>> greek officials wait for their creditors sign off on proposed economic reforms in order to secure a four-month loan extension. >> the fed>> shares pressure on both sides of the political spectrum ahead of the semiannual testimony before congress. >> the you k's largest homebuilder will speak to the ceo to get a gauge of britain's housing market. >> aer lingus releases earnings amidst the proposed takeover.

>> welcome to "countdown." >> coming up we will bring you an exclusive interview with the ceo and chief creative officer, christopher bailey. he spoke to bloomberg during fashion week on friends, tech, and and what it means to be a british heritage brand. >> the eurogroup on the draft proposal, a form submitted yesterday. if it is approved, greece will secure use -- well >> the draft must first be accepted by the imf, ecb, and european commission before being verbally recognized. -- formally recognized. then we put to national parliament for formal consent. >> but will address to get that

far? we are going to head to athens with erik schatzker and hans nichols. erik let's kick it up with you. you have been on the ground since sunday -- where are we in terms of the details? >> manus we are no further along than we were yesterday. another day, another deadline. the only difference is that we know there was some communication between the greek government and the so-called troika. at least one set of draft proposals was exchanged and is currently being scrutinized by the troika auditors. we heard late yesterday from the managing director of the imf on "the daily show" -- she said

that she hadn't seen a list of proposals.. so far as we know, nobody has. >> why is this taking so long? the headlines i read when i came into the office -- they are talking about a reform about tax, billing after-tax evaders and giving people more time. the nitty-gritty -- why is it taking so long? >> manus, you hit the nail on the head. the finance minister is clearly struggling to come up with a list of proposals that satisfy both sets of masters. on the one hand, on the people he refers to as his european partners -- the eurogroup and the finance ministers -- and on the other hand, the people who put his party in office.

you describe these proposals or this draft as being serial. the word i might use is vague. they are long on principle, short on detail. here's the problem -- this is a 1969. -- this isn't 1969. "give greece a chance" is only going to go so far with the hard-liners in the eurozone. as of yesterday we understand the troika are auditors were working hard to turn this into a concrete policy document. that is proving very difficult. nobody wants these discussions to fail. the greek cabinet is set to meet at noon today. we hope that by then this draft list will have been submitted to the troika for formal approval. if not, further delay will not be a good sign.

>> thank you, erik schatzker. >> let's get the hans nichols. what has been the reaction in the european capitals? >> mark the positive development is that there won't be a fight from the national parliament, or at least in the national parliament. if they get the go-ahead, they won't be challenged by their parliament. finland will just have a 25 member committee, and the dutch parliament may not even require a vote. all these parliaments are waiting for the list, for it to be polished and proofread -- we are now seven hours past at midnight deadline and there is still no sign. some european leaders outside the eurozone are expressing their concern and are planning for the worst. >> the problems facing greece and the eurozone continue to pose a risk to the world economy

and recovery at home. that is why we have stepped up our eurozone contingency planning. >> you could read the silence coming out of berlin -- and there hasn't been a whole lot from berlin yet -- you could read it as a good sign. last week when greek said that -- when greece said that letter they said it wasn't a serious proposal. other leaders are expressing their confidence. the eurogroup finance president and the finance minister in the netherlands say they are confident, optimistic. here is what he told us an interview. "the great government has been very serious, working very hard the last couple days. we need to be strong enough to work on the next couple months i am always optimistic." what we heard yesterday was them saying they are going to roll back austerity, go ahead and increased spending by 1.9 billion euros. there is still a great deal of distance.

privately, it seems like everyone is working toward the goal and they are trying to figure out how to caught up by this and make it be easily acceptable to all parliaments but we won't know until we get the list. >> thanks. hans nichols in berlin. you can find more of that story at bloomberg.com. >> stars flocked to one of the most anticipated catwalk shows that london fashion week. francine lacqua caught up with christopher daily. he spoke about burberry's work, and what it means to be a british heritage brand. >> what we wanted to do -- this was to celebrate all things british. from our crafts to architecture to music and fashion. for me it is wonderful being british. we are surrounded by such strong, creative industries.

from where i am sitting, we are in a great place. >> burberry has always spearheaded the social movement and now you are going to start more engagement with japan. what is that like? >> it is exciting. we have got an amazing organization, very dynamic and flexible. it feels like when you are there, like the energy of a startup. that is really exciting for us because that is how we try to keep burberry, try to keep the energy of something new, the passion is something new. that idea of being curious. that is what it feels like working with them. we had done a couple different things and some of the team is coming in. >> engagement is also so much stronger. >> the thing is that it works on so many different platforms.

it is a classic social media platform, but you can't do your taxes, you can arrange your life online. the thing i love about line is that they have these wonderful stickers and animation. i quite like things that make you smile. that is what we tried to do at the end of the show when we had 60 singers. it is ok to smile sometimes. sometimes we take things too seriously. >> a question on japan -- it is a good year for you guys. >> huge year. it is the year we take japan fully in-house. we have built an amazing team in tokyo. we just opened -- we have got a great, physical stall opening agenda.

"started working with people like line to make sure we have got all different platforms ready including outdoors. >> this is the first time the chinese lunar new year -- exciting are challenging? >> you can't do anything about it. the oscars were yesterday. some things are unmovable. the lunar year's unmovable. it is fine, you just work around. it is how i often talk about things, slow slow, quick quick. but some things just need to be a little slow. for me, that is what makes it exciting to be in business. >> one national obsession to another. today, from the u.k.'s biggest housebuilder, caroline

hyde is here with the preview. a strong year for all the builders -- is that what we can expect? >> they gave us a hint of how they had done back in january saying 23% -- they had these warm winds blowing. they saw market increase. home sales are up 17%, shifting more than 13,000 houses. a very strong year -- good demand across the united kingdom . the main constraint was expecting net incomes of profits to jump. >> what about the housing market as a whole? are things cooling? >> you have to put into perspective because we are getting a mixed picture.

