>> global markets have reached new highs. a l'oreal exclusive. the ceo of the world's largest cosmetic company tells bloomberg he only started his acquisition spree. >> we are pretty good at seizing the brands that are still at the early stages and making them huge. >> on fire. amazon releases its first smart phone. jeff bezos says it is time to with the crown from apple. and the defending champions

crushed out of the tournament. a warm welcome to "countdown." i am anna edwards. 6:00 here in london this thursday morning. bloomberg reporters are standing by across the world ready to deliver stories that will drive your day. looking at the markets reaction to the latest fad decision -- fed decision. is in paris with exclusive comments from the l'oreal chief. and caroline hyde is in london. stay with the channel. on the next hour, an exclusive interview with the biggest electronic retailer. and later on bloomberg row coming, an exclusive interview

with a special guest on "the pulse." he talks about the connected home. the fed reserve trimmed its bond buying program as expected by $10 billion. the fifth straight cut in a row. walk usanny is here to through the minutes. janet yellen had a very important news conference as well. manus, the market seem to like what they heard. neuheisel reached on various markets -- new highs reached on various markets. >> it could have been worse. let's have a look. the treasury bond is the biggest again. why? it is a commitment to the zero buying world of don't worry. the dollar is a little bit lower. a job market is improving. we know that.

they are adding jobs. the economy is rebounding at a moderate taste -- pace. how much access amounts? it remained significant. it is a noisy old thing. it is moving back to target. hawkishs of a more outcome simply were not realized. inflation continues to run well below our objective. we are still some ways away from maximum employment. see anymoment, i do not trade-off whatsoever. the labor market has continued to improve. over a number of years he --

growth has come in at a disappointing level. we are still seeing the global market broadly improved. i expect that to continue. do you make of her communication skills this time around? >> top of the class. improving considerably. inc. of the three protagonists of forward guidance. you have ben bernanke, carney, and janet yellen. there is no mechanical formula. say everything and say nothing and commit to very little is definitely improving. as far as interest rates are concerned, they have raised their views. they will have to get the dots on the matrix. rates will rise more quickly than they originally anticipated. on top of that, they are paring back their view on growth in the longer-term. >> manus cranny on the latest

from the fed. has promised no hard landing and no strong stimulus. what was the promise? an honest and a solemn promise to deliver no hard landing for the chinese economy. big promise considering the size of the chinese economy. you rarely hear are world leaders guaranteeing how the economy will fare. that is what you heard. he is in charge of the chinese economy. he says he could promise honestly and solemnly that china will deliver at least 7.5% economic growth this year. inflation will remain in check. it will not exceed 3.5%. china will have medium to high level growth in the long run. he also talks about smart and

targeted regulation. the independent economist we has spoken to say the property markets and have the recalibrate their effort to make sure that lending, for example, does not burst a bubble in certain markets around the country. tier 1 cities like beijing and shanghai. that remains the big unknown at this stage. let's not forget the big announcement of china allowing the exchange for british pounds. that takes effect today in shanghai. the fifth major currency to trade directly against the yuan. there is theme of london --gressing at you on centers yuan centers. >> an eventful visit. thank you. back on an acquisition spree in a rare and exclusive interview.

the l'oreal ceo set down with caroline connan in paris. what did he tell you? >> good morning, anna. loyal and said to spend more than $5 billion in an acquisition in just the first half of 2014. last night, there was in a position of the u.s. make up t cosmetic in los angeles. it is a way for them to compete with mac that is owned by estee lauder. i sat down with the ceo of gloria on the sidelines in paris eal on the sidelines in paris. have a listen. >> nyx is a great brand. it is the only brand like that.

professional makeup artists has been a great success in luxury for many years. we have been very successfully with the equivalent luxury brand urban decay. a makeupally planning artist brand in mass markets. >> is the cd is an indication of an size -- this deal indication of the size of -- >> no, we thought it was a great opportunity. we took it. seizingretty good at brands that are still at the early stages and making them huge. one of two examples is maybelline. revolted 20 years ago -- we v oted 20 years ago. year, it will be 600

million euros. this we do pretty well. taking a brand and being able to identify its strengths and values of the brand they could make it universal and globalize it. also be that nyx will at the brand. it will follow in the same direction. >> how long will it turn -- take to turn the body shop around? if it fails, would you consider selling it? >> one of the reasons it is shop, it wash body a rarity a big brand. it is easier to take a small brand and make it a huge grant. when it is a brand that is already big and had to reinvent and refresh and reading of it, it is more difficult and takes more time. we take the body shop is a real

challenge. there is a new strategy and a new vision. >> are we going to see more acquisitions in the rest of the year? alle are analyzing opportunities every year. the simple reason is when someone has a beauty brand to sell, they contact us first. we see all opportunities. you're very selective. selective.only the we pick the ones that are complementary to our portfolio. we are confident we will find other opportunities this year or next year. ceo told me that

europe easy back. itis even confident that posted its first gain in the sales quarter. more in the next hour. anna? paris.line connan in ed ins have toiled and work factory for years. caroline hyde is at the imperial aerial robotics lab in london. i guess you'll soon be showing us some robots of the future. be once the lab is open. i will be the first one in to show you the miniature drones and aerial robotics. london leads the push to cash in and what is an enormous opportunity. robotics become more finesse. according to mckinsey, this could boost economic growth by $4.5 trillion.

