>> surprise rate cuts in india. the latest central bank to ease this year. stocks declined to a record -- we're live in mumbai. >> banks under pressure. earnings do just a week after its top-level shakeup. a fresh probe into the foreign exchange trading. rbs reportedly cutting 14,000 investment bank jobs. >> china's biggest political event of the year kicks off -- we are live in beijing as lawmakers gather. >> iran and western officials look to strike a nuclear accord and israel warns it would pave the way to a bomb. we are live in tel aviv and to

ehran. >> welcome to "countdown." coming up, we are going to bring you a look at the geneva show. we will speak with sergio marchionne. despite slow growth in the european market, prospect of the future are promising. >> it is nothing spectacular, but it is consistent. it is not a fly-by-night. it is not a flimsy recovery. it is a decent base on which to build the future. that economic reforms being carried out by the european governments go through, and if european union's see their way

to learn how to manage themselves, i think the prospects are good. >> india' bank just cut interest rates in an unscheduled move for the second time this year. the governor says weakness in asia goss third-largest economy has given the bank room to ease. he cut it by a quarter point. for more, let's get to anna pre-and i year -- anna. this is the second time the governor has acted around this global theme of policy easing. bring us up to speed. >> it is the second out of policy cuts we have seen. he likes to keep everyone on. this comes right on the heels of the big union budget of the first prime minister modi.

it now puts us on a trajectory of using at about 7.5% -- that is the benchmark rate at the central bank. the big question is where banks cut rates. india is poised to grow 8.5% for the current year. corporate india has been very skeptical and has been complaining that it remains very high. this comes as a surprise and every economist that bloomberg has surveyed said they do not expect a mid-march cut. one thing that will ease the nerves of empires is the fact that the r.b.i. in the government are finally singing the same tune. the chief economic advisor to the government and the finance minister have reiterated that they are on the same page when it comes to the economy outlook.

they're expecting more rate cuts, but the big question remains as the inevitable fed rate hike, as inflation targeting that has been brought on. back to you. >> this has pushed over 30,000 for the first time. is this being well received? >> well there is applause all across the market -- the record high of 30,000 the benchmark is the record high. on opening, the banks have rallied, and there has been poured an unprecedented amount into india over the last few years. keep a close eye on the money and how long it is here to stay. >> hq. -- thank you.

>> we are focusing on banks today starting on standard charters. it has been a tough year. the results will mark a final bow for the outgoing chief executive, who is leaving standard chartered. for more, let's bring in john dawson in hong kong. good morning. what are we expecting? >> we have about two hours and we are looking -- analysts are looking for estimates to miss earnings. that is the sort of forecast, the average of those we've polled. charges going -- chartered's going up capital requirements

are very important and provisions for legal costs and fines. analysts say this will be another challenging cause for standard chartered. it was down 20% since october and the earnings are set to come out below estimates. it is a question of how they are going to turn it around and how big these legal costs will be. >> this comes days after a change in leadership at standard chartered. how important is that? >> it is pretty important. clearly the new member needs time to settle in to his role and change things around. of course, peter sands leads in june. -- leaves into. he has recently gone off track and it will take the newest ceo

a few months to settle in. the major issue is investors in the company. we need to give him time to earn his buildings. he is regarded by many as the top man for the job. many see the share price going up. >> thanks a lot. john dawson there. >> the u.s. justice department is taking a look at barclays. the so-called last look. prosecutors have asked barclays for information on the electronic trading platform which allows traders to take a last look at the order before executing. the interest in the last look practice has grown out of a

broader investigation into the manipulation of benchmarks. there could be big job cuts on the way and rbs. the financial times is reporting they will eliminate as many as 14,000 jobs at its investment bank. that is the most people in the banking arm. a large proportion of the cuts would calm in the u.s. and asia. rbs has declined to comment on the story to bloomberg. >> let's get more on another top story -- china's biggest political event kicks off today as lawmakers gather. we are joined by rosalind chain. -- chin. what are we expecting? >> there has been a lot of speculation about what might come out. reform was a big focus last year and the question this year is how to assure reforms while also

dealing with a struggling economy. reform will drag on growth in the short-term. benchmark interest rates were a few days ago for the second time in three months which signals how concerned they are about the economy. traditionally, the premier will announce a series of economic target, including the gdp growth target. it is expected that they will announce a target of about 7% which is lower than last year. another key issue is pollution, a big concern. there was a documentary a few days ago about the pollution problem and it had more than 100 million views on social media. there is a new environment minister who will be watching to see. this morning we heard on the spokesperson in a preview press conference. she said that china will boost

military spending by 10% this year. that is less than last year by a little bit but it will be the fifth year of double-digit increases in military spending. >> what about the crackdown on corruption? that has taken out quite a few key figures. >> it has been a big focus for the president, but of late it does seem to have moved from people in government to military and business figures. they could make some business delegates a little bit nervous. the president has said before that widespread corruption threatens the legitimacy of the communist party. the military is undergoing a little overhaul. 14 officials in the military are being investigated for a disciplinary or legal violation, and inspections have begun in some of china's biggest

enterprises including companies like china mobile. more than 70 executives were rooted out at low level inspections and officials will be looking at law violations and taking bribes. >> thank you. >> the top story from bloomberg -- no cozying up to wall street is the message from the federal reserve chair. she says the fed is trying to avoid being too cozy with the firm that supervises. in a speech she said they are working very hard to prevent the risk of regulatory capture. alibaba shares have fallen to their lowest since their debut. they reported better-than-expected earnings. the company is working to stay in taiwan after being told to leave over alleged investment

