>> greece's anti-austerity government prepares for its first face-to-face encounter with the leader of the eurogroup since coming to power. >> russia defiant. putin says sanctions araren't having a significant effect on the kremlin. >> things are not working in political terms. they may have been effect on the economic area but not political. >> google sales fall short as competition on mobile intensifies, but a happy holidays helps amazon beat

estimates. >> assad a shakeup. the arab states nuking fires his economic officials one week after taking the throne. ♪ >> hello, welcome to countdown. >> also coming up, super bowl sunday. can kim kardashian help advertisers score a touchdown during america's biggest sporting event of the year? the newly elected greek prime minister is promising no surprises as he goes face-to-face with european officials for the first time. >> he assured martin schultz that greece will not make any unexpected moves regarding its finances. >> that sent the stock market in athens for a rebound after

lunging to lows not seen since the peak of the debt crisis. >> hans nichols is in berlin with more on the story. ring us up to speed. >> yesterday were niceties. today the negotiations affectively began. mr. schultz said he expects common ground. he came out of the meeting not overly positive but maybe realistic. he expects there to be clashes. for negotiations to be affective he needs for them to be mutually beneficial. he needs more time. >> we are almost there. >> we are negotiating with european partners in order to fund an overall european and mutually beneficial solution on matters of common interest. it is obvious for these consultations to be effective and conclude in a mutually beneficial manner, time is needed. >> the finance minister will be

in those meetings today. we know what he wants. he wants to get that number, the percent of gdp down from 4.5% down to one or one point 5%. he wants some really fun greek debt. it is 318 billion euros. that could mean write-downs from the european lenders that hold it, and that could mean taxpayer losses and countries like germany. he has a busy travel schedule after today. a meeting. he then heads to london. he will have meetings not just with mr. osborne but with city leaders. on tuesday he heads to a meeting. in terms of what he is authorized to do, they described it as more of a listening session. they want to get a sense of what

the opening offer is and he will have to report back to his counterparts in brussels across europe. one other note is mr. street us -- streepus did receive an invitation from buildable all seo. what we're seeing is not just in europe but across the globe internationalization of the issue. he would like to see some relief. it is a question of austerity versus more spending. >> a fascinating international dimension. thank you very much. >> russia's ambassador to the the e.u. says the room for further economic sanctions against his country is minimal. this comes on the day eu foreign ministers meet in brussels. vladimir said sanctions are not

working in the way the e.u. intended. >> i think as far as the eu is concerned, i think it is coming to the conclusion that sanctions are not working. in political terms. they may be having an effect on both sides in the economic area but not politically. i think the room for further sanctions is now a minimum. >> when the greek government came out and indicated they don't support new sanctions, that they hadn't consented to the statement the eu put out on tuesday calling for this meeting and a discussion of new sanctions you must have been delighted.

>> is not only the new greek government but the existing governments of a number of states. like hungary or the president of the czech republic and many others that have spoken against sanctions. the italian government. the french government has made similar statements. now everyone is talking that the road to put an end to sanctions goes through the full implementation of the minsk agreements. >> that was russia's ambassador to the eu speaking to ryan chilcote ahead of the foreign ministers meeting in brussels. >> investors cheered amazon holiday sales, driving shares up after hours. there is evidence of tech companies investing in their future.

here on this subject is caroline hyde. these are actually pharma companies. >> they are splashing cash. investors were euphoric. shares have driven of 12% -- driven up 12%. they like the prophet. it sounds pretty good. compare that to the sales that are $29 billion. it's just a fraction. jeff bezos is still spending big when it comes to amazon. this company isn't anymore and online retailer. it wants to be ubiquitous. it is an immediate company, a consumer hardware company. its competition is no longer just ebay and other retailers. it is netflix time warner, microsoft, google. they are trying to be all things to all men.

they want us to watch the television and by all the products we might need -- buy all the products we might need in our home. we can also buy everything from that as well. they are investing in speedier package delivery drones, original programming. woody allen is on board. another thing paying off, prime. it is a premium product. you're able to access video content. they are taking some of the new business ventures very seriously. a huge area for amazon has been amazon web services. it is dawning as a reality on the rest of the world. they now provide consumer hardware and software products luring them into cheap deals to provide them with online needs.

they are separating it out. they are going to give us exact results for the cloud computing division provides. >> when it comes to splashing cash, it's not alone because google is doing the same. >> it is about trying to fend off competition. you have facebook increasing their market share. google is losing a bit of its je enne sais quois. it is falling to 41%. sales missed estimates. the salt in the world is the fact that you don't even get so much money. every dollar of advertising is getting less. the average ad is 3% less.

