>> from bloomberg world headquarters in new york, i mark boughton. this is "bottom line." -- i'm mark crumpton. today, antigovernment protests in ukraine turned deadly. worldome iran tells powers it won't get rid of its nuclear facilities. and we will take you on an inside tour of 3m. to our viewers in the united states and those o joining us around the world, welcome. we have the headlines today.

senior markets correspondent julie hyman looks at the snowy winter and retail spring sales. and peter cook examines the battle between the big apple and hollywood for entertainment production dollars. we will get to all three in just a moment. this tuesday, a developing story in ukraine. you are looking at a live picture from kiev where ride please are moving in on a large protest camp using water cannons and stun grenades. part of that camp is engulfed in flames. the action comes after thousands of antigovernment protesters fought with police earlier today outside of ukraine's parliament. nine people were killed, including two police officers. more than 150 others were injured area it was the worst violence since protests began in late november. the government has shut down several stations in the center of the capital in its promise to restore order. ryan chilcote has followed the in theon an and you

ukraine for years. ofthose are live pictures independence square. on the very far side of that life picture, you can see those planes burning. this is a direct standoff between protesters, many of the , and thousandsed of riot police who have moved in. this is different from the violence we have seen in ukraine up until now. there has been violence going back about a month ago, a month before that. but this is been the single deadliest day by far. we have never seen the violence right in the heart of central kiev on independent square. the people that you see in the foreground of that picture there are peaceful protesters caught in the middle of a massive standoff between the more

militantly minded protesters and riot police who have been moved in to clear them out. in fact, all the people on the square have been told they must leave this evening. is a europeanis capital being sealed off -- all movement into the city will be disallowed as of midnight. the subway system has been closed down. the government is simply saying, these protests that been going on for more than three months will no longer continue. the only silver lining in all of this is we are just learning that the ukrainian president is set to meet with some of the opposition leader's in the next inr -- opposition leaders the next hour. >> it looked like this was dying down. how did we get to this point? >> it did. everyone sort of took a tactical pause. the president and

s who hadition leader difficulty negotiating in one voice, that they might find some sort of lyrical solution. the opposition leaders were in berlin meeting with the german chancellor over the weekend. they liberated some of the buildings, released some of the buildings that the protesters had been holding as a consolation to the government. then there was this parliament meeting where it looked like we might've gotten some sort of constitutional change earlier in the day. then it turned out that was not coming. that is what upset the protesters, many of whom decided they were going to move in on the parliament and take the parliament. then you had the government forces surrounding the parliament pushing back. that is effectively how we got to where we are now. everything is spinning out of control. >> ryan chilcote joining us on the phone. if we can go back to that shot,

looks like things are taking a turn for the worst in independence square in tf. right police moving in on the protest camp. -- independent square in tf. square in kiev. the president remains firm that he is staying in power. we will bring you more developments as soon as we get them. iran arealks with underway in vienna. the iranian government is insisting it will not scrap any of its nuclear facilities. we have been covering the negotiations. joining us on the phone from vienna, what are we expecting from the talks this week? >> this is the first opportunity since they greeted to the interim deal for the two sides to come together and essentially layout maximalist position.

everybody in one sense knows what the two sides want out of this deal. the u.s. and its partners, including china and russia, want iran to dismantle and stop many of their nuclear activities. iran does not want to dismantle it. it wants more inspections, but it does not want to take apart it's a clear infrastructure that it has put billions of dollars into. what we're talking about this week is a chance for them to layout, how are they going to go forward over this next six months? is it possible to get a deal in six months? most people think that interim government will be rolled over for another six months. both sides are keeping expectations low. obama has publicly given it a 50/50 chance of success. said justlah yesterday that he is not optimistic about the outcome. >> you talk about looks but patience. what are the obstacles to getting a deal? >> there are so many. let's face it, there are decades

of mistrust between the u.s. and iran. iran and the western world. from a tactical point of view, there's a huge gap in the opening positions on both sides. where we have the hard-line position that the u.s. has wanted and the one that tehran wants. you have the political pressure coming from extreme views in both washington and a ephron. tehran.ngton and say, oh, youct and gave away everything in the interim deal. they will say, we do not give away anything. that mix of hard because a lot of the deals will be happening at home. >> she covers international affairs, foreign policy for us, tending iranian nuclear talks in