violations. china has crackdown on corruption and it seems to be having an effect in macau. the gaming revenue in the biggest gambling center fell. there is an anti-graft campaign. china's elite are spending so much on ferraris. they have told bloomberg that the chinese market is flat. other markets in europe and the u.s. are more promising in the short-term. >> we have a totally different experience in the u.s. -- the u.k. as well. in asia, we are going back. australia, yes. what we can say is that the china performance is flat, but our idea there is that we have

to continue because it is a long run. we have a policy, a strategy that looks to the future. >> you can find more of ferrari and the other cars at the geneva motor show at bloomberg.com. >> you can join us all on twitter. >> what is your fact of the day? >> 30.4 million people visited japan. most on record is 2.4 million from china. >> it is one of the most visited countries. >> do some research mark. [laughter] >> still to come, record highs -- what does it mean for volatility? that question goes to our next guest. ♪

>> welcome back to "countdown." let's get into markets. the increased risk of volatility. another central bank the party -- india this time.

good news? it's another domino to fall isn't it? >> is number 20 -- it is number 20. it is incredible because i was looking at the press conference where she made her pronouncements -- everybody was asking her to defined what the word "couple" meant. can you imagine the u.s. doing something as dramatic as this? we have less tools in the toolbox to play with. overall, india seems to be going in the right direction -- we have the budget coming in on sunday, so this is good. they have been struggling in india, it is quite interesting to watch. >> is global easing trend -- how long does this continue? >> as long as needed, really.

central banks are going in the opposite direction -- the u.s. is doing this for the right reason. >> the oil prices -- do we see it for most of the year? >> there is something slightly different on that front -- the u.s. consumer is looking to spend his money, and the estimate about 25% of the money they have received is being spent. we think of the oil price stays where it's at, it could be a good kicker. that is an interesting trend. >> that you are forecasting a possible correction of increased volatility. we are at a multiyear record high all over the place. why more volatility? what sort of correction?

>> what the fed is going to do -- currency, we have gone three and a half years without a correction. you get one on average every 18 months. we spoke to individual investors at schwab. most people are underexposed to u.s. markets so this is a great opportunity to get some exposure. they could bode very well. this can be a great opportunity. >> you are quite optimistic on europe and a lot of people have been writing that we will go into tomorrow's meeting with a slightly more upbeat view on some of the numbers. qe is coming. >> they take their time, don't they? [laughter] >> does that mean you have got no choice if you want upside

exposure? you have to own europe? >> i think there are a lot of risks. with an economy that are is starting to improve -- even though greece only represents 2% of its own economy it is still a risk. globally, the u.s. is still an easier bat. -- bet. >> looking ahead to the ecb tomorrow, how long is a going to last? >> i'm really curious about the mechanisms -- how it is going to play out. even in this country, it is so much easier that they have one central bank. how long it lasts and how long it work do things we going to

have to watch. >> thank you very much for joining us. still to come iran and western officials look to strike a nuclear accord. we will go live to tel aviv and tehran. ♪

>> benjamin netanyahu stood before congress and declared iran a "threat to the entire world." he used the platform to highlight the risks of negotiating with iran on a nuclear deal. >> it doesn't block you run's path to the bomb -- it pays their path to the bomb. so why would anyone make this deal? because they hope that iran will change for the better in the coming years? or they believe that the alternative to this deal is worse? well, i disagree. >> republicans invited him without first consulting the white house. president obama did not attend. >> let's get the reaction across the middle east. let's get to you, david -- how

does the prime minister's speech received? >> it has certainly been a very controversial speech since it was announced. his political opponents from the central to the centerleft have used this speech to attack him as an irresponsible leader who will use anything to advance his political standing and to gain more votes. they are saying look, we don't necessarily disagree with the essence of your speech, but the timing is suspect. you are undermining one of our most important strategic relationships. the relationship with the united states is a huge asset for israel. they have seen billions of dollars in the past decade in foreign aid from the united states. they are saying netanyahu, this

is a dangerous speech. >> you are in toronto day -- in tehran today. four people watching closely? >> it was somewhat difficult today -- to gauge because they were not running the speech live. many iranians were watching by satellite channels, and some people i spoke to said that while they were hurt by the content of the speech, they found the words in the statements very strong. one person described it as hurtful and upsetting. by and large, what came across was that people are understanding the political context of the speech in terms of the israeli election and the impact it had in washington. people were able to contextualize.

i am large the reaction has been very negative. >> thank you. stay with us. ♪

>> you are watching "countdown." let's check in on the foreign exchange markets. as you can see, there is no really robust trend. the canadian dollar is a little bit lower. the yen is a bit higher. the r.b.i. reserve bank of india joins the fray again for the second time -- another little surprise, they like to do it. they cut rates for the second time this year.