>> the foreign exchange element is very high. let's look at some of the other stories we are following. the pilots cut power to a critical system that normally prevents plane from going out of control. the action appears to have triggered events that led to it crashing, killing all people on board. >> asian stocks head for the biggest monthly advance since july. chinese shares fell for a fourth day with the shanghai comp is it index down 1% and heading for its longest losing streak since november. vladimir putin might be a hockey fan, but hockey seems to be

suffering. the country is cutting back for its budget. that comes after putin reassured the economic problems wouldn't affect the tournament. but us know what you are following today. tell us what you think about the show. what is trending? did you see the film ted? the sequel is trending. >> i have a lot to catch up on. >> still to come losing almost one and a half million dollars. shocking. ♪

>> the property tycoon has overtaken alibaba founder jack mara is china's richest person. that is according to the billionaire index. alibaba shares slumped and missed revenue estimates. he is now worth $26.3 billion. that is less than weighing. and the company is selling shares for $21 apiece amidst

strong investor demand according to statements. the restaurant chain boost $46 million. coca-cola paying almost $200 million to sponsor the olympic torch relay across result. the former head of marketing at the olympic committee says the torch relay is the most single thought after opportunity of the games. two former foreign exchange traders of singapore have been charged with allegedly cheating their employers and making false trades. the traders worked at hsbc and deutsche bank. they legibly bought and sold over $1 billion using the bank accounts to get preferential rates for themselves. >> mix data out of japan earlier

today. household consumption stumbled more than expected. a rebound in industrial output snapped two quarters of the client. is japan limping out of its recession? let's get more from simon. interesting to talk about japan. and citing the top economist top japanese economist is questioning whether we need to see the central victoria day more stimulus suggesting -- central bank doing any more stimulus. policy makers going to start to look for stability in the end rather than weakening. what do you make of that? >> what you want to lean on is the fact i look to benefits and consumption, the shift to higher consumption.

they are looking at others who have cut rates. in they seem to be about inflation expectations. what i am seeing from central banks is they are more worried about expectations. >> russia is different. they raised rates out of the blue. the ruble hit a record closing low against the dollar yesterday. >> higher rates could support the ruble. always the marginal benefit is going to be less. the impact will be quite severe in terms of what we are seeing. i don't think they are going to be using the rate angle to try

to give support to the ruble. i think more likely is we get some intervention down the line. there -- shoving up the rate is desperate work. >> we spoke to ryan when he questioned putin. it was -- we're not going to squander our fx reserves. the market got used to a cadence. 60, 65. we are breaking those boundaries. where do those boundaries stretch out to? 100? >> potentially. compared to the 90's they build

up the reserves. in 2014 they wanted the market more free-flowing. that's what has to happen. they have to start stepping into the market. i don't think the interest rate lever is going to work. they are far too high. it is putting rates up even higher. >> they made the decision to prioritize stability. it can have impact for years to come. >> you have it for a short time again. you cannot survive for very long. if you don't get that stability something else has to give. the currency and the giving. the rate is far too high.

consumption is much higher. it is very unstable and i don't think higher interest rates are going to solve it. >> we have had a new cabinet announced. it has surprised many with some of the comments. have they awaited -- how do we rate their first week? >> it has been fine. they are throwing surprises in here. over time it is powered to look like it. it soft and the tone.

they get in and have leverage with the you -- eu and i think it is going to be a tough few days or weeks until the deadline. at the moment i don't see the troika blinking. they know the cost of doing so. it will be huge. that is the window they have in their view. >> that is it. 21 minutes past. ♪

>> let's continue our look at foreign currencies in the global economy. german inflation when negative yesterday for the first time since 2009. euro zone inflation will go further negative. economist we have spoken to say yes. taking away draghi, we already knew that. >> it is interesting. we're thinking with the impact of qe, one of the most interesting comments from a fund manager saying am i going to send my bonds? probably not. if you're having to receive

money, put in other assets equities etc., and i am not going to sell it and what am i going to do with the money? sell it. it worries me the impact of qe and the affected is going to have elsewhere is quite weekend. >> where do we see this? you have been watching central banks struggle to look through the weaker oil price and the impact that has on inflation. apart from a few standout banks going their own way, where do you see it going next? australia perhaps? >> probably the meeting afterwards we are currently at

two and a half percent. the two-year in australia is at 195 or 196. naturally the rbn this week is a more hawkish stance, more neutral stances. we are seeing that pattern develop. what about russia? >> we can't let you go. we have touched on the euro. the national bank is going to say where their holdings are. you have the euro swiss at its highest level, and what is your biggest call for the next six weeks trading? >> i think going up to 1.15, because we have come from such oversold levels. it is not drastically so because of what i am expecting from the fed and the ecb in terms of ineffectiveness of qe.

easily pushing the aussie down. then the 72 level easily. >> thanks a lot. we go to saudi arabia next.

>> you are watching "countdown." the dollar dips for the first time this week. if the dollar had a personality what would it be? would it be a roaring tiger? the federal reserve most unlikely to see that. it has been seven months of gains. we are up 3% since january. momentum is up 5%. jobless claims, 15 year low.

we will hear what the first rating is on the last quarter. 3% is what we are looking for in that area. we were just having a conversation and what we saw is this is the strongest the euro swiss has been since the swiss walked away. the reason i think it is interesting is you are seeing this turnaround in momentum. later you are going to find out what the holdings are by the end of december. in the third quarter 35% was euros. 16% was in equities. they have over $546 billion in the vault. what are they going to do with it? that is the equivalent of what they have gotten their foreign currencies. they have been buying euros.