we have some people saying we are expecting prices to fall in 2015. not a huge amounts, but fall. the concerns are felt back in november -- the words used by the british banking association -- a sharp chill in the housing market in terms of mortgage applications. they suddenly saw a cooling in the housing market. mainly because it is the bank of england -- the bank of england was getting what it wished for a calming down in the market. what they wanted to see was mortgage approvals, they didn't want any welding or financial instability. the housing market had become a little too euphoric. they wanted us to make sure we couldn't leverage ourselves and borrow too much. the financial conduct authorities imposed that in april. we suddenly see a fall, quite

have marked fall. in november, they were the lowest in more than a year. since june, they were off by 20%. of real sudden shock. but december was seeing approvals. we thought many people were worrying about their ability to borrow, but then we have got the election coming. this is going to be putting a little -- every housing person out there will tell you the market tends to stall. we are trying to work out what labor and the liberal democrats are doing. we have also got those things that might see housing to continue. that means we are able to have

less tax, and changes pension rules. maybe handed down to your children -- that will boost housing. i think a calming in the market not a falloff. >> caroline, let's see what the numbers bring. >> time for the top stars on bloomberg. heading for capitol hill for a semiannual testimony on the u.s. economy, monetary policy, and the global outlook. the fed is facing pressure from both sides of the political spectrum. david cameron is warning of further sanctions against russia if fighting continues in eastern ukraine. the government in kiev accused rebels of shedding forces. cameron says russia's pain will only increase should the process push on. >> russia must be in no doubt

that any attempt to the secretary's -- attempt by the separatists will result in more sanction. russia must change course now. >> meanwhile, vladimir putin told russian state television he sees no need for any emergency diplomatic measures in ukraine. the world's biggest miner is expected earnings. it announced plans to cut project spending. the chief executive says he sees oil prices staying lower. >> chinese demand for oil is flat. this low cost supply continues to arrive displacing high cost domestic supply. as new seaborne supply continues

to exceed demand, we expect our prices to remain subdued >> you can join in the conversation on twitter if you would like to. this is where you will find us in the twitter sphere. >> after the break we will talk more about the country awaiting its loan extension. our next guest remains confident on limited risks for the market. ♪

>> europe is going to be incrementally better than last year because they finally fixed their banking crisis. they have benefited by a weakened euro and they are benefiting by a strong bank. you are starting to see a modest improvement to the european economy. >> that was larry fink. fink says europe will be better this year. greece's funding will keep the country afloat. let's bring in estimates go -- hi anna. we are playing the waiting game. greece has headed in this list and the creditors will peruse the list to decide. are you confident that the next stage and stage after will be a

smooth one? >> i think i am relatively confident that a compromise will be reached. but we are not out of the woods. even if the bailout extension is out this week there will be questions about shortage. i think this is the kind of situation that will require more urgency. there is still more to come. >> we spoke to the minister of the iso institute and he thinks greece has been ring fenced. it is not going to have enormous negative consequences for the rest of the european economy. do you share that view? >> i certainly do>>. that is the reason the markets have been relatively benign about the whole greece situation. the firewall has been built. i think one of the instrumental

factors has been the in the ecb announcement. expectations have been affected. i think at this point the effect is unlikely. >> you are reasonably optimistic. you are talking about growth the euro trend, the dis-inflationary impact -- oil is dropping it is quite an upbeat assessment. you agree with larry fink? >> i think there are a number of tailwinds supporting euro area growth. it is a weaker euro -- all these things have come together to support the recovery, and i think it is already visible in the data. but there are risks. i just think the economy will

rebound. the great uncertainty is out of the way and we will focus on fundamentals and that will help the recovery. >> anna will be listening to every syllable to give guidance on when the first rate hike will be. we know the minutes were dovish but often when she speaks she can be a little more hawkish. might she be more hawkish than the minutes suggest? >> i don't think so. i think the probability isof any surprises relatively low. she will discuss the economy, and this is what i think we need to focus on -- data. we need to see stabilization, and we need to focus on the labor market.

we need to see continued improvement in the unemployment rate. crucially, we need to see what is happening to wage growth. we know that a lot of members think that wage growth should be around 3%, and it is an. . -- it isn't. >> human knowledge that the payroll number has been strong but other points have been less strong. >> there have been labor market indicators -- employment components that have been declining and has been relatively weak. that says to me that there is still some slack remaining in the labor market. that is why i don't think a hike is likely. >> if you had to put the biggest risk factor on the table, is it russia and ukraine? havana is under

pressure, critical time pressure -- is that your biggest concern? >> i think this is the biggest risk -- it is ukraine. it is very uncertain. we have seen that diplomacy is not working, and i think it is going to break down. this means tougher sanctions on russia. from my perspective looking at the economy, i think it is the toughest function that will bring spillover to affect the banking sectors. that is certainly something we need to watch. >> thank you for joining us. >> let's shift gears -- aer lingus reports their results under the proposed takeover. let's bring in our aviation expert.

before we go through the earnings, there are pictures of willie walsh in dublin negotiating with unions and getting/fax to when he ran the airline. has a got better? >> well, the feeling in dublin is very mixed. last week, you have a new ceo. well, he will be new as of march 1. he has been with aer lingus since 1988 -- he was in front of lawmakers last week speaking about whether it is going to be good for aer lingus -- he was very much in favor. he said it was the fast track to growth that they were already looking for a partner. the board is backing it. the airline backing it, the board backing it but lawmakers are still very next. some unions are coming out against and others in favor. still a ways to go.

>> we are likely to hear that they have been building up their long-haul operations, and that is part of the attractiveness. >> absolutely. the operating profit is supposed to be up. that is very much -- over 20% growth in the long haul. aer lingus is small, but 20% is a big number. what iag sees is an opportunity to use dublin as a third runway as long as he threw his there -- as long as heathrow is there. he was saying -- this is not about job loss, this is about job creation, about growing the transatlantic market. >> thank you very much. those numbers break at 7:00. >> greece waits to hear the verdict on the reform that could given of funding lifeline.

our next guest says it is just the beginning of the negotiation. ♪

he's out there. there's a guy out there whose making a name for himself in a sport where your name and maybe a number are what define you. somewhere in that pack is a driver that can intimidate the intimidator. a guy that can take the king 7 and make it 8. heck. maybe even 9. make no mistake about it. they're out there. i guarantee it. welcome to the nascar xfinity series.