vienna. thank you. for more on those talks, am now joined by james acton. he joins us now from washington. welcome to bottom line. thanks for your time today. >> thank you for having me. >> we received word that the united states and iran held bilateral talks during these vienna nuclear negotiations. which would make i of this? >> it is a very positive sign on one level. it was very hard to imagine before the election of president ronnie. -- president rouhani. it is the first app and what will unquestionably be a long, drawnout, difficult and controversial negotiating process. >> iran's speaker told french newspapers there are still a lack of trust between tehran and washington. he said the problems are not

insurmountable. is that guarded optimism warranted? >> i hope so. that kind of statement coming , it is slightly surprising. for guardedm optimism compared to where we were a year ago or two years ago. there is an interim agreement. stumbling blocks toward getting that final agreement. i think president obama was finalwhen he placed the agreement odds at 50/50. >> you mentioned where things were a year ago. what the iranian economy looks like today. are they more optimistic about their future under president ronnie -- president rouhani? >> somewhat more optimism in iran. wasinterim negotiation

hailed in some quarters. it remains to be seen how much sanctions really that iran gets gone that. it remains to be seen how much i ran's economy improves. my suspicion is not very much. it is one of the things that i worry about. that the iranians will start to become disillusioned with this process because they feel they are not getting enough from it. >> you just mentioned sanctions. they is no doubt that need sanctions. at what cost to hard-liners that are insisting that under international law that iran has a right to nuclear richmond? -- nuclear enrichment? >> they do have a right, but by abiding by the rules.

they have violated its international proliferation obligations. todayallenge facing iran is to negotiate restrictions, transparency arrangements tom inspections that allow iran to prove that it is now in compliance with agreements. hardlinersome from in tehran and washington. it remains to be seen whether or not that kind of agreement can be sold in both capitals. >> james acton is the senior programe of the nuclear at the carnegie endowment for international peace. thank you for your perspective today. as we had to break, those live itnes from tf where you see right police have moved against the protest camp in the capital of kiev. we will have a live report from the scene at when bottom line continues in just a moment.

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>> welcome back. you are looking at a live shot from independence square in kiev in the ukraine. an ambulance is now on the scene. right police are moving in. we had received word of at least nine deaths, including two police officers. upwards of 150 other people have been injured in those clashes today. reports continue to follow the story. we do have someone on the ground in kiev. we are attempting to establish contact with them. as soon as we do, we will bring that report to you. theher victory today for purchase to by activist -- he has been pushing for a sale for more than a year. christina is in studio with me

now. what do investors think about this? >> the stock of both companies have gone up today because usually we see the seller stock, but not the buyer stock. it is clearly very positive on this deal. it does not come without risk. activist for a long time was just a generic drug business. the second-largest drugmaker in the u.s.. they are bedding enlargement money on branded drugs. they want to combine their generics business with the branded drugs. it has had to fill a void and it went ouanbought a company just last year. >> any chance another company will try to bust this up? >> that is a fair question. they do not really run a full auction offer.

it is a totally fair question to ask. here's the thing. has the leg up on other potential competitors because a couple of years ago they went ahead and bought a company that was down in ireland to get around some u.s. taxes. ,ecause it has a lower tax rate it could afford to essentially pay more than some of the potential competitors that could come in and break up the steel. .> the real winner is carl ican >> $1.7 billion. it has been a long time coming. he took the position in 2009. he has threatened to launch a proxy fight. each time, he settled to get his board members on the board. he has done some work here, too. definitely a nice chunk of change for him, no doubt. >> what does this mean for both companies? >> you will have a massive new

company will try to do something that has not been done before where you have generics and branded coming together, really trying to leverage their position with customers. >>hriina joining us in studio. thank you so much. again, we are still following events in the ukraine. we have seen some ambulances arriving on the scene there. you see some flames in independence square. protesters have been there. deathsave been some today. at least nine, including two police officers. of 150 others were wounded. stay with us. "bottom line " continues in a moment. ♪

welcome back. again, a live shot from independence square in kiev. a protest camp in the center of the capital now being engulfed in flames. police moving in on the protesters who have been calling for the ouster of the president. a reporter joins us on the phone from tf. i imagine you were about a mile or so from where this is taking place. do pictures probably won't it justice from your perspective. what can you tell us? how tense is the situation? >> it looks very much as if we are facing a tragic night here in kiev. the security forces have just called on women and children to square ou.endence you can tell that the situation