that is bigger than the entire german economy. we always knew that we had robots from any faction. we had robots that could spray paint, weld, the dangers and heavy lifting jobs instead of humans. they're becoming more dexterous. they're becoming more intelligent almost. we have got softbank creating a four foot robot that the culpepper. they can dance and tell jokes. you could buy this robot for about $2000 come february 2015. we have got other robots being made that to play football. pretty phenomenal stuff. they could be doing surgeries. the leaps and bounds being made are pretty phenomenal. japan is focusing on robotics to such an extent they wanted to be about $23 billion in size by

2020. a key area of growth. london once in as well. --w wants in as well. there are some concerns out there. elon musk is worried about a terminator robot being created and being too intelligent for its own good. there is a huge opportunity. so much money is being thrown at the situation. >> caroline, thank you. caroline will be back later in the program. still to come, looking for a rate hike in the fed forecast. ♪

>> time for today's company news. general electric ceo arrived in france today to make a final push for alstom's energy assets. he needs to convince others to except the bid. the energy grid and transportation is is is still being negotiated according to a ge spokesman. london-based financial information provider raised 1.3 billion in a u.s. ipo in the

london-based company provides price data that forms the basis of much of the global derivatives and bonds markets. shares sold at $24 each at the midpoint of the range. shares will trade on the nasdaq today. l'oreal, the world's biggest cosmetic maker, agreed to by nyx cosmetics for an undisclosed price. speaking in an interview, the l'oreal ceo says the purchasable both store lori yells pickup real will boosto pickup offerings. is a traditional brand. it is the only brand like that. hasessional makeup artists had great success in luxury for many years. equivalent, urban decay. takee really planning to

nyx in the mass-market. first amazon revealed its smartphone called fire phone. it is tied to the retailers other services. it includes 3-d viewing and image recognition technology to make it simpler. the fun will start at 100 $99 and will be on sale in the u.s. from july 25. welcome back to "countdown." i am anna edwards. a time in london is 18 minutes past 6:00. fed chair janet yellen reiterated that rates are likely to stay low for considerable time. uest.e joined with my g thank you for coming in. let's talk about janet yellen. it seems the markets are listening to janet yellen and her commitment to keep rates low for a considerable time and of theg the forecast

other members of the federal reserve. >> i think that is precisely it. no mention of the six-month window. the market took heart in that. the commitment took a lot of focus. there's a sharp downward revision. the markets walked away liking this. they walked away with a dovish interpretation. it seems to me that when you add up what matters for central-bank at what matters to the fed, they have a dual mandate. improve their own employment forecast. increased inflation forecast. in the end, those plots matter. maybe they don't. does that tell us that the rates will go up from zero? >> i think the proper conclusion is that they might go up a little bit more quickly. there's always a debate, which is central bank. they tend to underestimate just how much of a cold feet they will get. it will likely be a bit later

than they think. it might eat sooner than the markets believe right now. >> we haven't talked about low volatility. -- have been talking about low volatility. in chicago, at its lowest level since 2007. does.hink it it needs to be viewed properly. it creates a vulnerability. it certainly creates a vulnerability. it is a list of the pointing that yellen -- it is a little bit disappointing that yellen asked about that. it looks pretty normal to her. there are no particular warning signs. what about the global growth story? i was intrigued to listen. promisinglking about honestly and solemnly they were not be a hard landing for the chinese economy. that takes on a different

residence from a chinese leader than a western leader. make such a commitment. >> absolutely. not something you would expect a leader from the west to make. i do tend to be pessimistic about chinese growth. easy evidence of a slowdown and housing issue. of thesee evidence slowdown and housing issue. the chinese central government has resources and will likely do some bailing out when necessary. they can achieve some growth and get that soft landing. >> eric lascelles stays with us for another conversation after the break. we will get his insight into the canadian carney versus the bank of england carney. we will compare and contrast after the break. ♪

>> welcome back to "countdown." i am anna edwards. a time in london is 6:24 a.m. we are back with eric lascelles. you are wonderfully lace to compare and contrast the canadian version of carney and his british reincarnation. give us your thoughts on how he is doing. >> we can see the smartest man in the room. i think that argument is

correct. the u.k. has done well to have him. it is interesting some of the parallels that do exist. there are are other factors. he has impeccable timing making a shift to the u.k. >> is that a euphemism for being lucky? >> certainly a little bit lucky. the u.k. has taken off just before he arrived. he finds himself grappling with broadly the same issues. tool.l guidance used as a more quantitative easing wasn't .ppropriate in either country look back at canada's version as well. there. a parallel >> and there is a canadian example there. >> there is. canada under carney did not do a lot about housing. that is not entirely fair and

the housing regulation film much less under the purview of the bank of canada. that's we could see carney in --ging in some actions to certainly we should not expect rate hikes to come because of the housing market. >> when will the rate hike come? has got a lot of people reaching to change their forecast. >> that is right. there are comments from mustard versus the minutes they came out yesterday. in the end, the market is probably about right. i think the message that governor carney meant to pass along late last week and that ultimately was a bit clear is that there is too little volatility. let's get those scales little bit fatter. the likelihood was too low. >> thank you so much for joining us. eric lascelles.

