hello. you're watching "worldwide exchange." i'm ross westgate. the headlines today, bernanke found spades, chinese shares, but stocks have struggled. the bulls and bears battle it out going into the final week of christmas. koroda gives the thumbs up to the fed's tapering announcement ahead of the tax hike next april. cae has lost two blows.

it lost out on a fighter jet deal in the euae. russian president vladimir putin has reportedly freed the jailed typhoon khodorkovsky after a ten years in prison. >> announcer: you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. >> we're into the last "worldwide exchange" of the week. plenty to get through on the program. next, it's two days after tapering and the ripples are still being felt across asset markets. we'll measure the fallout.

it's been we'll look at key drivers for the global property market. and the battle for control of italy's biggest telecom continues as shareholders vote on whether to replace the telecom italia's board. if that's not enough, gold is down after the fed's taper announceme announcement, but should you be buying the dip? after a big fall this year of over 25%, we'll get analyst opinions in around 40 minutes. and if you have any thoughts, comments, queries or questions or anything else you want to say, e-mail us, worldwide@cnbc.com. first, japan's central bank says the u.s. fed has acted appropriately by signaling it will taper in january. the fed's move was based on a steady recovery which can accelerate. but he gave no indication that the bank of japan was ready to

go the same way. it kept its massive bond buying policy unchanged. joining us is azumi from hsbc. thank you very much for joining us. we've got dollar/yen up to a fresh high, 104.60. with fed tapering, will the yen continue to eat? how is that going to help the country out? >> yeah. i think the yen is not at risk of immediate appreciation. it's very clear that the fed is much farther ahead than the ecb and the bank of japan in terms of its intention to reduce monetary accommodation. so i think the bank of japan is quite firm that it will keep its easing program in place. and i think with the yield differential still there, there's no risk for immediate appreciation. >> yeah. they're not yield differentials certainly getting wider. when we get that sales tax hike

in next year, are you expecting the bank of japan to add more stimulus? >> yes, we do. currently, i think consensus is focused on a second quarter easing, but i think they're going to hold off probably until the third quarter. there are a couple of things that kuroda has pointed out that going to drive their easing decision. one is base wages. he's emphasized the need for base wages to go up, for the increase to be sustained. we're not going to get the full outcome of next year's spring negotiations until probably may. on top of that, i think the boj is going to take a good, hard look at second quarter economic data to assess the negative impact of the consumption tax hike. >> how real is the turn around? he just got back from japan. how real is this? we've had many false storms before. and the reply he got was people are out in the shops, but this time they actually have bags.

is that how you feed it? >> well, i think there's been a lot of pent up demand that started with the 2011 earthquake. so i think the increase in consumption that we're seeing here is very real, but i do think there is a big risk that the consumption will fade away if we're going to get this transition to -- you know, out of deflation and into an inflation type of environment no matter how mild that is. if incomes do not go up, it does risk a huge hit on household wallets. i think there has been a positive momentum in the economy, but next year's theme really is going to be wages and income. >> yeah. and also what happens with industry and their capital expenditure plans. because in the tankan survey, that didn't seem to be the best part of it. >> yeah, i know. and i think exports and investment are the weak spot in the yes. that's going to be a problem as next year consumptions cannot do any of the heavy lifting in the

economy any more. i do think corporates are still cautious about the outlook for the economy. there is still some uncertainty around what type of structural rates and tax reforms are going to be delivered. so i think corporates will maintain a cautious eye on those developments and i don't think we can expect a renaissance in japanese business investment anytime soon. >> what should be part of the third arrow? >> well, i think abe has done some good things in terms of agricultural reforms and things like that. but for corporate, labor market deregulation remains high on the agenda. there's some hope that these issues can be addressed through the special economic zones that are going be established. but i think the broad, you know, game changing labor market reforms, the easing of hiring and firing, that is still a very political taboo topic in japan. and i don't think abe is going to have sort of the muscle to tackle it. >> nice to see you. you have a good evening there in

hong kong. thanks for joining us, japanese economist at hsbc. >> thank you. chinese cash country continues to plague investors despite an emergency fund injection by the pboc yesterday. the besh mark rate hit its highest level since the liquidity crisis last june. it's been speculated that the central bank is trying to stamp out shadow banking. but rumors have been swirling. that's been impacting, of course, chinese market today. we'll get more from sixuan in a few moments. but first, let's bring you up to speed with where we are in europe. here we go. take a look at the dow jones stoxx 600 heat map. you can see we are just about weighted to the upside something like 6 to 3 at the moment on that particular market. off about 0.25%. yesterday, the ftse was up 1.4%. and, what, the other markets up

1.5%, as well. today, the ftse is up about 11 1 points. the xetra dax is up 0.3%. at the moment, the cac 40 is fairly flat as is the ftse mib, as well. a number of individual stocks, as well, that we're looking at. let's show you with iliad, 6.3% down this morning on, tumbling after rival telecom operator said the firm would offer connections to count the french telecom operator war heats up. meanwhile, alcatel lucent is down just 0.6% at the moment. it has agreed to sell ils innovations. bae's losses down now nearly 5% after it lost out on a contract to supply jets to the uae. but its loss was dassault's

gain. bae confirming after the market close no longer in the running. and dassault aviation up 2.78%, as well. let's get more from stephane on that. hey, ross. after losing an important contract in brazil, dassault is more positive about its outlook. this morning, the ceo of dassault says he was rather confident over the jet fieder in india. me dehli is going to buy 126 aircraft plus 67 options, which makes a total of 189. this would be a great competition for dassault aviation after the french contract. the french minister is confident about the outlook. getting a contract in india but

also in the gulf country saved precisely that getting a contract in the united arab emirates seems more likely now that they have ended their negotiations with the country which is looking at potentially buying 60 aircraft. getting international contract is crucial for dassault aviation. they need to offset the negative impact of the austerity measures in france. the french defense ministry has decided to reduce the pace at which it will take delivery of the new rafale jets over the next few years. it will get 11 planes a year instead of 26 and for dassault aviation, now the company needs to find resources and a victory in india would be, of course, very positive for the company. >> stephane, thanks for that. let's show you where we stand with treasury yields, two

days now post the fed, 2.92% is the yield. we have been up to 2.95%, a three-month peak on the ten-year. climbed steadily during yesterday's session and spread ves narrowed, as well, between bund and peripheral guilt yield. plenty more data coming out. euro down to 1.3625 this morning. currently at 1.3639. not helped out by s&p downgrading the eu. they just said we think the creditworthiness of the 28 eu countries has declined. dollar/yen, 104.49. the aussie bouncing off its 3 1/2 year low. and sterling just back from wednesday's 164.80, which is a high currently just below 11.64. so that's european trade. we've had that news out on chinese money market rates. how has that all affected asian

trade? sixuan is with us out of singapore. >> yeah, thank you, ross. hurt by those liquidity concerns, chinese banks, as you can see from the wall here, they took a dive today, especially in the afternoon session on fears of another cash crunch like we saw back in june. in late trade, china construction bank and citic bank tumbled to their daily limit before recouping losses. today might not have been the perfect timing for china's largest lender to go public. suggesting investors concerns over liquidity as the country gets back near debt levels. on the whole, china markets extended a nine-day losing streak while the shanghai composite lost nearly 5% for the week. but japan and australia both gained about 3% this week after the fed removed the taper uncertainty.