is indeed very serious. so far, we have 9 deaths reported. hard to keep count. it is hard to imagine that we won't have more, unfortunately. >> give us a bit of background, a bit of timeline on this. the protesters want the president to leave. is that their ultimatum? anything other than the president leaving will not do? >> the official opposition line heldat they want elections , which i guess, in theory, it would give them a chance to run again. ultimately, their goal is, he has to leave. he has lost all credibility and has blocked ukraine's way to a

with theeration european union. the people in independence square have lost patience because for three months there has been a lot of talk and not a lot of action. they are not necessarily listening to the opposition leaders anymore. we got the sense that in the past couple of weeks, the leaders have lost control of the movement. >> we are looking at the pictures, why does it appear that we are seeing fireworks? are those police flares? >> a lot of what you are seeing flash grenades the police are throwing. the protests are very well equipped. backare probably firing

with fireworks or any flash grenades they have. from thee heard today president? has his office released a statement? has he spoken to the public? officially. the only statement came through the speaker of parliament. harlem and is controlled by his party. parliament is controlled by his party. they announced a meeting between the president and the opposition leader smart. thever, that was before riot police moved on to independence square. if so, i am not sure that we will actually see that happening. the security service and the interior ministry -- interior ministry released a statement with a deadline for the -- that deadline has

now passed. >> joining us on the phone from kiev, a bout a mile from where this violence is taking place in the capital. we say thank you so much. the hour.inutes past that means bloomberg is "on the markets." here's julie hyman. >> good afternoon. stocks remain mixed at this hour as we get a little closer to the closing bell. -- the s&pin the dow and the nasdaq are now higher. we are coming off the best week for the s&p all year last week. it's a bit of a pause or a deceleration of gains in today's session. bank announced the acquisition of eddie bauer. they hold a five percent stake

and calls the purchase of eddie way to destroy shareholder value. the world's biggest beverage maker in the red after posting slipping sales in north america. ♪

>> welcome back to the second half-hour of bottom mbg televis. thanks worst thing with us. let's get you the close of oil and gas. oil rising to a four-month high, touching $102 a barrel for the first time since october. right now, at the close before trading, cru up over two percent at 10252. gas, which rose to a five-month high today at the close of trading. gas futures upat 28341. let's check some of the top stories we're following you at

this hour -- following for you at this hour. the obama administration releasing new gas standards for trucks by march of 2016. resident talked about the plan as he visited a safe weight grocery distribution center -- safeway distribution center in maryland. in russia, two members of the riot were released from a police station in sochi after being held for questioning. they were investigating a theft at a hotel. no charges were filed. in other winter blast a sweeping across the northeast today after hammering parts of the midwest with snow and freezing rain. to-four inchest of snow this afternoon. new york city got about 1.5 inches. more than 600 flights have been canceled. that is a look at the top stories in the news at this hour. the housing recovery in the united states is helping boost ,hares of israeli companies

including the maker of kitchen counter types. it was the best performing stock among their israeli companies trading in u.s.. it up 145% for the past year. the company they deal with ikea inkhe u.s. -- the company ed a deal with ikea in the u.s. >> we just finished the play meant. -- the deployment. we are very happy with the reaction so far. the customers are very pleased to get the ikea kitchen. with the addition of our countertop. we expect that this continues to grow. unti>> you have said that you expect to make $420 million in 2014.

how much longer before you become a billion-dollar company? >> we are a public company. as such, we have to rely upon our guidance. we provide guidance of sale 410 million dollars-400 $20 million. this is the only information i can provide right now. shares are up more than fivefold over the last two years. best performing israeli stock listed the night states. >> we don't expect any slip. we don't build our strategy on slips. we have a solid strategy in place. i think the keyelement that drives the company and the

people are past that we have shown until now. >> is it all going to be organic growth opening up new factories? acquisitions on the card perhaps? >> one thing is to build a capacity to support the growth. as such, we have opened -- d a factory inl georgia. it is onlyt of -- one part of what we do. we continue with what we do to continue with our superior products. with strategy and capacity, of course. our middle east correspondent at the tel aviv stock exchange.

coming up, our next guest says when comes to improving america's highways, policymakers in washington are stuck in the status quo lane. we'll take a look at existing technologies that could make a difference in the safety and efficiency of our roadways when bottom line on bloomberg television continues in a moment. we go out again with more scenes from the ukraine. protests have turned violent. the death toll stands at nine. we will have more details coming up. ♪