>> you are watching countdown." the foreign exchange market -- all eyes and ears. the dollar is preparing for its day. a little bit of a drawback yesterday. momentum is building this morning. the san francisco federal reserve governor said that "i wouldn't want to eliminate the possibility of a rate hike." looking through with the analysts are saying, jpmorgan

has some middle-of-the-road testimony. "there is no need for her to depart from the message she delivered." morgan stanley says no material change. why would you want to put yourself in a corner in terms of what you say? that is a view of one of the asian brokers. call it on change -- the dollar is moving higher in the yen dying. i have already tweeted -- traders have cut their positions to the lowest level since 2012 and they have been wrong on three occasions. bank of america says "they got it wrong again -- cutting the short positions when they should be giving ready to reflect in a different way." that is one of the strong messages come through -- messages to come through. >> top stories on bloomberg this

hour -- stretched is how goldman sachs is describing it. the fed used the term to describe smaller -- goldman says us stocks with attractive valuations are rare in the current environment. the u.s. department of justice is investigating banks for metal market rigging in london according to "the wall street journal." the trading commission has opened an investigation to scrutinize the price setting process. banks under investigation include hsbc, barclays, and goldman sachs. hsbc's ceo is set to break up the largest bank after reporting earnings that missed

analyst estimates, driving stocks down. gulliver said that parts of the investment banks may face "extreme solutions." you can find more about that story on bloomberg.com. >> let's get back to one of our top stories -- greece waiting for a verdict from the creditors. the eurogroup on the proposed reforms. that is the first of many hurdles for greece that they will face. our next guest joins us. david, always good to get your input. one thing that strikes me this morning is an new divided -- it is no longer about germany and the north. it is about periphery. the spanish, the portuguese they are all chipping away. >> absolutely. there was a prediction a few weeks ago that this was what was going to calm. in spain and portugal, we have governments that are naturally

not opposed to austerity, particularly in the current circumstances. they are creditors of greece in their own right. this was mutual lending from member states in member state. right now we have spain, portugal, and even slovakia saying -- are we going to get a fair deal? >> what should we do with the next four months? we are going to be having the same conversations in june about the future of greece and the eurozone. what could be the best use of the intervening. ? -- the intervening period? >> you can say that if we are looking for something proper to do, we should look at the long term sustainable plan for greece, but it can have a long-term plan. that is why the agreement is so

important. >> what is going to be within the short-term plan? what is going to be accepted -- what is doable? >> the list that was leaked last night shows a focus on corruption avoidance on smuggling. some labor market reform, in collaboration with the ilo. these are measures that i can imagine certain media and politicians in germany and elsewhere -- i can imagine them saying that this looks resourceful. >> where i come from, they smuggle cigarettes and avoid taxes -- those things don't structurally change country, they just don't. they don't change attack system do they?

-- change a tax system, do they? >> in the short-term they can provide some book savings. it just so happens that tax evasion is an area where the european institution did quite well. but the fact that they can still put this in the program and have a vague credibility shows you how far they want to go. that shows you have are there is still to go. >> there will be discussions -- a conference call later from the finance ministers -- i was struck by the comments by the eurogroup. he famously walked out of that very early meeting with the new greek government that he was saying i am very confident, the greeks are working hard -- was that just for the cameras? or are things more cooperative than they were? >> i think they probably are.

i think the first meeting was slightly unfortunate. various circumstances that didn't quite work. what we're seeing now is that business had to be cut down. i do think there is a slightly more corporate environment out there. it helps that as we came in they were coming in from one side rather than just saying no. >> it is clear that greece has stepped back more than its creditors had, we have heard a few times in the last few days various greeks talk about the red line. it seems as if some red lines are being crossed. is unity going to hide within the party? >> there is lots of talk of humiliation and emotive words like that coming out in response

to the fact that they were doing fraud. but i don't think it is going to threaten the unity. they are actually quite loosen foundation. there, a broad spectrum of opinions and we have always thought a splintering of the group is probably the most likely threat to government stability rather than anything happening in europe. on a slightly longer burn, that is definitely an issue. i think they will make the four months. but in a slightly longer term than that, it is a threat to its internal stability. >> thank you very much for joining us. >> you can follow us on twitter.

and is favorite quote of the day came from erik schatzker. >> in his decision day in turkey. the central bank faces increasing pressure to cut rates. ♪

>> the deal comes as google takes on apple in the mobile payment sectors. facebook's revised policies violate european law according to a reports commissioned by the belgian and data protection authorities. its practice of combining data from several services, including whatsapp, has not met the requirements for consent. viacom will cut staff across the company as it deals with shrinking audiences and advertising sales. viacom is still determining the size of those cuts. >> prospect aren't improving in this currency war.

the short-term payoff might be a boost and experts, but according to mark gilbert, there can be no real winners in the end. >> we have come out of an economic crisis and global economies have not recovered to the extent that you would have expected. we have got a lot of countries, all of whom have ailing economies and who see boosting exports as a panacea. we have got a currency war, and there is no two ways about it. you have the european central bank, which is trying to introduce easier monetary policies that produces a weakened euro. so they go to the swiss franc. suddenly you have the swiss franc strengthening. the swiss bank was doesn't want that to happen so they implement policies to weaken its currency. everyone desperately trying to -- and on it goes.

but you are effectively doing when you devalue europe currency is speeding exports. the most straightforward and direct way is you turn on your printing presses, print your currency, and sell it in the open market against some of the currency. you buy euros in dubai dollars. the second way is through interest rates. you are charging for the privilege of holding your currency. the nuclear option any currency war is called capital controls. what you do is you impose taxes and levies trying to move currency in and out of your country. if the us persist i think in the coming weeks you will start to see more and more talk about capital controls. it is kind of an admission of failure. if you are the citizen of a country weakening its currency

that overseas holiday -- that got a lot more expensive. citizens want to be in countries that seem strong and that have growth economies. it will certainly give everyone the impression that you were not such a great country. unfortunately, you have to trade in pairs. not everyone can be weaker than everyone else. the big victim in this is the u.s. the dollar has been strengthening massively and you are starting to hear squeals of pain from u.s. companies like microsoft, even apple, they have said listen, we are hurting. the strong dollar is crimping our earnings. the u.s. is carrying the burden of the economic recovery and this argument says that is not fair. the problem with wars that nobody wins in the end. you can have periods of the upper ends but the u.s. is the world's largest economy and at some point it is going to say enough is enough.

