you're watching today's "worldwide exchange." i'm ross westgate. >> and the i'm kelly evans. >> draghi is expected to cut rates for the first time in ten months, but might he surprise with a move for lending instead? >> stocks getting little direction from europe today. on the back of forecast beating numbers, seemans is lowering profit guidance. the italian economy will shrink more than expected and

they vow to put growth top of the agenda at the next eu summit. hsbc's final pmi reading down from its flash estimate, signaling demand for good from mainland factories. >> announcer: you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. >> all right. good morning to us from the. it's ecb date and we kick off with the latest manufacturing data out of the eurozone. >> which was starting to look okay. bouncing off the bottom until germany came in less than expected. >> 46.7. the flash is 46.5, but it's weaker than the march 46.8. the bottom line is it's better than a flash by the basis point, actually, it's still getting worse. >> new orders index is a touch

better. the market is likely to interpret -- at this point, people are looking for excuses to buy. they like that we're moving from austerity to a stimulus stance. this will help. if this were a little stronger, i would almost argue that they wouldn't need to be quite aggressive here today, but with the data -- >> well, unemployment up at all-time highs. inflation down at, what, 1.2%? >> yeah. >> they don't need to act if they don't want. >> they're down in the one -- i mean, if you were to chart germany's ten-year against inflation for the eurozone, i mean, you effectively get a one to one correlation. don't expect that ten-year to go anywhere. >> so plenty more to come on today's show about all of this. we're going to have coverage.

ecb is on the road today and that means we are. julie chatterley, we'll ask if mario draghi will come up with surprise to try to get money flowing into the real economy. >> and we'll bring you a first on interview with the ceo of dbs. >> we'll have a review of malaysia's most closely contested election. find out why this ballot could change the country's course for years to come. that's at 10:50 cet. >> and shortly after that, we'll ahead out to washington for a preview of gm's conditions. plus, faced with having a mobile business a year ago to now making 30% of its ad revenue from mobile in the first quarter, can the strength of that continue? we'll try and get some answers at 11:50 cet.

have you got any comments you want to make? >> do you have facebook via mobile? >> no. >> me, neither. >> i'm not a facebook user. >> do you have an account, a profile? >> i have a name and that is it. >> you know what you need is fan page. >> no, i don't. >> yeah, i think that's exactly what you need. >> no, i don't. >> get to work, people. >> yeah, i'll get my people to do it. is that how they manage? you have a team running your facebook page? team, get on with it. so, what's the ecb going to do? we've got record high unemployment since the eurozone records began. inflation lower, as well. it's the capital in slovakia. that's why jeff and julia are. guys, come on, give us two sides of the argument, both of you. >> good morning, ross. good morning, kelly. i want to do a little bit of flag waiving here before i get

into the conversa. some people mistakenly believe that the european flag's 12 gold stars represent country. in reality, it represents the circle of harmony, harmony, unity and solidarity. those are the core principles upon which the european institution res founded. the problem here is we come into this meeting, we know there isn't a great deal of harmony, unity or indeed solidarity on what the ecb should actually be doing to try and kick start the eurozone economy. and let me make the case as it's been made by so many who have priced in a cut at this meeting. unemployment record highs, inflation down, concerns about disinflationary trend starting to be engaged and, of course, those horrible pmis that we saw for april. so it would appear there's plenty of argument on the table for a rate cut at this meeting, julia. >> yes. but then you look into what the

government is saying and they can't agree on the need for this. they're saying what good is that basis point cut going to do here? not only are money market rates significantly low, but as we all don't debate, the transition mechanism is impaired. the other thing is, of course, if they decide to wait, don't cut today and cut in june, they've got updated forecasts and historically they wait until they have the forecast and more to cut. the other thing, of course, look at markets. ten-year yield, three-year low quickly in spain. we've got the german markets at five-year highs. it's arguing perhaps monetary policy isn't the way forward here and possibly the gain comes back to fiscal policy and these national governments. >> that would be fine, but the italians, the spanish and the french are now all arguing of an accord that austerity isn't working. the process of getting growth back through embracing fiscal

tightness and reform just isn't doing sglipt absolutely. and actually, the thing is, they get more vote about the anti-austerity rhetoric. on the other side, we've got the germans maintaining the line. we're seeing popularity for angela merkel ever increasing. i think i'm in the cut camp. geoff, i think you're in the no cut camp. the debate here continues. this is what some economist res telling us about what the ecb should or should not be doing today. >> certainly, so i don't think it will hurt. that may be a first step for trying to allow conditions to what is happening in the rest of the world and what the european economy needs. >> i would say no, i think the ecb has a very -- you know, easy monetary policy, ample supply. there's emergency liquidity, also, by the national banks. so it should i would not say.

>>. [ indiscernible ]. >> it is just a stunning argument for the semantics of a 25 basis point cut. what about a 50 point basis cut today? >> squeak would be my response. and that's the probable, isn't it? we know it's not about the interest rates. it's about the mechanism for getting money through the banking system back into the real economy. and that's the problem right now and it's not a rate cut that's going to do that job, is it? >> no. it would be a tactical move today, wouldn't it? it would be a signal perhaps that they are willing to do further easing for monetary policy. quite frankly, let's say greek rather than -- >> absolutely. ross, kelly, i know you dabble occasionally on some of those lotteries. of course, the great one for europe is the euro lottery. the big question here today is if there is no cut as far as the

markets are concerned, are we in a rollover situation? are they euro millions still to be made off the interest rate policy of the ecb? in which case it could be a rollover into the meeting. back to you. >> you're going to get the two stars as well as the numbers, geoff, right, for the jackpot. >> it's always a problem with the stars. >> that's the one. you've got to choose one of those off that flag. geoff, jules, thank you for that. plenty more to come. we're out for a question here today. >> if you think the ecb should cut rates and you can vote on our website, cnbc.com. cut straight to the chase via twitter. use the hashtag ecb cut or ecb leave if you think they shouldn't or should today. >> and we'll take the rate decision, special programming from 12:00 to 1:00 london time.

13:45 cet and 14:30 is when we'll get news conference. joining us for more, jack keio from nomura. thanks for joining us. let's -- tobias and then jack, do we get a cut today or not? >> yes, i think we should. in ral, because i think i don't agree with the analysis that a cut wouldn't really help. if you look at what happened over the past two months, it has been developed in the core where the trikz mechanism is still working. this is where we saw the sentiment and this is where the transition mechanism still works. a cut, even if only marginally, sends a signal, i think, that interest rates will stay lower for a longer time today and that is why it is a good idea for the ecb to cut interest rates today. >> jack. >> yes. can you hear me? >> yeah.

