>> welcome to "lunch money" where we tie together the best stories, interviews and videos in business news. i am matt miller in for adam johnson. it is showtime in geneva -- europe's biggest carmakers park their high-tech wheels in the alps. and in the east, breakfast at starbucks -- the world largest chain adds a vegetable and egg sandwich. some light reading on capitol hill -- we will help you cut through president obama's budget plan.

and today's luxury -- is richard branson's pet project -- we will take you to his many madagascar are in the caribbean. is canada's professional basketball league coming-of-age? have you ever heard of it? we will kick it off with something everyone is talking about -- russian president vladimir putin going before television cameras. likes the main take away was for the time being, he has no intention to escalate things. >> the markets gave a sigh of release -- sigh of relief after his comments. but this conflict is far from over. >> he never at any point suggested russian troops would be leaving crimea anytime soon. but at least we did learn from the russian president that he has no plans to move into eastern ukraine. >> vladimir putin is telling the world he's not going to take ukraine by force just yet. he ordered soldiers in western russia back to their bases by the end of the week.

they had been taking part in military exercises that were scheduled to end today, but tensions are still high. this is video of unarmed ukraine soldiers in crimea carrying their ukrainian flag and a world war ii that will fry -- world war ii battle flag. the russians fired warning shots. no one was hurt, but the standoff over who guards the base continues. after putin's comments, there was no shortage of rhetoric from our side. john kerry arrived in kiev earlier today where he met with ukrainian leaders and held a news conference. >> the united states reconfirms our commitment to ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity will stop according to -- integrity.

according to international law. we condemn the russian federation's act of aggression and we have throughout this moment evidence of a great transformation taking place. and in that transformation, we will stand with the people of ukraine. today, ukrainians are demanding a government with the consent of the people. and i have to say that we all greatly admire the restraint the transitional government has shown as it makes this transition. they have shown restraint. despite an invasion of ukrainian homeland and a russian government that has chosen aggression and intimidation as a first resort. the contrast really could not be clearer. determined ukrainians demonstrating strength through unity and the russian government

out of excuses, hiding its hand behind falsehoods, intimidation, and provocations. in the hearts of ukrainians and the eyes of the world, there is nothing strong about what russia is doing. >> after kerry spoke, president obama came before the cameras. here is his take. >> there have been some reports that president putin is pausing for a moment and reflecting on what has happened. i think we have all seen that from the perspective of the european union, the united states, allies like canada and japan, and allies and friends and partners around the world, there is a strong belief that

russia's action is violating international law. president putin seems to have a different set of lawyers making a different set of interpretations, but i don't think that is fooling anybody and i think everybody recognizes that although russia has legitimate interests in what happens in a neighboring state, that does not give it the right to use force as a means of exerting influence in that state. we have said if there is any evidence out there that russian speakers or russian natives or russian nationals are in any way being threatened, their ways of dealing with that -- there are ways of dealing with that through international mechanisms. we are prepared to make sure the rights of all ukrainians are upheld. in fact, with the conversations with the government we have had in kiev, they are more than

willing to work with your national community and russia to provide such assurances. the fact we are still seeing soldiers out of their barracks in crimea is an indication to which what is happening there is not a stun actual concern for russian nationals or russian speakers inside the ukraine, but is based on russia seeking through force to exert influence on a neighboring country. >> the balance of power between russia and ukraine is delicate. while it seems russia could easily crush ukraine, it's not that simple, according to a former white house security advisor -- white house security advisor. >> by itself, can they resist russian military power? >> in a conventional war, russia would win easily. the military power is overwhelmingly in russia's

favor. it's the feds budget is 28 times larger than ukraine's. russia has approximately 850,000 active-duty military personnel and 2 million reservists. ukraine has 140,000 active personnel and one million reservists will stop some are now being mobilized will stop in the air, russia has superiority, including some of the most advanced fighter jets in the world. ukraine has about 200 military aircraft, and is a seven to one advantage for russia. the russian navy is a force to be reckoned with, with many nuclear powered submarine. ukraine is struggling to fix one submarine. but it ends with this one fact -- russia has thousands of nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles. ukraine has zero. but all of this may not be enough to take the crimean peninsula. they will need to win the hearts and minds of people.

russia will have to deploy good governance, which has so far eluded them. >> the budget books arrived to capitol hill. will congress pass a drama free budget decision? overseas, the geneva motor show kicked into high gear. we will bring you the highlights of that. remember the giant sinkhole that swallowed some corvettes? the first few cars have been pulled out of the whole. a little red corvette has been pulled out. it will need some body work. a blue devil on loan from gm survived with very little damage. ♪

>> the 84th motor show in geneva, switzerland kicked off today with automakers from around the world showing off their newest models. the ceo with fiat was there and guy johnson caught up with him on a range of topics from geopolitics to jeep. >> how much of a long shadow is going on in the ukraine -- >> if it deteriorates, it will have ramifications in terms of activity, even psychologically. i seriously hope it gets resolved peacefully. >> [indiscernible] >> because he is the prime minister. we also unveiled another beautiful car.