you would hope that other countries have got a better growth outlook, that they will be able to cope. it doesn't end well. i have seen it before and it always ends badly. >> we just have to work out who wins. fx is a zero-sum game. we will be looking at your favorite stories, coming up, including a californian embassy in washington. ♪

>> welcome back. stars flocked to one of the most anticipated catwalk shows at london fashion week. we caught up with the man of the moment christopher bailey. he spoke about burberry's work in tech and japan and what it means to be a british heritage brand. >> what we wanted to do -- this collection was to celebrate all things british, from our crafts to architecture to music and fashion. for me it is wonderful being british. we are surrounded by such strong, creative industries. from where i am sitting, we are in a great place.

>> for every has always spearheaded the social movement and yet now you have gone a step further. what is that like? >> it is really exciting. line has an amazing organization because they are very dynamic and flexible. it feels like when you are there, like the energy of a startup. that is really exciting because that is how we always try to keep every. -- try to keep burberry. the passion of something new. that idea of being serious. that is what it feels like working with line. we have done a couple different things and some of the teams are coming in tomorrow. >> i guess engagement is so much stronger because you message through the app. >> the thing about line is that it works on so many platform. it is a classic social media platform, but you can do your

taxing. you can arrange her life on l ine. the thing i love about line is they have these wonderful stickers and animations that are a big part of it. i quite like things that make you smile. that is what we tried to do at the end of the show, where we had 60 singers. it is ok to smile sometimes. sometimes we take things too seriously and it is ok to relax. >> it is ok to relax. a question on japan -- it is a big year for you guys. >> a huge year. it is the year we take japan fully in-house. we built an amazing team in tokyo. we just opened. we have got a great, physical stall opening agenda. we have also started working with people like line to make sure we have got all different

platforms ready, including great outdoors. >> this is the first time that the chinese lunar new year is the same time as london fashion week -- exciting or challenging? >> you can't do anything about these dates. the oscars were yesterday. some things are unmovable and the lunar new year is unmovable. it is fine -- you just learn to work around it. it is how i often talk about things, slow slow, quick quick -- i like things that move quick but some things need to be slower. for me, that is what makes it exciting to be in business. >> christopher bailey. there is another player in town about to injure the currency war -- the decision day for the turkish central bank. could there be another rate cut? we are joined live from istanbul. good to see you.

a lot of political pressure on the central bank to act, isn't there? >> that's right. the speculation that the turkey central bank will lauren lauren cost. -- will lower foreign costs. they will reduce the one-week repo rate to 7.5%. over the past few weeks there is mounting pressure for potential banks to cut to spur growth. after inflation slowed to a 10 month low in december but the cut failed to satisfy the president and the government and the central bank remained under fire. he repeatedly criticized the policy, going as far as to say that the central banks will drive a person insane. the economy minister didn't hold

back yesterday, saying current interest rates are not acceptable in should be cut. earlier this month, this fight pressure from the government they held an emergency meeting to cut interest rates after figures showed less than a one percentage point anticipated. >> tell me this -- when you look at the currency moves, it is fairly volatile. the ruble was on the move. russia -- where are we with the turkish lira? >> investors are concerned that politicians are having too much influence on monetary policy, and the central bank's independence is being compromised. it is driving record lows, as low as 2.50 against the dollar.

right now it is around 2.47. the lira has weekend this year. we will be watching the lira really closely when the rate decision is announced at new london time. the testing time for the lira. >> let's see what those rate decisions bring us and how the currency reacts. >> "countdown" continues in the next hour. at 7:00, we will bring you the numbers. a little moment to tell you about our bloomberg digital pics. the oscar tv audience shrinks. >> people are putting it down to the fact that it was smaller films. >> rather than blockbusters. >> when it is felt that a lot of people have seen -- the

director of "birdman" grossed $98 million. you are not a household name. when any of the categories are a foregone conclusion, we knew what was going to win. it was a foregone conclusion, in the audience went down by 16%. >> california should have an embassy in washington. that was the law put forward by a democrat saying we should have an area in washington to bring together tourist and businesses. florida has had an officer. >> we will take a break, and when we come back we will bring you the numbers from persimmon and aer lingus.

stay with us. you are watching "countdown." ♪ . .

>> the verdict on greece. greek officials wait for their creditors' signoffs in order to secure a loan extension. >> yellen faces pressure from both sides of the political spectrum ahead of her semiannual testimony for congress. >> reporting now, persimmon. we will speak to the ceo to get a gauge of the british housing market. let's also reporting now, aer lingus. they release earnings amid a proposed takeover by iag. ♪

>> also coming up on "countdown " an exclusive interview with the ceo and chief creative officer of burberry. christopher bailey spoke to bloomberg at london fashion week on trends, tech and what it means to be a british heritage brand. you do not want to miss that. >> good morning. breaking news from aer lingus. it is reporting full-year earnings. >> it should be. we are just waiting for those. at the center of a takeover battle, of course. iag has been going after aer lingus for some time now. will he washed, the ceo -- willy walsh has been after this business for quite a while. he appeared before the irish lawmakers to try to make them feel more comfortable about what is being offered. we are getting those numbers coming from aer lingus. four-year pretax loss of 115.5 million euros. the profit of 39.6 million. the operating profit has come in

at 72 million euros. that is up year on year. the revenue picture is also moving in the right direction, 1.50 6 billion euros -- 1.56 billion euros. they say the takeover would de-risk the company's future very supportive of the takeover. the soon-to-be ceo of aer lingus has recently expressed his support for the deal to a lot of work still needs to be done behind the scenes to convince the government. they own around 25% of this business. that seems to be the task ahead. at the moment, aer lingus management giving positive thoughts on it, saying that the bid has compelling strategic rationale and would de-risk the company's future.