what are they going to do? that is the critical question not just for the swiss but also for the euro. you have got dollar ruble. pick a number in terms of where ruble ends up. these rates are far too high. >> these are the top headlines. greece's new prime minister will have his first face-to-face talks with eurozone representatives today and he is promising no surprises. and he ensured greece would make no unexpected moves regarding finances. atkins rebounded after pledging to those seen since the peak of the debt crisis. the new foreign minister refrain from vetoing for it -- further sanctions against russia.

the penalties will include the extension of the blacklist of russian politicians and military officers involved in the ukraine conference by six months. more names will be added to the list next month. google missed the mark in the last quarter. revenue rose but sales and profit came in below estimates. google faces competition from rivals like facebook in the mobile advertising space. >> saudi arabia's new king has fired the intelligence chief replaced the market regulator, and announced on for civil servants worth millions of dollars. -- bonuses for civil servants worth millions of dollars. >> i think any world leader, whether he is in charge of

democracy or a monarchy is going to want to put the people he trusts and you are close to him in key positions. he is not acting particularly surprising in that respect. even less so when you consider saudi arabia is grappling with serious challenges such as plunging oil prices and of course the ongoing rival we're -- rivalry with iran. no surprise. perhaps it was rather swift. you could argue why wait. his intelligence chief of the national security council was another person replaced. the regulator working on opening the saudi stock markets to investors has also been replaced. the plan is not derailed as a result of the change. another interesting appointment is the new deputy oil minister

none other than the sun. >> we have some new faces. can you expect major policy changes. >> it is a bit the case -- a bit of a case of same thing different hack. no massive policy changes. you are not going to choose your anointed successor as someone who is going to disagree with you on points. the long-standing oil minister has retained his position. perhaps king solomon is saying -- king salmon is saying, i want my son to replace me. don't expect a change in oil production. they are trying to maintain production share, no matter how low it goes. >> live in tel aviv. >> google is one of several companies trying to bring

internet access to the remote corners of the globe. french engineers are helping the tech giant do so by creating special balloons. as well as the french startup, a completely different solution. >> 1, 2, 3. >> this helium balloon could hold the solution to a big problem. today 4.5 billion people are without internet access. google is starting a balloon project to solve that. it is powered by solar panels. for help, google turns to the space agency, an expert in stratospheric balloons. >> satellites go back to the

planet. balloons are for local. >> it was tested in a remote farm in new zealand with success. google isn't the only one tackling the problem. facebook wants to build special drones. the french startup has another idea. >> we're the first to deploy because it works now. there is no infrastructure investment required. >> they have created a map to make better use of the two g network which covers 85% of the planet. it has ambitions of expanding to asia and latin america. >> you

can have facebook, e-mail, twitter search the web. you can have 80% or 90% of what you are doing, but not video. >> connecting the planet is a big task that requires a mix of solutions, and no one is perfect. if the solution is viable, thousands could circulate the earth in just a few years. >> you can join in the conversation with us on twitter. just putting out an interesting piece. my colleague is -- >> one of the trending subjects, january in five words. some of your january and five words. you have to do it by the end of the show.

>> i will throw in cold. >> the patriots and seahawks aren't the only ones vying for fans of super bowl sunday. companies are spending millions for seconds of security -- commercial time. find out how much it could cost you after the break. ♪

>> this weekend is the most

anticipated sporting event of the year. all eyes will be on the patriots and the seahawks. of course the commercials. companies pay big bucks to reach millions of viewers. this year the price of a 32nd spot is up to a record. four point $5 million. let's take a look at some of the adverts. budweiser is back with its hit clydesdale commercial. it is a cute puppy. you have got kim kardashian. she proofs she is game for a laugh. is it really worth the money? we have one strategy officer. if you have a marketing budget from god, this is a prime opportunity. >> it's amazing. it's the biggest sporting event in america. you have 111 point 5 million

people tuning in to watch it. although the cost costs a lot of money, it is four cents per person. you rely on them to tweet throughout the event. it is very and or twine for now. >> i think they have -- intertwined for now. >> in terms of those advertising spots, it is a lot of money. a lot of people are taking more than 30 seconds. some people are paying $18 million for two minutes of film. the only way to make it affordable is through social media. you will find they pre-release them. post game people carry on

watching them. the social media part comes. >> my favorite quote is you cannot deposit into your bank account. do you get bang for your buck by spreading $4.5 million on your ad? what i am going to say yes. you are creating a huge amount of social buzz. for once you actually have got people wanting to watch the ads. all of the figures come out. half the people say they actually watch the event. how often do have a situation? >> what is new and exciting in these ads? it doesn't take a great deal of imagination, does it?

>> i would say that seems very out with what is going on. there used to be a lot of women in bikinis. you begin to see things change quite a lot. i think it reflects what you see happening. you have a huge budget of ads that are sentimental. >> a mirror of the psychology of the country if you want to get profound about it. could you go that far? >> i would inc. so. when we make these ads -- i would think so. advertising can quite often be seen as a reflection. >> the chanel ad, which was the most expensive per second ever made. you want them to spend the most. does that automatically correlate to a successful ad?