7.5%, and the currency strengthens. we are just off those highs of the day -- what comes next capital economics say get ready for 6% rates as far as india is concerned. again really bolstering what is going on at a fiscal level from the modi government. the dollar is in focus here -- you can see we are up .6%. the fourth quarter gdp disappointed. what you have got here is a great deal of work done by the easing cycle, by the rba. it is essentially being undone here. indian currency on the move, and the euro -- we will have the

retail sales and services numbers from germany, spain, and italy. >> thank you. brady members -- breaking members from the maker of locked vehicles -- if you look at the q4 adjusted earnings, that number seems to be weaker than analysts estimated. it comes in at 6.2 million euros. if you look at the organic sales number, that looks well ahead of estimates. organic sales rising in the fourth quarter by 3.9%. if you look ahead to 2015 and what they are saying, things look as expected, the company taking into 2015 in terms of organic sales and expecting a growth of 3%-5%. a mixed bag.

the company has been hurt by what has been going on in russia, although in the third quarter their russian business performed ahead of estimates. also a great deal of focus on what's going on in the united states -- they said they want to grow their but they had previously seen some heavy discounting. they themselves described it as they were going to take action. it will be interesting to find out from the management just how much discounting is still going on and how the business in russia is performing. m&a is also a very important factor here. how close are they to spending their big cash pile? they spent more in 2014 men in the previous five years. the stock is not done badly -- it was 20 years in 2009 and now it is around 106 euros.

interesting to talk to the management of that company about all those things. stay with "countdown," because we will be discussing all of those factors. we will be joined a little bit later on to discuss all of those numbers. the top stories on bloomberg -- the u.k. independence party will pledge to introduce the point system for immigrant according to an e-mail. it would ban immigrants from claiming any benefits, while still allowing skilled workers into britain. hillary clinton used a personal e-mail account while serving as the secretary of state to conduct official business instead of using government account. the disclosure comes a week after revelations that she violated an agreement with the white house regarding foreign donations during her term. the u.s. supreme court is to begin hearing arguments on the legality of president obama's landmark health care program.

the latest challenge comes three years after it was passed. a decision would wipe out the tax credits that make insurance affordable for millions of americans. i will speak to the congress and benjamin netanyahu who challenged president obama over the his policy on iran. he says that it would ensure the country would develop nuclear weapons. president obama said there was "nothing new." >> the french nuclear reactor builder -- we already knew the company would unveil an net loss for 2014. it has been confirmed -- 4.8 3 billion euros. they said they would announce about 4.9 billion. the company is targeting positive operational cash flow

in 2017. it is targeting one billion euros of savings by 2i-17. -- 2017. it is going to present its financing plan before its half-year results -- we discovered in february that the french government is considering a capital injection, as well as financial and industrial tieups with both pdf and the nuclear research. the company has confirmed it will present its financing plan before the half year. like for like sales will fall as much as 5% in 2015. this is a company that has racked up losses in recent years after the fukushima nuclear accident. it has been declining in demand. let's bring in bloomberg intelligence, elgin malakoff.

what do these numbers mean? >> we already knew that it was a loss this year. it has been lossmaking since 2011 and according to consensus estimates, they are expecting another loss in 2015. the key focus will be on the company's strategy moving forward and how they are going to address challenges, which include delayed commissioning of its reactor. we have seen the delays in france, finland, china -- we will see how the company is going to address it going forward. the french government said it will have to facilitate between ivf and arriba. arriba has a big cash pile and

we have yet to see what and how it is going to -- >> how did we get here? this is obviously -- i am making the assumption that this is a lack of management, over cost, not managing projects properly -- does there need to be a change management? >> arena now has new management -- arriba now has new management. however, in terms of how did we get here -- it is a matter of several factors, one of which is this new type of reactor that is very expensive to build, requires new technology -- the hiccups will happen. going forward, what the company needs to focus on is on delivering small-scale reactors that are cheaper to build, easier to deliver.

>> what opportunities are there in the nuclear industry? this was a golden industry in france. france relies on 58 nuclear reactors powered by edf. what does the future hold? >> in france, the opportunities will be limited as the government plans to move away from nuclear. it plans to reduce its dependence on nuclear from 75% to 50% by 2025. we are unlikely to see many new reactors. europe as a whole, with the exception of the u.k. is not expecting to build new reactors. we may see emerging markets providing an opportunity for places like china, where they have two projects that are constantly being delayed. they hope they will be delivered

by the end of the year. emerging markets will be big opportunities. >> thank you for joining us. phil chen madoff joining us. >> join all three of us on twitter. >> we will take a short break here on "countdown." coming up, audience shares under the spotlight at britain's biggest commercial network, itv. those numbers are coming out and we will discuss what is ahead for the company. ♪

>> top stories on bloomberg said this hour -- bloomberg this hour. they will take a last look at the law before executing it according to a person briefed on the matter. the move comes as the u.s. justice department begins looking into a common practice in foreign exchange market forcing banks to bank out of unfavorable traits. rbs is cutting as many as 13,000 investment banking jobs as part of a previously announced we organization according to the financial times. it would amount to most of the

investment banking unit workforce. rbs declined to comment. the u.k. government is selling its stake in euro star. 585 million pounds. euros star will also redeem the government's preferred share, valued at 127 million pounds. the treasury says the price is "significantly ahead of expectation." >> looking at the broadcasting scene, what is the picture at britain's biggest commercial network? itv reports earnings at 7:00 u.k. time. audience share will be one of the key numbers. alex, thank you for joining us. what is most exciting for you to talk about?

is it the advertising environment, their audience share, or m&a? >> i would say m&a will be on everybody's mind. it is not that long ago liberty took a stake in itv. itv was flagged as a top quality strategic asset and they haven't had a very good start for the year. we need to know how the schedule will address that as we work our way -- >> worst ever january audience. stars in their eyes -- the new format didn't attract as many viewers as expected. after successes with "downton abbey," are they losing the winning touch? >> the start of the year is disappointing, and i suppose this could be a cause for concern.