>> i don't think there's anything telling in the way of a cut today. i mean, clearly, more than 25 basis points. the economic conditions have worsened. inflation is lower than expected. we will probably be at 25 basis points if we get a cut. i would argue this is going to help some of the weaker countries, more probably reducing the incentive for banks which should keep short end rates on the low side. i don't think there is a -- there's also i think evidence that it's building expectations in the market with additional measures down the line which can be set for -- >> are we going to get any additional measures today? i mean, there's a choice today

between cutting or additional measures, is there an either/or? >> the reaction of the ecb suggests a cut is on the cut here with international measures. i do agree with you that it's going to be on the unconventional side. we're not going into this meeting expecting much and we do think that the market has maybe too much of an expectation as far as unconventional measures. how much of -- you know, how much guidance can we get from draghi in terms of upcoming measures? can draghi essentially keep the markets on the sideline in terms of waiting for another few months? with the expectation that the ecb can actually believe at some point more forceful. and i think as the margin, we think that margins can be -- to go on the lack of additional clarity in terms of what they've been talking about over the past few months. i think that the number one concern is the funding or the lack of funding for more medium

enterprises. >> tobias, how far away is the eurozone at the moment from getting into a deflationary slide? we've aging population, falling inflation, banks that are clogged up? >> i think they have to keep an eye on the core. this is starting -- if you want to, i think, hold the euro area away from deflation, then you really have to focus on the core because you have a unavoidable deleveraging going on in the periphery. this year, probably next year, maybe even for longer. so there will be -- you know, this is of course the policy of regaining price sxetiveness. that will automatically -- and this is also the winning for policymakers to lead to lower prices in the periphery. if you want on keep the euro area close to the ecb's definitional price stability, you necessary have to have a higher inflation in the core in

germany in particular and i think this is something where the ecb can act and i think they will also do. >> all right. thanks for that. the euro economist at capital markets, jack, thank you very much for now. >> staying with central banks, the fed as expected is keeping inflation plans to buy 85 billion a month in treasury and mortgage bonds to help stimulate the u.s. economy. but in its meeting statements yesterday, the central bank says it may cut or increase the size of the program depending on the job market and inflation. it was that word increase in particular that caught the market's attention. minutes from the march meade meeting show us slowing on bond purchases. but the fed is now turning up the heat on congress saying they're concerned u.s. fiscal policy is returning a drag on growth. >> meanwhile, hsbc china manufacturing pmi eased to 50.4 in april. the final reading was a tad lower than the flash estimate

released a weak ago, weaker than the march readings, 51.6. analysts are blaming weak external demand for hampering the recovery. >> there are two big surprises here. one is that new export orders are weaker. we know that from the flash pmi, for example, and that really reflect tess global weakness rather than being sent rick. the other big surprise is very weak import price pressures. we see price pressures coming down which will allow the chinese government to maintain stimulus measures as needed. >> hsbc china pmi data was released yesterday. that figure came in at 50.6. ross. >> thanks for that, kel. so here we are, just about an hour and 15 minutes into the trading day in europe. we're weighted to the down side, but we are at the best numbers of the day. so around about 6 to 3 decliners outpacing advancers on the dow jones stoxx 600. most of europe was closed yesterday. it's a big earnings day.

just down 8 at the moment. xetra dax up 11. the ibex, up 50 and the ftse mib down 25. shell's ceo is going to retire in 2014. the stock is up about 1%. not because of that, but because the company's first quarter profit came in beating expectations. bskyb, up around 0.5% at the moment. a rise in pretax profits for nine months ending in march. they also say they're going to create jobs to meet strong demand for prescription projects. legal and & general up 0.76% the british insurer taking a bullish stance on the full year posting an 8% rise in sales. looking for the strong. and infineon, the chipmaker, up 7% in frankfurt. second quarter operating profit beating expectations. the rise on the bond market, as well, post the fed meeting to

see treasury yield down 111.63%. slightly higher on the session, but not doing too badly. spanish yields just above 4%. 4.08%. grinding lower in italy, 3.849%. the fighting talk, italy and spain down, can they renegotiate the austerity demands from germany? which is a simplistic way of putting it, but that's what's going on. on the currency markets, euro/dollar to date, we're above 1.32 at one point yesterday. 1 is.3166. it's very much contained, very much waiting for the ecb announcement and that press conference, as well. no big position taking ahead of that. aussie -- dollar, 1.0230. sterling, 1.556. pretty steady. that's where we stand right now in europe. let's recap that asian session for the first time during "worldwide exchange." sixuan joins us from sin pore. >> thank you, ross.

most asian markets came under pressure today after the latest hsbc china pmi data showed more signs that china's growth recovery is stalling. after the price drop in china's official number yesterday. there was plenty of nervousness ahead of the ecb's policy decision. japan was the underprmper yesterday. the nikkei closed down 0.8%. in south korea, the kospi ended down a modest 0.3%. with strong gains in telcos capping the losses on hopes of double digit q1 profit growth. the shanghai composite came back from a three-day holiday ending lower by a modest 0.2%. but concerns about china's economic recovery puts pressure on mining stocks in china as well as it's big trading partner australia. chinese metals miners tanked today after shanghai's prices dropped shortly. in australia, rio tinto --

medals and new gold miner fortescue slipped 2% to 4% today. over in the tech space, sharp shares jumped to nearly 5% on reports that the company has received a $1 billion credit facility from japanese lenders to help repay its upcoming debt. but chinese pcmaker lenovo tumbled nearly 3% in hong kong after discussions that ibm's server unit has been caught off. still to come, bmw sales driver quarterly growth. we'll take a look at the german giant's results when we come back.

welcnew york state, where cutting taxes for families and businesses is our business. we've reduced taxes and lowered costs to save businesses more than two billion dollars to grow jobs,

cut middle class income taxes to the lowest rate in sixty years, and we're creating tax free zones for business startups. the new new york is working creating tens of thousands of new businesses, and we're just getting started. to grow or start your business visit thenewny.com

shares of shell have risen 52% since july 2009. to be fair, that was pretty much the market bottom. as you can see there, about a

52% since that increase period for both. today, shell shares -- it's like she sells sea shells -- shell shares are up by about 2%. >> meanwhile, seemans has cut its outlook for the year despite a 20% jump in profits. it rose 12% from a year ago. the company says it in and out expects its income to be at the low end of 4.5 to 5 billion euros. >> let's take a look at bw now. slowing growth and heavy investment take a toll on that company's earnings. the german carmaker reported net profits of about 1.3 billion in the first quarter. still, the company is confident about the outlook and says profit margins are likely to be in the range of 8% to 10%.

