is added to the list of candidates to succeed steve ballmer. >> mercury is rising in australia, but not the employment numbers. employers cut jobs. year, theer a tough latest sales figures any minute now. >> hello. welcome to "countdown." i am mark barton. >> i am anna edwards. are standingorters

by a crossed the world and ready to deliver stories that will drive your day. we'll get stills from the world's largest jewelry maker. airline hide will have those numbers. we are also following microsoft news for the new ceo candidates. i'm getting tough on bank capital. and in sydney, the poor job numbers. sweetest have the story of the day. more regulation on sugar that affect profits. we will take a look at those numbers. china. the government is urging people to stay inside. breakingget to numbers. the jewelry rocket maker is releasing its numbers. >> we know the brands well. not living up to expectations in the third quarter. we are staying shy of just 3 billion euros. analysts expected just over $3

billion. it is a misstep there. the gross is also a miss. sales are rising nine percent in certain currencies. many have been hoping to see double digits. double digit growth is not out of their grasp. china, this is where they said they are expect in it to be the slowest year in luxury sales because of the slowdown in china. that they wereng still talking about china driving expansion and brand jewelry. we're seeing weakness in jewelry sales. >> we are. we have seen hints. more the 8% of china and hong kong in 2013. you had of course luxury gift giving that they are trying to stamp out, that kind of that to

the deep. they are scaling back on luxury spends. up.ewelry is and that is in line with expectations. expected to rise 10% over all. watches rose 9%. that is why we are seeing a slum. many they would see 13% increase. there is not as much giftgiving. >> it is forecasting a positive year. >> these are the big two rivals. even though we saw the slowest sales in four years, they weren't talking down trend it too much. they thought they could ramp up over there. .atches up for richemont that was higher than we saw for the likes of it last year.

the swiss franc watches -- that is where they lay the blame. the take away is in terms of richemont sales third quarter and concerns about china, weakness and turn sees. >> nash in currencies. >> -- currencies. >> thank you. new stress tests. manus cranny is here with the details. 6% seems to be the magic number. >> it is. this is with the european central banks that do risk assessments and look at asset qualities on the balance sheets and go for a stress tests. economyscenario, the tumbles am going to turmoil again. capital within like to see them hold?

we understand it will be 6%. that is up from the botched stress tests of 2011. deliver thisto transparency which would repair and build the confidence in the scenario. i think druggie -- draghi reiterated it on a number of occasions. >> yes. >> banks need to fail and if abouto not -- it is all credibility. >> the ecb being tougher on banks than what they thought. manageable, but it is less ambitious. 2011.tougher than it is more than the usa.

the u.s. banks have cleaned up their balance sheets. they have made the provisions and realize that. >> and different methodologies region in the u.s. and the ecb. >> there may well be. within europe thomas what is bad that? in sweden? nash within europe, what is that -- bad debt? in sweden? >> there is so much international banks. we do not have a definition. >> correct. government bonds. government sovereign debt. government debt will be stress tested, but it is still zero risk. they need to decide which risk wallting should be done yields are falling. >> and madrid?

>> 16 hours. along, hot, sweaty day with a lot of drunk people trying to push me off the bus at 5:00 in the morning. [laughter] >> the things you do for television. >> thank you. poor read only jobs numbers from australia. good morning. the jobs numbers did not look that bad. the unemployment rate 5.8% was in line with expectations. when you start peeling the onion, the us picture gets -- the picture get steadily uglier. of 22,600.

the participation rate declined. had that been higher, that figure of unemployment would have been higher as well. there is worse to come. is expected to be quite brutal. the treasure is forecasting an unemployment rate. going into forecasting in at 655%. that is why we sold -- saw the dollar fall so steeply. like 2.5% is in growth enough to stimulate the growth they are looking for. >> the heat wave and you're part of the world seems to be taking its toll on tennis and some of the energy businesses in your region. >> yeah.

they have the worst of it in cities. the power outages in the cities -- there is literally the hottest city on the planet. 40 6.4 degrees. it is unbelievably hot. or is relief on the way. -- there is relief on the way. relief on the way for those cities of adelaide. >> thank you. >> you are used to 44, aren't you? >> yeah. stay inside. >> good advice. figures. the sugar industry faces long- term challenges. jonathan ferro has more on this story.

