>> power play. president obama arrives in beijing for the opec summit. political and economic influence in asia. as itnings hold steady improves market share in china. windowsrry dresses the for the festive season. bloomberg speaks exclusively to the group's ceo, christopher bailey. ♪ >> hello and welcome to

"countdown." >> the world leaders are gathering in beijing for the annual apec summit. there is a lot more at stake. the health of asia's economies. it might determine the course of political stability in the region for years. will meetnt obama with the chinese president during his visit to beijing. but the two leaders will be competing for interests among the other apec nations in a game of out -- of offer and counteroffer. owni will propose his proposals and will breathe ceos on the benefits of a strong and rising china. the nation is facing a new economic normality. normality,new china's economic growth rate may be slowed, but it's real growth

remains considerable. the chinese economy is no longer what it used to be after more than 30 years of private economic growth. has already met japan's prime minister, shinzo abe. it is the first of towards improving ties between china and japan. a major gas signed supply deal with russia. jinpeng shookxi hands on the agreement that should give japan almost a fifth of the national -- natural gas supplies. the relationship is increasing and there are a lot of deals along the gas front. trade between russia and china is growing dramatically. it is expected to become $200 billion ready soon. so relationships are good.

>> sticking with geopolitics, germany has been marking a turning point in its natural -- national history. 25 years since the fall of the berlin wall. on nichols joins us from berlin. quite a show last night. helium balloons being released into the skies over berlin. what is your take on it? the helium balloon moment was perhaps the most significant. it was a somber and a morning .ote from mikael gorbachev it started around 6:57 in front of the brandenburg gate. that is the time 25 years ago that the announcement was read on the air that germans could travel from east berlin to west berlin. you had those helium balloons that were released. for angela merkel, she said it was a moment to mark the

progress of human freedom. will never forget the movement for freedom and democracy and eastern european states pave the way for the happiest moment in our recent history. the fall of the wall showed us that james -- that dreams can become reality. we want to share this experience with our partners throughout the world. thank you. >> all weekend, even during the celebrations, tensions in ukraine are rising. disturbing reports about a fragile cease-fire. gorbachevy, mikael mourned about the triumphalism of the west on the collapse of the soviet union. he says that failures by the east-west bloc can be seen in countries like yugoslavia 10 years ago and now in ukraine. have a listen. brink ofrld is on the a new cold war. some people are even saying that it has already begun.

>> today, it is back to work, reconciling these two economies, bringing them closer together. good news on the auto sector. a are fully reconciled. other industries, it is unclear how closely the old east and west have really come together. >> on that point, i was reading , aiece over the weekend thankful piece, a celebratory piece. he said the economic transition of these germany been painful and expensive. what about the economic differences today? do they still exist? >> they persist, but they are less. 10 years ago, unemployment was twice as high in the eastern states as the western states. little difference. productivity is about 77% of what it is in the east. they are at a disadvantage. gdp per capita is right around 70%. you still have solidarity tax

due is a surcharge on top of your tax to help rebuild the ease. i was there last week. companies,l of these plant,e plant, bmw amazon headquarters. some companies are finding that lower -- labor costs are lower in the old east and that is why they are moving there. again, they perhaps have to do a little bit more on their infrastructure. >> thank you very much. hans nichols marking that important event. went to thellion polls to cast their ballots on independent from spain. it was an unofficial poll. n, was it more of a protest vote than an election? where thes an event -- theependence cap was

pro-independence camp was incentivized. legitimizing a process which is not ignore interest. -- not in your interest. it does not give us a proper reflection of how a balanced public opinion is in catalonia. there are a us that significant number of people out and are ready to go vote even with the threat of legal repercussions hanging over them. the president is treating this as a victory. but it is still very much a step along the way towards building a proper democratic mandate for leaving spain.

into thehould we read actual amount of people that voted, the turnout? it was less than expected. saying they expected about 2.5 million people to have voted. when all the ballots were finally counted. the prospective electorate is 5.5 million. turnout in european elections has been around 2.5 million. that was in may. peopleember, 1.8 million going to the -- turned out in this big annual pro-independence rally. 2.20 5 million people voting in this election is respectable. they certainly did not fall short. they were treating it as a victory. it is by no means overwhelming. >> what happens next question

mark does rajoy meet or not? >> probably they meet. probably they do not get on very well. >> thanks a lot. we will chat with you later. ben live from barcelona. >> coming up later on "the pulse ," we will be bringing you an exclusive interview with the ceo of the russian steelmaker. do not miss his insights into the ruble and beyond. >> coming up, european leaders commemorate the fall of the berlin wall. some tensions remain on the continent. what does it mean for business? that is coming up next. ♪