>> no, it's not a simple equation of spend more money in the ad gets better. some have been made that are really cheap. >> an interesting trend is linked, because last year 22 ads ran for 60 seconds or longer. the national average is 45% of ads are only 15 seconds. the trend is for shorter ads on national tv. super bowl ads tend to be getting longer. what is that about? >> it's very difficult. you have this massive event. you have all of this together. you have to take time to get their attention. it takes time to do that. something could have been insane, and you need to get your

message across. >> thank you very much for joining us. while you are watching the super bowl you might want a bite to eat. it is difficult to get mexican food in london. there are a few hidden gems. richard took it upon himself to bring us his top places. ♪ >> here we are in covent garden. the place is very popular, especially with young people. there are often long queues. fortunately it is midday, and there are no queues. i like it here a lot. it is cheap food. it is not gourmet stuff. i have not got any friends here.

cheers. you can see the red onion. some black beans. these tortillas are good. last time i came here they fell apart. ♪ welcome to spittle fields. this is a historic area. this is another place, and the beer is not bad either. it is maybe four cans of chili. it is hot and spicy and sour. i could hardly put it in my mouth. i'm happy about that. ♪

if you're looking for the best tacos, you might want to come here. it is near euston station. here they serve a selection of tacos. you can make your own. they keep warm in here. this is chicken mole and socks. that is ready to eat. i think tacos here are the best in london. >> it is a special way to serve it. you can make your own taco fresh, hot. >> thank you for that. >> thank you. >> congratulations. cheers. >> we are feeling a bit hungry. we are going to look at our favorite stories, including extreme fitness in hong kong.

stay tuned.

>> just over an hour from the start of trading. here is my pick today. it is a report on striving for fitness. it is called why sweating is the new social.

>> as dawn breaks and alarms ring over hong kong, the obsession with fitness shows no signs of cooling. it's quite the opposite. it is exploding. with more boot camps like this more gyms, and a wave of new alternatives in techniques. they gather before work six days a week in locations around hong kong. the cofounder packs a punch when it comes to work out. she competes in mixed martial arts and kickboxing. when she switches roles and becomes the trainer, it's going to hurt. today she says is the easiest session. it's a day off. >> today is a recovery day. yesterday they went through hell. today is a little time to recover. we are doing bodyweight. tomorrow is back to the grind. >> bikini fit does not come

cheap. you need to sign for a minimum of 12 weeks. a short while away is studio fitness. you would think it was a late night dance club. you would be wrong. if you need modification -- modification, no one makes it easier than paula. i have just come from studio fitness. a 45 minute workout. very intense. this is crossfit. this one from a gym on the west coast to a global phenomenon. there are more than 10,000 across the world. there are crossfit games. diehard enthusiasts call it a community and a family.

a package comes at $300 a month. >> it is a very long and relaxing night. >> two hours in the morning for me is excessive and very intense. better to follow ancient chinese art of high cheap. it has worked for generations and is a lot more zen -- tai chi. >> that is more my scene than spending 100 quitted the week -- quid a week for 10 weeks. why sweating is the new social. >> all things asian have a look at this. luxury brands, how do you position yourself? what is called tiny times. it is going into its fourth production.

basically, these three women very glamorous, they shoot in italy, and they shop in delhi. it is luxury brands trying to position themselves in some of the movies. these girls are surrounded by interesting gentleman. >> and bullying. what -- bling. >> it is a movie full of bling and racy content. >> i am going to bring it down to a conversation about dividends. lackluster and disappointing. those are two words used to describe the latest results. if you want to follow tech companies, go for go pro. google is a leader in the lucrative market. the finance director was asked if he was going to pay a

dividend. he says he has nothing to announce. >> they bring it back to the basics. countdown continues in the next hour. it is all about earnings. that is annas job. ♪

>> the dais charity -- the anti-austerity movement comes to power. >> sanctions are not having a political impact on the kremlin. >> things are not working in political terms. they may be working in the economic area but not politically. >> google sales fall short as competition intensifies. a hoppy -- happy holiday helps

amazon beats estimate. >> and the saudi king fires security and economic officials one week after taking the throne . >> welcome to countdown, i am mark barton to >> i am manus cranny. just getting some numbers through a telecom group. they are saying, talking about the recovery plan. the plan has been agreed. that for a number of years was a concern. the adjusted pretax profit 814 million pounds. looks to be broadly in line --

earnings before interest tax frustration. one point sides -- 1.57 billion pounds. the outlook unchanged. numbers broadly in line. a lot of the focus on a business that 18 months ago launched sports broadcasting ambitions. they have been turning themselves into a 169-year-old business specializing in land lines. now increasingly in talks to buy the business. we are looking for any indication of the final price tag. 12.5 billion pounds is where they started the conversations. interesting to see if we get an update on that.

they will be the number one fixed and mobile provider. they could lose the crown -- fast-moving developments in that part of the business. for now, we are just getting an announcement from bg. -- bt. >> we are getting a look at qatar airways. they are going to buy a stake in iag. the holding company between iberia and british airways. they are taking a stake. they may raise is higher. cap tar airways. -- qatar airways. trying to get their hands on earnings. there is a talk about the middle east players being the hub players. dubai being the biggest.