it isn't just about sugar. >> no. there is a side of the business we do not know, the budget side. strong numbers from them. sugar.es from they supply half of the sugar requirement. i did not know that. you learn something new everyday. there is the sugar price that has dropped. this is a supply-side dynamic. side tonice political this for a few steps >> into the future. >>a lot of people are asking questions pretty he -- for a few steps into the future. >> some are whether this is a tobacco moment or whether the story would gain momentum. >> one man declared a war on sugar. seen.emains to be

i was reading a report for the average consumption of the u.s., 40 teaspoons per day. that is absorbed by the beverage industry. a lot of people talk about choice. why should you tell me what i can or can't do? any obesity dynamic, the taxpayer will be funding you'd obesity epidemic cost the house industry 600 billion dollars. something that this country and others are -- >> that is the most amazing figure. >> it is a high average. it is certainly a lot of sugar and something to think about. >> and the latin countries were next on the list. >> emerging countries have a massive appetite for sugar. this is a story for the future. in a'll pick up on this few moments.

this company makes suites -- s weets, but not with sugar. the top jobng for at microsoft. caroline hyde is following that story. morning. caroline, let's begin with you. there is another addition to the list. layer herecomplished it is a fast game that has -- player. it is a fast game. a big overhaul at microsoft. they're bolstering sales and focusing on devices and services. bob gatesmer and still remaining on the board of the company. gates still remaining on

the board of the company. >> thank you. we are talking about this in -- they areet calling it the air-apocalypse. we had residents in beijing waking up to yes, another dark winter warning -- morning. i will be back with more. >> thank you. >> up next, sugar is in the spotlight. regulators are trying to crack down on the sweet stuff. should businesses be worried? peppersmith ways in. >> i would look at her rise from teenage cover girl to fashion icon. -- we look at her rise from

teenage cover girl to fashion icon. ♪

>> welcome back to "countdown." i am anna edwards. >> i am mark barton. toerts are describing sugar tobacco because of the negative

attention it has been attracting. let's bring in the cofounder of peppersmith. it doesn't use any sugar in its gum or its mints. i was looking at your website. fish and chips chewing gum? wow. [laughter] what is that? we have a lot of people. >> i thought that sounded very adventurous. you sell gum. you sell it with a brand. explain. you know it better than me. our mission is to not use sugar at all. it is completely sugar-free. instead of sugar, we use a different ingredient. the benefits of doing that is it is lower calories. wehow doing -- do

distinguish? sacroninfactor in -- and a lot of things i cannot pronounce. some are found to be dangerous for help. how confident are people are having these alternative sugars? >> sugar substitutes are a mixed bag. there is a lot of complexity to the issue. they are not all created equal. there are something greetings we were not used at all. -- some ingredients we would not use at all. a xylophone is a wooden instrument. it comes from certain trees. all of our products are naturally derived. there are a lot of synthetic

ingredients that do not taste like sugar. this ingredient, you get that sweet taste. >> are we approaching a turning point, a tipping point, in our perception of sugar within our diets? you can get away from the newspaper without debating the topic. how do we help the public reduce their sugar intake? >> i think it is great news. the public is made aware of how much sugar they are consuming. >> and places you do not think it would be. >> there has been a lot of discussion on it. he quantity of sugar that is making them ill. they need to be aware of that. there are lots of ways in which you can reduce the sugar in your diet. it bonkers that

about 90% are filled with sugar your -- sugar. mints is all about oral hygiene. you can use an ingredient that has a positive effect. base confectionary. isspain, you are saying it 63% of confectionary made without sugar. does that mean you want to go into spain? or is there not enough growth in other places? >> i think that is the thing. there's a huge opportunity in the u.k. it is only three percent sugar free compared to spain and italy. i think a lot of it comes down

to manufacturing. sugar is great to manufacturers. it is cheap. xylophone is many times more expensive. >> it also gets people hooked on things. if you want someone to buy something for cheap that they will love and crave more of, manufacturers are tempted to use lots of sugar. what we are trained to do is show if you can make something that is better for people as opposed to bad for their teeth, they can understand that benefit. >> thank you for joining us. ahead, dangerous levels smog ofhern china -- dangerous levels in northern china. ♪

>> welcome back to "countdown." i am mark barton. >> i am anna edwards. beijing has been categorized as serious pollution according to the city air quality index. beijing residents were warned to snowboard -- warned to avoid outdoor activity. >> yes. good morning. it has gotten quite that in beijing. it is nothing new. what happened this morning and

as you mentioned, beijing residents woke up to thick smog hovering the entire chinese capital. it was about eight hours ago. the smog rating of the unseen particles in the air was at about 390. the average is about 338. there are a lot of readings and estimates out there. whatever the exact level is, that is still quite bad. it is defined as serious pollution. if you are outside for about 24 hours, who recommends no more than 25. least 10-12 times or it is deemed unhealthy. it is not a good thing. >> talk about the financial sense in shanghai. they're taking urgent steps to deal with the same problem. yes, they are.