the bank of japan decided to hold steady on its massive bond buying program boosting to trades above the 11.40 level. elsewhere, bargain hunters picked up stocks pushing the kospi higher by 0.4% today. and the fed's decision to taper is hurting emerging markets. india in some southeast asian markets are trading in the green at the moment. back to you. >> sixuan, thanks for that. catch you a little later. right now, let's talk about russian president vladimir putin reportedly freeing khodorkovsky after a he spent more than a decade in prison. he recently appealed for clemency. in the 1990s, khodorkovsky gained control of the russia's largest oil company but was jailed on tax evasion. and this is the end of the road for the volkswagen van?

it was first introduced in 1950. the hippies and many others seeking the the open road. in recent years, the 63-year-old van has been reproduced in brazil. but recent changes to safety regulations which require antilock brakes and air bags means today's fannish vans are set to be the last ever to roll off the production lines. however, all might not be lost. a reprieve is under the microscope where the brazilian government could make an exception. so what car or vehicle are you sentimental about? if you want to join the conversation here on "worldwide exchange," get in touch with us, e-mail us, worldwide@cnbc.com, tweet @cnbcwex or direct to me @rosswestgate. your first car is always rather special, i think, whatever the model.

still to come, prada is on parade rolling out its quarterly earnings, but could a slowdown be imminent? we head to singapore for the latest. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

italian industrial sales have fallen in october. down 2.5% on the month, up 1.2% on the year. october industrial sales contracting 0.7% for the month, up 1.3% on the year. remember, third quarter gdp in italy still contracting 0.1 is%. meanwhile, the italian government is due to hold a confidence vote on its 2014 budget beginning less than two hours. the contested package needs to be approved on by both houses of parliament before the end of the year. the budget has been on the unions and business groups alike claiming it doesn't do enough to revive the economy and the cuts in labor taxes are too pained. the european union has lost its aaa credit rating. standard & poors have downgraded the region to aa plus citing

concerns over budget negotiations. the moves follows recent cuts to the members of the eu states following france and the netherlands. an agreement between eu finance ministers are on a mechanism to rescue troubled banks is an important step towards the completion of a banking union. the deal has prompted the germ kwan chancellor angela merkel to call on european lead toers commit to binding contracts in order to reform their economies. >> translator: there is an agreement on the counselor stones of the resolution schemes for the banks and we will enter into intensive dialogue, which would be somewhat complicated if one looks at the comments from the european parliament today. but it's a compromise that was considered to be the right one around the table. >> reacting to the deal, the french president, francois hollande talked about its importance to markets and investor trust. >> all those who put their money in banks, whichever one of the eurozone they may be in, are certain that there will be no

risk regarding their placement now. and it's an element of trust for the taxpayers, as well. >> stephane has more for us once again from paris. stephane, it seems very complex, what they've agreed. in fact, one could argue have we got a single resolution at all? what's the feeling there? >> the feeling is that we have an agreement between france and germany. as you knew, the two countries disagreed on what to put in place. france wanted essential rescue fund to deal with a failed bank while germany wanted a network of national funds. so there is kind of a compromise. this is what the finance minister insisted on yesterday. now, the agreement, ross, is not exactly what france but italy and spain were expecting for because it rules out the direct use of funds from the european security mechanism, the esm, in the near term. this is the reason why we have some luke warm comments

yesterday in paris. the first one was from the german finance minister. he was yesterday in paris. and he is that the deal was convincing. the french finance minister says the deal gives meaning to the european single currency and we have also some mixed comments from jean-claude trichet, the former president of the european central bank in an exclusive interview to cnbc. the banking union was a work in progress. we'll bring you these comments in the next hour of the show, plus the reaction from the ceo of societe generale. so stay with us. we'll bring you this from 11:00 cet. >> yes. we need to wait for that. stephane, we're asking people today about any cars or vans they're nne that you hold dearest in your heart? >> i quite like the yellow one

because it reminds me of a u.s. film. do you know which film i'm talking about? >> "little miss sunshine"? >> absolutely. >> how did i know that? >> you should see i did. i had a german car. >> oh, you had a german car? >> when i used to live in london. that's very european. >> you had a gulf or something, did you? >> audi. >> they're very solid. they work. you turn the key and they go. >> absolutely. >> that's why they do so well. but they're hard to fall in love with, right? >> you were in love with your car, ross? >> well, you sort of -- you know, they're functional, right? they're functional. but there are some cars when you're -- i had a -- for my

first car. and, you know, perhaps not the most reliable car, but it worked. it worked for me. so -- >> were you in love with your car? >> not with the car, but with -- anyw anyway, if you want to join the conversation on "worldwide exchange," get in touch with us. e-mail us, worldwide@cnbc.com. @cnbcwex or @rosswestgate. i was in love with what the car enabled me to do, like get to parties. these high rollers are expected to spend $7 billion in luxury goods this year. a jump around 13% on the year. companies like pra prada are seeing a slowdown in sales growth as chinese shoppers shift from brands to bespoke products. for previous prada's earnings, we're joined by nicholas rambus. nice to see you. i'll ask you about your car a

little bit later. but anyway, prada, what are we expecting? >> it looks like they're going to do pretty well. they have the holiday season before them. they have been on a tear in opening new stores, especially in second and third cities in china, and i think they're going to do a little better as a result of the great gatsby effect. you saw this with tiffany in their last earnings. prada was, as you may know, involved in the cotour lines. i think they'll do pretty well this third quarter. >> there's been a lot of talk about this slampdown on ostentatious displays of wealth in china. is that having an impact or has it had an impact? >> it most certainly is. there's an evolution taking place in not just the buying habits, but in the clampdown. as a result, you have brands changing, less logos, less visibility. the good thing about prada is they have a very strong creative

director in prada herself and that continues to morph with the tastes. .i think they're going to continue to evolve their offerings as a result. but the big key in luxury these days, certainly in china, is having a diversity of offerings that moves quickly and adapts to fast changing consumer tastes. >> so you must have the fast must-have item plus lots of other in small quantities. is that how it works? >> it depends on which brands you talk to. there are a lot of brands that have done well in the high-end in the workplace. the reality is there is a huge number of super rich ultra high worth individuals in china who make up a large part of store sales. it's the 80/20 rule. there are a handful of individuals that can drive brands. while key chains and lowend

handbags may be interesting, there's a lot of on other items high end that can do very well with just a handful of people buying those offerings. >> and you talk about experiential as opposed to high luxury. is that similar to going on a trip to the north pole? >> it's funny you mention that. i had a good friend who went to the north pole recently. you're absolutely right. there is a move to experiences over products. as money becomes more and more voluminous, there is access to everything. a lot more brands are beginning to indicator to that. even the product companies are beginning to wrap the experiences in europe around those same product sales, bringing people to the factory, having them meet with the family owners to get that one of a kind

offering. >> thanks for that. by the way, any car that you're particularly nostalgic about, whether you've owned it or not? >> well, in fact, my first car was a volvo 240 that worked like a charm. >> there you go. there you go. you have fond memories of that. very safe, very safe those volvos. couldn't do much damage to yourself. merry christmas to you, nicholas. the reason i ask that is because that's what we are asking you. what is your favorite car that you've been most nostalgic about? e-mail us, worldwide@cnbc.com, worldwide@cnbc.com, @cnbcwex or direct to me @rosswestgate. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open.