i tend to take the view that these things even out, but that will be the focus of much of investor attention. at>> at the battle of the preview sheet -- the bottom of the preview sheet, icb studios at 31% and i almost fell off my seat. a business run, brought back from the depths, only 4% of its business online? what am i getting wrong? every person that comes across the store says mobile first, online is critical. 4% of the business is online. >> it needs to grow, that is a low number. people consume tv in a different way -- they consume it on demand. not in the way we did, so that number is low. the player has been a big success. >> life used to the itv player.

how to grow that business? they did a lot in terms of growing the shows they did from the production. how do you grow that business or is that what they think they will do? >> it is what they would like to do but they don't want to cannibalize their existing mass-market audience. that is how they justify the top advertising rates. it is the very heart of their current model. they need to go digital without cannibalizing advertisers. >> in a world where we see a lot of m&a taking place, and m&a applies to this itv conversation and whether they would be bought we are seeing tech companies, media companies -- the divide between them is blurring. where does itv fit? where would it be the best fit? >> it is a content play --

menace referenced the amount of studios growing. if itv was just a broadcaster it would be great but not that attractive. but because it is a broadcaster and a producer, it is doubly attractive. i am sure i will and in the arms of a big telco player. they will want to have access to that. >> do american businesses want this? there have been some u.s. forays into u.k. broadcasting. >> there have. there are lots going on behind the scenes. i suspect it is a shift that will grow for the future. meanwhile, let's not forget the management angle. that has been massively successful -- share prices fell but i doubt it will stay forever. >> is it a platform that we go

to to watch sports? it won't and advertising -- does sport matter to itv? >> i think it matters but they are finding it hard to buy the rights to exclusive content. they lost most of the footing they had, and we have recently seen inflation taking place in the premier league with the big numbers. yes, they would like sport, but how do they afford it? they have a program schedule to maintain. it is a balancing act. >> does the election matter? because it matters around the license fee and what it does to bbc funding models? >> it is massive -- it could open the door for them to become even more successful.

the bbc could be looking at a loss of resources. at the same time, the election in the short term could cause kerfuffles over uncertainty in advertising. they got off to a great start this year and things may trail off. >> for people watching "daybreak er?" >> take you for joining us. >> coming out, a look at our favorite stories. -- coming up, a look at our favorite stories. ♪

>> welcome back. the latest generation of smart watches have been unveiled. 2015 maybe the year when consumers embrace wearable tech. we take a look at some of the challengers. >> there is a lot of focus on the smart watch with many device makers keeping a firm i on the march 9-day -- march 9 date. can any of the device makers

here really compete? here it is -- it combines fashion and technology with the genuine leather strap. a nice, smooth interface. it uses the android operating system and it has a heart rate monitor on the back. this is lg's newly launched smart watch, with an antenna built into the strap, which means it can act as a phone if you have your smartphone. you can make payments with it. it has lots of apps and will launch in south korea in two months. we are still waiting for the european launch.

smart watches do take off in a big way and this wes have thrown their hands into the ring. this packs in a phone and a watch and it uses android operating system. very different. >> let's have a look at our top takes from bloomberg's digital output. i picked up on a story about oil. there is one place where $95 oil still exists. sec regulations dictate that oil companies, when they estimate how big the reserves are, they have to take an average of the price on the first day of each month when they are doing their estimates. for 2014 their estimate is $95.

it suggests that the fourth quarter of 2015 is when it really starts to bite. >> i have gone for uber in japan. uber has been told that they were sharing -- japan has 50,000 caps on available uband uber going it was a big play. they were told that they would have to withdraw -- basically, they feel that this violates some of the regulations. a bit of a smack. >> the great global monetary easing of 2015 may be done by midyear. we had australia not cut this week. india did cut.

china was the 17th central bank to cut rates this year and the view of jpmorgan is that it will end by mid-year, once the fed raises interest rates. >> "countdown" continues in the next hour. ♪

>> surprise rate cut in india. >> bank under pressure. earnings a week after the top level shakeup. rbs reportedly cutting 14,000 jobs. >> china's biggest event kicks off as lawmakers get ready together for the people's conference. >> and iran and western officials look to strike in

accord as israel warns it will pay the -- pave the way for a bomb. >> welcome to countdown. i am manus cranny. >> i am anna edwards. >> one last look at the geneva motor show. sergio martino says despite current slow growth, prospects for the future are promising. >> it is nothing spectacular but it is consistent. it is not a fly-by-night. a flimsy recovery. it is a decent base on which to build the future. if the economic reforms being carried out by european government and the union finds a way to know how to manage itself, that is a good sign.