the impact that's heavy on shares being sent higher by 1.7% in frankfurt trade today. >> and operating loss for the first quarter, its costs from its restructuring program kicked in. they remain 3.9 million euros. the company did -- its full year target and said cutbacks with drive higher operating profits and revenue. the stock up by 5.6%. >> that's a good pop. >> yeah, it is. >> the world's second largest re-insurancer said profits were up 20% in the first quarter. carolin is in zurich following the story. >> that was better than expected. let's take a look at the share price. it is higher by roughly 0.1% outperforming the broader market down 0.3%. now, the nonlife business, that

did very, very well. we have the measure your ratio of only 7 2%. this is very, very strong. the lower the number the better the underwriting profitability. and this is largely down to the low number of the first quarter. in fact, there were almost no natural catastrophes which weighed on the bottom line. you've got reserve releases and a quarter starting to benefit from the unwinding of the shares they had in place with berkshire hathaway. that's going to boost premiums in the next two years. the only weak spot, though, kelly, is the fact that prices did decline in the april numbers. when i spoke to the ceo in the last hour, he said this may have a softening impact on the on july renewals. >> carolin, stay there. in other news out of your markets there, activist investor knight vinke has made a call for

the break-up of ubs. there's lots of discussion, carolin, already as to whether now there is the time for there to be shareholder activism separating the investment bank, which as you've pointed out as shrank. >> that's a very good point. ubs has a lot to placate investors by limiting the size of the investment bank and reducing the capital that they have employed. so some say that this call to separate the wealth management unit from the investment bank comes too late. it comes almost three years too late some would argue. keep in mind that knight is a very small shareholder and holds less than 1 is% in ubs. i don't think this will speak very highly t at the adm. the bigger issue is whether shareholders are going to adopt a pay plan for this year because there's been a lot of criticism about the massive signing bonuses for some of its top executives, kelly. >> carolin, we're twins today.

good to see you. thanks so much for following both of those stories. >> you're twins. >> yes. we've both got -- >> our, your purply. is that what it was? >> yeah. >> okay. in less than four years time, that could be set to change. i don't think we're talking about computers. >> no. >> i think what we're talking about is mobile phones. more than half of all employers will ask work toers bring their own devices by 2017. this will help firms bring down costs. >> is it a monitor? >> a monitor or a -- >> my summer job throughout high school was working and the elevators were always being serviced the. so we had to bring these 17 inch

monitors which are so awkward and heavy to carry replacing computers for professors. i'm so relieved that it's all on mobile devices. >> i'm not going to be lumping in a big half desk. what do you call those? >> a desktop. >> the desktop. >> a cpu. >> walk in with my cpu. >> and that's amazing. it's so much more sophisticated than that. >> yeah, we do. here is the thing, right? does that mean if you bring in your device, they're going to let -- >> it's major security concerns, as well. this is one of the armies for investing in the likes of apple and the appear droid based operating systems as more .more of these devices go outsourcing their own what was traditional in-house tech, they're going to want these systems and these

open infrastructure platforms don't necessarily allow for that. >> what do you think? do you want to do that? e-mail us, tweet us. >> from your mobile device. >> even better. is it your company mobile device, though, or your mobile device? there you go. business leaders operating in north africa and the middle east seek to tap into rapid growth in the region. i feel like i haven't spoke to yusef in ages. good to speak to you now. >> good to see you, ross. i don't know what the reason is. perhaps you should come more often to the middle east rather than myself getting over there to london. i've spoke ton a lot of chief executives in the last few weeks. if you on use the ifc, he has a base here. saudi arabia would be the easiest place to do business with. remember, ross, easiest to do business doesn't mean easy to do

business. it's not the same thing. bureaucracy is slow-moving .rather interventionalist on the whole. they are excite about the potential of saudi arain kra. it's the region's larmgest economy and there are lots of opportunities there with the large infrastructure expenditures that the government has. but, again, a strict vitae policy is there. that makes accessibility a serious issue. >> you know what? the big companies doing business 20, 30, 40 years and even six months. so, yes, there is some bureaucracy and there are some challenges, but nothing that you cannot overcome. and this is where it goes to have the right talent working for you with the right experience and expertise. week one, you have to bring that. >> and it's not just saudi

arabia that we're seeing chief executives facing these hurdles. the united arab emirates specifically, dubai in my conversation, he's the managing director of global partners group. here is his experience. >> i think it's certainly an issue. it is the government. we love being in dubai, we love doing business in dubai. when i compare it to a number of other places we visit, there are so many positives. but i certainly think setting up companies in terms of getting innovation, they've certainly done very well in improving the e-initiatives. it's a night and day difference.

>> so if there was not dubai, where would you be in the middle east? >> i'm not sure we will be in the middle east. >> so, guys, that's just a little bit of a preview of what's coming up on tonight. it's jam packed. we'll speak tul kinds of chief executives and looking at the challenges and hurdles they face when doing business in this part of the world. that includes, obviously, the cultural considerations, women in the labor force and many, many more. make time for it. i'm sure you will, ross and kelly. >> of course. wouldn't miss it. say hi to hadley. i want to bring you this news, as well. uk construction pmi is out, two points higher than the margin of the 31.4, just shy of expansion. >> we haven't seen construction anywhere near expansion, as well. >> it's another near of data. >> so you're continuing to see

the fallout. we hit people's target for the year. didn't expect to go straight there. >> and in about two weeks, as well. straight ahead of the program, htc is reporting solid sales. what else do the new quarterly figures reveal? out to taiwan for analysis when we come back. a simple question:e how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed: the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years. ♪

these are your headlines from around the world. will he or won't he? mario draghi is expected to cut rates for the first time in ten months. he might surprise with a move to boost lending instead. >> stocks getting little direction across europe this morning. siemens is lowering its guidance. >> italy's new prime minister has his work cut out for him. the italian economy will shrink more than expected this year. and a drop in china's new export orders sees china's pmi revised down from its flash

estimates. we're an hour and a half over this trading day here in europe. ahead of the ecb, stocks are down but near their best levels. the ftse 100 down 0.111%. the cac 40 down 0.2% along with the ftse mib, as well. it's all about a holding pattern. >> t. we've seen the moves already this year. the ten-year in spain, 4.08% this morning. italy's 3.85%. we're seeing compression on the short end of the curve, as well. >> every time he comes out, they're going to shake things up a bit. yields go lower, right? >> yeah. as we said, that ten-year bund

is a professy for inflation expectations. a little bit of a rebound this morning. we're still at extremely low levels. >> euro/dollar, below 1.32 at the moment. 1.3170. the mover is sterling again. it's up marginally o session. but construction pmi, that's another bit of positive data for the pound. >> exactly. meanwhile, the eoed is expected to shrink more than expected this year through 2014. in its economic survey of the company, eocd says gdp will construct 1.5%. it warned italy's net debt was at a new record. the secretary general is speaking there. normally pushing back austerity will keep you posted with any further comments.