there is a cap. around 10%. that is going to be interesting. >> shows you the individual shareholders of a company. the biggest shareholder's capital group company. which owns british airways. franklin resorts, almost 10% holding will surpass capital group companies. become their biggest individual group share colder. -- shareholder. >> they are part of the oneworld alliance. cementing that committed to each other. before other ways to explore that relationship. >> freeing them -- bring them together in terms of the hubs. that is airlines, telecom.

let's get back to online retail giant, amazon. sales drove shares higher. once again, evidence tech companies are investing in their future. caroline hyde is the tech rule rue desk guru. -- the tech guru. >> these big tech companies having to splash the cash to fend off competition. once again, people sticking with amazon.com and jeff bezos['s's vision for being more than an online retailer. they sell can those -- kindles. corporate cloud computing. they make their own programs. $14 million profit.

-- $214 million profit. a fraction of what the sales are. despite the amount of spending he makes, he is able to seek out a profit. full year, still a loss but a company dreaming to be ubiquitous. they want to be buying things delivering them by drones. they want the offering computer software. they want us to be using amazon e-mail at work to read many people looking to spend $90 a year for their premium offering prime. taking one part of their business venture seriously, the cloud. >> amazon web services provides online software storage. also wants to get into the bigger companies. has more than one million people using the services. they are separating this as a business.

before you could not see how much money it made. now it is going to break it apart. >> amazon slashing the cash. facebook saying they are splashing the cash. google is flashing the cash. >> you have google glasses driverless cars. a company looking to diversify. they missed analysts' expectations. sales rose 7%. bringing in $5 million in terms of profit. competition facebook and yahoo! woo advertisers in terms of mobile and particular. google is trying to reorient itself as a mobile first company. the fact that you want to use it -- advertise on google wherever

you are using it. the problem is it costs more. >> you earn less. parks when you are going on to the mobile, you cannot charge quite so much. average price, boeing 3% overall. this is a company trying to expand. it has upped its operating expenses 35%. apple spent less than that in expenses and brought in five times the amount of profit. still somewhere to go. all the companies splashing the cash. >> it has been a busy week for you. >> the greek prime minister is promising no supplies is. >> here's sure -- no supplies is . >> -- no spurprises. >> the stock market plunge into

those we had not seen since the debt crisis. >> hands nichols and berlin. >> today, the negotiations with creditors began. beginning with the meeting yesterday the president of the eu parliament said clearly they are going to seek common ground. he said aside and said there is the possibility for clashes. they have tried to make nice, a lot of diplomacy. he said it's if they want to have a successful negotiation, they have to be given enough time. >> we are negotiating with our european partners to find a mutually beneficial solution on manners of common interest. it is obvious for these consultations to be effective, time is needed.

>> he is of course the finance minister in brussels. leading the finance group. he meets today in brussels. he wants primary account surplus as a percentage of gdp. to bring that closer to 1.5. also some debt renegotiations. haircuts, tax losses in germany and europe. a busy travel schedule for the finance minister of greece. he will be meeting with bankers. and then he meets in italy, rome. busy schedule. lots of eyes looking to see what comes out of the initial meeting today. how firm is the greek line. >> hans, thank you very much. >> a bloomberg exclusive.

russia's ambassador to the u.n. says the room for economic sanctions is minimal. this comes on the day when foreign ministers meet in london. he told ryan chilcote sanctions are not working the way the eu intended. >> as far as that eu is concerned i think it has -- it is coming to the conclusion that sanctions are not working in political terms. they may be having an effect on both sides in the economic a rea, but not politically. the room for further sanctions is minimal. >> when the greek government came out and said they do not

support new sanctions, they had not consented to the statement that the eu put out calling for this meeting and a discussion of new sanctions, you must have been delighted. >> it is not only the new greek government but the governments of existing member states like hungary. the president of the czech republic. many others. the italian government. the french government has made similar statements. now everybody is talking that the road to putting an end to sanctions goes to the full implementation of the minsk agreement. >> join us on twitter and tell

us what you think of the show. iag getting a new shareholder. cap tar -- qatar airways. >> how jack ma lost $1.5 billion in a single day. ♪

>> time for today's company news. it has been announced that qatar airways has bought a stake in iag. the say they are delighted to have them as a shareholder. jack ma is no longer the richest person in china. his fortune fell after alibaba shares sunk on missed estimates. he is now only worth $26 billion. shake shack has raised 26 -- money in their initial public offering. that is according to a public statement. they boast a valuation of $746 million.

two former traders have been charged with allegedly cheating their employers. they worked at hsbc and deutsche bank. they used the banks accounts to get preferential rates for themselves. >> russia could be facing further sanctions from the eu and u.s.. moscow appears unmoved as the conflict intensifies in the ukraine. let's get more from the senior oracle analyst. always great to get -- political analyst. the rebels are pushing towards crimea. putin seems unmoved. europe has yet to react. what is your take? >> they have sort of reacted. the sanctions due to expire at the end of march have been extended to september. the big question is two fold.

will we get hefty sanctions against russia from europe? answer, almost li na. certainly not. are we going to give the have the sanctions that exist already renewed before they expire ultimately? this will be dealed -- driven by persons behavior which is likely to continue to be aggressive. he has a lot of domestic albums at home. -- problems at home. sanctions are having an impact. the collapse of the price of oil is the biggest issue. it is not impossible that putin will try to push a land corridor to crimea. u.s. sanctions, i think we will see americans push the russians hard. congress is hawkish. they will be under election related pressure.