>> time for today's company news. a big deal with boeing. the aircraft maker secures an order. models.r is for ac737 predicting and airbus

china will overtake the u.s. as the world's biggest plane market in two decades. uber is in fund-raising mode again. that is according to people familiar with the situation. company talksar with investors are in early stages. they are seeking a higher valuation than the $17 billion uber got from investors in june. and snapchat is said to be close to a deal that would value the company between $10 billion and $12 billion. that is according to the sunday times. they say this self-destructing messaging act -- app is in talks with yahoo! the venture capital firm backed by amazon and google -- earlier this year, snapchat turned down a $3 billion cash offer from

facebook. >> 25 years ago yesterday, the berlin wall fell. it stood since 1961 and separated the german capital between the communist east and the democratic west. was at theel commemoration last night, releasing balloons along the route that was once the wall. let's look at the importance of germany in europe. always us now, great as to have you with us. anna, we were chatting about this this morning. i think the consensus is germany is the heart, the centerpiece of .urope the calls are for germany to do more and help europe. should they? >> i do not think culture alone should shape things.

you had to say they would be franco german. france has also to play its part. they both three shape the future of europe. germany more focused on because it is the country blocking some of the move towards further integration. france is -- the convergence of interests are not currently being met. >> you think the solution is monetary? >> that is right. hadn paris on friday, we all the central bankers around the world meeting. the$1 trillion target, increasing ballots size of the ecb-- balance size of the

-- this was his opportunity to have his big protest. mario draghi was not there. do we read into what he is saying there about the extent of german resistance to further expansion of monetary policy? ande said i was also there i was struck by how silent he was. if we look at the statement from last week, it is clear that anyone could have signed that statement. i think that germany would probably not be of the view that this is a target. other members might see the positive target. i think there is a strengthening of the language. we think that language does suggest that there is a strong intention to increase the size of the balance sheet. maybe not towards 3 trillion, but at least more.

we do not think this is achievable due to the targets. we do think that the stars are aligning towards bond purchases. expectationslation falling rapidly enough for the ecb to take measures? how low does inflation or inflation expectations have to go? >> we're probably already in the territory with consumer price expectations as well as market-based inflation expectations signaling that we -- in a deflation >> a lot of lights going off on the dashboard. >> europe is not taking enough interest in the deflation risk. is, how much insurance do you want to take? the experience we have, not

much, we have japan -- we do not have a huge amount of data points. we know from what we see and the experience that we learn from other countries, we find that europe is not taking enough insurance. , and i amsaid janet.asing -- sorry, >> she is not watching. >> she could be. she said need to get to the point where central governments do not act. better in material the united states of america. but this is a cabal. they cannot seem to make a decision. >> to me, as far as european central banking is concerned -- i mean, it happened in the u.s. look, we have such a large gap in terms of the demand that we will not be able

to do it alone and we need help. having said that, we will do everything we can. we will be here and we will put the money on the table. official style, consensus building, grand bargain kind of agreement. we are realizing that it is far worse than expected. -- we will go right to its limits. they also called for help from the government side and we hope that they will also do our bit. >> i like that. tyle granda triche-s bargain. we are to talk about england and the growth numbers later in the week. stay with us for even more. ♪

>> we are back in two -- we are back. great story tonight. the headline is "draghi's morality tale resonates." it is a piece looking ahead to the gdp data earlier this week. spain will be the darling, telling us that draghi was right.

structural reforms, more evidence that he is correct? >> i am not a great fan of this story. detailsto look at the of the nature of the rebound in spain. i do not think we are there yet. a huge amount of progress. it is very nice as it is currently. it has so much more to do to claim that he has recovered for real. i am very cautious on this between structural reform countries and non-structural reform. it means that one has to be careful about making important distinctions like that because you might end up being disappointed. yes, we will probably get that split. actually, a little bit more positive than the market expectations.