>> in terms of the jeep, this is italy meets the united states. >> italy meets the united states and the united states will meet china. we have promised we would take the brand international and this is a first tangible evidence that it can happen. >> aside from sergio's word, the biggest buzz word was technology. >> it's about design and performance and you can achieve visionary cars if you are a leader in the top technology. this is key. >> what mclaren is all about is using technology to build the best sports cars in the world in whatever segment we go into. >> electric and electronic architecture will take over in the future. when electronic cars are about 35% of value, we will go up to

50%. you will drive whatever solution. you will have the opportunity to drive all of these features in one car because the car manufacturer will not decide. >> our strategy of ford is to be agnostic on the operating system. so you can have an ios, and apple phone, and android -- whatever the customer wants, we will be able to handle it. >> one of the things we are very clear on is the integration of handsets into the vehicle. that's something that is a personal choice. what we want to do is offer that multiple choice when you integrate your handset into the vehicle. >> daimler was on deck in geneva and the ceos spoke to betty liu about when we can expect to see a driverless mercedes-benz.

>> we are coming from the safety side. we have accident free driving and once we are capable of assisting the customer to prevent any accidents, you can keep the steering wheel or push these throttle or the break and then we have autonomous driving. that's how we are driving there and we are in the lead in this regard and we have proven this with a 100 kilometer drive with a closed production as class prototype. our current as class already includes parts of a time as driving, stop and go autonomously. >> what about fully automated cars? can you envision that for the future of your company?

>> absolutely. we will get there and do that step-by-step. highway traffic, freeway with passing and everything, then we will have parking where you will access the car and the car will find the parking lot itself. it will be totally autonomously. >> dr. z better hurry if he's going to catch up to elon musk. the tesla ceo told betty liu last month that he is well on his way to creating a driverless car. >> at this point, we've, blake got -- we've probably got the strongest autonomous driving engineering team of any car company, maybe any company. we are continuing to build on that engineering expertise. we do expect to be the first company to market with significant autonomous driving. >> and the u.s. army has its own self driving vehicle. a technology called the autonomous mobility application system can be applied to almost

any vehicle, allowing it to navigate from one point to another with no human input whatsoever. take a look. ♪

♪ >> what is better than a driverless car? how about a soundproof private jet? we will tell you about the latest airborne technology. starbucks steps up the breakfast floor with its own take on meet, cheese and bread. they even added some vegetables. ♪

>> fast food chains want your first meal of the day under their roof or at least from them and to go. dunkin' donuts cooked up its eggs benedict sandwich and talk about now has its waffle tocco, waffle bell has its taco. seriously. today, starbucks steps up its game. they are selling for new -- four new sandwiches starting now. >> slow roasted ham and swiss on a croissant. we have a reduced fat turkey bacon and egg and chatter on toast. something a lot of customers will really enjoy is another request -- more vegetable on egg on a multigrain roll. >> you won't find that at mcdonald's or taco bell. starbucks doesn't get a kitchen with a new sandwich. they heat their food up in that

little mysterious oven. julie hyman found out what's behind the new menu. >> they look for feedback from their customers. they want to see a sandwich with more vegetables and wanted the turkey bacon one to have fewer calories thomas of a reformulated the bread so it would have fewer calories. this is a market in high demand right now and starbucks is trying to grab a piece of it. >> the menu is certainly more upscale than the competition. here's why it's such a big deal for starbucks. >> it's a matter of getting that incremental ticket order. i talked to a man who covers food. he said breakfast tends to be sticky. if you decide you want a breakfast at a particular place, you might go there every single day, just like you might go to starbucks to buy your coffee every day. if you like the sandwich, you're quite loyal, where as with