>> 20 avast or was making, not that it was not having an impact. it was not having the desired political impact. what political outcome does the eu want to achieve with the sanctions? >> angela merkel once now -- 2w wants them to implement the minsk accord. the question is, what would impact them if not the sanctions? putin will not let ukraine go. what he sees is the latest manifestation of a us-led plot to weaken russia. it is a nexus tendril threat. he has said this publicly. i believe he can believes that. he sees ukraine as being the latest piece in a nato jigsaw. from where he sits, his behavior

is rational. whatever we may think about it. >> let's move on to saudi arabia. we will skirt around the big subjects. king solomon -- salman has brought his own team. what does it tell us as the islamic threat continues to be a threat? ?>> let's deal with the economy. the oil minister is still there. there were suggestions he might sit down. we will see. what that says to markets is, don't expect a change in our policy over oil just because we have a new more dark -- monarch. . i'm convinced the saudis are determined on their present course even though they are looking at something like $180 billion in fiscal deficit unless they implement budget cuts.

they can afford that. all those numbers could together. i thinking of what they are doing. they are trying to retain their market share. squeeze out marginal production. if you look at announcements from companies like shell it has an impact on offshore deepwater. we will see where the oil price goes. i have no idea where it will be on the fifth of june. i would challenge anybody to come up with a reliable forecast. it has flattened. that does not mean it will stay below $50 a barrel. on security, saudi arabia has two big problems externally. the islamic state to the north trying to cause disruption. they are publicly -- established -- their number one publicly stated goal is regime change in saudi arabia.

they want to control mecca and medina. in yemen, there are changes. there is a security vacuum occupied by a q ap. -- aqap. new security team, new people, new ideas. a younger generation. the key person in saudi arabia remains the deputy crown prince. interior minister as well. in charge of counterterrorism since 2003. formidably strong on counterterrorism. his promotion is probably a success -- reflects the success he has dealing with the mystic terrorism. >> -- with domestic terrorism. >> the west has been launching

attacks against the islamic state. where does that, where do we go from there on this? is there something that might increase the west's involvement? >> i don't think we will see barack obama voting to put american boots on the ground. his mandate, when he came in and was reelected, the u.s. ratcheting back in the middle east in particular. the majority of american public opinion is with obama despite the hawkish stance in congress. i think we will see things continuing much as they have been for the past few months. is has suffered some losses. they were driven out of the urban area of a city by the kurds, with help from u.s. airstrikes. they occupy the surrounding

territory and spots of syria. they are in control of western iraq. until there are armies in the region which can occupy and hold ground from which ias has been pushed back, we are looking at something close to the status quo. the risk being that as a momentum driven organization that understands the propaganda, is is going to keep scoring successes of one sort or another. the sad story of the japanese hostages is part of the need to feed the propaganda machine. >> we have a lot of geography to cover. i want to bring you back to greece. no surprises. he has -- what do you make of the greek targeting chips? will germany blink?

>> i do not think germany will blink. they will not link for any number of regions korea domestic situation. angela merkel has to do with -- let's watch hamburg, a recent election, to see if they can replicate that in the west. more forgiveness for the greeks would be unpopular with the majority of germans who are already unhappy with the eurozone crisis because they do not like qe. secondly, if the greeks were given some debt forgiveness, what is that going to say to the spanish with key spanish elections coming up? important regional elections in may, 13 out of 18 regions. i think basically we are in for a protracted, messy, noisy negotiation. ultimately resulting in what i

would route the call extend and pretend. >> in our remaining minute, top three risks of the year. >> oil spiking back up because of some political event driving supply-side down. i ran, critical in that. i s targeting things in saudi arabia. number two central banks. we have add -- had a nasty shock from a central bank. we still don't know when the fed is raising rates. central banks are still going to be more important than central governments for markets. >> oil, central banks, and u.k. elections. >> the biggest political out known out there. markets are not present in the political risk around the u.k. elections. >> we will bring you back as the dates -- >> thank you to alastair.

coming up, the eu is planning for tougher sections -- sanctions on russia. ♪

>> time for foreign exchange check and read the dollar dipped for the first time this week. seven months of gains. the longest winning streak in almost a decade. there is your overall pattern. jobless claims, lowest in 15 years. a flash reading for the u.s. in terms of growth. fourth-quarter gdp expected to dip. other countries would bake for

that level of growth. -- would beg for that level of growth. euros swiss. when you have here you are seeing the swiss at the weakest levels. weakest level for the swiss franc since the tortures day which wiped more than 30 billion francs off the value. you can see we are just getting a little bit weaker. the euro rising and the swiss franc falling. that is what we want to see. foreign exchange reserves. the swiss national bank.