this is the microscope that you need to find the differences. , spain has clearly been a winner in terms of recovery. >> you are two times more bullish than the consensus. >> exactly. cataloniaalk about then. is it a sideshow from your perspective? spanish --t mean for >> it is important for spain, of course, but it is also important for the euro area. we need to look at the details. the results will reflect more those who are contesting the situation rather than the broad array of catalonian's.

we need to look at the details. the progress that you get is across the region. think that this complicates the outlook. no amount of bond-buying, german bonds, can create enough jobs quickly enough not to stay worried about the political situation and potential instability in the system. that is the biggest challenge in the region. do you resolve that quickly? that goes back to draghi's call s. bond growth not through buying, but something that is tangible in the form of investment. there is fear that the time it takes for that investment is lengthy. inconsistency, where the central bank has bought time --

migrateve had to calling for reform within europe. our colleague has got to deliver his quarterly inflation report. 1% and next year, 1.75%. that is irrelevant now, isn't it? >> i do not know which state europe is in, but certainly i think it is a weak growth environment and it has an impact on the outlook. environment where the bank of england will probably have lower forecasts. >> thanks a lot. join the conversation on twitter. >> absolutely.

7:26 here in london. coming up, recruitment companies are a good bellwether of what is happening in the economy. bloomberg andon right after this break. ♪

>> you are very welcome back to "countdown." it is 7:30. how is the world taking a risk? you look at it through the dollar, that is how the fx traders are viewing this market. an excuseeport gave for the market to sell a few dollars. traders have reduced their betting on the analysis of america. , the percentage was

67%. headline, that drops to 62%. the market has slightly adjusted. fear not. traders are as long as can be. they are placing their bets on the dollar against eight major currencies. pretty much near record. up 1.7% on the past month. could a test becoming for the fx market. a cap on 1.20 against the euro. that would be the level they would not allow the euro to breach. it was the closest it has been since mid-2012. there is a vote coming up in switzerland. that could mean that the central bank in switzerland would have hold 20% of their assets up from 8%.

they could have to sell some foreign currency reserves. they might have to do some adjusting or get more gold on board. consequently, they will defend the 1.20 level. we go to the wire on this at the end of the month. option traders are paying a premium for selling the swiss franc -- excuse me, selling the euro and buying the swiss franc. anna edwards in london. ukraine is accusing russia of sending further weapons to rebels in the east of the country. the accusation came amid a weekend of violence in which heavy shelling destroyed villages in done at -- in donetsk. the violence undermines the truce that had reduced civilian casualties. 1.6 million cattle lands have -- catalans have voted

in favor of leaving spain in an unofficial referendum. the cattle and -- catalan those whopraised turned out and cast their ballots. >> more than 2 million people participated in this day in catalonia. more than 2 million people voted in harsh conditions. difficult conditions. in my opinion, the turnout has been excellent, outstanding. >> and president obama has arrived in beijing as leaders conference.he apec the u.s. and china will be competing for influence in the region. china has already held and icebreaking region -- meeting with japan and signed a new gas deal with russia. >> there are lots of deals happening on the gas front. see that trade between russia

and china is growing dramatically. it is expected to become $200 billion pretty soon. the relationships are very good and we both -- and we believe joint investment is important. rejected an offer from qatar to buy the banking district. the company, which owns the dockside development, claims it does not reflect its fell you. >> the gleaming towers of canary wharf, london's banking mecca, headquarters of hsbc, barclays, and citi. in 1980 eight, privately owned by an international consortium, but for how long question -- but for how long? investment authority have offered a takeover bid. $3.5 billion.

it would have been one of the biggest property deals in the u.k. for years, but it was slapped down. proposalchard says the does not reflect the inherent value of the business and its underlying assets. are they holding out for a better offer? london's commercial rents are rising and qatar wants to add another landmark to its string of frothy assets. if it's bid is successful, the tiny, energy-rich state would own buildings that make up some of the most famous parts of london's skyline. a shopping institution bought in 2008 42.8 billion dollars. that was the start -- for $2.8 billion. that was the starting gun. add to that the barracks and the olympic village. globalingly, hsbc's

headquarters. that reportedly cost just over $1.7 billion. the qataris are the biggest single shareholders of canary wharf. for the area set to benefit -- with rail links and rising property demand, the owners might be holding out for a bit more. businessn's biggest opens its conference this morning. european business correspondent caroline hyde is at the conference for today. caroline, europe is up there. greg called for real reform and talked to you about the allies they have for reform. >> it is fascinating. it is all focused on eurozone posing the biggest threat to the u.k. economy. who better to talk about the threat to the u.k. economy than the ceo of hayes, the biggest