coming up, will amazon's fire phone heat up the smartphone market? plus, virtual reality goes mobile. introduce you to a device that takes you into another world. ♪

>> welcome back. i am anna edwards. let's head out to manus cranny for the fx check. >> janet yellen spoke and the fed released its minutes for zero bond buying rates for a considerable amount of time. this is the dollar index coming lower. volatility is declining to the bloomberg dollar contract's is that a -- indexes that a one-month low. it is helping the likes of the mexican dollar as well.

it is a different kind of currency. this is after the gdp numbers. the fourth quarter was revised higher. called it a once pea shooter. the markets think that they will raise rates again. the possibilities currency making an all-time high is rising in the market. 72% say that this will trade above its august 2011 level. anna, back to you. >> thank you. here are the bloomberg top headlines this hour. the fed says interest rates are likely to stay low for a considerable time. janet yellen said monetary stimulus will continue until the central bank achieves its goals.

committee believes that economic activity is rebounding in the current quarter and will continue to expand at a moderate pace thereafter. >> iraq prime minister warns the violence in his country could spill over into neighboring states. u.s. president barack obama is urging the shiite led government to become more inclusive. and parliament will swear in a nuking today. son succeeds his father who is stepping down. spain today. in succeeding his father who is stepping down. smartphones new you're at it has 3-d technology and will go on sale in the u.s.

markets next month. cory johnson was at the seattle launch in seattle. >> this is it. this is the fed moment. this is the msi and fire phone. phone.n interesting --re are a couple of things it is this affect that allows the phone to have a 3-d hologram like image on it to allow you to see things better with things like maps and so on. it is actually a really fascinating thing to see. other is very amazonian like. something that they call

firefighter. he pointed at something in your house or in the store and you identify that thing and you price it and buy it. it will also help you listen to music and recognize the music. even recognizes scenes from a movie or television show. it could be wikipedia entries or imbd. that amazonoduct owns with information about movies and tv shows. it is driving more business into the amazon ecosystem. that allows them to buy more stuff. to make that even more plausible , it will come with a one-year amazon prime membership. with that means is people who have this phone will be more likely to spend loads of money on amazon to where they can dynamite the phone

right a lot of topline revenues to amazon itself. >> we have also got news of an amazon black hairy deal. can find out more in interview with the blackberry ceo on "bloomberg west" at 6:30 p.m. this evening london time. >> 3-d printing -- you may not think that could describe the same gadget, but you haven't seen this. my guest joins us in the studio with an example. thank you for coming and. ls what this is. is --tell us. what this us what this is. >> it is a headset. >> it is a headset? >> yes. and thene combined

results in stereo vision. position.are of the they can figure out which way you're actually looking. >> tell us about what it is made of. you could see perhaps from the images that it is 3-d printed. the lenses andom the screws of it. the entire body itself is 3-d printed. that is essentially what we are trying to do different. we are trying to look at k-rod manufacturing. tens ofof having thousands of them made somewhere getast asia, we want to owners to collaborate with us and manufacturing these locally. all of them will be handmade. being.e's is

is this for playing games or watching films? >> every day, someone asked about new stuff. maybe we could work something out. probably games would be a big part of it. that would be an experience of which we tend to make them casual. maybe presenting panoramic images. someteresting we saw some to have a virtual reality headset that will be compatible between the two. you say that your virtual reality is compatible -- compatible with all smartphones. this means there are lots of variations. >> yes.

that is why we went for 3-d printing. we have all of the different screen sizes. different eye sites. there'll be a lot of different variables in a lot of different combinations. we embrace that. we added different designs and different colors. it is available on our website. thank you very much for coming in. 6:38 a.m. in london. there is a final push for the company's bid for the alstom business. this is after a joint offer for

the same asset. caroline connan joins us from paris. what should we expect? interesting. they have some negotiators in paris. is a little bit of the pressure. it is exactly like you did last month when the head of ge in france was supposed to appear in front of french lawmakers. at the last minute, he decided to come he himself and defend his bid. of course, we could expect an improvement of the -- maybe i'm not on the cash component, but on the job and guarantees of nuclear technology. there is no meeting scheduled at the moment with the french president.

of course, the stakes are very good for ge weird it would be ge's biggest acquisition ever. they do not want to see the deal go away. >> thank you. still to come, spain says adios to its world cup dreams. the defending champion crushed out of the competition after two games. it is no secret that they've named sports brands pay big bucks to sponsor big teams. put money into the afghan premier league instead. ♪