$546 billion. 45% in euros, 29% in dollars. they were in the party that was called, by euros. -- buy euros. rubles. it is so hard for this country to exist at these higher rates. stitch sickly, might they go for a higher rate, -- statistically, might they go for a higher rate? he did not think so. >> the first face to face talks with eurozone representatives. he is promising no supplies is. will meet the chairman of the finance group in athens. he has assured the parliamentary president that greece will not make any unexpected moves regarding the finances. that sent stocks in athens

rebounding. still with greece, the new foreign minister has refrained from the towing sanctions against russia. the meeting gave the go-ahead for the preparation of additional measures to punish russia for its involvement in the ukraine crisis. more names will be added to the list next month. revenues rows. sales and profits below estimates. google is facing competition from the likes of facebook in the mobile advertising space. >> 7:33 in london. qatar airways has bought a stake in iag, the parent company of

the dish airways and iberia. those are the headlines. let's remember these two airlines already have a commercial relationship as members of the oneworld alliance. some codesharing deals they already have in place. up until this point, we had talking -- have been talking about iag. interesting to see the deal with qatar. quite an unusual thing in the airline industry. they sometimes had a cross shareholding. just investing here. >> you used to analyze airlines. what do they get out of this kind of thing? i understand what i get as a customer. >> cross shareholding used to be a sign of commitment.

this would go into some sort of cross shareholding to suggest there was longevity, commitment involved here if you were willing to take shares and each other. this is not bad, just qatar airways buying a stick. both airways have international ambitions. part of the ambition for british airways buying part of aer lingus is because they want to extend their this across the atlantic. for qatar airways, building up out of the doha our hub. they reach it -- recently launched ahab. iag pulled in all kinds of directions. trying to get a deal done with the irish management. >> they raised that made.

actually have a quote for you. -- we have a quote for you. >> qatar airways is a long time supporting shareholder. >> qatar being on a buying spree. taking in lots of european committees. harrods. it is interesting to look at it in that context. maybe it could be a potential bidder for -- they have fingers and lots of highs and european companies. -- lots of highpies in european committees. >> from iag's perspective, aer lingus, that has brought approval. they might struggle a little

bit. which of a few hurdles. in terms of getting ryanair's approval. whether they might have to give some grounds to the government. assure them of roots. it seems they are running up against opposition from pilot groups. >> 10% is bigger then capital group. franklin resources, with 7%. it is a big step. >> they used to be a day where having international investors was a difficult situation. who are landing rights often relied on your nationality and your nationality rules it to have a certain amount of local ownership. things have moved around a bit. quick spirit is a great chart, iag. -- >> there is a great chart, i

e.g.. the price of oil. they are literally moving in opposite directions. airport -- airlines benefit from declining oil prices. >> ryanair, 56.5%. there are in the travel and leisure area. that is over the past 12 months. >> we talked about when you start to see the benefits. >> last quarter, up 32%. they trumped everybody. >> oil is down 54% at the same time. >> because of all the airlines hedging their exposure. it will not be for a little while. they used to be the rule of thumb that when the oil price moved more than 30%, it started

to dictate everything. share prices followed. >> a penny for a penny -- >> there was a more direct relationship. things have changed >>. >> could we have low-cost airlines in alliances? parks part of the motivation, you have a 30% stake and aer lingus. it was about having -- about across the atlantic. down as far as tel aviv. there are no bounds. >> let's move on to read the eu once to tighten sanctions on russia amid fresh fighting in eastern ukraine. foreign ministers considering including more individuals.

let's get to ryan chilcote. he is on the ground in brussels. you have heard from several foreign ministers to read you have been working hard all evening. what is the appetite for deeper sanctions? >> in effect what the foreign ministers did yesterday was kicked the can up to their bosses. the heads of state of the 28 eu countries. they kicked it down the road, the sanctions can. when they get together in brussels. what they did do last night was agreed to expand their blacklist. to extend some of the sanctions they composed last year. specifically once imposed just after the annexation of crimea. these sanctions, in batches.

this sanction scale if 10 is the worst and iran is eight or nine russia was a four. now with the expansion of the blacklist, maybe it is 4.25 . there is the potential that if the heads of state 12, they can take it to a six. there is not a huge appetite for that now. but everything keeps changing when it comes to the sanctions. who knows what will happen over the next two weeks. the really exciting story was the greeks. were they going to derail the whole sanctions process? all eyes were on nico's -- the new greek foreign minister. some thought he would low off

the whole process. some ministers told me he was pretty constructive. >> this is their bargaining chip, ryan, and terms of debt relief. approaching russia first. these are interesting political over tunes -- overtones. we are going to turn it towards russia in the face of the rest of europe going in a different direction. >> the question was, going into this, is he going to be a pro-russian spoiler of the sanctions regime? the answer is not entirely clear. he obviously wanted to make his pitch sound pragmatic when it came to russia. i asked him why he was against new sanctions. have a listen. >> we don't like to see russia going to the east.