>> persimmon numbers breaking. sales are up. margins are up. house completions are up. what are the details? >> we are getting underlying profit up 14%. clearly when you are getting not only house prices on the rise, but also demand they sold 17% more houses last year. that is going to be very good for profitability. >> to be able to sustain that, though, that is what you were saying earlier. >> off to a good start in 2015. forward sales are up 5%. they do talk about uncertainty creeping in because of the general election. despite some uncertainty the ongoing gradual improvements for the u.k. economy and increasing mortgage lenders have provided a supportive backdrop for the homes market. they still feel that the market is looking pretty strong overall. they are still continuing to up the number of new builds.

they have increased the amounts of houses they have provided two years by 36%. they say they have delivered a strong and well-balanced performance. getting to the nitty-gritty of the chief executive, what support are the mortgage lenders providing now? the bank of england is trying to calm the euphoria we saw back in 2013. we saw house prices jump and a lot of people trying to make the most of these record-low interest rates. perhaps they were spending too much compared to the amount they were earning. overall, we saw the financial conduct authority -- november many saw a sharp chill in the housing market. overall, we are seeing persimmon with some very strong numbers. >> what better voice to discuss

all of this? thanks for breaking it down for us. let's get you straight out to mark. you have the man of the hour, the ceo. >> we are joined by persimmon chief executive in his first interview of the morning. mr. fairburn, good morning, sir. underlying profit up 44%. sales of 23%. it did not go unnoticed that your shares finished at a record high yesterday. is the only way down from here? >> we are really pleased, as we heard on the interest we are seeing this year so far. sales are up 5%. that initial sort of caution about the run-up to the election has so far proven not to be the case and we are seeing sales improve on a week by week basis. i think we are very positive. >> yet the market did cool at this second half of the year. would you say, looking at data since the end of 2014, that the

housing market is now stabilized? >> i think we have returned to a more seasonal -- we are seeing the underlying demand moving forward. traditionally you would see a seasonality. at the moment, we are in a strong spring selling season. naturally, we will see a slight slowdown and a pickup later on in the year. at the present time, given those conditions, the mortgage market is very supportive. there are very good products available for people buying new homes. good interest rates. affordability is a key thing. people finding the ability to buy new homes. while that is the case, i think we will see the underlying demand continue. >> you say the emerging -- the mortgage markets support it. it is difficult despite all these wonderful offers that we are seeing every day across the media. the ability to actually obtain a

mortgage still is not easy. part of that has to go to the bank of england, which has made the process more difficult. is it too difficult to get a mortgage today if you are one of these first-time buyers? >> we find that the criteria that people have got to conform to our very sensible -- are very sensible. we refer our purchases through a broker. 80% of the people that we refer actually qualify for a new home mortgage. i think the prospects are very good for people. at the moment, good affordability good money in the pocket with the price of fuel and groceries slightly lower. i think people feel that they can actually make that step and buy a house. >> you said the traditional caution that happens before an election has not materialized yet. the buyers are feeling fairly

optimistic. how are you feeling about the election and depending on the outcome of the election if we get a hung parliament, a minority government, will the housing market slow or even decline? >> with the underlying demand in the marketplace, i think we will see new homes continue. clearly, all the parties are very supportive of new homes. the planning system is improving. i think the prospects are good for the housing industry. we expect to see the same good progress continue through any change in government as we move through to the second half of the year. >> what would you like to see implemented, jeff? if you had the ear of all the leaders and they said to you mr. fairburn whatever you ask for, we will implement what would you ask for? what does the housing market need right now? >> one of the key things is to ensure that the house builders

can get on to new sites. the planning has been improved but it is quite time-consuming. we have had quite a lot of sites held up in the process. some improvement in that would release more developments, which would increase the ability for people to buy around the country in the area they want to live. >> we have had the reformation of the staff duty. that is benefiting many on the housing side. do we need a further tinkering of taxes? liberal democrats are proposing this mansion tax. what do you think of that proposition? >> i think it will undoubtedly have an effect at the upper end of the market. i think the main volume of transactions are at the lower end of the market. our average was about 190,000. i think that is really where the

volume will be seen. >> very quickly, there is talk the bank of england could raise interest rates this year. if the central bank was going to raise interest rates, can the market can the housing market withstand that? >> we have seen some very disciplined processes in the lending market. people stress testing up to a further 3% in terms of the interest rate and their ability to pay. it would have to increase greatly before someone would be affected by an increase in interest rates, which we would presume would be a gradual increase over time. in the short-term, prospects are still good. you can get mortgages and it will help to buy at 2%. affordability is very strong. >> good to chat with you. thanks for joining us here on

bloomberg today. shares finished at a record high yesterday. >> thank you. let us tell you what is happening in the russian market right now. a new things on the move that you might want to be aware of it -- aware of. the micex falling 1.5% straight out of the gate. the russian ruble continuing to weaken against the euro. that is part of the story. some of the individual companies on the move it looks quite broad. the banking sector coming under pressure. vtb bank a little bit weaker. gazprom shares also weakened. some weakness coming through. ratings news on russia. >> they were downgraded on friday. what we're seeing this morning there is a note out of the marty saying that because of this moody's move two ratings

agencies have russia rated as junk. that forces indices to go, can i hold this stock and these bonds? they may be forced to liquidate. index funds may need to sell. $3.4 billion worth of holdings. david cameron also warning that russia will face further economic sanctions if ukraine rebels push for more territorial gains. they said a truce was the path to civility. warnings from david cameron. you also saw russians arrive in paris today. more talks on that. >> still a top concern from an investment perspective. >> we are still below the closing record at the end of january. the intraday record was when russia boosted the dollar

against the ruble to almost 80. we are at 63. as the bar chart said yesterday many forecasting the ruble to continue its decline despite this recent surge. >> let's talk about one of the other recent preoccupations for investors and that is greece. international institutions and the euro -- if the draft is approved, greece will secure a four-month funding extension that will save it from its solvency. >> the draft must first be accepted by the imf, the ecb, and the european commission before being formally recognized in the eurogroup. the package would then be put to national parliaments for formal consent. >> will the draft be that far? will the draft be enough to satisfy greece's european partners? erik schatzker and hans nichols joined us. good morning.