open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

and the headlines from around the globe, the bernanke bounce, fears about a cash crunch hit chinese shares as stocks in europe struggle for ratings downgrade for the eu which has left the bulls and bears battling it out as we approach final run-in to christmas? bank of japan chief harry kuroda gives the thumbs up for the tapering announcement,

although kept their stimulus on hold for now until april. bae is dealt two blows. it lost out on a contract in india. shares in the company are lower. we have the latest data out of the uk. the final print of first quarter gdp, unchanged. there was a thought it might be essentially nudged up from the estimate. anyway, but 0.8% quarter on quarter. the annual rate was actually revised up on the year to 1 is.9% annually. the last estimate was plus 1.5%. so that's a notable upgrade. second quarter gdp was nudged up, revised up to 0.8% quarter on quarter from 0.7%. and the breakdown is october services up 1%. running at 2.1% year on year. meanwhile, the current accounts deficit has come in on record.

20.7 billion for the third quarter. as a percentage of gdp, 5.1%, the biggest since 1989. it was forecast for a deficit of 13.5%, which is an enormous increase on the forecast. the current account deficit, 20.7 billion. it was forecast at 13.5 billion. helia is with us on set. we've been sucking in. this is the consumer bout. the consumer has been sucking in deficit amounts of imports. >> we also have data out of the bank of england today. this is their household finances. the public finances state they're in, now looking at the household finances. interestingly, even though people say they're more relaxed about the debt they carry, what the bank of england has warned

today is that if there is any kind of rate increase, remember earlier this week we saw the jobs number improve and giving the prospect of a rate hike earlier, the bank is saying that if we saw anything like a 2.5% hike in rates, then incomes would have to jump about 20% for people to be able to to afford those mortgages. and we're talking about the at-risk group of people. so about five -- i think it's 5 million uk households, representing about 300 billion of mortgage debt would be at risk if we saw rate increases. so interesting fingers out. >> they got used to whatever their rates are. so even though we only may be talking 25, 50 basis points, it now has a bigger impact than it would have. >> absolutely. we're absolutely hooked on cheap debt at the moment and this is the point, that people feel

relaxed, but they feel relaxed because we're at historically low rates. and incomes at the moment are jumping only 0.9 percent. so there is a real discrepancy about what people can afford and the new environment. >> but this is the new normal now, isn't it? >> if you look to mark carney, the governor, you might well think it. he keeps saying under forward guidance, it's a staging -- >> how many years does it take before you describe something as normal? >> well, we did have the biggest financial collapse since the 1930s. but i think many -- i think you're right, but i think many people would say that given we've had such good economic data, you've got the growth figures kind of upgraded there, that we should be returning to an environment where interest rates start to tighten.

and i think the counterargument would be what you hear from carney and things like this. but, actually, can people afford them? can that group of people who are on mortgage -- you have this mortgage debt won't be able to service them. unless wage increases follow suit. ross, are you looking for a 20% wage increase anytime soon? >> no, no negotiations not this year i'm afraid. no, not happening. borrowing is bigger than expected at 16.5 billion for november. it was up 115.6 billion a year ago and it's expected to fall to 14.5 billion. so we've borrowed 2 billion more than we thought we were going to do, as well. those numbers aren't particularly great for mr. osbourn. stick around, hell ya, because i want to ask you another question. european equities are up again today, up 0.5% for the ftse 100 and the xetra dax. the ftse 100 was up yesterday

some 1.4%, something like that. bond markets, we have seen yields ticking higher again today. and on the currency markets, the dollar/yen is trying to stay firm. euro/dollar, nudged up to 1.3635. sterling/dollar, below 1.63. meanwhile, it's the end of the room for the volkswagen kombi. or is it? this is the icon that was clocked up to hippies, sfuurfer and many others. it has been recently produced only in brazil, but antilock brakes and air bags could see its end. but fear not, all may not be

lost, because the brazilian government is wondering whether to allow them to wave the rules to keep making it. so what we're asking is what car or van or vehicle have been nostalgic about or are you nostalgic about? it might be the first one that you ever drove or the one you cannot afford to buy. join the conversation. the question for you, helia, helia? >> yes. >> get your head out of the economic data. stop being a journalist for a moment and talk to me about something far more important. >> i'm focused entirely on you, ross. >> far more important, have you ever been nostalgic about any vehicle? >> nostalgic? >> what was your first car? >> polo. >> do you think of that fondly? >> yes. that's the universal car, isn't it inspect that's the car most

people in the uk their parents want them to buy a safe, boring car. >> how many people can i squeeze in a polo from the public? >> obviously i wouldn't be squeezing anyone from the public into my vehicle. >> no. you were studying. there you go. you can get 20 people in a polo if you try very hard. thank you. you can go back now to studying the data. i'm sorry to interrupt you. >> so what car are you nostalgic about? have you not been paying attention? >> no, not at all. >> do you not want the output? a lancier. >> what is that? >> two door, very nice, royal blue. >> i'm sorry. will you buy that car ever again? classic cars are actually -- that's not the point of this.

getting back to the data. all right. good. she's here all day. now, telecom italian's management is expected to learn its fate today. the proposal brought by rebel investors are aimed to reduce the dependance on telecom italian. who is going to win out? >> it's a wonderful piece of italian theater, really. i'm not sure that they will win to try and remove the board. but i think it sends a very clear message. we've had this so many times over the last 15 years where the board is essentially in disarray, they have to come up with a new strategy, etcetera. we were very pleased when they decide we were to pay down this debt. because the issue is although

they're under enormous pressure, they have management the markets and they've got recent markets, but who will buy them with that amount of debt? now, of course, the group pressurizing for a change in the market board, their theory is there's no future other than a yield play. but, of course, that's right. but maybe that's what telecom italian is left with and it's needs to be part of a bigger group. but you've got a cultural issue. >> yes. who is going to allow them to be part of a bigger group. >> yes. on one hand, the government would allow it to be part of an acquisition, but that would make it an option for an m&a. do we keep it in this position where no one wants it or do we make it attractive? >> and you also have a -- a delicate situation as far as italian politics are concerned.