♪ >> time today's company world cup news. spain has been a limited from this years comp at tatian. spain was defeated 2-0 by chile. the first makes spain team to be ousted from the brazilian tournament. nearly 100 chilean football fans

went through security checkpoints. they sprinted through a large media room and broke down walls to get into the sold-out game between spain and chile. officials eventually contained fans about 15 minutes. and brazilians have been gorging themselves on a special world cup snap. the deep-fried snack is named after a brazilian defendant. it has been popular in brazil since its invention. the true tensile do very well. fans ordered the snack to show their support for the brazilian team. it is a little bit early for that kind of thing for me. welcome back to "countdown." i am anna edwards. london.. here in we have seen many logos all over.

how to smaller companies compete against multimillion dollar sponsorships? the problem is faced by the ceo of a danish empathy. he joins us in the studio. thank you very much for coming in to talk to us. how do you differentiate as a scholar -- smaller many factor customer >? >> our main strategy is to differentiate ourselves. we do a little bit of the same. we look at the big guys and we do more or less the opposite. >> and spain is going out in the early world cup. exactly. it is a high-risk. but is it we can do that the big what wenot rush to mark can do is we can maybe take some other kinds of risk. so we can do

whatever we want. as to the sponsoring big teams, we sponsor the team that we think has a story and has depth. maybe you one that the big guys don't dare touch. >> yes. is this about marketing and typical sponsorship? or is this an initiative? >> it is both. we call that company karma. it is a mix. value forto create ourselves. we have good growth they're. we also look for the jesus. we try to combine doing well and doing good. afghanistan, it is a way to

create a positive change in a war-torn country. it is a way of having a deep and emotional story that we can tell to our customers. in a very influenced market for are peoples, there out there who want small brands, and are from france, brands that aren't the big ones. afghanistan, you have to travel there. a logistically, the might be some things that are difficult about that relationship. we may -- imagine afghanistan with two teams. standing there in a war zone, i

felt -- it is strange. it is really radical. >> it wouldn't be the first up football has been used to bridge yaps in wartime. you have a privately owned business. does that mean you're able to think differently? know the national team association, they tried to order the big guys out there. aghanistan team is controversial team. are you taking sides? all kinds of things. when i heard this the first time , we set -- said, if not us, then who? andre be more flexible

being able to service our client in a flexible way and taking sponsorship of what we can do. we permit the sponsorship tomorrow. this,ot know if you know though we are the official sponsor of 13. team. >> thank you. a pleasure to meet you. --ing up, you can china chilean red wine really cut down on the risk of another heart attack? a doctor put it to the test. ♪

>> welcome back. i am anna edwards. a time in london is 6:52 a.m. let's take a break from all of that than have a look at the newspapers. elliott, let's start with you. there are the three kidnapped teenagers. i want to show a different story. this is the smallest israeli nano satellite. it is a very small satellite. measuring just 10 centimeters

huge. it will hitch a ride on a 34 --er long 210 ton choose cruise missile to the idea was behind high school students. once up in space, if you get lost or you find yourself in trouble even if you are out of to area, you will be able send out an sos back to the control center. it will be launched from russia. the nano satellite is being bird. after the national i'm sure you knew that. >> well, yes, i was just about to say. thank you for bringing up that start. from nano satellites, let's go to -- >> i'm not interested in football. i'm interested in the soon to be clean tv news anchor. she became ao,

princess. in an hour and a half, she will be a clean -- queen. she's been called the middle class queen, kate 2.0. she is apparently having a good influence impact on king philippe who was a very boring public speaker until she gave him coaching. row watches noticed a discernible difference -- royal watchers notice a discernible difference after she gave him some tips. interesting stuff in spain. carlos was very popular until he went on that safari. the unemployment did not go down too well. there will be a mock referendum on having the monarchy in spain this weekend. in general, many spaniards thinks there should be a real referendum. there is a chance that the new queen might make them more talk

about. >> i wonder how that will owe down with the footballers. am sure that will definitely be a conversation. that is the good news. here we have in the times a story about wine. -- i have seen many reports about whether wine is or is not good for your health. this doctor has taken things to new levels. the u.k. dr. says during his rounds when he was visiting --ients who previously had during his rounds, including morning rounds, he gave those who had had health affects a glass of red wine in the morning and in the evening. he says it is not a scientific study. it is being dramatically reduced. he is clearly a believer.