>> we are just getting breaking numbers from britain's biggest commercial network really numbers come out like this. revenue, 2.6 billion pounds. in line with analyst estimates. a touch ahead where analysts pegged to the number. the final dividend is 3.3 pence. they are proposing a special dividend of 6.25 pence. they are confident about delivering strong growth in 2015. a strong statement coming through in the form of the statement. the company has a strong enough balance sheet even if it does do some of the deals they talked about3 they could make a significant cash return.

on the m&a front we will be looking out for anything they have to say. they have mentioned they want to buy the business. the dutch tv format producer and distributor. it would be the eighth content deal since 2013. in terms of share price, a strong run. 19 pence. now to 21.8. m&a interesting not just because of what the company might buy but who might be interested in buying them. our guest early on, owns a portion of the business. in a world where we are seeing plenty of mergers and acquisitions, adjusting to see how they see their role. many other factors going into the numbers.

giving us more detail, saying that part of the business is returning to good organic growth. some numbers ahead of estimates. a return of cash to shareholders. >> should we talk legal and general? let's do it. the biggest manager of pension results is releasing results. operating profit of 10%. cash generation, up by 10%. investment management, 7.6 billion. lots to talk about with the chief executive. hello, nigel. it was a year ago, we were sitting here just after the chancellor george osborne,

dropped what many cold a pension bombshell. that pushed retirees to buy an annuity. you focused on bulk and annuities. >> the share price did recover. we are supportive of what the chancellor is trying to do. it was a bit of a surprise when it happened. we are a resilient business and we recovered quickly. it is leading to more innovation and markets. it was an example of creative destruction. we responded by being more creative. we will get better value per text customers going forward. >> the implementation of this policy2 >> we are excited, not just about the annuity part but lifetime mortgages.

we don't build enough in the u.k.. that is a huge business opportunity for legal and general as well. >> looking at your dividend, the past five years, you have raised it from 3.84 pence. i cannot do the percentage. 300%? is that sustainable? what are you going to say to investors? >> is a great tribute to my colleagues. we are confident about 2015. we are off to a good start. we believe in rewarding shareholders. we are a bit old-fashioned like that. >> to return in equity is 17%. that makes our klees look like something.

-- barclays look like something to read what are you doing so well2 >> i think they are doing a great job at barclays. he was dealt a difficult set of cards and he has done a great job working through that. i would rather be managing legal and general than barclays. >> the pension fund manager, the u.k.'s biggest. how tricky is it to navigate as yields hit lows? >> it is tricky. that is one reason why we went down the real assets route. we are excited about the opportunity to invest in real assets. devolution is part of the story. the cities are not overbilled

they are under demolished. we will see exciting regeneration opportunities being taken up by legal and general. >> tell us how significant a move that is for the investment base of legal and general. compare how it was five years ago to how it might look into -- five years. >> we have gone from virtually nothing to 5 billion pounds in the u.k.. we have a pipeline of 25,000 houses. >> as a proportion of your overall investment? 1.1 join dollars of investment. it is the delta of it -- $1.1 trillion of investment. it is the delta. it is not quite so important for

the u.k.. crocs one thing we have for everybody, every ceo coming through the door, you are one of the biggest, you talked about building and planning and under developed city. are you wanting to see a tory? how do you prepare the business for that risk? >> i think all the parties have different positions on the things we are interested in. we have been pleasantly surprised at the intensity of the debates and the productivity. everybody sees we have to solve the deficit problem. we have to build more houses. we need to reform the welfare state. talking to all the political parties, they have aligned

themselves with things you want to do going forward. >> give us a couple. >> housing is the place you have to start. there is not enough retirement or homes for old people. young people can get on the latter. that is socially unfair and something that is easy to put right. it just means political will. never has there been such a money available that is so badly used. >> doesn't matter then to your business if they u.k. is in the eu? we are not very active in europe. selfishly from our business point of view, the issue doesn't directly impact on us as a business. it impacts differently on customers and clients. from our point of view, it is not a huge issue. >> never has so much money available at such a cheap price

and badly used? what do you mean by that? >> certain asset classes like equities have been bid up to a high level. others have been underused. every city, even london, there is a huge amount of regeneration. we are not holding modern cities capable of competing in the 21st century. we have to change all of that. >> good to see you. thank you for coming in. ceo of legal and general. we are also focusing on banks starting with -- reporting earnings at 850. a tough year for the bank. >> the results mark a final bow for the outgoing chief executive. leaving standard chartered.

excellent spring in john dawson in hong kong. where are we? there has been a great deal of discussion around standard charged. >> we are going to find out what the numbers are. the numbers are forecast to drop in profits by five and a half. that is the forecast for the figures. watch out for various areas namely capital flows. costs going up. his appointing numbers. fx trading. -- disappointing numbers. and of course legal costs and fines. all the provisions. barclays talked about these

numbers. another challenging quarter. a conference call, half past six. but corporate goal -- a conference call. >> there's a radio discussion around bill winters. here he is running standard chartered. how do you think the market will receive winters? do you think they will give him a bit of scope? >> winters announced earlier this week and the share price rise? -- rose.

bill winters will come in in may and take over in june. give him some time to get his feet wet. that is critical. analysts -- he will reshape the business. he is being heralded as the right man for the job. bill winters about to replace peter sans. the last six months, share prices down 20%. bill winters came and the share price rose. >> thank you very much. staying with banks and the u.s. justice department. take a look at barclays. some and that winters is common practice -- something that is common practice, taking a last look. barclays has asked -- the interest in the practice has

grown out of a broader investigation into manipulation of benchmarks and client orders. there could be big job cuts to come at rbs. they will eliminate as many as 14,000 posts. that is most of the people in the bank;'s investment arm. it investment -- rbs has declined to comment. crocs tell us what you are following and what you think of the show. it i have my next tweet lined up. that is the chat, next. >> the rest of that tweet is blank because that is still to come at the program. how have they been dealing with the slowdown in one of the biggest markets, russia?