you don't want to, i suppose, open yourself up to another activity. >> you can see the drivers and, of course, it would cause an issue. i have no doubt that people will protest about that and they'll be fair about unemployment quite rightly. so you can understand the balancing act. but in the end, for the long-term benefit of both the italian economy and for the company itself, it needs to be in other hands. it doesn't have the scale and the prospect. they took a gamble. it didn't pay off. >> everything talks about telecom occurs. >> yes. this has been interesting. telefonica got involved and at the time we said why, what are you doing taking a stake? they said their industrial synergies. and as far as i recall, i don't recall anything ever being said about that. we can't see it. the other option may have been well, if we do that, we have

some influence over what happens to the latin american assets where we have a strong interest. if that's the case, that's back fired, as well. now they have the regulator in brazil saying, sorry, you don't have a bigger stake and if anything, we want a smaller stake. as a result of your stake with telecom italian, you have too much direct and indirect control of the marketplace. it's back fired the strategy and it's about waste of management effort because it sucks up a huge amount of time. >> who is doing the best at the moment in the european telecom state? >> from a recovery perspective, it's probably kpn and alcatel. i wouldn't get overexcited about that. of course, you know, there's great research behind that. they're trying to get their act together and back into play and alcatel certainly has been delivering the goods. everybody else, france telecom

is a -- you know, they have a nightmare scenario. >> and a final word about t-mobile, dish may be looking at it now. do you think the u.s. regulator will allow, though -- they've always said they want four mobile carriers. do you think they ever would allow it to go to three? or maybe it stays at four and that's the advantage. >> well, i think they would take two views on that. and the first one would be finally the market will support three carriers. while we can insist upon four and people are making money, fieven. eventually, there will be a consolidation. whether or not dish would be allowed to do the deal outside of that envelope of where are we in the market development, i would hope that the regulator would say yes on the basis that dish is a satellite business and when you look at the satellite

businesses and the cable businesses, the ones that are most successful have try and play offerings. so dish ought to be allowed to try and get into that marketplace in a meaningful way. so you would hope yes, but i wouldn't want to try and preempt the regulator. thank you so much for that. you don't get spared, by the way. >> i knew you were going to do that. >> your nostalgic car. >> three quick answers. the first car -- i've never actually owned a car personally. i've always borrowed or been driven, as you know. >> much cheaper. >> absolutely. but my mother had a fantastic honda civic which she insisted on having a very large engine in. we probably didn't always ask her permission to use that, but we had a lot of fun with that car. and i remember that as my first learning car. and then the one i always wanted was one of those 1990s ducatis with the very fat wheels that

sound like an angry tiger at the light. i always wanted one of those. and i'll get one. but now my wife is wonder fg that's a good idea. >> it's a bit like putting your bottom on a rocket, i've always thought. the car i've always lusted after is a 1978, the big wedge shape royal blue racing green with cream -- >> i also got very excited by the aston martin dbi when it came out. if i can say that. >> of course you can. we'll see. santa might be good to us, christopher, if we have a good year. >> he might be. >> on the other hand, he might not. thanks so much. merry christmas to you. >> you, too. >> christopher. we're asking you what car you're nostalgic about. e-mail us or tweet us with your thoughts. besides in europe, seeing

more telecom assets changing hands in asia. australia's telstra is selling its mobile phone market to hkt. the deal, worth close to $2.5 billion, it will make hkt the largest mobile phone aconsidereding to subscribers. >> hi, ross. panasonic will shut down its okayama and koshima plants to organize its semi conductor business. one plant will be closed by the end of fiscal 2014 and product will be moved to another chip plant in the northern part of japan. the kokasima plant will stop production by next march and workers will be reassigned.

the firm is trying to get down to turning around the chip segment since the business suffered a lost last year. panasonic agreed to sell three segments to an israeli chipmaker and it's in talks to sell five overseas chip plants. plus panasonic and fellow japanese electronicsmaker fujitsu are merging their businesses. ross, back to you. >> thanks so much. have a great weekend in tokyo. still to come here, gold prices stabilize after falling 3% in one day. and at some point, does the lower price means there's value in them there hills? we'll get a view when we come back.

just before we go on to commodities, telecom italia rome prosecutors have opened an investigation into obstruction of regulators in the deal. we were just talking about this. rome prosecutors say no individuals are under formal

investigation in this probe at this particular stage. more on that as we get it. meanwhile, gold has settled yesterday's lowest close since early august 2010. the precious metal down 3.3% as investors exited following the fed aelz decision to stop tapering. our next guest says many prefer sterling and euro versions both at their cheapest since spring of 2010. for more, adrian. >> good morning, ross. good to see you. that decline is all in dollars terms. what has to happen if you look at gold and euro? >> sterling and euro turns gold has gone to 3 1/2 year lows. it took out the june low which in the dollar was 11.80 on the spot. it took that out a couple months ago in sterling and euro terms. and certainly on bouillon, we continue to see private inve investors continue to buy the dips. >> yeah. although -- >> although, if you called it a

dip, it would have been august 2010 -- >> so we should be in 2013. look what happened to the equity markets, look at what happened to interest rates. they have risen. real yields on the treasury have gone up. and equities are turning gold down. exactly. gold is down 25%. bottom line is, you know, if you compare this five years ago when that situation was entirely reversed, i do think it's proven gold as an insurance because it didn't pay this year. you didn't need it this year as much as you needed it five years ago. >> i'm with you on that. okay. times were good. so we didn't need the insurance. >> well, you didn't need so much of it. if you're going to have diversified portfolio, you're going to have some all the time. i think a lot of people have too much. obviously, you know, his sons were very overweight in gold. >> yeah. because they weren't using it as insurance. they were continuing to try to make money out of it. >> and clearly after 12 years of annual gains, nothing goes up

for 12 years straight except for gold. obviously, you've now had a very big pullback and getting down to new 3 1/2 year lows now. >> where is the point where you think we get out of the momentum and all the momentum buys and the investment buyers? where do you think we get to an equilibrium stage where, you know, it needs just insurance and the regular demand and supply for jewelry and -- >> the interesting thing this year is how strong demand out of the china has been. >> not active. in terms of demand from china has been phenomenal and it will be interesting to see what the final numbers are when thompson roiters come out with their numbers earlier in the year. the point that that's proven is at the moment, the prices aren't set there. they're set by investor sentiment. that's what drives the prices up and down. it's been a year when real

allocations are driving against it. >> i just wonder if you had a year where there might be a point where physical demand and investor sentiment sort of meet. there's a much more settled price. >> well, i think, you know, goldman through 1200 yesterday morning and it's stabilized pretty well, i think, considering the fact that fed tapering is 10 billion here and 10 billion there. we are looking at a strong bid coming out of asia kra in particular at these levels. >> thanks for joining us, adrian. now, what is becoming an increasingly rate vote of confidence in bitcoin, overstock says it will accept the digital currency. the retailer bitcoin offers a refuge from digital control and it will start accepting the currency next year. eunice yoon has more on the story from beijing.