what do we know about the details of these reforms? >> we do not know a great deal because the final reform proposal has not been submitted. we know there was a draft proposal exchanged at some point yesterday and the greek government is in discussions, or at least it was late last night, in negotiations for the troika, the imf, the ecb, and the european commission. proposal was supposed to be put forth this morning. all we know, it may be there. the guidance we are getting from the government raises some questions and possibly some doubts about the approach that the government is taking to meeting its budgetary requirements under the bailout agreement. i say questions or doubts because it is all built on hope. hope, for example, that by cracking down on tax evasion smuggling corruption the greek

government is going to be able to generate additional tax revenue. hope, for example, that by passing some kind of legislation that helps banks manage their nonperforming loans, that those banks will start lending again. hope that by banning foreclosure on primary residences, the greek consumer economy will become more resilient. as you know very well, investment managers like to say that hope is not an investment strategy. it is also something that solid budgets are not built on. the only thing governments truly can control is how much they spend. revenue is, at best, a guessing game. everything we have heard so far from the government as far as what is going to be in this proposal is all about generating revenue and promoting growth. growth does not happen overnight. on the other hand, spending can be cut immediately. this government is committed not to make further spending cuts.

that leaves them in something of a quandary. back to you. >> why is it taking so long to agree on these reforms? >> well mark quite simply, the government made many promises to the greek people leading up to the election. those promises involved so-called red lines, lines they would not cross. that includes, for example, cutting public sector payrolls further, cutting public sector pensions further. the government committed to rehiring workers. all of these promises are very difficult to keep at a time when the greek government has to hit more aggressive budgetary targets. we know from friday's meeting with the eurogroup finance ministers that they are prepared to be a little more flexible when it comes to the so-called primary surplus the surplus that this government has to achieve before interest payments are made. so there is some wiggle room for

2015. possibly even additional wiggle room for 2016. we do not yet know how much. at the moment, it does not appear that this government wants to put numbers into this document. that present a problem. one would have to assume that there are finance ministers in the eurogroup who want to see firm commitments, not loose language about a humanitarian crisis and the need for greece to promote growth. that is really the situation here. >> we will see you later. thank you, for the moment. that's get to berlin. hans nichols, what has been the reaction in the european capitals? >> well, we have two reactions. it seems as though most parliaments are saying this would just be a rubberstamp. if there is a document -- we still do not have a document -- if there is a document, then the parliaments will pass them. in finland, they just might do a

25-member executive committee. the dutch and the netherlands might not actually have a vote. here in the netherlands, we got some reaction from a number of angela merkel's party. he says that the german government will reject the greek proposal. this is just preliminary information. it is unclear whether or not he has seen the entire package. we do not know whether the package has been sent. the deadline was midnight last night. the goal was to send it sometime this morning. we have conflicting reports. if mr. shovel -- schauble does approve the package, it looks like it will sail through parliament. that is not a sure thing. one other note on this. the eurogroup president was coordinating a lot of this back and forth, the finance minister from the netherlands. he expressed confidence this afternoon, saying they would get a deal. he said they are on the right track. the delay is not so much troubling as it is puzzling. everyone is trying to figure out

what is actually going on. are there real, serious negotiations taking place? or are they still a long ways away? the timeline still has not changed. it still runs out, this program at the end of the week and you still need to give time to the parliaments to review this and potentially approve it. >> thank you very much. hans nichols in berlin. >> you can join in the conversation on twitter. do you want to talk to us about the housing market in the u.k. or what is happening in greece? find us on twitter. >> there you go. coming up we are going to talk london fashion week, social media, and burberry expansion plans in an exclusive interview with the chief executive, christopher bailey. ♪

>> time for our top stories on bloomberg. federal reserve chair janet yellen heads to capitol hill for her semiannual testimony on the u.s. economy. monetary policy and the global outlook. the fed is facing pressure from both sides as lawmakers demand more transparency and accountability. u.k. prime minister david cameron is calling for further sanctions against russia if fighting continues in ukraine. the government in kiev accused

rebels of shelling its forces despite the truce signed by both sides just over a week ago. they say russia's pain should only increase should the separatists push on. >> russia must be at no doubt that any attempts by the separatists to expand their territory will be met with further significant eu and u.s. sanctions. russia must change course now or that economic pain it indoors will only increase. -- it endures will only increase. >> vladimir putin says he sees no need for emergency diplomatic measures in ukraine. the world's biggest miner reported better-than-expected first-half earnings. bhp billiton boosted its dividend by 5% and announced plans to cut funding -- plunging spending. the ceo says he sees iron ore prices staying lower. >> chinese demand for iron ore was flat over the period.

increased imports displace high cost domestic chinese supply. over the medium-term as new seaborne supply continues to see demand, we expect iron or prices to remain subdued. >> people flocked to one of the anticipated catwalk shows in london fashion week. we caught up with christopher bailey. he spoke to bloomberg about burberry's work in technology and japan and what it means to be a british heritage brand. >> this collection wanted to celebrate all things british. crafts to architecture to music and fashion. we are surrounded by such strong , creative industries that, from

where i am sitting, we are in a great place. >> burberry has always spearheaded the social movement. you have gone a step further to start more engagement in japan. what is that like? >> it is really exciting. you have met some of the team here. we have an amazing organization. they are very dynamic and very flexible. when you are with their team in tokyo, it feels like the energy of a startup. that is exciting for us because that is how we always try to keep burberry. we try to keep that energy, something new, the passion of something new. the idea of being curious. that is what it feels like. we have done a couple of different things. some of the team are coming in to talk to our team. they are an amazing bunch of people. >> engagement is so much stronger. you message through the app. >> absolutely.

it works on so many different platforms. it is a classic social media platform. you can do your taxi -- you can basically arrange your life online. the thing that i love about line is they have these wonderful stickers and animation is a big part of that. i like things that make you smile. at the end of the show we had 60 singers and dancing. it is ok to smile sometimes. sometimes we take things a bit too seriously. it is ok to relax. >> it is ok to relax and smile. a question on japan -- it is a big year for you guys. >> a huge year. it is a year that we take japan fully in-house. we have built an amazing team in tokyo. we have started -- we have shinjuku coming up we have great physical stores opening.