>> he is not giving any actual drugs. it is amazing. >> the wind was provided by a charity. was provided by a charity. his favorite is a chilean. it is very reasonable. [laughter] let's move on. the u.k. secretary warned that an early interest rate could hit the recovery of the u.k. economy. what would be unfortunate if that conversation were to precipitate serious imbalances in the economy with that housing boom. it would affect the economy as well. have moreup, we will on our exquisite interview with the ceo of l'oreal.

and we will speak with the biggest electric on it -- electronic retailer. stay with us. 6:56 a.m. in london. see you on the other side of the break. ♪

highsal markets reach new as the fed says interest rates are likely to stay low for a onlyderable period. >> just earning the acquisition spray. at finding brands at the early stages of development and making them huge. releasing the first smartphone, amazon. jeff bezos says it is time to rip the crown from apple. spain's world cup dream is over as the defending champions

crash out of the tournament. >> welcome to "countdown." >> catch an exclusive interview with the head of france costs -- france's electrical retailer. later, we will bring you an exclusive interview with the electrolux ceo. he will talk about the future .> the federal reserve cut its bond buying program by $10 billion. walk us through the minutes. >> it seems like investors liked what they heard. the s&p 500 making new record highs.

seet yellen does [indiscernible] in other words, could we go into bubbles? not so in her opinion. the s&p 500 record high. threereasuries, again, weeks, we are seeing straight moves. what is your mandate? full employment, whatever that might be in the new paradigm, the new world, and low inflation . critical piece of the jigsaw, at a moderate pace. underutilization remains significant and inflation is coming back to our target, which is 2%. the bottom line for the market -- fears of a more hawkish outcome were not realized. >> inflation continues to run

well below our objective. we are still some ways away from maximum employment. see anymoment, i don't trade-off whatsoever in choosing our two objectives. hthe labor market continues to improve. growth has come in at a disappointing level. the laborll seeing market broadly improve and i expect that to continue. >> there she is communicating. what about her communication skills? how have they gone down? >> certainly improving, realizing that the pack in front of you will lift on every breath, nuance, however you move. no mechanical formula. gone is that moment when we said we will raise rates in six months times. not so.

bernanke caused a taper tantrum. shine, says the sun will i believe him. but if you can get to that point, you wear the hat. they all get together. said released its rate projections and the market got into a bit of a tift. but now they have more understanding. >> manual and basically said yellen basically said that people put dots on. they have trimmed their view on growth. term growth rate to

1.3%. don't worry about the dots. >> some breaking news from rolls-royce, planning a one billion pound buyback. it is contingent on the completion of the sale of businesses to siemens. but other than that news on the buyback, the underlying business, they are conferring the engine maker. aircraftld of the engine order. the world's largest cosmetic maker is back on an acquisition spray. what did he tell you? and talk to me just after

announcing the acquisition of nyx cosmetics in the u.s., which is a way for them to compete with mac owned by estee lauder. it is also a way to reduce the sales -- the sluggish they have seen in america in the first quarter. they plan to turn around the brand just as they did with maybelline. they are not going to stop there in terms of acquisitions. we spoke on the sidelines of the .onsumer goods forum. he said he is just getting started. beauty someone has a brand to sell, they call us first. we found one we think fits perfectly and are complementary to our portfolio that has a big potential.

confident we will find other opportunities this year or next year, but this is the story of where i am. toin fact, l'oreal is set spend more than $5 billion in acquisitions in just the first half of this year. the ceo also told you he was confident about europe. >> that's right. it's not because he is doing the acquisitions in the u.s. that he is not interested in europe anymore. he is very confident about europe. he taught me europe is back, especially southern europe where he has been seeing his first sales gain in the past six years. .> thank you > >> robots have toiled beside workers and factories for years.

caroline is live from the imperial aerial robotics forum in london. looks like you are surrounded by some of the robots of the future. >> i am indeed. this one is rather heavy. you will see one flying around may as well while we are here in imperial college, the aerial robotics lab. imperial groups in college focuses on the future robotics. this one is inspired by bio robotics. it is what you can conceive out of nature, the way you look at animals and humans and making robots that much better. this one has a 3-d sensor at the top -- at the front and can process the information. did can sense how far it is from the ground, what is next to it to it.close it can navigate as it applies. it will be able to build its

rest andnest and then gain energy from the sun. it will have solar panels on it eventually. the very vision is that we will live as one with robots, with robotics that will be able to fly -- so you have a wind turbine, it will fly and assess where there are crocs and send a partner robot with a 3-d printer to fix that particular crack,. so it is here. it is ready. it is being built here in imperial college. years, they feel these will be living amongst us -- in the next five years, they feel these will be living amongst us. but it's really about health care. trillion worth of economic growth is set to be coming from robotics alone. that is the same size, bigger than the german economy. this is the sort of growth that

robotics can create. this is why japan, china, the eu are trying to focus on robotics, on showing the initiative, trying to lead the way as to where the growth will be in the future. it seems to be manufacturing. but also health is where japan is focusing. you can buy for $2000 in the future, i think i 2015, a little robot that can dance and actually tell jokes. that is coming from softbank. >> thank you. >> it builds a nest. what next? gs.ing eg

