a pretty extraordinary development. he indicated that he would if he askedefore for a pardon. he spent 10 years in russian jails without asking for a pardon because in russia, asking for a pardon presupposes an admission of guilt. he always maintained that this was politically motivated. the president said he asked for this pardon on humanitarian grounds. his spokesman said that it does mean an admission of guilt. he said his mother is ill. will gettation is he

out and go to germany to see his mother. >> you have reported on russia for many years. 10 years since he was arrested. --it was a little bit like all journalist remember where they were when he was arrested. i was in the south of russia .overing a mining story he had been surrounded by police on a runway in siberia. it was almost as shocking as this pardon. it was a huge development. this was russia's richest man. in retrospect, it all seems to fit into the progression of his rise to power. no one really saw this coming.

>> investors did not either. russia's largest company, he was in the process of selling it to exxon. he wanted to build a pipeline to china. it was such a shock to the stock market, they had to suspend trading for an hour. >> how significant a figure in russia? >> not so much. , and thise president is just my analysis, does not need to worry about him as a political opponent anymore. yes, he is celebrated. he has been in jail for 10 years. he has indicated to his family -- he has 100 million talked away probably.

when the company was sold off and the main asset was taken and form the foundation, he was able to hire off some of the -- hide the assets before it happened. >> thank you very much. harrods -- it is investing heavily to stay ahead of the game. francine lacqua reports. harrods has been selling goods from this spot in london for over 160 years. with over 90,000 meters of selling space, it it is one of the largest department stores in europe. >> someone can spend an entire

day. everything we have, we make from scratch. he is harrods managing director. it is his job to keep the world- famous store ahead of the competition while protecting the heritage. tough economic climate, which has hurt so many retailers, it has been harrods ability to draw international customers which has been key to their success. >> china is our biggest customer base. 20% of our international customers are chinese. very important to us. nigeria, very important. all of the middle east customers. by theods is now owned qatari sovereign wealth fund.

building this multibillion- dollar escalator. >> you have to reinvent the game. we continue to reinvent ourselves. we are never complacent. harrods knows it cannot rely on its name alone. its new qatari owners are ready to dig deep. up, the teams embroiled in the toughest times -- ties in the 16. who is most likely to progress to the quarterfinals? ♪

the struggling italian airline is seeking a new international back her -- factor.

deutsche bank is forfeiting 221 million euros to in the derivatives contract as regulators in germany and italy probe the transaction. the german bank will instead fromve 525 million euros the italian bank to terminate the contract 17 years early. the teenage mutant ninja turtles combat. it has -- combat. -- comeback. the demand for action figures rose about six fold. they still look a little bit frightening. analyzing champion -- league ties. here with more match analysis --

massive games. let's start with man city and barcelona. the team did not know about scoring the extra goal. how much does that matter now? projections.our we run those through our algorithms. 27.8% chance of manchester city regressing. 72.2% barcelona. barcelona -- we still favor barcelona. inaccurate through ball is defined as a ball that puts someone clean through.

they do not have to score to make it. it is a much more interesting statistic. barcelona change the way they play. , butare not long balls they do try to play the ball a bit early. city..4 for manchester key.ink that could be the >> he is not fit at the moment. >> not the moment. in your personal view, 72%? does that reflect your view? >> those are purely analytical. i would give city more of a

chance. >> so would i. >> the statistics should be trusted. >> the other tough game. look at the performance in naples. got 16.3 chance of progression. what i think is interesting about this is the form thing. still be in the form they are in now come february and march? well are teams that play in automatic winter and do not produce it in spring. >> what about the second statistic?

shows how arsenal needs to take advantage of every chance they get. reason.for a they limit the opponents chances of conversion. that is a number of chances the opponents have. should we read too much into that or not? >> they thought they had won the game. .t is not like driving a car as commentators we say things like, you have to go up a gear. not that easy. i would not worry. >> the big game is on monday.

arsenal loses this -- >> i thought this was interesting. we favor arsenal in this game. 42%. on target percentage, chelsea only 34.4%. inside the box conversion as well. arsenal is a lot better at this than chelsea. it is key to the way they play. >> you fancy arsenal. height ofcan get that

conversions, you will always have a chance. fancy -- you >> manchester city. i still think that liverpool have a huge run at the title. i think they are that good. >> you are staying with us. thank you. >> still to come, we will find out the guardian's pick of the best albums of the year. newspapers, coming up. ♪

>> welcome back. >> let's cut to the chase and talk about the newspapers. >> this happened too late to make the papers. it did make the front of the daily mail. as ceiling collapses on families at west and show. -- west end show. there were some older children in the audience. part of the ceiling collapsed. that brought down a lighting

rig. some of these theaters, this one 1901.back to theater. very old some of the beauty about these places. some of them are little bit crumbly. he was told to quit. vincent, there is that story. , reallyrpool manager interesting that he has become a statesman. he is still young, what the result he is getting has made him -- i think he will be a

giant of the game. he is in his late 30s. he will be a giant of the game in england. i cannot believe what is going on there, it is outrageous, blob bla bla. bla i am happy that i took liverpool instead. >> they are doing so well. >> i think he could be a younger version of sir alex. the worry for liverpool, if they do not win this season, is he back to square one? we will see how good he is. he is really someone to watch.

>> buried on page five, bankers discover the key to reversing the aging process. some scientists have been -- this is not the ballerina babe on the bed story. been playings have around with mice and they have found with a think is a clue to the aging process. age, the communication of yourselves goes down the drain. that means your dna is no longer able to tell your cells how to produce energy. these guys think they can slow that down. it is not about living longer. they say it is about staying young longer. >> you might live to 125, but only look 100.

>> that is one way of looking at it. piece, there nice favorite albums of the year. myealized today how little finger is on the pulse of modern music. -- barelyi was quite have i heard any of these. my bloody valentine, i have heard of them. not think this is going to be a very impressive exercise. blake.losure, james punk. west. one, kanye >> i own at least one of them.

daft punk. thank you very much. ♪

are >> these statements have not been evaluated. thank you for watching. if you are suffering from joint