in early december, the experience pretty much the same thing. people were saying this usually happens in the north of china and never here. well, it did. what they are doing is they are putting out this air pollution warning. red, orange, yellow, and blue. red is the most severe. when the forecast is red, schools. all outdoor activities. the government bars 15% of government vehicles from the roads. been caused by cars. it is coming from power plants that are pretty much running at capacity, especially winter. >> thank you. >> coming up, one of the world's --gest

the numbers are next. ♪

>> i am anna edwards. these are the bloomberg top headlines. australia cut jobs in december. it was the worst year since 1992. australian dollar hit the lowest in more than three years. the european central bank has recommended a 6% offer during stress tests. that is according to two rueuro area officials. european banking association back in 2011 -- christine lagarde urge policymakers in advanced

economies to fight deflation that would threaten what she called a feeble global recovery. the national press club in washington yesterday. ogre.lation is the >> welcome back. i am anna edwards. >> i am mark barton. we are getting earnings and sales figures from carrefour that is france's biggest retailer. fourth-quarter sales back in line with estimates -- 22.2 billion euros. analysts expected that exact figure. it is a company that is turning itself around. it is retrenching from capital markets.

it is focusing on europe. it is focusing on latin america, colombia, greece. latin america is in a currency movement. onis maintaining low prices food in france. it is stocking more non-branded goods on the shelves. it has pick up points for online orders. year.ig news last earnings jumped 25% for the first half. earlier, the company is slowly french around its key operations that accounts for 46% of its sales. that is in america. the rest of europe, 27%. fourth-quarter sales were back in line with estimates, 22.2 billion euros. >> jobless rates rose to record

high in november. economic outlook is making some companies unwilling to higher. italy still better off than it was a year ago. -- weto buy a portfolio are joined by a portfolio manager. let's talk about the government and italy and where the next move will come from. about the reform for the labor market. >> that is a good news in italy. act. called a jobs it is a proposal for labor reform in italy good they're doing it for two reasons. i do not think that he expects to get these reforms passed by this government. this is a strategic move for the new election. he is telling the people, look, i'm not giving an empty promise.

if you give me a majority in the parliament, this is the rule that i will pass. this is the reform that i will do good it does not like the past where people promised and do not deliver. second, it is a strategic move. there is a call for action. he is trying to put some stirring in the government between the two coalition artistes so that maybe somewhere down the line -- >> did they see him as an outsider from the political scene? >> i think that is the feeling. you do not really read him a lot in the media or see anything in the polls. the average person in the street with her it is old or young are coming from a leftist background , it does not matter. the average person thinks that he is that new fresh face. he is young. he is 48. to what wasonnected

known as a communist party. more liberal opinion and views about the economy and how to run the state should in italy, that is a big change. >> and their china reach out to the public -- and trying to reach out to the public. he is keen to push through the electoral law. will that happen? do you see that happening in the near term? orin a few days he is meeting with berlusconi to reach an agreement on how to push this. this is really national reform that i see -- i'm sorry -- to see implemented before the election. passed, law has been bubbly any excuse to -- an election would be taken.

sorry. i think that is that major argument now. the other reforms are for the future. >> perform such a structural reforms -- reforms such as structural reforms. it almost lessens the need, the urge. to many that to start rising again? -- do we need that to start rising again? up.tocks are >> draghi -- is lesseed for reform urgent, but the economic reality and social as well is so dire in italy at the moment. there are still quite a lot of pressure. dire that it would

give the average person and urgency about voting for reform? reform has been quite unpopular. >> i think so. pollsason i say -- in the tobecause people do not want -- they were not expecting that movement to get so many votes. people were a little embarrassed in saying that they would vote. i think it is the same thing now. if you are from the right, you do not want to say it. if you're from the communist party, you do not want to say that. >> this man is being hailed as a reformer from the markets. >> it is. world, he our modern

is more like the center man. yes, he is from the left. >> you would like and him to tony blair? , like the italian tony blair. >> who made many of these reforms which italy has yet to make. blair is slightly different. >> of course. it is like the new face. >> and he collapses fragile government and trigger election? or is that not a clever strategy? government as it is now cannot take any strong decisions. feeling thing he is doing is going along and trying to contain dust spending inside the 2% budget. there not really much that the government can achieve.

there is no growth or spending. the investments. italy need something more. >> italian assets, keep buying them? gabe ikard? -- keep buying credit? -- look at the ecb. spain and italy are still the two make beneficiaries. much of that money has gone into bonds. that is why you see -- >> thank you. supermodel kate moss turns 40. we look at her rise from teenage camera girl to fashion icon. ♪

>> time for today's company news. amazon getting its first labor union in the u.s. they voted to reject the initiative. it will be the first of its kind at amazon.

marissa mayer firing coo henrique de castro. there has been tension to train them. and apple says it would refund toleast the $2.5 million consumers to settle a u.s. federal trade commission complaint that it builds apps riches is made by children without their parents consent. under the settlement, apple agreed to change its early practices to make sure it has informed consent from consumers before charging for mobile apps. welcome back to "countdown." i am mark barton. >> i am anna edwards. for the new microsoft ceo has taken another turn, european turn this time. caroline hyde is here with more. >> there's a new player on the block.