>> will come back -- welcome back. >> the s&p 500 going for a record high yesterday after janet yellen said the stimulus would remain for as long as is necessary to achieve the u.s. goal.l bank's

richard, great to see you this morning. the morning after, how do you digest janet yellen's comments add focus on the comments and not on the dots or revisions from the members? >> there are probably a couple of lots on the landscape in terms of the u.s. you have the has a market where recovery is patchy. and unemployment is not at the level that one would like. having said that, there is stability and feasibility. it should give some confidence in prospect for businesses in terms of capital spending which is one of the things which should continue to make sure the recovery is pursued. >> it has pushed equities to a record high. the last all-time high reached in 2007. is it justified? >> philosophically, it feels

different. it does not feel like able mark et. by the same token, if you strip it back to the bones, the quality blue-chip companies from around the globe took the pain a few years ago, during the crisis. they are now bought -- now dropping to the bottom line which is resulting in his cash mountains. it is the deployment of that cash. >> it is interesting you say it does not feel like able market. any parallels to 2007, don't worry because it doesn't feel like able market? just like a bull market? is thisthe market stable, that is a reason for instability in some strange way. there doesn't seem to be any sort of fear factor out there or anything that could derail this

potential recovery. part of that may be down to the fed's openness and they are trying to communicate exactly what they are thinking at any given time. there are similarities between now and 2007 and that this quarter has seen $1 trillion worth of deals, and and andeals -- and m&a deals. targets and shares of companies rising. >> it goes back to the cash mountains we mentioned a moment ago. this money needs to be deployed. the financial crisis really caused them to concentrate. it does show optimism.

traditionally speaking, there is a mixed set of results when big oppositions -- big acquisitions happen. there have been successes, but equally there have been famous overpayments. the market is buying into the almosthat we have seen strictly in the pharmaceutical sector. >> immuno names of some companies that you are interested in. -think it is a fairly open field at the moment to be honest. we have seen some potential noise and pharmaceuticals. you've got to be a perennial big speculatives.

there could still be some mileage in the mining sector as well. financially, as companies start to move outside their own geographic borders, there could be some european or other side of the pond merger activity in financials. >> what is your assessment of the ipo market? some say that fargo, a few weeks ago, heralded the u.k. ipo market. but you see the to the shares yesterday. was it a bit early to call the end of the ipo market or not? >> i think it was. inevitably, we had somewhat of a backdrop of building up. they decided it was not the time in 2010.

the backlog is now starting to come through. so no maybe we have had a few too many in terms that it puts investors in the position to be more picky about where they put the money. iposately it, of course, -- you look at the metrics and the quality and the prospects and you decide whether to invest, whether in an ipo or another share. >> thank you very much for joining us. futball?ing to in the >> i hope england. >> we are feeling confident today. just reporting results 19 minutes ago. ahead, an exclusive interview with france's electrical retailer.

>> welcome back. consumerthe leading electronics retailer in france. regis schultz joins us now for an exclusive interview. thank you for joining us today. are the results showing evidence of your turnaround strategy? >> is, it has been a year of delivery. we have seen the first time in three years a plus 2.4% in france.

group, it is a positive of 1.7%. different positive profits compared to your on your and we increased that profit by 100 million euro. it has been a year of developing on the strategy. >> drive trading, develop the brand, and develop cost efficiency. and that has all progressed. >> yes. >> and are you having a good world cup? >> relatively, yes. we are lucky that the three main countries, france, belgium and netherlands, they have all won. to sell our viewers that darty did exit the u.k. and spain. was that a predictor of their

world cup performance are not? >> i don't know. [laughter] >> tell me a little bit about the button on the desk. have you launched of this already? >> it is a prelaunch. we will launch in mid october. a device -- you press on it and it will connect your wi-fi in your home. in less than one minute, one of will calltechnicians you back. we will be able to assist you. want a consumable or a repair or the delivery of your internet -- nine >> so this is not -- ityou clearly believe service. that you need to sell these days >> exactly. in the world have

been able to differentiate themselves with service. what we do in terms of phone delivery, it repair, installation, and france, it is all done by the retailer, not the manufacturer, which is unique to france. within theu put this sphere of internet of things are not? sphere,at within that le buton? >> is a modern way of expressing services. it is a connective tool. when you have a problem in your home with your electricals, you have two stresses. the first, you have a broken machine. and having someone who does not know what you have. you need to find the invoice and all that stuff. with this tool, you just press it. we know you. we call you by your name. you do not have to press one or two or three or six. we know your device.

we know what you have at home. you have a better center. l you told us how your business is doing and that reflects the state of the economy in those countries that you operate. but what do you want to see from political leaders, from central banks, to make your job easier, to improve what you can do in these european economies? >> trading, this is so obvious. what the customer needs, what the stuff needs, and it is -- we have a philosophy that has a very pragmatic way? it creates jobs. it creates business. it creates a better feeling in the child. -- in the town. i still don't know why it still cannot be done. >> you did exit the u.k. market. will england beat uruguay tonight? [laughter] >> i think so. >> that's only because you are

in england. it's got a 3-d screen and image recognition technology. can amazon's new fire phone scorched the composition -- the competition?