>> meanwhile, a new italian prime minister has an ally in the debate. hollande is back to the message of sparing economic growth while maintaining a close grip on the state's purse strings. it's to pursue even a banking union. >> toupt to bring liquidity to our businesses, we must achieve banking union according to the calendar we've set out. >> we mustn't waste time on this. it's part of the solution, the success a month before. the economic union, political union. >> htc met expectations for its second quarter revenue guidance project ago 64 had% jump. the smartphonemaker says revenues inclined to 17 million.

this announcement comes as the company posted its worst ever first quarter profit of $2.9 million. it's partly due to the delay of its htc one phone which is designed to go head to head with samsung's latest galaxy model. htc shares jumped 2% in taiwan. thanks very much for calling in. what do you make of the results? what do you think shares will do here in response? >> hi there. i think the guidance of 17 billion is pretty much in line with our expectation and consensus. however, the gross margin of 22% to 24% is actually lower versus consensus of 25%. and operating margin of 1% to 3% is, again, much lower versus consensus of 5%. so just based on the guidance, it seems like the operating

profit will be 60% below consensus, which is pretty disappointing the. >> absolutely. look, i wonder, too, how much of a challenge it is for htc to keep marketing costs down because they've got actually a good product. the htc1 felt really well received generally, but they had a difficult time tight to get word out about it. i've seen here in london, they've done some massive operating displays, but it's tough to take on samsung and apple. >> i think there's no doubt that it is a very solid film. i think the worst is behind the company. however, like you mentioned, the company is increasing their marketing expenses coupled with other reasons that the price environment is pretty challenging. the cost of the phone is pretty high. it contributes to a lower than expected operating major yip. i think the pace of the recovery is likely lower or slower than what the market is expecting right now.

>> so what's your price target for the shares at this point? and are you going to change that based on these things? >> yeah. we haven't finalized our model yet, but our current price is 107. >> 107. and where are shares the latest? i think right now around 290. >> your price target is 102.90 for shares dennis? >> that is correct. >> wow. we're talking about a loss of more than 50% of its market cap. >> well, again, the market has the -- the htc has dis appoiapp the market on its fist quarter performance, fourth quarter performance and the second quarter guidance. i think, again, the expectations going into the company's share price is really high as the market is expecting the company to have a huge recovery. my view is that i think the

company's worst is behind, but the pace to recovery is what the consensus is forecasting right now. >> i would imagine that has to be priced in. so significant room still. dennis, thank you very much for calling in from yuanta securities. top firms missed the mark by half from a year ago. the famed carrier partly blamed the tax man and interest costs on its high debt low. bharti did report subscribers, something that it struggled with in competition. trade rebounded as the cfo said they had no plans to sell shares in the company. >> and shares of singapore's dbs group added healthy gains today on top of what's been a solid year. the bank in southeast asia wrote a market wave of higher commissions en route to a record profit. it brought in 700 million in q1.

while the lender saw growth in loans and deposits, lower rates brought in less than expected analyst income. it will continue to squeeze interest margins further. sri caught up with the ceo of dbs earlier, asking him if profits are sustainable given all the macroeconomic challenges. >> the last part of our earnings actually is very sustainable. they're very exist. we've been pointing out, if you look at the underlying nature of incomes, it's $1.3 billion for three quarters. we've seen some concession in margins. we think we should be able to hold margins, especially at the 11.6 level. balance continues to grow quite nicely. the income should be okay. >> the npr ratio at dbs is stable. but in china, it's -- frankly, i mentioned the business in china is very sir couple expect.

we deal with a limited number of top end companies. we have a very textured portfolio for the most part is less than one year financing. a substantial portion of the cash back will tell you. and we make sure that the companies that redeem them are long-term winners. xhen taters have said that the nature of sovereign could be anything up to a trillion dollars. i don't have any view on that myself. it could be, but, you know, the thing to think about, though, is that, you know, the npos in china a decade ago were to the tune of $600 billion. and the 600 billion, the government redeemed that quite effectively, between passette management companies and ceo. so even if the number is 600 billion or ten billion of whatever it is, i think the chinese economy has available to deal with it.

>> how worried are you about the hard landing in china or is the economy moving towards a more sustainable model of growth at 7.5% per annum? >> 7.5% is good growth. maybe it's not 9%, but not a lot of other countries in the world which do 7.5% growth. i think we can build a perfectly reasonable business on the back of 75% gdp growth. >> how concerned are you about the lingering debt crisis in the eurozone and the impact that's having on the stock market and confidence broadly? >> well, you know, my view is that this is a long-term situation. this is not something that's going to be resolved in the next two or three years. it will take another five years. and, you know, we've been able to run our business effectively in the pace of these uncertainties and challenges over the last three years. i have every confidence that we can continue to do that in the years to come. >> as a banker, i'm sure you're watching and monitoring the pace of libor reforms.

are they moving in the right direction? >> well, i think it remain toes be seen. i think everybody would like to move away from benchmark rates. and i think that is laudable. the problem is that nobody has been able to find a better solution. and this is why, libor and all the market benchmarks have existed for the last 30, 40 years. being able to switch to venue or trading venue based paradigm is actually a good thing. >> moving on now, the bank of japan has released minutes of it latest policy meeting in early april when it unleashed radical moves 2% inflation target within two years. we have the minutes and the story live from tokyo. >> hi, kelly. minutes of the bank of japan's recent policy meeting showed there was brod consensus on the new governor.

board members unanimously agreed that the boj needs to move away from its traditional gradualistic approaches and incremental sets. they stress that the impact in terms of scale is critical to send a message that the central bank is willing to take all the necessary steps to fight deflation. during the two-day meeting, boj's board kicked off the the so-called new phase of easing, such avenue governing japan's monetary base in the coming two years, but actually as two board members expressed their concerns over the risks associated with its measures. policymakers said massive purchase of government bonds could push down interest rates too far and disrupt the debt markets. there were worries fiscal fair market speculation that the boj's financing the government's debt and caused a sudden surge in interest rates. and on the central bank's 2% inflation target, there was uncertainty whether this could be achieved in two years. that's all from the nikkei business report. back to you, kelly.

>> thank you. plenty of uncertainty and not just at the bank of japan. nevertheless, send in your thoughts on this part of the program so far this morning, you know how to do it. worldwide@cnbc.com. still to come, malaysia is looking at one of its most contentious elections ever. >> we'll bring you a report from the ground to find ott what the results could mean from the nation's growing economy. we'll be right back.

welcnew york state, where cutting taxes for families and businesses is our business. we've reduced taxes and lowered costs to save businesses more than two billion dollars to grow jobs, cut middle class income taxes to the lowest rate in sixty years, and we're creating tax free zones for business startups. the new new york is working creating tens of thousands of new businesses, and we're just getting started. to grow or start your business visit thenewny.com ♪ ♪ the new blackberry z10 with blackberry hub and flick typing. built to keep you moving. see it in action at blackberry.com/z10

malaysia is facing its most challenging elections. adam has this report. >> the calls for reform are loud and clear. >> i want equality among all the races. >> the cost of living should be more to the -- >> this is setting the pace of malaysia's most tightly contested vote since its

independence. the prime minister's ruling party is feeling the pressure. >> we will provide a better service for the people. if the federal and states were governed by different parties, there would be a lot of problems, right? >> and the speed for the capital are reminders of the party's dominance after five decades in power. >> the administration are pulling all they have into this particular race including billions of dollars to low income earners and one up bonuses to employees and state gas earners. will that be enough to turn the tooid about the economy inspect is rise in the cost of living climbs as does corruption which the opposition says is getting out of control. >> that we must -- wealth to