lunch, there tends to be more variety in the offering. the idea is why not add to that ticket and have you buying something additionally? >> the economics of fast food breakfast is serious business which shows why so many chains are coming out with new menu items. vanessa wong from "bloomberg businessweek" was quoted knows the drill. >> it's time for your fast food business economics. fast food chains want your business before lunch. it is a huge opportunity for them to ring up extra sales since their employees are preparing lunch. case in point -- mcdonald's. burger king has been trying to boost its breakfast sales and taco bell is rolling out a new breakfast menu this year with creative items like the waffle taco. but it's not as easy as it

looks. wendy's tried to offer breakfast and it did not go too well. we spoke with a food industry consultant about how fast food chains are getting sleepy customers through their doors the morning. number 1 -- coffee. not just any coffee. good coffee. look at the recent success of starbucks and dunkin' donuts. coffee is highly cravable and it's a daily ritual. number 2 -- low prices. many people don't even eat breakfast and those who do do not want to spend a lot. so if your menu prices are too high, your customers will have a cereal bar at home. three, creative menu items. did i mention taco bell's waffle taco? you can't get it anywhere else. having something unique strengthens your breakfast menu. four, speed -- no one wants to be late to work because of an egg mcmuffin. just copy mcdonald's because when it comes to fast food breakfast economics, the egg mcmuffin is king.

>> an egg mcmuffin goes for $2.79. the cheapest starbucks sandwich is $2.95. which would you rather have? i hope lawmakers ate a breakfast sandwich or a bowl of wheaties today. they have a lot of reading to get through. and how tony hawk is expanding his franchise from the skateboard rings to the closing racks at coles, coming up in sports. ♪

>> this is "lunch money" on bloomberg television, also streaming live on bloomberg.com, your tablet and smartphone . i'm matt miller in for adam johnson. on today's moving pictures where the video is the story -- tension in crimea was high when ukrainian and russian soldiers faced off at a military base will stop the ukrainian soldiers were unarmed and marched to the base to demand jobs back. the russian soldiers warned them to stop and fired shots when they didn't. they negotiated for four hours and the ukrainians left unharmed. police in china are patrolling around the clock in the areas surrounding last weekend's

deadly terrorist attack. 29 people were killed when knife wielding attackers rampaged through a train station in southwestern china. in beijing, security is tight as china's top leaders gather for political meetings. a record-setting night for lebron james -- the miami heat star putting in a career-high 61 points as the heat topped the bobcats 124-107. the previous high was set back by james in 2005. in nations, it that time of year again as the budget books arrive on the hill. president obama's $3.9 trillion increased spending plan for employment, education and job training programs. tax breaks for about 13.5 million americans. how is he going to pay for it?

trimming taxes for families. he laid out his plans at a washington d.c. elementary school. >> i laid out an agenda to restore opportunities for all people. to uphold the principle that no matter who you are, no matter where you started, you can make it if you try here in america. this opportunity agenda is built on four parts -- more good jobs and good wages from a making sure we are training workers with the skills they need to get those jobs, guaranteeing every child access to a world-class education, and making sure our economy is one in which hard work is rewarded. the budget i sent congress this morning lays out how we will implement this agenda in a balanced and responsible way. this budget adheres to the

spending levels of both houses of congress, but also builds on that progress with what we are calling an opportunity, growth, and security initiative that invests in our economic ortiz in a way that's fully paid for by making smart spending cuts and closing tax loopholes that only benefit the well-off and well-connected. we know the country that wins the race for new technologies will win the race for new jobs, so this budget creates a 45 high tech manufacturing hubs where businesses and universities will partner to turn groundbreaking research into new industries and new jobs made in america. >> jobs and redistribution of wealth. it does not include social security changes like it did last year. phil mattingly is here to explain why. >> the administration and 2013 address social security changes that enraged their democratic base. those are not going to be in here. they heard from house. kratz and sides. heard from both

why are you putting us in trouble in campaigns by putting these issues in here? demonstration is taking them out. they say if john boehner wants to go to the table and come back to the grand bargaining, we will put social security cuts back on the table. but why will we put ourselves out there? >> republicans in congress will reject the presence jet and offer one of their own that we will tell you about here on "lunch money." in canada, they have a new league for sports, but it's not hockey. we will hear from the commissioner of the first ever national basketball league. closer to the equator, richard branson has created a one-of-a-kind sanctuary for endangered animals. we will take you there after the break. ♪

>> necker island is richard branson's 72 acre private retreat.

it's a paradise not just for branson and his family. it's home to 300 different animal species. trish regan got the story on why the virgin billionaire is turning this island into a mini madagascar. >> he's about two and a half weeks old. >> they're very friendly. call it richard branson's jurassic park. we are going to go see some lemurs. 300 species live your. -- live here. many of them have been hunted to near extinction or pushed out of their natural habitats by developers. on his private island in the british virgin islands, the billionaire collects them and makes sure they thrive. >> these are the red ruffed lemurs. they are the most imperiled.