stay tuned for "countdown to." ♪

>> we have had breaking earnings from henkel. we are joined by the company's ceo. thank you for joining us. can i start by asking you about your russian business? a part of the business which has been weak in the last quarter.

how week are you expecting it to get? >> we grew earnings 7.6% in the past year. russia was high single digits throughout the year. it double-digit in the fourth quarter. emerging markets are strong growth rate in 2014. four 2015, we expect a growth of 10%. we expect theya slowdown in russia. a weak ruble. but we do expect growth to slow down in 2015. >> how we carried you expecting the russian business to be in 2015 -- how week are you expecting the russian business to be in 2015? trying to turn the negative geopolitical headlines into what it does to your business

individually. >> as i said, we grew double digits in the fourth quarter. we expect flat to slow single digit growth in 2015. you a ruble trading at 68 against the euro versus a ruble trading at 41. nominal growth will be negative it 2015 as it was in 2014. our expectation is the russian decline in the economy will have a severe negative impact on the eastern european country but also the western european economy. more severe than 2014. >> is it politically difficult in germany or russia to continue as a business like yours, doing business in russia? does it feel politically a difficult decision? >> no, i would not say so. we manufacture products close to the consumer.

shampoo, deodorants. these are necessary for any consumer in the world and not very sensitive. we have been in russia since 1990. we are long-term investors there. we are long-term committed. it is an unfortunate situation and it is impacting a of people. employees. thousands of jobs in germany getting lost. >> let's talk about the u.s. business. you have said you have seen overly aggressive discounting in some businesses. what hacks and have you taken to stop that from happening? -- what action have you taken to stop that from happening? >> it is important we continue to drive innovation in all markets. we have a strong innovation pipeline. we spent $1.8 billion last year on three large acquisitions. two out of the three were in the

u.s. to broaden the footprint we have. a broader product range going into 2015. this should give us a protection against overly promotional activity in 2015. >> how will that level of promotional activity compared to 2014? will it be less? have you changed management teams as a result of the discounting? looks we have been in the u.s. for many years and have a great management. we have taken a number of actions internally to make sure we get the benefit of the economy. we are as well as our competitors, quote unquote is possible for the promotional activity. that was slightly decline in 2015, but only slightly.

it will only decline if you deliver new products with new value to the consumer. that is what we are trying to do with innovation. >> you have mentioned some of the deals you have been doing in the u.s.. you spend a lot and the year compared to previous years. are we going to see more m&a? what can you tell us about your focus? >> have an extremely strong balance ssheet, what you're commenting on single deals would be inappropriate. m&a is how we build the business. how we became number three in professional hair care in the u.s.. >> thank you very much for doing this. the ceo of henkel. >> let's get more on one of our top stories.

china's biggest political events kicks off tomorrow. we are joined by rosalind. you are in beijing. what are we expected from the mpc this year? >> it is an annual meeting of the highest body. there is speculation over what might come out. reform, pollution, growth. corruption and spending. these are big issues. the question this year is how to pursue reform. dealing with bad debt. while also dealing with a struggling economy. reform will drag on at least in the short term. interest rates were cut for the second time in three months.

that signals how concerned the government is about the economy. the mpc opening the address tomorrow. the premier well announce a series of targets including the gdp growth target. lower than last year's 7.5%. pollution also a big concern. a documentary out went viral. it was called, under the dome. it had more than 100 million views. there is a new minister in we are expected to see what will come out of that. on the military spending side we heard from a spokesperson. she said china will boost military spending by about 10% this year. a little less than last year. >> what about the crackdown on corruption? taking out quite a few key government figures. >> corruption has been a big focus for the president.

focus has changed from government to military and business figures. it could make some of the delegates a little bit nervous. widespread corruption threatens the legitimacy of the communist party. the military is undergoing an overhaul. we heard officials being investigated. on the business side investigations include big state run enterprises. the companies being investigated. we could hear more about the corruption drive coming up tomorrow. >> rosalyn chen in beijing. >> coming up, a cut in india. ♪

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>> it is seven: 30. let's check in on foreign exchange markets. we will go to our colleagues in the room by. they cut rates for the second time. get ready for 6% iv and of the year. -- by the end of the year. it is a positive for the bond, for the rupee. the rupee strengthened. giving back a little bit of the strength.

61.88. get ready for 6% rates. that could be dramatic. let's look at the aussie dollar. we had a little bit of gdp data which came out for the fourth quarter. it missed. household spending rose 0.9%. all that good work of building up the momentum to bring the aussie dollar lower. to job on the currency. through february, pricing in another move. that seems to be the consensus from the market. we will see what the aussie actually does. keep an eye on the euro as well. piecemeal data, retail sales.

later, services and the u.s.. -- in the u.s. >> the u.k. independence party will pledge to introduce a point system for immigrants. the plan would ban immigrants from claiming any benefits. the party says they would cut migrants well still allowing migrants into britain. hillary clinton used a personal e-mail account to conduct official business as that of a government account. came a week after revelations that she violated an agreement with the white house regarding donations during her term. the u.s. supreme court is set to hear arguments about the legality of obama's health care program. the latest challenge comes after the court upheld the act by a single vote.