manage. >> and there's plenty to go around. under the latest path to transform itself in the middle income to a high income economy to an ambitious 444 billion economic transformation program which should propel it to develop status by 2020. that means growth, but is it filtering down to the voters? >> what we are noticing is there's a disconnect between the headline figures for the economy and that experience by the people. what we're noticing is that people are complaining that their wages and salaries are not keeping pace with the cost of living and that there are a lot of hidden costs as consumers that they have to pay in the form of taxeses and so on. >> but with some 3 million voters putting in their ballots for the first time, the game changer of this election could be social media. >> we have 55% of the voters

under the age of 40 years accessing the internet and so on. it means that the dominance of the ruling party over the mainstream media in electronics is waning and that the opposition has greater means to access voters and sdug discuss their points of view. >> this could be a definitive election. adam, qualalumpur. economists expect the rbi to cut its key interest points. financials reporting tomorrow including westpac and macquarie group. japan's markets will be closed for a holiday. if you're someone who uses

mobile devices for your work, chances are it's supplied by your employer, but the growing trend is that you will need to provide your own mobile phone by 2017 been it helps firms to bring down costs. if you want to join the conversation on "worldwide exchange," get in touch with us. tweet @cnbcwex, or e-mail us, worldwide@cnbc.com. and do it on a mobile that hasn't been surprised to you by work if, indeed, you have been supplied by a work device. >> still to come on the program, investors are waiting for a rate decision on the ecb. we'll discuss when we come back. stay with us. ♪

[ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ge has wired their medical hardware

with innovative software to be in many places at the same time. using data to connect patients to software, to nurses to the right people and machines. ♪ helping hospitals treat people even better, while dramatically reducing waiting time. now a waiting room is just a room. [ telephone ringing ] [ static warbles ] [ beeping ] red or blue? ♪

how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed: the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years. ♪

welcome back foe "worldwide exchange." >> will he or won't he? >> mario draghi is expected to cut rates for the first time in ten months. he 3450i9 surprise with a move in lending instead. shell has announced the retirement of its ceo on the back of earnings. the oecd saying the italian economy will shrink more than expected this year. but growth is at the top of some

agendas at the top of the next eu summit. and the central bank has issued a warning to congress. and the drop in china's new export orders sees hsbc final pmi reading revised down from its flash estimate, signaling waning demand for goods in chinese factories. you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. it was not a pretty day yesterday for u.s. stocks. may day method, a lot of european and asian markets were closed and trade in the u.s. is largely taking direction from the disappointing aep report. of course, that's raising questions about what the official jobs calendar tomorrow may show. at the same time, the federal reserve calendar came out.

that's pretty much all indicated it wasn't enough to turn things around. today we're looking for a small rebound, perhaps. small gains seen for your indexes, as well. here is what's happening in europe. we've reopened trade, had the pmi figures out. the stocks slipping to the down side. the ftse mib, which had a great month in april, is not necessarily keeping the pace and giving up a third of a 1%. the ibex 35 bucking the trend, adding 0.5%. we did see a little bit of a loss of improvement in that pmi meeting from the flash improvement but certainly still contraction. >> absolutely. in a holding pattern ahead of the ecb. but they're saying i'm going to put growth atop of the eu summit. in italy, 3.84% is where we stand. the ten-year spanish yield is

getting down towards the 4% mark, as well. treasury yield, 1.633% post the fed yesterday, as well. we also had in the uk construction pmi coming in, much better than expected. another bit of uk data coming in better than expected and up into the 49 just shy of expansion. sterling, we move on to the currency market, see where we stand right now. but that's helped setting up again this morning, 1.5569. euro/dollar, 1.3170. now to singapore where we recap the asian session for you. sixuan. hi, ross. a lot of red arrows today. the pmi data showed signs that china's growth momentum is weakening after the price drop in china's official number yesterday. investors cautiously positioned themselves ahead of the ecb's

policy decision. in japan, the yen's strength weighed on the nikkei extending a four. day losing streak closing down 0.8%. south korea's kospi lost a modest 0.3% on hopes of strong earnings. the shanghai composite came back from a long three-day holiday and ending lower by a modest 0.2%. concerns about china's economic recovery puts pressure on mining stock necessary china as well as its big trading partner australia. chinese metals miners tanked after copper and gold prices dropped sharply. we have also got -- in the tech space. shares in japan dropped nearly 5% today after reports that the struggling electronicmaker has received a loan to help pay its

upcoming debt. lenovo tumbled nearly 3% on talks that the ibm server units have been cut off price of price differences. >> sixuan, thanks for that. the ecb is expected to cut rates today for the fist time in ten months. a bleak outlook for growth could mean draghi surprises with another boost into the real economy. the decision and press conference comes from the capital of slovakia been geoff and julia are there with questions about whether the ecb rate right now, will it be effective? is that the best way to get lending out to small and medium sized enterprises? >> yeah, absolutely, kelly. you know what? i don't know mario draghi particularly well and i certainly don't know what he listens to on his iphone or other listening device. maybe it's "i can't get no

satisfaction" by the stones or possibly "arrested development" that hip hop band from the states. quite frankly, that's what we have in the development of the eurozone economy at this point, a rested development. the lpro program, this nonconventional way of trying to pop money through the banking system just isn't working. the banks are trying to give it back. but the last thing mario draghi needs is this money to come back to the ecb, he needs it to go back into the real economy. and there's an argument for maybe a cut in rates because they don't make as much money by parking it back at the ecb. quite frankly, there doesn't seem to be any consensus on whether the rate cut itself would help the economy. >> absolutely. some don't believe in the 25 basis point cause of the breakdown is actually going to help. but then, of course, we have to start looking at alternatives.

someone i spoke to in the market this morning suggested to me that perhaps the market is priced for perfection. they're expecting something today for kmes. .mario draghi's only support is that in a sense are the comments that he made in dublin a couple of weeks ago. this is what he had to say about a solution for kmes. >> so we have increasing signs of fragmentation is receding in various parts of the eurozone. in the last, i'll say since last year's july, all indicators take any spread, an indicator of volatility or liquidity as improved dramatically. one needs the participation of other act like bib, national governments or national central banks because they're the ones that ultimately know better than anybody else the quality of their credit. the quality of their bank.