there's only about 300 left in the world. >> for branson, saving animals is a passion and a crusade. he is carved out six acres for their playground and employs a team of three wildlife experts to care for them full-time. >> we have taken them from zoos where they were not breeding and have given them a lot more space here. they are now breeding well. >> it's home to nearly six nearly extinct species of lemurs native to madagascar are. >> would you say they are thriving in this environment? >> yes. >> these black-and-white lemurs like their food so much so that -- i will admit it made me a bit uncomfortable to say the least. thankfully, the giant galapagos tortoises don't get as excited about mealtime. in fact, they can live months without food. this one is 30 years old. >> 30 may be the new 18 because she will live to be 200.

branson has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on animal conservation. in addition to torres and lemurs, a shelter some rare birds. >> this one here was born blind and they are hand feeding him. he's doing very well. >> i see one right there. >> the scarlet ibis was once native to this area of the caribbean. by the time richard moved here, there wasn't a single one left. >> i figure because they were so beautiful, they were killed for their feathers and disappeared. >> but richard branson has big plans for them. >> once we have enough here, they will start moving out to other islands and hopefully the british virgin islands it will have scarlet ibis and flamingos in all the ponds. >> but if i were an animal here, i would never leave. >> don't do that.

>> if you are taking your private jet to visit branson's island, you can now soundproof your ride. but this kind of peace and quiet is going to cost you. >> we modify aircraft to include vip interiors to make it more like a home environment that a commercial aircraft environment. we have seen an increased emphasis on noise reduction. sound levels can only allow you to have good speech interaction within one or two feet of each other. here, we've got down to 47 decibels, where they can communicate between eight to 16 feet. once it was identified you could get lower, we said let's see how far you could go. sound proofing is a holistic approach. we apply a continuous

uninterrupted layer of insulation and also isolate the components that may pass through that barrier to make sure vibrations don't pass through and get conducted into the interior. we also have to treat the systems in the barrier already like air-conditioning, fuel pumps, ventilation fans and whatnot. it's about optimization. the more sound attenuating materials we have, the more weight you add to the aircraft, which adversely impacts the mission requirement come as others quite a bit of science that goes into the development of the systems. this is what would typically come on an airbus aircraft. the have developed a whole new system that for only two thirds the weight is 10 decibels quieter. roughly half the noise level. the cost of a basic interior for a narrow body aircraft would be a 25 million dollar range whereas a wide-body aircraft, like a 747, that's on the order of $90 million more. that's just what we do from the

interior completion standpoint. >> cheap at twice the price. in sports, we will tell you how canada's first-ever basketball league is taking baby steps to dominate the country. champion skateboarder tony hawk is making the sport more than a game. we will hear from the man himself, coming up next. carnival is winding down in brazil, but not before the final parade ran until dawn in rio. they really know how to party there. ♪

>> today in sports -- new twist on old games. let's start with basketball. canada has formed its first ever national basketball league with

19 a-list athletes. in only three years, the league is going quickly but it still has its challenges. here is the commissioner with stephanie ruhle and are resident canadian, erik schatzker. >> the love for basketball is growing in canada. it's higher than it has ever been based on some of these successes of canadian players now in the nba. young kids in our country are looking at them saying that could be me. the future for our league is very bright in canada. >> how will you attract players to want to play for your league when they have the option to play in the u.s.? >> let's be clear -- we are not competing with the nba. the nba is a phenomenon, one of the greatest pro leagues in the world. but there are only 400 jobs in the nba. there are a heck of a lot more great basketball players in the world than 400.

what we are saying is we will present them with an opportunity to come here, play and a high-level league with great competition in front of rabid, passionate fans. the nba is the pinnacle of professional basketball. that's irrefutable. we're not trying to compete on that level. we are trying to give players and fans another option. the appetite for basketball in our country transcends the nba. the nba alone does not satiate the love of ball here in canada. hockey, which is -- we are the greatest hockey nation in the world. we just proved it again in the olympics. that is the sport we love year, but among the young kids, basketball is now the sport a love most. -- they love most. >> skateboarding is another favorite among the young kids, but nobody knows it better than old tony hawk. the champion skateboarder has heart out a successful video franchise and a clothing line. here he is with pimm fox. >> i just did things i felt were