white-collar recruitment company in the u.k.? thank you for joining us this morning. amongozone the key risk your clients at the moment? what are you hearing when it comes to hiring, recruiting? >> we are very mindful of the news in places like france and germany. we are not seeing one iota of difference because of the contents going on in places like germany. obviously, continuing to grow quite strongly. here in the u.k. as well, we are not seeing the impact quite yet. we are mindful of what is going on, but we continue to invest in our business and see our own clients invest in their business. recruitment, job creation, picking up clients quickly. >> why do you think there is all this gloom salon -- surrounding the political leaders? your german clients are still hiring as much as they were. >> a lot of the people we work

for in germany, these are organizations that face a structural shortage for the types of skills they need. they are long-term projects. as we can find good contractors for our clients, people like bnp and siemens, we are able to continue to grow our business. >> what about the threat of the u.k. exiting the european union? talks about a referendum. >> people are talking about it. we deal with clients up and down the country. they are very concerned about getting a good deal for the u.k. that will be an interesting point at the conference this morning. to see what the prime minister and other political leaders come up. ?> what do they want >> change employment law, make it easier to create new jobs and for the economy to continue to grow. inwhere are the growth areas

the u.k. economy in particular? sectors growing faster than the others? >> construction, property, engineering. these are all businesses facing skill shortages. -- we are seeing wage inflation. >> we are starting to see house prices fall for the first time last month. that is not shaking any of your hiring? >> not at all. we are seeing continued growth. you, as as of business, are you hiring at hays ? >> we increased our own headcount about 10% last year. >> what do you want to learn today? >> this is probably the best iconomic backdrop for a cp conference in years. we want to see how we sustain that economic growth. >> thank you very much indeed.

about, of hays talking actually, they are not seeing any concerns about a slowdown in the eurozone. back to you guys in london. done, caroline. have a good day at that conference. caroline hyde. to beijing now. leaders gathering for the annual apec summit. a lot more at stake than the health of asian economies. it might determine political stability in the region for years to come here to stephen engle is at the summit. what is the latest? >> so much happening here on the final day of the ceo summit of the apec gathering. the leader summit happens tomorrow. president arriving this morning in beijing. he has had meetings with the new president of indonesia and

shinzo abe of japan. of course, the big one, which i will talk about later on, with xi jinpeng meeting shinzo abe of japan. earlier this afternoon, we heard , speakingmir putin about the state of the russian economy and the ruble outflows. he said the ruble situation is not due to fundamental economic factors. he said the ruble weakness is speculative and will end. he said the central bank has no intention of imposing capital controls. he said energy payments in yuan and ruble will help limit the dollars clout. heardr things we have from the russian leader in the past. he is saying it here at the apec summit, where president obama should be taking stage in the large venue rooms behind me in a matter of minutes.

we are waiting to hear from the u.s. president. he will have that big summit wednesday after the apec gathering tomorrow in northern beijing. peng.ll be with xi jin to discuss, including the regional trade pact being proposed by the united states. obama wants a victory there in his final two years in office. trade pact does not include china. china has offered up its own alternative. one area they could see some action on is the bilateral investment treaty with china which could help open market access for chinese companies with their outbound investment to the united states. more importantly, where the u.s. into china in places like financial services. president obama should be taking the stage very soon. lots of ceos are here as well. l,o rio tinto's ceo, dh

deutsche post-dhl as well. lots of big names here. >> great to chat to you. stephen engle from the apec summit in beijing. coming up, british luxury in the heart of paris. it is a bloomberg exclusive. we will speak with burberry's chief executive, coming up next. ♪

>> welcome back to bloomberg. all will become clear in a moment. windows is dressing the at the department stores for the festive season. francine lacqua is here. good morning. you have been speaking to burberry's ceo, christopher bailey. what has he been telling you? >> it has been a tough job. i am just kidding. it is always a pleasure to talk to burberry. they are in the digital story. you speak to a lot of ceos in luxury and they say a lot of people do not buy online. not file the website, at least they will see something and want to go to the store. i caught up with the ceo, christopher bailey. bigger than just the 25th of december. it is the buildup to christmas. it is really about celebrating

and storytelling again. we created -- , aworked again with beckham little superstar in the film. we have designed different pieces of content across different platforms. what we have done, some of the windows you can interact with. we always tried to join the dots with a story. you might see a great outdoor advertising image and it will link back to the windows. >> you are the first british brand in paris. , the britisheel taking on the fashion capital of the world? >> it is amazing to be in paris with such an iconic store. london being the fashion capital of the world.