>> we turn our focus now to america's highways. our next guest considers them to a block -- compares them to a blocked artery. these indispensable roadways provide transportation to 75% of the goods on the roads and 93% of all commuting by cars and buses. clifford winston is a senior

fellow at the brookings institution. he recently published a paper highlighting technology that would improve america's road systems. he joins us now from washington. welcome to bottom line. thank you for your >> time today. wrote thatpaper, you you say that the nation's at $3ys are valued trillion. are americans getting their money's worth? >> known as much as they could. the system could be performing a lot better. as we experience everyday day with the latest and congestion. >> what percentage of the roads are in disrepair? >> that can vary depending on the state of the economy. certainly, as much as one quarter or a third of the roads could really be in bad shape. >> you point out that federal and state highway agencies can't

seem to outpace the rate of road infrastructure deterioration. hy not? was the creati wethe first problem is that -- when roads get repaired, they become more attractive. moree tend to use them frequently. so all of a sudden the traffic is back and there is more pressure built on the pavement and beget delays and the duration that way. deterioration that way. we have spending without focusing on the two sources of the problem. ?> they are >> the system is not used efficiently. there is scarce capacity, the size of the roads.

they are scarce. rosa villa. there is also what is known as scarce durability. there is a certain pavement thickness and roads get worn out. but we need to do is price those dimensions of the roads efficiently so people will not overuse them. and give signals so that people should avoid using them at the most costly times. that's what we need to do. >> you call for congestion pricing. that involves volume of traffic over time. how would this pricing work? with large metro areas like los angeles be charged a different rate from a much smaller community? this is where technology plays a role. we now have information technology where road authorities can determine in advance how when people are using the road, the flow of toffic and communicate people who are motorists what

the prices of using the road would be at a given point in time. to setuld be done isn' charges, click them electronically -- you don't have to stop at a toll booth. people would know in advance. if they don't want to pay the toll, they could explore other alternative routes that would be of lower cost in terms of the out-of-pocket price, but it would take more time. we can do it. a more congested, urban area than omaha or toledo or what have you. so people there would be paying more during peak hours, but of course, there would be alternatives for traveling at different times of day to lower those costs. >> to america's automakers have a role to play in this? is we'res happening just not improving the infrastructure and taking advantage of the technology that

is available. the technology can actually these polyps sees these policies. they are saying, look, we can improve the actual quality of the car and a truck. they have been doing that over time, making cars safer, more durable and so forth. the big breakthrough appears to be driverless cars. ourh would solve a lot of problems by enabling cars to travel closer together. that would minimize delays. and also greatly improve on safety. so, while policymakers have been extremely slow to implement technology, the actual automakers are developing ogchnology that can leapfr technology >>. there are also safety concerns

and safety components. how is our aging infrastructure affecting insurance claims and career ending injuries from auto accidents? >> as you probably know, the statistics indicate that fatalities from motor vehicle accidents have been declining. it is hard to sort of say that infrastructure per se is causing a serious problem there. however, we could do even better . that is the idea of driverless cars that will look out for other vehicles. and compensate for human behavior, like driving when drug or texting -- when drunk or texting. ra decelerate theel a rate of deaths. washington,s from

mr. winston, fascinating stuff. thank you so much for your time. we appreciate it. thank you. the tonight show back to new york. we'll have more on how the late-night show transition is impacting the hollywood production seen. we will be right back. ♪

>> there he is. the new host of the tonight show. jimmy fallon. the ratings for his debut last night came in at 7.1. that is comparable to the ratings: o'brien achieved when he debuted as host of the show. fallon kicked off his tenure on the nbc broadcast last night, taking over for jay leno. the network is hoping he can get younger viewers to tune in because the median age of the tonight show viewer is 58.