>> welcome back. let's adjust check-in on dollar sterling. the highest since 2008. that is the 2008 hi. martin wailed has been on the tape this morning essentially saying that they do not see the case for a rate rise at the bank of england. however, a different story later in the year. near, he has not changed his view.

it took a little bit of time to react but they are getting their. that is what we like about effects -- about fx. gdp data which missed estimates. the fourth quarter was revealed as -- was revised higher. 72% believe this currency will break its all-time record high which was made back in 2011. so the trajectory for the new zealand dollar is on the way up. >> time for today's company news. the general electric ceo arrives in france to make a final push. he needs to convince government and unions to accept their bid above siemens. it is still being negotiated.

the london financial base data forprovides derivatives and bond markets. traded on the nasdaq today. l'oreal, the worlds biggest cosmetics maker, agreed to by nyx cosmetics for an undisclosed price. the ceo said the purchase will bolster l'oreal's makeup offerings in north america. >> nyx is a fantastic brand. brand like that. professional makeup artists have been a great success in luxury for many years.

we are really planning a huge success. >> amazon unveiled its first smart phone call fire phone. it is tied to the retailers other offers. it will make it simpler for users to buy items from the amazon web store. 199 dollars and it will go on sale july 25. >> welcome back. commodities and iraq, it is still driving markets. how are markets faring today? >> oil again climbing higher. it has been on the move and rising for the last two and a half days.

we had that period when people thought that the reaction to the events in iraq had been overdone. clearly, they don't feel that way anymore, pushing oil up. on the ground in iraq, most of the events are focused around refineryery, a massive responsible for 40% of iraq's capacity in terms of refining 300,000 barrels a day. i couldn't tell you who is in control of it right now because it keeps changing. so we don't know where we are. but that does not affect the physical crude market. it is just an issue for iraq itself and a big one because that is where all of the refined oil is coming, from the north country and for baghdad as well. oil countries -- oil companies like exxon and bp are pulling nonessentialy people from their operations. the main thing is what is moving oil is the uncertainty of events in iraq, the fact that the

militants are still gaining ground and not losing it. there is no change to the supplied picture. the oil comes from the south of the country and that is still safe. >> congressional leaders and president obama met last night. the president is shifting his stance on this issue. >> a couple of days ago, we were talking about the prospect of airstrikes. if airstrikes are in the mix, part of the plan, the obama administration is not letting it -- letting anyone onto it. after the meeting, the focus really seemed to be a political message. president obama, everybody really saying, the prime minister of iraq needs to be more to be inclusive of sunnis in the government and lead in a more inclusive way. we even heard senator feinstein talking about how maybe he needs to go, signaling some concern that perhaps he is not the right man for the job anymore.

i was there when he actually became prime minister the first time in may of 2006 and -- in baghdad. it was a very different time, a very sectarian time. that is when you had 200 people turning up dead every moment in sectarian killings. he has been in office for eight years. he is in his third term. in the last election, he was elected with the support of a lot of shia extremists. you have to bring moderate sunnis on board. it is not enough to fight shia versus sunni. you have to get the moderate sunnis on board. amazon has unveiled its first smart phone. why? joined now by head of innovation matthew knight. these are the features. recognition -- video and image recognition

tools. a year free membership to its -- itsast -- it's kind prime fast shipping. is it enough? >> i think so? it's not just about launching a new mobile phone. you mentioned the prime product. it is not just about fast shipping. it is a content and audio service. what they have done is launched processle -- a pinnacle that consumers love and trust from amazon. they spent many years building the trust and loyalty of their consumers and this is the next step in getting even closer to building relationships with them. >> is this a rivalry between amazon and apple or is this actually about taking on

supermarkets, taking on retailers, taking on major businesses? >> i think it is more the latter. a lot of the comment last night was how is google going to react and how is apple going to react? i don't think it is necessarily a mobile device market issue. tesco should be more concerned about this. having the most important device in the ecosystem, the mobile phone is personally connected to you. you were to lose your phone today, you would be an terror of where your photos are gone, where your contacts have gone. and amazon owning a part of that ecosystem is they have a direct connection. previously, they would only have a relationship with you when you are on the website and looking at what you are interested in when you are 99.9%

of the time not on amazon. now you have more products and services. >> who is going to buy it? it is 190 nine dollars for a two-year contract in the united it costs the same as apple's iphone and the samsung galaxy. you say it may not be that big a competition. but who is actually going to buy this phone? as many is not as cheap thought it would be. >> you have to think about the overall cost of the handset when you're purchasing and what you are buying into his the entire amazon content ego -- ecosystem. massivey, it will be amazon fans who are attracted to the ecosystem and want to be connected to them immediately. we will start to see -- it is an android handset so people are

already in the two camps of ios. so we will see people moving on to the amazon handset. this is the first step into a cellular device that you can make calls on. we have seen the candle and a kindle fire, which has been a fantastic success for them. but we will start to see a lot of people who believe in the them is on ecosystem and are already part of that fateful. -- that faithful. >> it's got to be a product of their provide you with a good enough general access. if you use five retailers on a regular basis, you don't want five pounds. so they still have to be in the middle of the market. >> exactly, it has to be accessible and a good phone. >> facebook tried to launch something where you went directly onto a facebook ecosystem on mobile.