>> he made the point that perhaps they had guarantee a catch to these smaller and medium sized loans or at least the banks to be able to hold less capital against them and free up some cash for lending. talking about the eib being involved, then we're talking about not just the euro, we're talking about all the -- in the eu and england. >> and that brings us back to the basic problem mario draghi has, getting political buyin from the bundes bank and the german administration. and the way things have been going recently, it reminds me of that other great track from my era when two sides go to war by "franky goes to hollywood." quite frankly, it felt like that at times when you've seen the french and the germans arguing over just how much freedom they should give the ecb for nonconventional measures. >> and that's the question. do we end up seeing a 25 basis

point cut ultimately to abide some time to come together to reach abdomen agreement. it's not a given. >> but ross, kelly, if mario draghi has learned anything over watching the federal reserve over recent meetings, it might be this. that sometimes you don't actually have to pull the trigger, you just have to talk tough, ala clint eastwood. so if he comes back to the market again today with more jaw-jaw about nonconventional support for kmes, there is a chance the market might buy it. you know what? those peripheral yields are moving in the right direction without him having to set up a proper structure at this point. let's send it back to you as we are, what, hours away now from a decision from the ecb. >> and, geoff, it's a perfect question to ask our next guest. julie, geoff, hopefully we'll

get back with you later. chris, from commerzbank, does mario draghi need to deliver, does he just need to talk about it? what's priced in the markets at this point and what should they do today? >> well, the relationship between the rate and market rate is very indirect. it's not straightforward to deduct what is priced in. looking at the various curve and price segments, i have a great degree of confidence that a 25-basis point rate cut is fully discounted by the market. and anything less i think will be a disappointment and even 25 basis points by now given the data that we've seen will, yes, be -- the least the market is expecting and across some disappointment after the announcement then we need wait for the press conference to see what else the ecb has to offer for the kme. >> and how would you describe

the fragmentation across the eurozone that we've seen? in other words, if they do deliver a rate cut today, what's that going to mean in praps practice for borrowing costs? and also, what impact is it going to have on short-term markets? >> obviously, 25 basis point cut is -- and doesn't hurt. this is why the ecb will deliver this. but then it comes to the month-end measures and the ecb is expecting sne loans as collateral. and there are a few other things, obviously, that we think they can do and that they will. however, one thing is certain, for banks to lend are twofold. they need liquidity, confidence in their capital and confidence in the economy. and the ecb can only address the first part which they have done

already. they will look at haircuts on loans potentially and create ago new lending program with liquidity using just s&e loans as collateral, something like that. >> we've heard from that mario draghi in the past. just curious, as well, if you can shed some light on the extend to which a rate cut here, for example, is going to go around and actually spur lending and growth across the you are row economy. >> no, it definitely won't. what it will do is flatten the curve further out as it's a more important deposit rate which we will see unchanged with the euro will be -- at a much later date because then the sequence of

tightening will involve the rate to go up. so the rate expectations are, therefore, adjusted with this rate cut and the expectations are clear that liquidity will stay in the system for longer with a more -- >> all right. thanks for that. good to see you. do you think the ecb should be cutting rates or doing something else? go to our website, cnbc.com to vote and let us know your thoughts by twitter by using the hasht hashtag, hashtag cnbc cuts or cnbc leave. it all starts with 1300 cet. the federal reserve as expected is keeping in place its plans to buy 85 billion in treasury in mortgage bonds each month to help stimulate the u.s. economy. but in its statement yesterday, the central bank says it may

increase or cut the program depending on how the numbers play out. the fed is now turning up the heat on congress saying the fiscal policy is becoming a drag on growth. >> i know. coming up, making money on mobile. facebook says the number of people logging on to the site by smartphone or tablet sess dproeg. and it's now showing up measurably in the bottom line. t. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away.

we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here.

thanks for watching "worldwide exchange." these are your headlines. investors are looking for the first rate cut in ten months from the ecb. congress is being encouraged to step up fiscal measures to boost the economy. >> hsb is setting lower demand for -- overseas. many people are now logging on to facebook through their smartphone or tablet peps that's

reflected in the company's first quarter results. julia boorstin filed this report. facebook's earnings came in a penny lighter than expected. revenue grew more than spec'd at 38% to $1.46 billion. the big headline of basis earnings announcement was 30% of facebook's ad revenue came from mobile. that's more than expected and up from just 23% in q4. global monthly users grew 54% to 751 million and the company now has 189 million mobile opening users. on earnings call, both ceo mark zuckerberg and cheryl sandberg focused in on facebook's mobile success and ongoing potential in mobile ad growth. zuckerberg said he's excited about facebook home, its new app. cheryl sandberg said her priorities are mobile, measurement and innovation,

talking about the growth of new services like ads to promote apps download and the new ability to measure instore behavior based on what ads users see even if they don't actually click on those ads. the company says a record number of people played games on facebook in the quarter. but that's not because of zenga. zenga's contribution to facebook declined by 37%. the company says it's continuing to invest to make its ads more effective and measurable and we'll help see that investment play out in higher costs over the course of the year. in other corporate news, glencore says its merger with xstrata has been completed ending a long, long saga on that one. shell's first quarter number s top trade performance.

its ceo will retire in january next year. that's in line with the ftse 100 performance. today, shell shares are trading up a little bit more than 1%. meanwhile, despite a 20% jump in new orders, siemens was hit by project charge and weak demand. the company now expects its income to be at the low end of 4.5 billion to 5 billion euros. the siemens stock is off largely in frankfurt. growth and heavy investment took a toll on bmw's earnings. the german carmaker reported profits slightly down on the figure from a year earlier. the company says it's confident about the outlook and its profit margin is likely to be in the range of 8% to 10%. nevertheless, the shares are up about 0.9% on the dax today.

and it's in good shape. we'll meet its financial targets. this is after the second biggest re-insurancer said profits jumped 21% in the first quarter. and ubs activist vinke has made a renewed call for the company to separate its management and divisions. the push comes ahead of its annual shareholder meeting today. let's get more from carolin roth. how important is it that we're now hearing this renewed push for the company to separate themselves? >> kelly, to be frank, i don't think it's too important. what they want to do under the new strategy is to put a lot more emphasis on the wealth management business and the investment bank on the other hand should be operating with

less capital and with less risk. so that means less volatility in the next couple of months. keep in mind that knight vinke has only been a shareholder for over a year. it's interesting, we did get some comments out of ubs's chairman who says our credibility is crucial and he said that after he once again said we regret individuals were involved in the rate manipulation. remember that record fine for ubs as a result of the libor rigging. >> carolin, thanks a lot. good to see you on the show. qatar airways is returning its 787 dreamliner to the sky for the first time. we'll get on board to hear why the ceo is confident in the aircraft. [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good.

♪ [ agent smith ] ge software connects patients to nurses to the right machines while dramatically reducing waiting time. [ telephone ringing ] now a waiting room is just a room. [ static warbles ]

today, trying to open a little higher, by 23 points to the up side for the dow, a couple of points each for the s&p and nasdaq. >> meanwhile, qatar airways has returned its boeing 787 dreamliners to service after the faa lifted a ban on the aircraft that was tied to safety concerns over its batteries.

ceo caught up with qatar airways on board. listen in. >> this airplane would note bee absolutely sure that the batteries on board this airplane are safe and are sure that over the next month and years boeing will do even more to enhance the quality of the battery that is powering this electric airplane. >> yeah. good. who was that? earlier -- i mean, who is asking the question is what i men. did yusef get on the plane? >> could have been. earlier, we asked would you bring your own devices to work inspect this is a london based aviation company tweeted, they do their their employee toes bring their devices to work since activity across ipads, lab tops and phones are seamless.