we have started working with people like line to start making sure that we have all different platforms ready. >> finally, the first time that the chinese lunar new year is the same time as london fashion week. exciting or a challenge? >> you cannot do anything about these dates. the oscars were yesterday. some things are unmovable. lunar new year is unmovable. it is fine. you just learn to work around them. it is how i often talk about things slow, slow, quick quick. i like things that move quick. some things need to be slower and more thoughtful. to me, that is what makes it exciting to be in business today. >> growth prospects are improving. an unspoken currency war has broken out. according to bloomberg's mark gilbert, there can be no real

winners in the end. >> we have come out of an economic crisis and global economies have not recovered to the extent that you would have expected. we have a lot of countries with ailing economies and seeing a weaker currency as a panacea, almost. we have a currency war and there are no two ways about that. you have the european central bank which is trying to introduce easier monetary policy. that produces a weaker euro. people do not want to be in the euro, so where do they go? they go into the swiss franc. the swiss central bank does not want that to happen. so if then implements policies to try to weaken its currency. it has cut its interest rates to negative. next in the crossfire is the danish krone. on it goes. there is a race to the bottom. what you are doing when you

devalue your currency is you are stealing is -- stealing exports. the most direct way is you turn on your printing presses and print your own currency and sell it in the open market against some other currency. you buy euros or dollars. the second way is through interest rates. if you make your interest rate negative, you are charging for the privilege of holding your currency. the nuclear option in any currency war is simply called capital controls. the way you do it is impose taxes and levies on people trying to move currency in and out of your country. if these currency wars persist, i do think that, in the coming weeks and months, you will start to see more and more talk about capital controls. it is kind of an admission of failure. if you are a citizen of a country that is weakening its currency, that holiday you were going to take just got a lot more expensive.

they want to be in countries that seem strong and talk big. if your country is weakening, it is giving the impression that you are not such a great country. the big victim in this is the u.s. the dollar has been strngening in the past year and you're starting to hear squeals of pain from u.s. companies like microsoft and apple. they have said we are hurting because of this. the strong dollar is crimping our earnings. we don't like it. there is a strong argument that says that is not fair. the problem with war is nobody wins in the end. you can have periods of the upper hand descending. at some point i think it is going to say enough is enough and it is going to start to try to talk down the dollar an you would hope that other countries have a better growth outlook

that they will be able to cope with that reversal when it comes. it doesn't end well. this movie when i have seen it before always ends badly. >> it always ends badly. what a great take on the currency wars. you are watching "countdown." 7:30 in london time. no toy soldiers here. real soldiers if you think about it. the ruble is strengthening this morning. if you want ironic moments in foreign exchange markets, this is one. ukraine, more shelling. attacks have continued overnight. the ruble actually strength engines the morning. there is a dip. keep an eye on dollar/ruble. nowhere near the record low that we saw earlier in the year. that is to give you to ruble

context. keep an eye on the dollar. it can end badly. what is the fed going to do? i wouldn't want to eliminate the possibility of a rate hike in june. let's see what janet yellen has to say. the consensus is she is not going to say anything prophetic. there is unlikely to be a departure from the tone she has already delivered. >> thank you. the top stories on bloomberg this hour. stretched. that's how goldman sachs is describing the price of u.s. shares. the fed used the term to describe evaluations of technology and social media stocks. goldman said it is rare in the

current environment. the u.s. department of justice is to probe 10 banks for possible metal market rigging in london according to the "wall street journal." they have opened a similar investigation to scrutinize the process for gold, silver, platinum. it includes hsbc, goldman sachs. calls to break up europe's largest bank after saying profitability will be loor. parts of the investment bank and some national divisions may face extreme solutions. you can find more on that story at bloomberg.com. >> u.k. stocks have finally recovered from the tech bubble in the late 1990's.

the ftse 100 reached record highs since no. -- november. the ftse didn't close at a high. the small cap is 1.87%. the ftse share 74%. the low since the 2000 record. you wouldn't be surprised to hear me say, there is recovery potential in some of the smallest stocks. if you look at the underlying evaluations in p/e terms, perhaps on mining resort stocks, banks, you got p/e based evaluation. we think there is a potential for a bottom in the market.

>> potential for disparity? >> i have written a book that says that the amp market will be the best in the coming years. >> talking about u.s. equities. using the word stretched. what is there in your world that you see stretched evaluation-wise? are there things you're worried about? are things looking stretched? >> the income stocks, the good regular income stocks have been driven higher. it can drive those evaluations higher. a lot of those things are priced to perfection. >> going to the notes here this morning. you have bought protection. you pushed it further out. from june of this year to june

of next year. you had about 30% of your exposure. >> it is not that i know anything. >> a lot of people are saying you're using hedging as an expensive commodity. >> when we have had a good money from the market, volatile city low, you can buy protection at a low price. it is like buying house insurance at a low price. you don't want your house to burn down but if it does it is nice to have something in there. >> you talked about price to perfection. it is at a record high. >> share price is over -- it has moved on a bit. they are paying out a lot of dividends. a lot of companies have started playing dividends. they have sold a lot more houses. >> how is the earnings season

going for you? you focus on some of the smaller capital companies and the dividends they are paying out. >> it is not that small. people who don't have credit histories, getting in the banking system they are beginning to make some growth. they made an acquisition recently. it is a pretty fast moving group. i'm pleased with figures today. >> there is a lot of regulation issues around some of these utilities. what is the appeal there. >> what is interesting is -- it moves its dividend in line with its earnings. fair enough. they have been having quite a -- time with the regulator side of

things. they are physical. it is not far off the current share price. there are few stocks of that scale that have asset backing. >> that is holy grail to you. >> absolutely. >> warren buffett -- >> you have a -- cash and the cash generation going forward. it is essential. cap ex. it is good to get cap exinto productive returns. >> mining and oil companies are cutting. you're not exposed at all to mining or oil companies, but you -- if you were exposed within the last month or two you would have had a nice 15% rise. why aren't you? there is one copper producer you're exposed to.

just one, that is it. >> a company that takes a margin from a royalty margin from some of the larger coal mines in australia. their share price is very low. they have taken on another mine. yielding 10. this is fantastic stuff. there are opportunities of that in the market. >> thank you very much. 3 >> join us on -- >> join all of us. >> i'm at anna edwards news. >> i'm at mark barton tv. >> manus at manus cranny. >> has gold fever faded? stay tuned for that.