intuitive and easily associated with our culture. skateboarding is as much of a sport as a lifestyle and artform. there's so much that transcends in form of music and fashion and entertainment. i wanted to promote skateboarding the best way as possible through different media as well. >> tell us about a clothing line. >> for the last few years, we have been exclusively at kohl's, but we are starting to branch out through cherokee. it is a brand and something that's rather iconic with our sports but we've never been able to do it outside the u.s. on a bigger scale and now we are going to do that with our resources. >> tell us about the ride channel, about using the internet to bring specialized programming to the people who want to watch you and other skateboarders. >> this is a youtube channel we started in conjunction with google. we were funded by them for the first couple of years. it covers all sorts of

skate-centric content from new tricks to interviews to bands that enjoy skateboarding. i interview celebrities and people that have interest me that have nothing to do with skateboarding. >> do you still play videogames? >> i don't play them as much. i was always more focused on my game, which i had to master because of yet again with your name on it, you better learn how to play a it because people will ultimately challenge you. but we are working on a game now for mobile devices this year. we have never gone exclusively that direction yet, so i'm excited. with the amount of time people are spending on their phones and tablets laying games, we have never had our own game in that space out so i'm excited to provide one finally. >> as am i. we will step away from the video

games -- no offense to tony -- it's time to kick back like investors bill gross and dan loeb. dan's yogi is eddie stern. he stopped by to tell us how to find that inner peace. >> everyone likes to reset their button every once in a while i'm a perhaps everyday to connect with themselves and find some sense of inner quiet and inner centering and reboot their perspective on the life that they have every day. >> if i look at the list of common yoga and meditation practitioners in the business and finance community in the political community -- people like bill gross, steve jobs was interested in yoga -- we talked about than loeb, one of your students. these are incredibly intense people. do they need yoga more than the rest of us? >> no, they don't need it more than the rest of us. they need at the same as everyone else.

all the people that you named are intensely creative people and people who are visionaries in their field as well. what happens with yoga is when you get quiet and reset your perspective backing yourself everyday, you enter into a frame of mind that looks at things from a different perspective where you can see things clearly and differently. you can problem solve and make creative decisions about situations people would not normally think about. >> from the yoga mat to the tennis court -- 406 children set a world record for the largest ever tennis lesson in new york on sunday. never too soon to practice for the u.s. open. ♪

>> it is 56 past the hour, i'm alix steel. let's get you caught up on the record-breaking day of stocks. closing at a record. they have toned down the rhetoric out of russia.

president putin said he will only send soldiers in extreme aces and not considering taking control of crimea. that is helping stocks with this relief rally. discretionary, all of them are back at new highs. correctionsling for , but not jason rotman. today i asked him what happens when we hit that number. >> i think if we hit 1900, you could see some throwing in the towel again. some look like they were throwing in the towel again here at we have a lot of data coming up. u.s. manufacturing came out stronger. the huge monthly jobs report away.riday, three days if we see the polar vortexes are behind us and that economic activity will heat up, we could

get to 1900 and higher. the call for a correction is incorrect. >> we talk about the issue with ukraine and russia, do you buy it? >> no. it is all timing. yesterday was a different reality than it is today. yesterday the whole world was concerned that putin was going to do a bout -- a black belt judo move in ukraine. this is a huge relief rally. it is a classic relief rally. long can it really last? these economic data supporting the markets? >> that is what i am saying. we need to see data such as housing and jobs. if these numbers turn off stronger-than-expected, the bulls will keep going on the bull run. >> what are you looking at for friday's jobs number? >> i am looking at a hit on the target. i don't see a big report.

i think we are coming out of the cold weather which could have a damper on the jobs number. i'm not looking for a big number but i'm looking for the market to continue its strength. >> in the last quarter earnings report, we saw estimates continue to drift lower. companies continue to guide down. why does that not worry you? >> overall, we have a trend of jobs growth and a key element of the economy that's supporting everything is the housing market. this recovery is not over. i think we are in the fourth or fifth inning of the housing market recovery and i love the fact that housing will continue to go higher, support consumer spending and discretionary spending. i think the consumer will support this for the next several years. >> even though we haven't seen that much in the last couple of months and we have rising mortgage rates.

spurs a look word treasuries ended the day. .ot a lot of safe haven yields have been at their lowest levels in almost a month. a quick check on commodities. i want to talk about oil here. the risk premium being drained out of oil prices. ubs had estimated in case of a significant military escalation, the could be a $20 rally in oil. not seeing that. i'm alix steel. ♪