it's integrating to bring your own devices to companies and employees. this after a report flld be massive change in -- -- >> more than half of all employees will be asked to bring their own devices by 2014. >> and use them for work. >> if you're not working around the clock, you will be, that is kind of the whole point of work giving you devices. >> but now because it's one and the same, the lines will be blurring. keep the responses domg on "worldwide exchange." we would love to hear from you. when we come back, we'll preview if earnings, has the u.s. economy shifted into recovery mode? be right back. we went out and asked people a simple question:

how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed: the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years. ♪

welcome back to "worldwide exchange." i'm kelly evans. >> and i'm ross westgate. these are your headlines from around the world. >> will he or won't he? mario draghi is expected to cut rates for the first time in months. could he surprise with a move in lenning, instead? >> shell reports as its ceo's retirement comes on the back of forecasts. italy's new prime minister has its work cut out.

oecd says the economy will shrink more than expected this year. but growth is at the top of the eu summit's next agenda. and the central bank has issued a warning to congress in the u.s. about u.s. fiscal policy. and at the same time, a drop in china's new orders sees hsbc's final revised readings down from its flash estimate. >> announcer: you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. . >> asian and european markets yesterday largely closed on the back of celebrations. but toous markets were not celebrating. we saw them posting gains in the range of almost 11%. this is partly because the adp private sector jobs report came in shy of expectations, putting more speculation into whether

friday's jobs report will show the strength that's needed to sustain the u.s. economy. today, it's taking shape, about 21 points we're looking for on the open. the nasdaq and s&p looking to add a couple of points. dourchb about 0.1%. even though the fomc yesterday justified it could do more. in the meantime, waiting on now the ecb. here is what european markets are doing ahead of that. the ftse down about 0.3%. the xetra dax now slipping back into the green. the ftse mib weaker while over in spain it's more of an indication, up 0.5%. we have pmi data across the eurozone saying we still remain mired in inflationary territory. poland looking weaker, though. >> thanks for that, kel. meanwhile, ing priced its ipo

last night around about $19.50 a share. it's below the expected range, but it's not all bad news as kayla tells us now from the hq in the states. hey, kayla. >> hi, ross. i'm here to bring you the good news this morning. the price of the deal wasn't what the company was hoping for, but ing sold more shares than it originally expected. the offering was $1.3 billion which makes it the largest of the year behind pfizer's animal health business. the shares were offered by ing and its dutch parent the stock begins trading today under voya. ing is relaunching itself as voya financial next year. the dutch giant, of course, will be making itself splitting its banking and insurance operations in a broader restructuring deal

with the european commission becoming a smaller european focused bank. ing received a $12.7 billion bailout from the dutch government in 2008 and has been selling asset toes repay that loan. it sold ing direct to capital one investments in 2012 for $473 million. the company expects the rebounding in financials to take about two years. but it's been a good year so far as far as ipos in general go. thompson reuters saying those proceeds have risen 22% this year. guys, just a note, ing's ceo martin is going to be on "squawk on the street" today at 9:50 eastern right after the company starts trading around that time.

make sure to tune in and see that interview. >> as always. >> voya, that's one to watch. sounds like something put together by a team of strategists, as well, doesn't it? >> yeah. where do they get these names from? >> i don't know. they're becoming increasingly abstract. it sounds slightly spanish, as well. >> i think people have a problem with financial institutions just being letters. >> what do you mean letters? >> ing. >> well, i guess. but if year going to try and increase name recognition about a brand -- i don't know. gm, though, is reporting first quarter results at 7:30 a.m. eastern today. earnings and revenue are expected to fall from a year earlier largely due to sales declines in, yes, europe. the same issue dogging many rivals, including ford and volkswagen.

paul taylor joins us now. what are you expecting to hear from general motors? >> well, the move that we got yesterday, they were up about 11%. cadillac was up 34%. so if you're -- it's good to sell you luxury cars and it's important to sell cars in the united states which they did. and they're saying that strongly in china. we're hoping that europe gets out of recession here in the next year. but in the meantime, it's good that cars are selling elsewhere in the world. >> at the same time, those figures from yesterday were a bit of a disappointment. what are you hearing from dealers about the market right now? how healthy is the market especially with the financing available, what are the hottest sections of the u.s. economy? >> the financing will continue to support sales during the year. the timing is a little slow in

the united states in the first quarter. and that's part of the trouble. of course, we've had some tax increases that surround the political situation here in washington and that's not helpful. we're seeing a bit of a slow -- but i think we're still going to get the important numbers this year. it's on the pace that we expected when we forecasted this at the beginning of the year. >> and certainly a lot of investors are watching to see whether gm can reclaim that level of $33 a share. what is your expectation with regard to the performance across europe? >> it's not helpful. it's tough on all the europeanmakers. volkswagen didn't have a great month here and the good news

with gm and ford and chrysler, as well, is they had a very strong month here and for central motors, they're showing strong sales in china, as well. two key markets are doing well fort general motors. they just need the u.s. to refer. >> you mentioned china. i think it's the earliest they've ever reached that landmark. how do you expect the sales bands to shift from, say, europe to china? >> well, the economy is doing well in china. as long as the real estate market holds up in china, we'll continue to see dramatic sales increases. that's a huge market and a huge market for gm. and so actually more importantly are the results from china for

gm than are the results from europe. but europe is a important market for gm and it's important that that market improves and that they find a way to make more productive -- in that market. >> good to see you this morning, paul taylor, national automobile dealers association. on a program note, gm's ceo daniel ammann will be on cnbc to discuss the first quarter results at 7:50 eastern, that interview. coming up in just a couple of minutes, we head back out to geoff and gjulia. meanwhile, here is what some of the experts have been telling us this morning about what to expect the impact from any rate cut might be on markets. >> the cut, as you've been saying, has been well priced, 25 basis points. there might be a little disappointment if he doesn't do

anything. but i agree with the points you made earlier, that expectations will probably roll over to the meeting and the producer staff forecast which in a way gives them a better platform to justify any cut in rates or any further action. >> even if we cut today, more cuts may be coming. actually, more qe if you wish may be coming down the road, especially within their limits. they have to target inflation. they want to keep it at 2%. if inflation is slipping, thooil they'll do whatever it takes to bring it back up 37. >> if the ecb were to cut its rates today, i think this is really the point when we look at the european debate and we have the discussion on growth. the question is how do we get sustainable growth for europe? to my mind, sustainable growth for europe has to come through structural reform. the idea that we can get it to depreciation of the euro, that's just a note between different currencies.