last night marked the first time in 40 years the tonight show was hosted in new york. the shows movies does another loss for california's entertainment industry. some in hollywood are preparing to fight back. peter cook also debuting here. he's joining us from washington. good to see you. a loss on the tonight show, the story is a lot bigger than that. >> is not just about the tonight show. it is a wider trend in hollywood. losing some of those production dollars of the last couple of years. we have heard of the big migration to canada for a lot of the shoots. others states have sweetened the pot, like new york. wages all tied to the entertainment industry in california. but, the reality is they have taken a hit since 1996. .a.er jobs in l

county. what happened with the tonight show is symbolic of the larger story. >> what is the governor of california doing? >> the mayor to theangeles has said governor and the legislature, we need to step up here. we need to double the incentives that california offers to the industry. taxt $100 million a year in breaks. that pales to the $420 million in new york. even the wheezy and offers more than california these days. again, those offers are making a difference. that is one of the big reasons they are losing out right now. >> talk was about the tax breaks. >> when you look at what happened with the tonight show, what they offered -- what new york offered to get jimmy fallon here. he wanted to host the show here, but it made it in nbc's interest. you have a life program with a studio audience of more than 200

and a show that was filmed outside of new york over the past five years -- we have a 30% tax break for you here. it was tailored specifically to the show. the hollywood reporter said as much as $20 million in savings for nbc. hithere was a big economic two los angel two los angeles. >> it was more psychological than anything else. this is a show that do not have a lot of field shoots, so you do not have a lot of those outside crews. 160 people lost their jobs. they were on staff there. the studio has already been rebooked for something else, but not as high profile. hithere will be an economic , but it is more symbolic. york,k at it here in new

two or three shows. >> i know you're staying up late every night. >> letterman is here. now fallon and seth meyers. kimmel is out in los angeles. >> they will be battling for booking. that'll be interesting to see how they deal with that. >> peter cook joining us here in new york. good to see you. stay with us. we'll have another check on the markets on the other side of the break. before we leave, those live pictures from kiev. that violence in independent square continuing. in on alice moving protest camp. the death toll this afternoon stands at seven. two police officers and about seven civilians believed to be protesters there. so far come no statement from the president of ukraine. again, the camp in key have engulfed in flames -- in kiev

engulfed in flames. ♪

>> you can get the latest headlines at the top of the hour and bloomberg radio and streaming on your tablet and on bloomberg.com. that does it for this edition of bottom line on bloomberg television. m mark crumpton. on the markets is next. it is 56 minutes past the

hour. i'm julie hyman. let's get you caught up on wh ere stocks are trading. we have been holding pretty much steady throughout the day with the nasdaq leading gains up three quarters of one percent. in terms of individual movers coming here is bloomberg getting approved -- blackberry getting approved. they are now the fifth-largest shareholder in the company. shares of weight management are following the most since 2012. the country's largest garbage disposer reporting a fourth-quarter loss, falling short of analyst estimates. the company also announced an increase in its quarterly dividends and a $600 million note repurchase program, enough to offset the bad news. we are also watching retailers. they're having a rough couple of weeks. thanks to all the winter weather we have been having come even though the ice will melt soon him hopefully. still a big impact on spring sales. joining me now for today's sector report is mark freeman.

thanks for coming in. it has to be done soon. that's what we all think. it is, that can only be good news for the retailers. >> i agree. there is pent-up demand out there. we saw a little bit of this this weekend when retailers rants a big sales. 40% off the entire store, for example, at express. >> when you have the weather , is it going to be enough to clear the inventory that we have seen piling up during the holiday season when sales were not as strong and in january when people were stuck at home? >> certainly january cold was not great. because of the so-called commented help drive most of the weather products from the holiday season. now the key is that the retailers depend on february to get a read on early spring trends when business takes off.

that has been a tough to get a read on given the weather. >> despite the weather, we have more fundamental issues at stake here in terms of why holidays and spending has been weaker. do we see that improving at all? >> that is still going to be a bit of a challenge. certainly from the ability to shop online. it makes it more difficult. it is target focused shopping instead of browsing in the stores. that helps people build their basket. there any areas of strength that you see going into the reporting season for some of the retailers? stores.ill like ross they don't have the same focus. we think that stock is attractive here. you continue to think that they can take advantage of some of the challenges. >> what about the big discounting? is there anybody that has held

the line on price? >> a handful of retailers. people.logy and free it is tough when you get outside of certain sectors. >> are people just used to promotion now and that is it? >> it is going to be something that you will see on and on in the future. >> good for shoppers. not so good for those retailers. mark freeman of the retail tractor. ♪

>> welcome everyone. i am trish regan. -- 59 minutes to go until the closing bell. we are scaring the markets right now for the best trade of the day. quite a weekend. i am thrilled to have matt miller along with me. >> it is a pleasure to be here with you. >>