buying cheaply from china. we do not like a rift between the european union and russia. but we can have a political discussion between the european union and russia. that is a reason why we accept the existing sanctions can run through september, 2015. we are not against every kind of sanctions. we have been against new sanctions today. >> a bit of a bombshell. everybody thought he was going to come into the meeting swinging. he did everything he could after the meeting, the last press conference. everybody was there. to distance himself from this perception he is pro-russian western european envoy. saying he has only been to

russia twice. he is going to head to ukraine. he was in a picture, a photo with a man many people consider nationalist. he was accidentally in the picture. saying he had no relationship with the man. i don't think we have heard the last. maybe on russia, that is it for now. he made it very clear that the real issue is just because greece has all the financial problems, he does not intend to let the eu do what it once when it comes to foreign policy. and be as you say, russia is a bit of a bargaining chip. maybe everything is a bit of a bargaining chip. as he put it, he is all about a small state in our natural trouble having a say in the european union and not the dismissed. >> ryan chilcote in brussels.

great job, ryan. >> the big news is qatar airways buying a 10% stake in iag. i have been looking up what they own. the lithic village, the chelsea barracks. part of berkeley. as barclays. quite incredible. this is cap tar airways. -- qatar airways. >> a real-life game of monopoly. next, bart chart time. >> january's best-performing asset class. stay with us. ♪

>> time for today's bart chart. this is a 2015 chart. the white line is the all world index. it includes emerging and developed countries. the white line is while five. -- is 105. within the index the egyptian stock market is the

best-performing market. the worst, nigeria. down 14%. in dollar terms, the indian is number one. the yellow line is the bond market. a gauge of developed government bond markets. done by 0.5%. that is the price, not the yield. the emerging market equipment -- equivalent has done a little better. this is measured by the bloomberg corporate bond index down .8% lower. this is the interesting one. the green line. as measured by the dollar spot index. against a basket of 10 currencies. interestingly, it is the best

performing out of the four. up by 10%. 3%, to be precise. the currency that performed the best against the dollar out of the 174 we tracked. no prizes for guessing, the swiss franc. it has risen by 8% against the dollar. the worst performer is the belarusian ruble. bet you did not know that. the dollar spot index up for the seventh consecutive month. pink line, commodities as you can see, worst-performing one there. that is the one we are measuring. a gauge of 22 commodities. 5% lower. gold is the best performing commodity with a rise of 6%. the dollar is the best-performing asset class measured against the basket of 10 leading currencies. individually, the indian stock

market stands out with gains of 10% year to date. there you have january's best-performing classes. >> the belarus dollar, you can hear the patter of people to trade and. minutes away from european trading. let's welcome a fundamentals are. great to have you. let's kick it off with bt. bt. third number numbers come out they are generating cash, 900 million pounds. sticking to their full-year guidance. where does bp set in the landscape of telecom stocks? fox -- >> >> the q3 at bt. not much new news. they are in the midst of a big

transition from a boring underperforming utilities to see what safety can -- whether they can become a growth company. we are looking for some sort of signs of infection. they are repositioning the business on the consumer side. there is a lot about whether they can deliver quad play. consolidation stories in the market. all the telecom players getting into a position where they can offer things to you. broadband, and mobile. the expectation is once they can offer you more products, they will get a greater share of your wallet. >> we heard yesterday that they were going to team up to offer the o2 mobile products. bt not giving us much. seeing they are making good progress. >> there is a cop located game

of four. described as the game of phones. they are going to come out as strongly positioned. they will have all four pieces of the jigsaw. the consumer bit which was what we focus on, where many of us are customers, is only a small part of the group. even if you get your broadband somewhere along the line, they will get paid for the infrastructure. >> how worried should shareholders be? is it lose lose? you pay too much,? what do you want as a shareholder? >> what i like about them they

are going to grow the dividend 15%. which is a compelling proposition. going to your question about the premier league auction, that is ongoing. it is all most of the going to be a bigger number. they are competing against shareholders. they are worried to bt will write an excessive check. the good news is they are in a stronger position to write the check. if you say the rights will be 50% more than last time that is a 5% dent. 30% to sky's. there is an element. they are fighting after the content. there's going to be the cornerstone of the offering.

they keep you and -- >> another iconic british business, iag. which owns british airways and iberia. what do you make of this by the qataris? >> i think it is a massive indication for the strategy at ea. -- ba. particularly when they are the middle of doing a transaction. a big, supportive backer who will be there for the long run. i cannot imagine they just got in because they thought it was cheap. >> do like airlines or can your heart not take it? >> as an income guy, i do not have an interest. bt is more my area. >> the manager of the income fund. >> on the move is up next. john speaking exclusively with a

ceo. that is going to be at 8:30 london time. you do not want to miss that. eric to stop have the stomach for iag. the question is whether the market does. ♪ .

>> good morning, and welcome. moments away from the start of european trading. qatar airways buys almost 10% of british airways. they may raise the state even further. let's get you straight to the morning brief. eu foreign ministers failed to agree. the group pledged to work on further restrictive measures.

the chairman of the euro zone group of finance ministers heads to the greek capital. the first reading of consumer prices for january is due in just under two hours time. that would be the lowest reading since the summer of 2009. a busy friday morning. here are stocks 50 futures up 20 points. menace cranny has your market open. >> equity markets are going to count the best month since 2000 and nine. the best start since 2009. if you went long equities you missed a 3.7% rally in the london market. you missed a 9% rally in the pari