>> betting on bitcoins has paid off for li lynn. li opened an exchange with the virtual currency n exchange just six months ago. he's minted bit coins out of silver for his clients, believing bit coins are more precious than gold. he says it's varietial gold. the currency is a popular way to invest here as people have new investment options and see bitcoin as a coughetted commodity. in by jing's version of silicone valley, traders buy and sell bitcoins for this start up. this is one of the most popular places for bitcoin traders to get together, hold seminars and swap information about the virtual currency. >> chandler says he has 1,000 bitcoins. the 30-year-old prefers the currency because it helps him

transfer money worldwide fast pap luxury the chinese have never had before due to the country's control. bitcoin is a financial network, he says. if you're in the u.s. and i'm in china, if i ask you to send me two bitcoins, you can trevor them right away. the authorities are weary of on anything that could disrupt china's tightly controlled financial system and are unnerving bitcoin believers by cracking down on its trade here, most recently stopping certain exchanges from taking more yuan deposit, key to driving prices higher. li isn't worried. he says his firm's trading volume is the equivalent of $50 billion a day. bitcoin is more trustworthy because its credit is based on science, not an individual or estate. not exactly what the government would like to hear. uni eunice yoon, beijing.

what would you like for coins? apple shares, bitcoin or cash? almost all of you went for bitcoins second and apple second. head to trader pollen cnbc.com and have your say, as well. meanwhile, still to come, two days after tapering, the ripples are still being felt across global asset markets. we'll look at how the fed fallout is going to affect u.s. treasury. the second hour of "worldwide exchange" coming up. right after this very, very short break. we'll be back in just a few moments. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open.

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you're watching "worldwide exchange." i'm ross westgate. the headlines today, the bernanke bounce fades and fears about a cash crunch hit chinese shares. stocks in europe here doing okay. they've shrugged off a rating downgrade in the eu and bulls and bears are now battling it out as we head towards christmas. japan's finance minister is giving a thumbs up to the u.s.

tapering. and bae is dealt two blows, losing out on a fighter jet deal in the uae while talks with saudi arabia have come to a halt. its shares in the company are lower. and a very warm welcome to you been if you've just joined us stateside, welcome to cnbc. we're pretty flat on equity markets. dow just down 11 points. futures a little firmer this morning. we are under currently some 30 points above fair value and the s&p at the moment is just around 3.5 points above fair value. european equities have been

firmer. the ftse 100 at the moment, up 0.4%. it was up 1.4% yesterday. xetra dax is up 0.5%. 0.25% gains for the cac 40 and ftse mib. a number of stocks we're looking at on individual prices today, iliad is down after the firm is going to offer a cut price, connections to counter another iliad offer. alcatel lucent off 0.75% today. it has confirmed it's agreeing to sell lgs innovations for $200 million to an investor group. bae, down 4.75% today. but its loss could be dassault's gain. a day on losing out a deal for the fighter jets in brazil, they could be on course to clench a contract to provide aircraft to the uae.

bae has confirmed it's no longer in the running for that. checking on the bond markets, u.s. treasury yields getting up to 2.95%. a little below that at the moment, just back down to 2792%. that will please mr. bernanke and the rest of the fed. on the currency market, the dollar is continuing to try and inch higher. right now, euro/dollar has been down to the low 1.36s. 1.3643. we did go lower after the s&p downgraded rating on the whole of the eu, the whole 28 countries that make up the european union saying that the long-term creditworthiness has declined. dollar/yen, 104.47. just below the fresh five-year high we hit in the session of 104.60. aussie/dollar, just off its 3 1/2 year low that we hit yesterday. sterling, 1.6341 is about a cent away from its three-year high against the greenback, as well.

meanwhile, chinese cash crunch fear res continuing to playing investors. money markets driving hard despite an emergency fund injection by the pboc late yesterday. the benchmark seven-day bank repo rate hitting its highest level since the liquidity crisis last june. it's been speculated that central bankers tried to stamp out shadow banking. but rumors of loan defaults by commercial banks have been swirling around. so how has that impacted trading in asia on the last day of the week? sixuan has all the update for us out of singapore. hi, sixuan. >> thank you, ross. chinese banks, indeed, in focus today. they were bleeding on fears of another cash crunch like we saw back in june. in late trade, china construction bank and china citic bank both tumbled by about 10% to the lower daily limit before recovering some lost ground. china everbrite bank slipped 2.7% and its 3 billion hong kong ipo today.

it would be the perfect timing for china's largest lender to go public over rising concerns over liquidity and debt levels. on the whole, the shanghai composite extended a nine-day losing streak and lost nearly 5% for the week. but japan and australia both gained 3% for the week after the fed removed the taper uncertainty. the bank of japan decided to hold steady on its massive bond buying program, boosting dollar/yen pairs above over 140. elsewhere, south korean automakers saw borrowing today pushing the kospi higher by 0.4%. and the fed's decision to taper isn't hitting emerging markets as hard as many thought a few months ago. india in some southeast asian markets in the green today. back to you, ross. >> sixuan, thank you for that. have a great weekend. good to see you. that's the latest out of asia today. now, the fed's announcement of the start to tapering in january has fueled a move in u.s. treasuries.

while the five-year note crept up. joining us is zane brokewn, fix income strategist at zane abbott. we saw the yield hit 2.95% on the ten-year. that is the three-month peak. it's coming lower right now in european trade. are we at the top of a range or are we going to set a new range? >> that's more likely to happen three to six nine months from now when the tapering prospects expands. >> we're not far away from the levels where we were in may when everybody is getting panicked.

>> we start in may at 1.4 and then we gradually went up to 3% in september and we backed off to this kind of 287 level and that's about where we were in september when we expected to taper. it's exactly where we were when the taper announcement came just the day before yesterday. so i think that, you know, it's pretty much discounted. we have another five basis points today. but i think one of the things we need to keep in mind is that tapering doesn't start until january and because the january meeting, the fed won't have an idea of what the impact has been. it's unlikely for them to adjust it higher in january. therefore, we're probably that 5 and 5 or a total of 10 billion reduction for january, february and march whenever they next meet after their january meeting. so this small amount of tapering is likely to be with us. i think that's going to calm markets and, therefore, we're not likely to see something like, say, 3.25 between now and

february or march. >> okay. we have plenty more to get through. you may have a few on this, as well, actually. it's the end of the road for the volkswagen kombi van or is it? it was first produced in 1950. this is a cultural icon. in recent years -- it's 63 years old, the vw van. it's been only produced in brazil. but recent changes to safety regulations, requiring things apparently like antilock brakes and air bags, that means today's advance are set to be the last to roll off the production line. although all may not be lost because a reprieve is under the microskroep. the brazil government government might make an exception of the kombi because of its iconic stat status. as a result, we've been asking people what car or trucks are

they nostalgic for. allan higgins wrote in, my beige and brown ford capri, in all its glory. a '70s car if ever i saw one. i think they had one of those in "the professionals," didn't they? racing around in one of those. if you want to join the conversation, let us know your thoughts, worldwide@cnbc.com or tweet @cnbcworld or @rosswestgate, as well. zane, do you have a particular car or vehicle you're nostalgic for? >> if you're talking -- not necessarily one that i've always wanted, but if you're talking about the '70s, the pinto was certainly a car from the '70s and i had a friend who had a v-8 in a pinto and it was abdomen interesting car to ride in.