that was just in software. >> and it is not just having an amazon app. you are not always want to be on an amazon store while you are making phones. the rich intelligence of the device understands where you are, what you are doing, what you're behavioral patterns are. there may well be some privacy issues. there are always privacy concerns when a new product enters the market and you look at the larger picture what they're doing. amazon has tried over the last how many years to support the e-commerce experience. it's not a sellable thing. they turned it on its head and browse to the world and we will be there when you want to purchase it. turned into the world's largest story and i you can purchase anytime, anywhere.

and it is right at your fingertips when you think about it. >> thank you so much. up, a warning about an early retirement.

the u.k. business secretary weighed in on hot topix, including the u.k. housing market interest rates. >> yes. yesterday, vince cable was here and he was talking about the housing market. probablyces are expensive now and that is cause for concern. that he wouldwas

rather see macro prudential rules used first rather than interest rates. is have a listen. we don't have a serious problem in parts of the market. the bank of england has other mechanisms to deal with that other than interest rates. french are trying very hard to choose between two offers at the moment. i'm not sure if i am talking about shareholders or french government, the people are trying to choose between siemens and ge and vince cable wanted to weigh in on this. ana michael berg as impressive.

it is interesting because the u.k. has had a recent experience with astrazeneca and the u.k. wants to preserve its scientific footprint here in this country, not the united states, here in this country. we had someof which issues surrounding the pfizer takeover of astrazeneca. that has gone away. thinks -- this will come as a big shock to the french -- the french should play by the rules. it shouldn't detract from the underlying reality, which is the same reality we have in the u.k. that isn't to say there are not -- we have seen this in the u.k. where we have been concerned about the potential impact of pfizer taking over astrazeneca. the way we dealt with it is by

engaging with the company, pfizer, to secure long-term commitments to the r&d base in the event they have done away at least for the time being. really, there was a national interest, but within the rules. >> french playing by the rules. >> a bit rich, isn't it? the french government sees it has a role in securing commitments. >> you can have a level of involvement up to a point. but once you go beyond that point, of which the rules say you should not go any further, you shouldn't know any further. i.e., you shouldn't be tailoring to the level the french are doing at the moment, what the company should look like. you look at what the siemens bed looks like. it is tailored for the

politicians, not for the shareholders and i think that is where the boundary lies. >> is cable the next leader? [laughter] a number of questions on this front and he says he feels very committed to nick clegg. he said he did not have a view at this point who would be the spokesman on the economy, him or dan alexander. >> thank you very much. >> like i will be hosting "the pulse" today. >> still to come, 10 minutes to go until european equities open. what will be driving trading this thursday. stay with us.

>> welcome back. the date talk about themes of the day it. there is no bigger things than the fed. of raising the view on where rates will be a little bit earlier and tempering their growth outlook.

they were questioning how dovish these minutes really were. the markets are taking heart in the fact that janet yellen has taken hold of the communications process by the scruff of the neck. there is no unequivocal or mechanical way of saying -- record high on the s&p 500. 10-year government bonds, you have a nice move for the third week in a row. dollar declining. the like the line from premiere. i can promise everyone honestly, song only there will not be a hard landing. jim o'neill was saying that some people are likening this to a drahgi moment. >> that is interesting. talked about this yesterday. there you go, there is the

chinese committing to 7.5%. but bigger minds than me said it is important. but there is one woman who likes the handbag. spoke with the imf later. >> this is apparently the fte having seen a preview and starting to consider large-scale government bond purchases. the euro zone inflation levels are worryingly low. this brings me back to a news conference with mario draghi. forward guidance. he said, thanks to the imf. >> april 3. >> we both looked at the same story. >> the imf had an opinion about the u.k. economy. >> and they got it wrong.

is that luck or chance that they got it wrong? >> you are talking about football all of a sudden. [laughter] [applause] is one is one -- there subject we do need to broach. >> it gives hope to everybody in the world. >> he actually sounds like he knows what he is talking about. >> on a daily basis? it was a good goal. ead an entire editorial yesterday. it shows you the level of my involvement. can we talk about the bank of england instead? [laughter] >> an mpc member has spoken. >> i think just a ratification on everything else that is being said. don't see the case for bank of england rest -- that giving when interest rates moving for the moment. donald sterling raking higher

toward the -- dollar-sterling breaking higher toward the two dozen a level. , let'sfi meeting reality dig into the reservoir official intelligence. >> i will see you next week, everybody.

>> welcome to "on the move. away.are moments stocks from the u.s. to asia to new highs today. let's start with you. undoubtedly, the markets are looking at the federal reserve minutes and the communication from janet yellen richey has grasped control of the message. rates low for a a considerable period of time. not as hawkish as it could have been. we will see what that transfers

in terms of equity markets as u.s. equity markets made record highs last night. >> and nine month high, the obama administration calls for the iraq later -- iraq waited be more inclusive. i will take you to the turmoil in iraq and what it means for oil. l'oreal's acquisition is just getting started. the world's largest cosmetics ofpany announced acquisition a u.s. cosmetics maker last night. but it is just the beginning. >> that is what we are watching today. european markets just opening. european equity markets are set to open higher. a combination of things.