♪ ♪ the new blackberry z10 with blackberry hub and flick typing. built to keep you moving. see it in action at blackberry.com/z10

welcome back to the program. as the fight over austerity heats up, rogoff and reinhart continue their defense. find out why on the website,

cnbc.com. newerul roubini saying the fed is risking a seek well to the 2008 crisis. there is more about ta, as well, over on the website. and don't forget, follow us on twitter,@cnbcworld or @ross westgate. >> we did have more data out of the eurozone. manufacturing pmi was a pick up from the flash estimate. the flash was 46.5. the point was there was still a work down on marginal calls and keep in deeply contracting territory. but in some ways, that's adding to the basis for the ecb taking action today. but the key point is, as far as europe are concerned in spain and italy, they keep going lower. here in italy, 3.58%. what seems to be helping these

out is more comments today once we get into the italian prime minister, saying i'm going to put growth right at the top of the eu summit agenda and there's a perception that perhaps that growth trade or that refocus on growth may just help italy and spain out a little bit more and, of course, there's still the yield, as well, kelly. back to you. >> exactly, ross. thanks for that again. here is your headline today. investors are waiting for the first rate cut by the ecb in ten years. more bad news, meanwhile, for china's economy as h cancer lowers its final pmi reading lowering demand for exports overseas. >> so the ecb should be cutting rates. some have been questioning the impact of a 25-basis point cut.

and that is a discussion in slovakia and the capital bakoslavia. the ecb has gone there. geoff and jewel ra are there, as well. i want to ask you this question. a rate cut people talk about the symbolism of it. is this ecb meeting all about symbolism, particularly being there in bratislava. is that all part of the story, as well. >> well, i think it is, ross. and there is no more potent symbol than a flag. it's meant to represent unity and harmony and solidarity, which is something that seems to have been absent recently from the european discourse when it comes to setting rates or coming up with some nonconventional policy. but you know what? i love a few puns and a few more flag metaphors come to mind. the eurozone economies are flagging when it comes to what

the market expectation is, lots of people are flagging up a rate cut. >> nice. >> in fact, the consensus seems to be it will happen today. >> absolutely. two-thirds of analysts out there saying they're going to see a 25 basis point cut. but ultimately, this is what we're looking at at rate cuts today. but having said that, there are arguments perhaps then to hold off. the governing council members actually can't reach an agreement of just how good a 25 basis cut will make here. there's an argument to hold off at least until june. >> that's the view i would take up. we've watched the governing table all file in and we will watch them file out. the issue is what would a rate cut do for the real economy? so far, mr. draghi and his

cohorts have done good by the financial markets. it's the real economy that hasn't benefited. >> absolutely. and i think the rate meets today. spreads tighten in spain and italy. what's going on in the real economy and the question is actually does it come down to the ecb or should it now be about fiscal policy? >> lots of arguments to say that the bandwagon rolls on to frankfurt from here and perhaps we don't get the cut here. but it does come and it comes in frankfurt. we're going to wrap it up for just a moment. but we will be back with our rate special. that's 1:00 cet, 12:00 london time and, k, if you are watching us in north america, we want you to participate in our coverage. you can watch the world channel on your own cable platform and keep in touch with mario draghi's decision coming shortly. guys, back to you. >> you can, indeed. well said, geoff.

weed like to know what you think the ecb should do. let us know your thoughts on twitter or e-mail us, as well. there should be another option saying forget rate cuts and do something together so we can get votes. we will be bringing you live coverage of that rate discussion. the 1430 is the news korns. stim to cooperate, it's facebook's funny learning how to get more of its ads in front of mobl userses? [ male announcer ] this store knows how to handle a saturday crowd.

♪ [ male announcer ] the parking lot helps by letting us know who's coming. the carts keep everyone on the right track. the power tools introduce themselves. all the bits and bulbs keep themselves stocked. and the doors even handle the checkout so we can work on that thing that's stuck in the thing. [ female announcer ] today, cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everyone goes home happy.

let's get you a look at what's on today's agenda in the united states. weekly jobless claims out at 8:30 eastern. they're forecast to rise by 10,000. at 8:30, we get the march trade deficit and productivity and labor costs. general motors is out before the open. we'll get numbers from cigna, cme group,s take louder and kellogg. and fist quarter results missed forecast of facebook by a penny. up from 23% in the previously quarter. the company now has more than 1.11 billion monthly active users. and the number of people who log on solely with the mobile device has more than doubled to about 190 million.

>> actually, i thought the 30% of their advertising revenue was a spectacular number. so i thought the earnings away very good. >> in that case, though, what do you make of the fact that they didn't manage to beat on earnings and as mobile increases, does it put pressure on their earnings power longer term? >> well, okay, so on the earnings front, if you look at what's going on there, the company is ramping their investment in innovation and to that extent the operating expenses are growing at a faster rate than their revenue. i'm not at all concern about what's going on there. as with others in the front, it's offset by weakness and core. i'm very encouraged by the mobile trends. >> anything negative you found on this report? >> no. as with other advertising differences, when you see this in mobile, on the off set, you

are seeing degradation in the egg will i legacy. i don't think that's concerning. >> well, i think the stock, we have a $38 price target over the next 12 months which will return to the ipo price and have a high degree of confidence that that will occur. >> i guess the reason why i asked all this is if the story is as good as you see, we should already be there. why isn't it happening? >> well, because i do think that, you know, you still need to see execution. they've done a fantastic job in growing their mobile revenue to 375 million in 12 months. so they continue to ramp in that regard. i think the stock will continue to do well. >> tom, we'll leave it there. >> it is remarkable from this time last year, right.

>> total change in investments. >> big question mark about that whole thing. >> and earlier, nearly half of employers will bring their own computers, mobile phones and other devices to work by 2017. >> yeah. would you bring your own device to work? jay shoeman said it would be great if manufacturers incorporated more than one line into a mobile phone. which is a great point. one of the things we were saying it is it's hard to differentiation. they have tweeted, employees have to bring their own devices to work what's next. >> the other thing is, working in and working out, that means presumably every month what's going to happen is you have to go through that. >> it will never happen. >> what is the data searching?

>> there should be a toggle. as you know, even so, it's not that easy to indicate which -- >> yeah. with that search, 3g, 4g i was searching, how do you know? >> and employers put it on you, permanently, to tweet and be responsible for your own device, of course they're going to do it to try to make you cover more of the costs. >> futures? >> u.s. futures trying to rebound after having one of our worst days sips last year and markets down from nearly 1% from most of the major indexes. jobless claims numbers today, important to watch. in the meantime, we'll see what the ecb has to say. >> "squawk box" is coming up

next. if you want to switch to cnbc world, the show starts in an hour's time. >> see you back here tomorrow. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] this is a reason to look twice. this is a stunning work of technology. the 2013 lexus es and the first-ever es hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection.

good morning. the ecb under action, a policy decision now less that two hours away. in the time, in the u.s., it's all about the fed keeping interest rates low, continuing its bond buying program, but even with a new twist. it's tuesday thursday, may 2nd, "squawk box" begins right now.

an announcement is due about 7:45 eastern time. then ecb president mario draghi will be holding a news conference. in earnings news, facebook reporting first quarter results that were basically in line with estimates. the earnings per share came in about a penny below what the first call consensus was. but revenue is slightly above and that may be the more important factor if you're an investor in that company. the social network's advertising company gains momentum. this partially offset higher spending which weighs on profit. shares of facebook, they're up by 1.35%. we're going to talk more about facebook with an analyst who conference the company. also, ing u.s., pricing its ipo at $19.90 a share. that was below the expected ng