>> a v-8 in a pinto. >> yes. >> that's quite a combination. >> a lot of engine for a very small car. >> exactly. that's what i was thinking. still, the power to weight ratio was good on that one. >> oh, yes. >> that's zane's contribution. so if you've got any thoughts, we would love to hear from you, as well. on the agenda in the states today, we get final rooid readings on third quarter gdp. there's some fed speak when the kansas city fed releases its survey. bla blackberry, car max and walgreen will record ahead of the open. it's quadruple witching day, which is the options and futures reports. as europe agrees on the details of a banking union, former ecb president jean-claude trichet implies it needs more work. we'll hear his thoughts on the deal, coming up.

mario grag draghi says a

deal over bad banking mechanisms is a positive thing. stephane has been speaking to jean-claude trichet. was he happy about it? >> jean-claude trichet says that the bank would be able to rebalance their books ahead of the new stress tests next year, but still, he believes that the banking union remains a work in progress. this is what he told me. >> it is the idea, it is the very concept is to decouple the creditworthiness of the banks and the creditworthiness of the states in order to avoid vicious circles that we have observed in the crisis. i take it that this is the goal and i expect that that goal will be attained. it's a work in progress. we have to see how the supervisory function will be -- and we just had an accord in

principal for the single resolution mechanism. and he think it's very important because the devil is in the details. >> what do you expect from this new round of stress tests? >> the asset quality review and the other issue is the stress tests. these are two different exercise. one is you look ae assets and judge the quality. the other is what would happen if we had new shocks that would be devastating. what has been decided is to make public the result of both in order to be sure that the market is fully informed and has a full fledged comprehensive information. >> do you think that some european banks are going to fail the stress tests?

>> i have absolutely no opinion on that. this has to be done impeccably. >> but the feeling is that this time it is going to be more difficult, more tough than the last time. >> i don't think that the test will be tough or not test. it has to be absolutely comprehensive, as i said, absolutely fair, of course. and taking into account all the risks and i expect that it is what the ecb in particular has in mind. now, what will the banking union change for individual banks? i caught up also with the ceo of societe generale and asking if the union will provide enough support for the european banking sector. >> the banking system is in much better shape than some people think. a lot has been done. when i look at societe generale, the transformation is amazing.

we are now looking at growth, allocating capital, providing liquidity to our clients, transforming the businesses. and i think the bulk of the system is like this. so you might have to deal with one or two situations, but overall, the system, i think, is able to deal with financing the economies. we still need -- and i hope that the banking union will do that, reduce the distortion between i would say france and germany on one hand and northern europe and, of course, the countries where the lending might be more expensive today. about i think the european banking union will reduce the gap. and overall, yes, i think the ecb has done a great job to regain confidence, to help the market to regain confidence in the system. and when i look at the access of large european banks, it's really good. so, ross, everybody in france seems to be happy with this

banking union, even if it's not exactly what the french leaders and also italian and spanish leaders were expecting because basically the esm is out of the game. but it's better than nothing and that's what the finance minister said. that's a good compromise between france and germany and it gives meaning to the europe monetary union. this is what he said yesterday. over to you. >> stephane, thanks for that. by the way, stephane, i've told our producer your present is on its way. it's her birthday today. >> oh, happy birthday. >> our great, wonderful producer. so i know that you -- right? it's arriving monday. [ speaking foreign language ]. she's kept it quiet, but nothing escapes the investigative powers of those of us at cnbc. she's only, what, 62?

something like that. very experienced. thank you, stephane. let's recap the headlines, a much better thing to do. the fed bounce has been checked in asian trade as fears over a cash crunch persist. facebook's mark zuckerberg gets ready to sell 2.3 billion worth of shares in the social network. and sharp ballooning to its widest point since 1989. and still to come, good-bye country mansion, hello city living. stay tuned as we hear why more home buyers are opting for urban pads. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open.

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bny mellon. if you've just joined us this morning, u.s. futures are poirnting to a slightly higher open for u.s. equities after a flat move yesterday. the s&p currently implied higher by 3 points. the do i up nearly 28 and the nasdaq up 8. at the same time, baby boomers and young people alike are apparently ditching the dream of more space in the suburbs for the city living. it's one of the main scenes for next year's property market according to our next guest. joining us is marty mochran. zane brown is still with us, as well, in the cnbc studios in the states. marty, thanks for joining us. that's an interesting trend. normally, people start in the

city and want to get out, get some green and some leaf and some gardens. what is wind this reversal in trends? >> i think it's the wap this new generation behaviors and the attitude towards life. some -- the former generation actually, you know, lives to work and i think this new generation coming in once we had the baby boomers and we had the millenniums born up to the 2000s. and they actually want to work and closer to work and -- >> what sort of places? what's the im my cages for developers and property investment, then? >> what that means is that you have to build new houses and new apartment blocks closer to where actually this new generation wants to live. this is a trend we're seeing, particularly in the u.s. we think this is going to happen in europe, too, going forward. >> okay. that's interesting. what is happening to london? london has been a prime international investment market. it doesn't matter where you are. the middle east, east europe, asia or american investors.

london attracted that. is it still attracted to that money or are they now looking elsewhere? >> i think what happens during the past 15 years is actually london becoming a global gateway cities. it's not just above finance, it's not just above business services. this is a location where businesses want to locate if they want to do operations in europe. this is particularly true for investors looking to london as the first place to invest in, either is essential for high net worth individuals but prime property for global sovereign wealth funds as well as snooulz institutions. >> you also say, though, some focus is shifting away from london. and people are now looking back at peripheral markets like spain. is that essentially calling the bottom there? are people now deciding there is enough value? >> yeah. there was a conference about a month ago in the u.s. one of the top themes discussed at that conference focused essentially on the u.s. and global markets is spain. there's a lot of .but we have to

be careful in looking at the market. sfwl and what is the call for the u.s.? >> on one hand, the older generation and the medical offices, this is one of the things with obama care that is going to attract a lot of investors attention. >> zane, let's bring you back in on this. we saw home sales yesterday data down at the lowest level in nearly a year. what's your view of the relative strength of that? and it's interesting that data came out the day after we got better announcement on tapering because they are taking money back from the morm-backed security markets. >> yes, well, i think despite the fact that they are -- will

take some money back from the mortgage backed securities market, we're going to have some upward creep in mortgage rates. and i think we're seeing that slightly increased cost of going out and taking down a mortgage being reflected in the appetite for additional homes. regardless the trend to urbanization that you just talked about, certainly that has other implications aside from property implications and the people who are moving more and more to the cities have less of a need for a new car, for gathering things because there's no space. but greater appetite for services, for eating out, so it has other investment implications that favor certain service companies over other goods producing companies that have characterized previous generations. >> we're on our way to these mega cities, aren't we, these global mega cities. good to see you, stick around, we'll get more from you. marty, thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you.

dennis rodman apparently is now making his third visit to north korea and he says it's not to talk politics, but to play some basketball and visit his friend kim jong un. >> but i'm just telling you, don't be afraid, man. it's all love. it's all love here. and the people here, it's not about that. the only thing, like i said, hey, this country is pretty cool, man. it's pretty cool. >> former -- former basketball star touch down in pyongyang yesterday almost a week after kim jong unexecuted his uncle for planning a coup. still to come, stay tuned. [ male announcer ] how can power consumption in china,

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this is "worldwide exchange." i'm ross westgate. these are the headlines. the bernanke bounce, shares in china hit chinese shares. the bulles and bears now battling it out in the final run up to christmas. kuroda gives the items up for the tapering announcement. they're going to keep their rates on hold ahead of the sales tax hike coming next april. mark zuckerberg is selling