we have had from a lolly -- we had mullaly from ford. now people think it might bee v estberg. he could be assessed as well. experience is what you need to reinvigorate this juggernaut. their china focused on -- they are trying to focus on devices. we are using tablets and smartphones. they're not using windows as a software provider as much. you have got to get back on where the growth really is. who makeshis is a man tough decisions. he has been known to slash where he has needed to slash.

there is a handset with sony. he ended it because it was unprofitable. .s being added to the lineup and i interviewed another candidate a few months ago. >> it is not easy, is it? whoever he or she is when they take over. you have still got bill gates and steve ballmer on the board. >> this is where the argument comes between to have an outside or inside her? insider?er or you do have to be affiliated with how the politics works. you have to know where the viewpoints are. steve ballmer and bill gates remained very much on the board.

they have big chunks of stock. they do need a reinvigoration. he is indeed a handball player. i looked up this game. it is pretty fast. it includes body contact. i think the pushing and shoving -- >> thank you. mostme of the world's influence euro supermodels -- most influential supermodels turns 40. kate moss went from teenage cover girl to fashion icon. the story contains -- ♪ >> kate moss remains one of fashion's biggest names. moss isome and go, but an exception. she has appeared on the covers

of the most important fashion magazines and strolls the catwalks for the labels as very from chanel to talk shop. -- topshop. accessoriesched and election and published her own book and have sent numerous endorsements. moss was discovered at jfk airport at the age of 14. two years later, she was on the cover of magazines. was caught using cocaine. it did not hurt her popularity. she was voted the british model of the year. the offers came streaming back. she turned 40. how do you celebrate when you are a multimillionaire model? you go to richard branson's personal island, of course. if you wanted to do the same, it would set you back $20,000 a night.

it is reported she is getting that get away for free. dominated iry teenager's, moss continues to grace the covers of magazines every defined the idea an image of a supermodel. >> not that. -- not bad. >> i looked at kate moss quotes. she gave it to a magazine in 2009. another is one that johnny depp told her. >> very savvy. she doesn't speak much. i was quite surprised that you found quotes. she gives an reinventing herself. her face changes so much.

that is how she has had this longevity. she is associated as cool. she is also a good businesswoman. >> that was quite groundbreaking. kate moss, happy birthday. decision to ban a certain part of children's lunchbox. find out where this school draws the line. ♪

>> welcome back. time for something totally different. dressing in drag and talking about cabaret 2014. the airings and the wake. and the wig.gs he said the core values should be professional and ambitious. he just up as someone named priscilla. -- dressed up as someone named

priscilla. make parallelso between the brothel business and the banking business. it is about customers first. that was the message. this is not just a one-off. the dutch have a sense of humor. they take the cabaret on tour. they give full performances this -- of this. the company is planning an ipo soon. >> what do you think of the dress? [laughter] >> i think it is a very in color. electric blue is a very in color. i could see you.

>> let's do it. >> he says, let's do it. >> you could interview him in drag. >> talk about schizophrenia. >> on the beach. capturesmes a picture the imagination. for me, it is this. this is a sculpture. it took driftwood and built to horses ine race movement on the beach. this is the times newspaper. it is driftwood. but, thatlippines, they went through -- the trauma britisht through, a

sculptor. >> they couldn't have done that on the beach in the u.k. the backdrop would not have been as nice. >> you don't think so? >> blue skies? >> never mind the u.k. [laughter] >> go on. vodafone takes a stand on state surveillance. they're asking for the right to reveal the man's that are made to them by various governments for collecting customer data. their writing to the u.k. government and other governments for the rights to reveal all of these requests made to them. they do not want to give customers any reason not to trust their infrastructure.

it is interesting in the light of edward snowden and all of the of what companies are trying to do to shut a light on what governments are doing. they have committed to regular transparency reports. requests ofut the what is being asked for. they're making a point that they cannot do that right now. they will try to shine a light. >> norm or fruit juices in lunch -- no more fruit juices in lunch boxes. water is all you're allowed to drink at this school. just water. no juice in our household. that is the law. it is part of this nutritionally balanced diet. fruit juices have high outs as of sugar in them. one father has withdrawn his son from the school because his son does not drink water and in the hospital began him squash.

the hospital says squashes out the, but the school says it isn't. >> this sound like an essay question. "countdown" continues when we come back. ♪

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>> the following is a paid presentation. >> it is about time. >> it is about time. >> the number one reason people are not working out is they don't have time. >> i have four kids. i work 60 or 70 hours a week. >> i do not have the time. >> no time to work out? no problem. the home fitness program