>> has gold fever faded? from november 5 last year, 2013-2015, from november 5 last year through january 22 thnd year there was a steady progression. since that day, gold has fallen back and dropped almost 8%. it has fallen for four consecutive weeks.

this comes after the precious metal slipped by 1.7% in 2014 dropping for a second year for the first time since 2000 in 2013 by the way it fell 28%. the biggest slump since 1980. gold has been falling as greece battles with its creditors. we have the strengthening dollar. this month's losses in exchange traded products backed by gold reached almost $4 billion. the position on gold tumbled 18% in february. that is the third straight drop and the longest since november. even the billionaire hedge fund manager john paulson kept his stake in the world's biggest e.t.p. unchanged for a sixth

straight quarter as of the end of 2014. what are analysts saying? they don't see big moves in the price of gold this year. the median price forecast for gold at the end of 2013 is 1,231 dollars. roughly $30 ahead of today's price. a forecast of $1,500 followed by lbbw. socgen is the most bearish. b.n.p. paribas has a forecast of $960. what is it about french banks being bearish on the price of gold? >> these are the top stories on

bloomberg at this hour. a deal comes as the company takes on apple in the mobile payment sector. their soft card service will be introduced later this year. facebook revised policies that violate europe quan law according to a report -- european law. it highlighted the practice of combining data from several services to build an in depth profile, has not made new requirements for legally binding consent. viacom deals with shrinking audiences and advertising sales. viacom is still determining the ice is of those cuts. -- is stitt determining the size of those cuts. >> profits rise as the group

that owns british air ways i.a.g. is still trying to put together its bid. for the carrier. let's talk about the earnings. where do things stand? >> it was definitely up 18%. very strong compared to last year. 72 million euros doo to the transatlantic push they have done. a 16% increase. that was two years ago. then 25% increase in capacity. this coming year it is going to be a 13% increase in capacity. they are defending their position on short haul and have done a bit of contract flying. >> let's cut to the chase. what is happening with this i.a.g. bid?

>> it was interesting to hear the outgoing c.e.o. he backed the bid. the incoming c.e.o. said it is a fast track for aeroling us growth. -- aer ling us growth. billy walsh has been on a charm offensive. >> did you use the word willie walsh and charm? >> a certain irish charm. don't most irish people have a bit of charm? >> not if they are from the north. >> it is going to take more than charm to work with the unions. he is trying make the point. the decision about slashing jobs, they are not going to come in -- it is a very different situation than it was with iberia for example.

this is about growing. aer lingus is a fairly lean airline. they want to use it as the third runway for london since heathrow can't grow. he has also been making a few offerings when he was speaking to the irish lawmakers talking about protecting routes to various areas. >> he is going to let those chambers of commerce have a voice. he is going offer them protection for five years which is more twhan the current company offers. >> the government has at this point. think in airline terms. five years is -- >> an eternity. >> a long time in the airline business. he is saying he is guaranteeing

those routes and they will stay. he is saying he would never sell them. aer lingus will retain its brand. he is offering guarantees that the government doesn't have a it this point. >> thank you very much. >> 7:48. equities are set to open like this. we have a close above 6930 to i7b. stay with us. ♪

>> welcome back to "countdown." it is 7:52 in london. let's talk about the trading day ahead. caroline hyde is here. let's talk about a story gathering momentum. it is around rigging. what is it? >> add one to add to the collection. it is metals. hsbc made clear the justice department in the united states and commodities regulators are looking into documents. they want to see about precious metals trading. these are things they feel could have been manipulated and rigged as well.

the u.s. justice department is in the early stages of investigating the biggest banks. you have jpmorgan chase. u.b.s. goldman sachs. not bank of america but standard bank instead. all the big names. they are going to be digging into what has been going on here. perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise this investigation. swiss regulators have been looking into it. since november they said they found serious misconduct to what u.b.s. has been doing in precious metal trading. barclays was fined after a trader was thought to be influencing the gold fixing price. when you look at the way these used to be fixed, you would be on the phone. have these guys on the phone perhaps it might be the likes of

hsbc, standard bank. they had a chat. what is the demand? what is the supply like? now platinum and palladium are already changed. a new electronic procedure. you can view it online. we have already seen -- ditch the century-old way of fixing their prices. >> we talked -- shares are a record. >> that concern we might have had about the election hasn't -- >> materialized. >> they said despite some uncertainty. there was some due to the general election. the profit up 44% last year. as you say stellar numbers. they are looking to the ongoing

improvement in the u.k. economy. that is what is boosting the an site. the increasing mortgage lender support. we know banks are willing and wanting to lend, but it is whether they can or not. we are having to go the banks and prove that we can afford it. we have to show that we're not going to borrow -- >> the brokers that are buying their houses. >> the new homes. >> could be the difference. >> london is where it has been hurt the most. this is where the afortability comes. >> caroline thank you very much. >> caroline is at caroline hyde tv. i'm at mark barton tv. anna edwards is at anna edwards news. and manus cranny. there is nothing after that.

we're going to be live in athens and berlin. they are going to talk all things greek. jonathan ferro is at the helm. futures opening a little bit high. ♪

>> good morning. welcome to "on the move." let's get straight to your morning brief. set to go before eurozone finance ministers. the eurozone will determine whether the measures go far enough. janet yellen testifies on monetary policy. mark carney faces the treasury select committee. how close are we to the first rate hike? and fragile truce. we hear renewed threats of

economic sanctions. three of the things we're watch this morning. i'm looking at futures markets. dax futures up 1/10 of 1%. >> it is also on draghi and yellen and carney. equities are indicated to carry through from their seven-year high. economic surprises in europe according to citigroup are at the highest level since 2013. the number of economic surprises, doing better than the market is at a 2 1/2-year high. flip that coin. europe at a 2 1/2-year high. economic surprises in the united states of america,