2.3 billion worth of his social network shares as the stock joins the s&p 500. plus, russian president vladimir putin has reportedly freed jailed tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky after ten years in prison. >> announcer: you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing us business news from around the globe pop. if university just joined us in north america, a very good morning to you. welcome to the global trading day here on cnbc "worldwide exchange." u.s. stocks pretty flat at the close yesterday. the dow is up 11. s&p down 1 points. right now, the s&p is trading over 3.5 points above fair value. the nasdaq at the moment is about 8 points above fair value and the dow at the moment is trading some 25 points above fair value. european stocks have been firm. the ftse cnbc global 300 is pretty flat. we had a mixed session in asia. more fears about a cash crunch in china weighing on there.

european equities, the not so bad. ftse 100 up 0.2%. the xetra dax up 0. 5%. and the cac 40 up 0.25% and the ft ftse mib up 0.2%. what is some ves as we go into the new year inspect here are this thoughts out of some guests we've had on cnbc. >> i think it's going to remain pretty well out there. unless they change the forward guidance, the market is going to think, my god, are they going to hike it higher in 2014? that will keep markets pretty well supported. from that point of view, i think sterling is going to behave quite well, at least for the time being. still believe that the commodity markets are going to come back, but not necessarily gold, not necessarily metals. we talked about it a couple of

years ago, and i think food will be an interesting sector to look out for. we're going to see row taegz, equity markets can fall back, but we will still see the growth coming in, but in other areas of the financial markets. >> as you said, exactly, taper is coming, no need to hold. we've seen the etf go from 140 billion down to about 80 billion the last time i checked. probably more after the last couple of days, as well. but we're in a situation where nls until one of those two things changes, there's not going to be a lot of support. going forward, longer term, things are going to look better. >> so that is the views of what some of our guests are. with his final thoughts, zane brown from lord abbott. zane, how data dependent are we going to be? how nervous are we going to be

around key economic news? >> well, i think if we do get a big falloff, especially with the jobs number. the december jobs report comes in at 150,000, 200,000, certainly they're not likely to increase the level of tapering anytime soon. but we didn't see in their remarks the willingness or interest to cancel it completely or reverse course. so i think we're committed or the fed is committed to tapering. it's a question of how rapid that is going to be. >> what is going to happen with the yield curve? are we now facing a steeper yield curve? clearly they're talking about rates not moving up for some time. >> well, a steeper yield curve is going to be difficult to avoid. with the fed backing off its purchases of longer term

securities, it's going to take somebody else to step into those shoes, higher yields are likely to be demanded. at the same time, the fed has assured us that they're not interesting in moving up rates anytime soon. and if the fed is really going to be data dependant, it suggests that lower quality securities also are likely to do better in the coming year. >> zane, good to see you. have a good christmas. thanks so much indeed for inj n injoining us today. facebook founder mark zucker berg is cashing in on some of his stock worth around $2.3 billion. the company says most of that money will go towards paying taxes.

the entrepreneur plans to donate around 1 billion stocks to charity. meanwhile, wearable devices were among the landscape in global tech 2014. but as we move into the new year, a new set of advancements will be leading the charge in 2014. joining us is neal cohen. you can say visage or visage. both of them work. >> fine. i'll do both, then. what is going to be the trend? what is going to be the hot part of tech going into next year? >> well, you know, i think next year is the first year where mobile truly takes over. i think everybody has been all consumed with it the last few years. but finally, mobile will equal

computing for the enterprise and that's going to bring big changes, big changes in the workplace. >> give me an example. give me a practical example. >> well, a practical example is, you know, now you're going to see the enterprises with everything up in the cloud. and the expectation is that the worker will have access 24/7 to all the work data -- actually, all their personal data 24/7. it's really going to be all about where you want to work, when you want to work and accessing it with the device of your choice. you're no longer locked to the desktop with tablets, smartphones, tablets, much lighter laptops, longer battery life. all of those things have kind of freed up so you can have a more distributive workforce, the nature of work will change, and more travel, as well, because travel and mobile are linked.

>> the companies have been concerned about security and their own inner security. can they merge -- they're going to be happy to merge company devices with personal devices or personal data with company data. >> right. well, there's a lot of strategies now emerging. there's a container strategy on your personal device where people are bringing their personal device to work in what's called bring your own device. you have sections cordoned off that are just for work and secure that you're given permissions when or when you can come into that work data or flow. typically, that will require some sort of agent on the phone. some people don't like that. some people do. it all depends on the relationship with their organization, whether the company pays for the mobile devices or they're encouraging

their employees to bring it themselv themselves. again, bring your own device, which is a big trend in the workplace. >> meanwhile, we've seen a huge increase this year, starting to see a take up of wearable devices. what's going to win? what is the wearable tech that's going to win out? >> well, you know, i'm here with my fuel band. and i think everybody is in agreement that these sensors that kind of monitor your body output are already winners. obviously, the phone on the wrist and the smart watches like the pebble, the samsung galaxy and rumors of the iphone watch. but you've got crazy things coming out, like microsoft has just developed a bra for women to help them sense when they're nervous and might want to start bing eating, which strange in its own way, but you're going to see a proliferation of these

devices and i think as quickly as they come on the market, you're going to see a quick shakeout, as well, as consumers say that's useful, maybe that not so much. but look for a proliferation of watches and those type of devices over the next year. >> neal, thanks for that. my wearable device called an ear piece is telling me we've run out of time for this interview. i wanted to ask you about cars. stick around. because postally the line will stay up because with the much loved vw van set to become a thing of the past, we've been asking what car or van are you nostalgic about? maybe it was the first one you ever drove or the one that you've always wanted but you couldn't buy. get in touch with us, world would it@cnbc.com. we have a polo as the first call, would he have a pinto with a v-8 engine in it. and i had a lancier, some people like to call it. so what about you?

neal? what is the car you've always remembered? >> that is an easy one, ross. that's a '72 chevy nova, rust colored, beige interior, and i think when i stepped on the gas it was like, you know, the g forces in star trek, you know, you kind of threw your head back with that v-8, 350 engine. it was something in that tiny, tiny car. when you said '72, i thought in my head, chevy. i don't know why. i just came to me. '72 chevy. those colors, they don't do those colors any more, rust, beige and brown and rust. they don't make cars with those color combinations any more. don't know why. >> and i thought i made that car look good, so who knows why they don't do that any more. >> we all made our cars look good back then. neal, good do you see. thanks very much. and i don't know -- >> thanks so much for having us on. >> if you find a photo of it, retweet it, neal.

apparently we can do that, as well. now, we've been having reports this morning that mikhail khodorkovsky has left prison. according to reports, he's been pardoned by russia president vladimir putin after spending the last ten years in jail. blackberry is releasing earnings before the opening today, but the chance to ring up profits isn't looking that great. we'll tell you what to expect from the smartphonemaker coming up next. stick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare.