and also being in paris. that we had as we work on those windows, the experiences, the puppet-making is incredibly beautiful, the way they go about doing that it >> is there a bit of rivalry with the french? >> no rivalry. it is a treat to be in paris. it is a magnificent city. a lot of our peers are there and we love it. change, for example, the weather on the shop window with your iphone. you make it snow or not. >> i cannot believe you try to tell the ceo of burberry that paris was the fashion capital. you are brazen. course, london, but he was very gracious about it. high-end brands

end up in this revolution? expand?the french what the french will probably expand. it burberry was very forward-looking. since 2010, they started selling everything online. now it seems that a lot more brands have to play catch-up. >> thank you so much. -- francine lacqua, the exclusive conversation with the ceo of burberry. >> how worried should we be? how worried is the long end of the u.s. bond market about higher u.s. interest rates? or the potential for higher u.s. interest rates. in short, not too worried at all. this is the top chart, the yield going back to the beginning of the year. more than 20% this year. the yield is just over 3%. just off a one-year low. a full percentage point drop since the start of the year.

the bottom chart is the five-year yield. betweenerence in yield the 30-year and the five-year is now 1.45%. close to the lowest level since 2009. and yieldsds rising falling at the long end of the curve? even as the u.s. economy shows signs of gaining. inflation expectations plummeted to read if you needed more evidence of contained price pressures, friday's employment report did provide an average hourly earnings rising 2.1% from the prior. last?his performance of course, the shorter end of is vulnerable to a change in short-term interest rates. ,he long end of the bond market is it reflecting deeper concern

that growth is unlikely to match previous expansions. naysayers like blackrock have a different view. is plenty ofe evidence that the economy is on the cusp of generating levels of growth and inflation that have been absent during the five-year expansion. keep an eye on the spread between the five-year and the 30-year. it is telling a very different story. >> so if you want to take on barton and his take, you can do it on twitter. no better place to do it. that is where you will find us. >> and you are watching "countdown." if you haven't realized that -- hopefully, you have. nicebridge looks quite list up at night. the sun rising over london. much over equity markets.

a shade lower. back after the break with jon ferro. ♪

>> 7:54 in london. jonathan ferro is here with the top macro themes to watch today. no event bigger today than the one caroline hyde is attending. >> the eu-u.k. debate really kicking off with that conference. accused of a pro-european bias here in the u.k.

that has rattled a few people. on the other side of it, ed miliband fighting for his own future, for his political leadership, the labour party set to come out and say how fantastic the eu is and how we should stay in the eu. really setting up for the election next year and business and the economy and the european union really at the top of the agenda ahead of that. >> cameron will speak later on in the day. president obama could be speaking at apec soon. politics all over everything that is happening, it seems. >> this weekend, we celebrated 25 years of the reunification of germany. divisions faced with a with the u.k. and catalonia wanting out of spain. >> people wanted to voice their displeasure for the status quo. you should not read our guests

were saying too much into it. >> thank you very much. "on the move" is up next. jon ferro will be with you with that program. ♪

>> welcome to "on the move." i am jonathan ferro at bloomberg european headquarters in the city of london, just moments away from the start of european trading. welcome back to bloomberg. us get straight to our morning no. the fall of the burning -- of the berlin wall and the german separation. reuniting east and west berlin 25 years later as germany celebrates its reunification. division continues to break europe. is the uk's relationship with europe headed towards divorce? that is top of the agenda as the british business and political elite head to the confederation of british industry's right here in london. we continue to countdown to next year's general election.

catalans want their say in spain. more than 2 million voted overwhelmingly in favor of leaving spain yesterday. the spanish government refuses to sanction the vote. catalonia wants a roadmap to independence. what does it mean for the open this morning? five pointsondon lower. that is nothing. the dax futures down by 36 points. it is manus cranny. >> politics seem to be at the top of the agenda, whether in the united kingdom apec, where obama is set to speak. been out already there, doing things with the chinese. theing to the japanese and chinese. equity markets are going to have a little bit of an offset