hello. you're watching "worldwide exchange." i'm ross westgate. the headlines today from around the globe, eu leaders arrive for the emergency summit in brussels to decide how strongly they should respond to russia's actions in ukraine. but can sanctions be avoided? they'll meet again. u.s. secretary of state john kerry set to meet with russia's foreign minister in rome after assuring something concrete had come out of on talks in paris yesterday. in corporate news, telecom's mega merger on the cards.

saying they'll float the combined company immediately. facebook confirms severe winter weather has had a major impact on the economy. fed president charles plosser says the extreme weather has been clouding his readings. >> the data, aus point out, has been very noisy. we've had storm after storm after storm on the east coast and drought in the west. it's been difficult to get a decent reading on the economy. warm welcome from today's program. coming up later, extended programming for that. pressure, of course, yesterday from the imf. but first, we turn our attention

back to what's going on in the ukraine. john kerry is set to meet again with the russian foreign minister lavrov in rome today. they've reached no quick conclusions, although kerry did say something concrete had come out of the discussions. diplomatic efforts face set backs after lavrov refused to meet with his ukrainian counterpart. eu leaders are arriving for an emergency summit in brussels. this is the latest show of the area will be arriving. and while we wait for that to kick off, steve has been on station for us in kiev this week and he joins us now. and he's been speaking to, of course, the key political participants. steve. >> yeah, ross, we're listening to a lot of people throughout the week here including the successful heavyweight boxer turned politician.

we'll bring that interview later on. but what i want to do now is talk about something that has been an secondary issue, which is the financial crisis. so let's leave kerry and lavrov aside. let's talk about the other crisis. this is a country which had 20 years of economic mismanagement. whether you're pro western or whether you're pro russian. governments from both sides of the ledger, whether it be yanakovich, tymoschenko, there has been a huge mismanagement of the economy. that is a crisis of the magnitude of what we've seen in ath.s, across europe, even in ireland at the start of 2008. so the financial crisis is acute. the u.s. and europe have offered certain amounts of money. u.s. follows in loan guarantees. europe, they came one a package going out as far as 2020.

worth somewhere in the region of 11 billion euros. that's why the imf is in town trying to figure out whether this time ukraine can be trusted to get it right. imf has been here twice and has froesen aid twice. i spoke to the man who is leading the new government. he's trying to go through the mess and fill this out and get this country economically back on track. let's listen in the to see what he had to say about the state of the finances. >> translator: today, we are using a third of our budget to finance government debt. according to our data, 300 t$30 $500 million is leading the month through schemes like tax evasion. so the coffers are basically empty. >> so when the money comes in from the imf, the money comes in

from the european union, can you meet the conditionality? twice in the past, loans from the imf have been frozen because the conditionality has not been met. >> caller: i think the imf will do everything in its power to prevent this from happening. we are trying to persuade our parliament that the is not only necessary for the imf but for our country. >> is this enough given the fact that money previously promised by russia looks like it won't be forthcoming now? >> we are currently talking with our investors and partners on the issue of aide packages. correct uses of our resources is the main issue right now. i think if we can manage this, there will be no need for russian aid. but right now, our coffers are nearly empty. the main problem is the need to pay $10 billion in debt by the

end of the year. this number takes into account higher gas prices for the second quarter of 2014. >> how much money does ukraine need over the next three years? one figure being mentioned is $35 billion. >> translator: i don't think ukraine needs this time money. i think $10 billion will be enough this year and next year we'll need a lot less. if you're speaking of the fiscal situation, maybe $10 billion will be enough for this year and next year $5 billion. but we have to take into account the possibility of investments. the key take aways from our extended interview, one i would suggest is he's trying not to default. the other is they need $15 billion over the next two years in debt. they need that in some form of support. just to tell you what's coming up on "worldwide exchange," we spoke to vitari klitchko, the