a decision against would wipe out the tax credits that make the act affordable for millions of americans. >> the french nuclear company reported a loss of 5 billion euros. let's go to carolyn conan. what do the figures tell us about the state of a rita -- the company? >> is a difficult situation for areva. the losses bigger than areva's market value. they will need to cut costs by one billion euros for 2017. they also need to cut investment and maybe sell assets. areva has to bang big problems. the huge loss and the huge delays on the nuclear reactor in finland. that began 10 years ago. it was supposed to be ready in

2009. they had to write down billions after billions because of the huge delays of the construction of the plant. some analysts predict it will not be ready until the end of the decade. the second problem for areva is the long-term trend, the global nuclear industry since fukushima. since the accident in fukushima. countries like germany have been dropping nuclear altogether. even france, who relies on nuclear for 75% of energy, which is more than any other country in the world even france under president aland -- hollande wants to bring me percentage

down to 50%. now governments prefer alternative clean energy to nuclear. >> what is the future look like for areva? >> the future does not look very bright for areva. they say their sales will continue falling in 2015. buy as much as 5%. they said this morning they will present the full -- by the middle, six months from now. the new management has a lot on their plate. the former ceo died a few months ago. he was replaced by a new executive. who will be working with a new chairman. the former ceo of peugeot. someone with good experience turning a company around.

the big question remains, whether france will need to inject some cash. areva is still 87% owned by the state. the industry minister says it is premature to consider cash injection from the state. that is a question on the table. the restructuring will also probably involve -- the employee 45,000 people including two thirds in france. >> carolyn conan in paris, thank you. >> india's central bank has cut interest rates for the second time this year. the governor says witness in the third-largest economy has given the bank room to ease. he cut the repurchase rate to 7.5%. let's go to our reporter in

mumbai. >> it is all about the big rate cut this morning. second one we have seen this year. the next scheduled meet was on april 7. on the heels of the big union budget, four days after the finance minister presented the first full budget, we have seen a rate cut. what has come to the rate cut? considering that 12 out of 15 of the bloomberg economists did not expect this, it was fiscal consolidation viewed say verbally -- favorably by the r.b.i.. a big thumbs-up coming from the budget by the r.b.i.. here in emea, after two decades, -- in india, after two decades, there has been a monetary pact.

they have adopted inflation targets of 4%. this rate cut will offer guidance for the r.b.i.. one thing is for sure. after much talked about tension between the r.b.i. and government, the message is quite clear. on the same page looking at the economy. >> in mumbai. thank you. >> israel's prime minister challenged president obama on his policy on iran after being invited to speak in congress. >> the prime minister up a speech to a joint session of congress was his third, but arguably his most anticipated and controversial. it came without the blessing of the white house. two weeks before the israeli election. the prime minister began by

praising support for israel. he proceeded to trash negotiations with iran. he said instead of preventing iran from getting nuclear weapons, it would pave the way for a nuclear armed iran. >> my friends, for over a year we have been told that no deal is better than a bad deal. this is a bad deal. it is a very bad deal. we are better off without it. >> netanyahu said a better deal was possible if the u.s. and the rest of the world is quitted sanctions. -- escalated sanctions. some democrats saw the speech as a slight to president obama. president obama said he read a transcript. he said he heard nothing new from then yahoo! -- prime

minister netanyahu. >> the bottom line is this. we do not have a deal. it may be that iran cannot say yes to a good deal. i have repeatedly said i would rather have ano deal than a bad deal. if we are successful negotiating, it will be the best deal possible to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. >> the fact that he responded so quickly says the white house believes the speech may have had an impact. if the president gets a deal, selling it to members of congress may get tougher after this beach. >> -- after this speech. >> join the conversation. i have a pack of the day. that is about the japanese. how many tourists coming from china. never forget the barton tv.

>> don't forget the tv part. those two letters matter. >> don't forget the part charts. >> -- bart charts. >> stay tuned for that. ♪

>> time for today's bart chart.

what is the biggest economic surprise? it is a chart i am increasingly drawn towards. what the chart measures is economic data surprises relative to economic expectations. anything above the red line means the data releases have been stronger than expected. what the chart shows is when it comes to economic surprises there is only one winner. the paths of the two are continuing to diverge. the eurozone, is at it is highest since march 1, 2013. that is thanks to longer data like the inflation release. the u.s. chart, the orange line which is below the red line is negative. the weakest since july, 2012. because of data like monday's

manufacturing, which showed the weakest expansion in a year. what is interesting about the diverging data eight is it comes as the ecb is about to begin on the qe program. it begs the program, if qe begins, is the economy starting to turn for the u.s.? as the fed looks to normalize monetary policy. raise interest rates. banking the question, is the data strong enough for the central bank to raise interest rates? it will be a chart i return to again and again. what is the biggest economic surprise right there? >> the bloomberg top stories at this hour. rbs is cutting 14,000 jobs as a

previously -- as part of a previously announced reorganization. reductions would amount to most of the investment banking workforce, with a large percentage occurring in the u.s. and asia. they declined to comment. euro star will redeem the government preference share. the treasury says the price is quote significantly ahead of expectations. u.s. cable and telephone providers have indicated they will challenge fcc's net neutrality rules that prevent blocking or slowing of web traffic. fcc traffic says the rules were britain with mobile in mind. -- were written with mobile in mind. >> the interesting thing is how