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verizon wireless will publish a number of reports on requests as we see customer data next year. the move is going to set a precedence for the telecom industry which has always kept that information private. they've been earn appreciated your to disclose this after leaks from the former nsa contractor edward snowden. meanwhile, blackberry is releasing third quarter earnings ahead of the opening today. is it going to be ugly? kay can tell us. she joins us now in the u.s. studios right mow. hi, seema. >> hi, ross. blackberry is releasing third

quarter results before the open. it's the first quarterly results under john chan, its new interim ceo. he replaced the ousted ceo last month. since then, chen has been on a firing spree clearing out numerous executives. now, the numbers might be ugly. on average, analysts are expecting a loss of 43 cents per share on revenue of $1.66 billion. investors should be keeping an eye on for this. a new plan for the company's comeback. that's what investors will want to hear, how blackberry plans to turn around. blackberry is still very much alive. now, the company's stock has been crushed this year. it's definitely one of the laggards, down about 55% as the struggling smartphonemaker has had to face dwindling sales, not just here in the u.s., but overseas as well as in emerging markets where it was once a leader. we have an interview with john

chen at 11:30 eastern. hopefully we'll get more answers then, ross. >> we'll have to see what happens. meanwhile, u.s. retailer target has sed over 40 million debit and credit card accounts may have been stolen. they had data stolen over the thanksgiving weekend, seema. what are they saying about it? how does that match up on the scale of sort of data fest? >> yeah. well, as you can see imagine, ross, consumers are angry, to say the least. customer whose made pure chases by credit card between november 27th and december 15th may have had their accounts exposed. outraged customers taking i tell to the phone lines and internet yesterday. target apologized on its facebook page, claiming its working hard to resolve the communication problems. thousands of people have left messages on the company's facebook page. many saying they'll never shop at target again. so this is definitely a developing story.

it sucks that it was during the holiday times, ross. >> yeah. never good, really, when your personal details get nicksed. >> of course. >> final question, we're asking people about their nostalgia for a car. it could be one of owned or one you always wanted. anything in particular come to mind for you? >> oh, i would have to say my grand jeep cherokee back home in portland, oregon. i would do anything for that car. it was agree. i grew up in the mountains. having that suv going through the hills, it was amazing. >> there you go. it's all about memories, isn't it? it's the memories of things that you do. >> yeah, of course. >> that's important. thanks for that, seema. have a great weekend whenever it starts for you. >> thank you. a recap of the headlines today, the fed bounced checks in asian trades as fierce over a cash crunch persist. mark zuckerberg will sell

facebook shares. and the uk trade deficit is at its widest point since 1989. will the end of year expiration put the brakes on any santa rally? we'll look next to the year ahead. ♪ i wanna spread a little love this year ♪

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and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com. the obama administration is relaxing rules of the health care law for millions of americans whose individual insurance policy have been canceled. last night, washington said those with cancellations can buy bare bone plans or entirely avoid the retirement that most americans have health coverage. consumers with canceled health plans can now buy skimp insurance known as catastrophic

coverage. the u.s. treasury secretary has urged congress to raise the debt ceiling. officials predict government departments will she able to juggle budgets until late february next year before another government shutdown is triggered. european equities ahead of the u.s. open have been firmer, not by much. we've now come back down to the flat line between the ftse and the cac. the italian market is now flag. u.s. futures have been ticking, adjusting a small bounce ul ward to the stop. 27 points above fair value for the dow. the nasdaq around 7 points above fair value. and the s&p 500 just over 2.5 points above fair value. as for the agenda today, we get final readings on third quarter gdp. there's some fed speak with the cans can city fed releasing its survey. if that's not enough, it is

quadruple witching day, the day that we get expirations for stock index futures and options and single stock options and futures, which means our next guest will be very involved. allen, how are we going to get through all these expires today? >> i think absolutelily. it should be interesting because those people that have been short and fighting the trend, maybe they didn't believe the action from the other day. well, you know, you have to make a decision by the close and there might be some continued short covering here. but i'm amazed at the strength and resiliency in the market. the first time they mentioned that t word back in the summertime, we had a 6% sell-off. now that we've had this baby taper, now the market is moving forward. we had a 2% sell offgoing into that and now we're back to new highs. so you have to look at the market results and the fed has played this perfectly. they couldn't have done anything any better over the last couple of years. >> that's an interesting idea because we didn't think that in may or september, did we?

>> well, some people didn't, but the market serm didn't. that's what we have to understand. it's not about what we think the market -- how the markets should react. it's how they do react. you have to look at the tape. you have to look at the trends. you have to look at the market action is the most important in the market. reaction once we get new information. and for all those people that have been predicting the top, trying to be that chicken little, the fundamentals are now supporting the market being here. the market had moved in anticipation. now we're getting in the good data to support it and it looks like nothing but more upside here. we come into earnings season again january 9th and corporations are doing very, very well. >> just talking about, you know, there's a lot of squaring of positions presumably ahead of the fed. with options expiring today, essentially you had a two-day -- after that point, you had a two-day trade. >> right. and there were people that -- well, there are people that played that as an event. you know, i look at the bigger,

bigger picture. if you looked at it strictly as an event trade, we're not paid to predict an event. we're paid to predict how the market is going to react. it was a binary decision. was it going to have a catastrophic impact on the market or was the market going to continue to go up? those people that have been looking for that turn, that top in the marketplace and fighting this overall bull trend have been big, big losers. it's about identifying good risk/reward plays after we'll we've seen this extended move. there's still a lot of stocks that have had pullbacks recently that looked like they could play catch up. you've got deere, caterpillar, you've got the xlf that hasn't participated in this rally over the last five years as much as the other markets. look at citigroup. there's a lot of still good values and you can risk them to the support levels and have more upside potential than downside. >> all right, alan, stay there. a final question to ask you because we've been asking viewers today, you know, what their favorite car. this is country the much loved

vw van kombi may come out of production. we've had a number of people writing in talking about the chevy impala. >> i'm a bmw man. and my first bmw when i started here trading, a bmw 525i, the british green with the tan interior. i still have it. and i've had many, many more. so i am nostalgic. the good old bmws. takes a strong man to drive a 1992 car. >> good man. you can keep that forever. that one might become a classic. you never know. thanks very much for that, al n allen. it's very good to see you. >> thank you. we had a '72 chevy, as well, earlier. a whole range of collections. that's things for all you've sent us. i'll be away next week.

so i hope you have a great christmas. coming up next, "squawk box" and the countdown to the opening markets stateside. good buy for now.

good morning. janet yellen's confirmation as federal reserve chairman is going to have to wait for the new year. blackberry is set to report quarterly results. and do you remember mikhail khodorkovsky? the millionaire is now said to be a free man after a decade. it's friday, december 20th, 2013 and "squawk box" begins right now. good morning, everybody.

welcome to "squawk box" here on cnbc. i'm becky quick along with joe kernen and andrew ross sorkin. our lineup today hits on several hot button topics, including health care with jonathan bush of athena health, oil billionaire harrell hamm will be joining us and we have the world of real estate with re/max ceo kelly. plus, jane wells and courtney reagan, we'll see who gets the best deals. in the meantime, check out the morning's top stories. another record for the dow. tin decks gabing just over 11 points while the s&p and the nasdaq both lost ground. right now, dow futures are up by 25 points. s&p up by 2 points and the nasdaq by 6.5 points. we have seen an increase in the yield, joseph. they shut off his microphone so as much as he's trying to talk back right now, he can't.