anxious everybody is to learn what the rules are about and how we structure them in such a way that they are built on the mobile model. we have built them around what has worked for the last 22 years in terms of regulating the wireless industry in the u.s. >> let's take a sounding on oil prices. the chief executive of the bank of abu dhabi has been speaking to bloomberg about the impact of oil on the emirate. >> getting out of the ground is cheap. the six dollars or seven dollar level. we should not forget that the economy still 73% non-dependent on oil. many of those industries, specifically or predominately around bdubai, will benefit. >> more broadly, how is it

impacting on investors? the chief executive officer of hermes investment management. let's get your thoughts on oil. a great story on bloomberg talks about how from drillers in the u.s. delayed, because they have not had to feel the full pain of the price trot. to think markets have not seen the full impact of that price drop yet? >> we have seen some of the impact. the positive impact on oil price has been good for inflation in the u.s. the price of oil has dropped and rebounded. if you look at the forward projections they are assuming we go back up to it 80. that is because there is a replacement issue. some recovery in the oil price which is no bad ring.

there is an argument that says one of the reasons russia was behaving in a volatile manner is because they are depending on oil income. it leads to a more stable european environment which is good for investment and injects a bit of inflation back into the system. this morning, and heard a competitor talking about how wonderful it is inflation in the u.k. is low. low inflation in the u.k. near zero, is not good. you want some inflation. a rebound in oil prices is good for the economy in general because of injects inflation and. >> you have walked in through the door. you are the ceo after fund. -- accu were funded. -- at your fund.

you are buying part of euro start. -- star. why? >> whenever you go to a price, the seller believes they have got a good price. the buyer believes they have a good price. the truth is usually in between. we are a big player in infrastructure. we partner with a lot of pension schemes. we know the canadian pension scheme that is a partner in this deal. this is the first deal we have done together. we bought 40% of euro star, the rail link between here and paris. we bought it is our clients look for a straight east -- steady stream of income. this is a very strong, good long-term investment with strong quality characteristics. it carried 10.4 million passengers across the channel.

a good way of generating income. this is a time when you have no income on the yield for treasuries and bonds. brooks spoke to nigel wilson today. he said exactly that. they are putting money into infrastructure because of the high returns. his quote which was great never has there been so much money available at such a cheap price and so badly used. would you concur? >> the super low environment. super low interest rates, it is forcing people -- we mostly run money through pension schemes. you can get them in anything other than other areas. like your guests we are looking to do with property. infrastructure projects. it distorts the valuation.

not enough people are paying attention to. everybody is assuming things work themselves out. i'm not a great believer in fairytales. >> what proportion of the investment community is thinking, we do not want to invest in bonds anymore. we want to put our money in infrastructure projects in western countries. is this a wholesale shift? >> there is a movement of people trying to get higher yield. the problem is, not every but he has the skills. it takes a long time to build skills. two, there are not enough assets. that is the other problem. we are a small house, 28 billion. that allows us a lot of stability for our clients, to find deals such as this. or find a deals in property that can read other big houses would find it more difficult. everybody is looking for yield.

differentiation, people find u.s. treasuries attractive because of stability. >> hold that thought. we will come back to the bond to discussion. a little bit of breaking news to our viewers. 30 people have been killed in a mine explosion in eastern ukraine. according to the news agency, 30 people killed in a mine explosion in eastern ukraine. as we get more information, we will bring it to you. >> show we stay on that subject? anna spoke to the ceo of henkel. they said we were all guns blazing in russia. there is a big impact, not just in eastern europe but western impact. are we yet to see the full spillover from russia? >> there is bound to be some spill over.

i'm going to be very boring and say you have to differentiate between companies. there are companies that are well diversified. that is partially where you surprises are coming from. there are some who have not changed their model. some countries have done a lot better than others. if you look at france, for example -- >> prince has disoriented. >> -- france has facilitated. >> it is losing competitiveness. >> you just bought the euro start. >> it connects to the u.k.. bricks when about the grexit -- >> what about the grexit? >> how are you positioned ahead of the election? uncertainty is not there yet, but many guests say a couple of weeks before, it is going to be

like the scottish referendum. is there going to be a similar sort of worry? >> the big worry about the election is there is more uncertainty because we are not sure the outcome will be what we think it is. partly because it is not clear what the power of the scottish mps will be and the labor government will be. m of course biased, so i cannot enter the discussion. >> i have done a lot of bank interviews. litigation is high on the agenda. would you take bank exposure? >> in some cases in europe, commercial banks do offer attractive valuations. but you have to be careful. the universal banking model in eastern europe is questionable. >> is a top one. we have to draw a close to the conversation. good luck. the ceo of hermes investment.

>> "on the move" is next. you will not want to miss that conversation, coming up on. we will see you later today. ♪

>> good morning and welcome. we have breaking news about a mine blast in ukraine. we will bring you the update as news comes in. we are minutes away from the start of european trading. let's get straight to the market reef. the reserve bank of india cuts rates. markets react. the indian equity benchmark climbed to an all-time high. the u.s. treasury secretary promises ukraine robust financial support less than 24 hours after the central bank had

interest rates to 30%. rbs reports to be set to eliminate as many as 14,000 investment jobs. standard chartered are reports earnings in just 15 minutes time. a morning full of european data. pmi is from spain, france, italy, and germany. stocks 50 futures a little firmer. dax futures up 20 nine points. a sizable selloff. >> i have decided to start with the bond market. pacific lee the portuguese -- specifically the portuguese bond market. this bond market is in portugal. that will provide an opportunity for people to trade. that's according to the survey. they say