second best boxes in terms of knockout to fights ratio. we spoke to him about his presidential countisy, what he thinks about ukraine being the second most corrupt country in europe. >> i hope you're wearing your gum shoe this time, steve. >> not this time. i was very mild. great stuff, steve. thanks so much on for that. we'll be back out with you for more from kiev. that's what's going on in the ukraine. was going on in brussels? jules is there. eu leaders are there to meet. julia, what might we expect of this? >> that's the key question i'm going to be asking some of these leaders. given this situation in russia and crimea -- >> either she's just got in the lift or that's one of -- or

she's just been put on hold. i think it may be the latter. wasn't quite expecting her to be put on hold. anyway, it could have been worse. she could have been put in a cube. you're held in a cube. anyway, we'll try and rehook up with jules. meanwhile, let's bring you up to speed with where we stand in asset prices. we're just over an hour into the trading day. we're weighted to the upside, 9/1 at the moment. advancers currently outpacing decliners. we will get more diplomatic moves to each the pressure necessary ukraine. here we go. we're up to a session high at the moment. the s&p 500 yesterday hitting an all-time high. it was flat yet. the dow down 0.2%. the nasdaq up 0.1 is%. right now, the ftse 100 is up 0.4%, as well as the xetra dax. the cac 40 up 0.8% and the ftse

mib up 1%. france's biggest telecom group achieving the main target it set up for 2013, which was to achieve 7 billion euros in operating cash flow. the stock here up 7% this morning. also beyond concerned by continued home management pressure, to cut its dividend to 26 euros per share. german -- scrapping its outlook for free cash flow in 2015. it's spending more money to try and win u.s. customers and restructure its enterprise unit t-system. we've got merger news in france. investors welcoming the news that it's offered vivendi. vivendi just up 0.75%. stephane has more for that -- more on that for us in paris.

stephane. >> it's not a done deal yet. they're offering more monies for bdr. at the time of the ipo, vivendi would have the option to monetize the server, 16% of the capital and would be free after to sell the remaining of its stake. this offered values sfr at $14.5 billion euros before the synergies. as requested by vivendi, this offer includes some details about the upcoming strategy. although it's not planning on these trades later and it says that the new company will invest massively in the fiber broadband network in france, about 400 million euros per year.

we know the french cable company has made an offer. we don't have the official details for that offer, but according to press reports, they're proposing almost $15 billion euros in cash plus a 52% stake in the newly traded company. perhaps a battle for the control of sfr. market control is very positive. almost 8.5% higher right now. over to you. >> all right, stephane, we'll see what happens with that. there we go. good performance this morning. they clearly like that. still to come, we're going to get a caffeine kick. before that, we'll cross out to frankfurt ahead of today's monthly ecb meeting. annette is joined by a member of the german council of economic experts commonly known as one of angela merkel's wise men. ♪

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jules is speaking to us from brussels. >> i apologize for that, ross. sanctions light is the focus here. i'm talking about the suspension of strategic talks on trade, suspension of the liberalization between the eu and russia. perhaps even an arms embargo. the question is how much really does vladimir putin care about these things? not one jaunt. the key person here is angela merkel in germany. they have most to lose by these em babargo embargoes. they want to see a dip low plastic route here, only we know the uk has influence for russian interest in london. they also are very concerned about what would happen here. they're both supported by the likes in italy and france. we've got a core number of countries here that don't want to push forward. in fact, only the central and

the eastern europeans who are afraid of their territorial rights are pushing for more stringent conditions. i hope i'm surprised by what we come out with today, but right now it's looking lying sanctions light is going to be the solution we come up with. that's going to have an impact to the kind of sanctions that we hear from the u.s., remember, because they don't want to negatively impact europe's policy and energy rely yaiance g forward. i hope my expectations are beaten today, but i have to admit i'm skeptical, ross. >> jules, sharp elbows are what's required in a tight pen. >> don't you worry, i've got them. >> thanks for that. the record cold weather in the u.s. has hampered growth.

some of the few beneficiaries of the polar vortex. earlier, "squawk box" in europe spoke to the philly fed president, charles plosser, and asked him if there was something wrong with the growth model in the united states. given the latest data. >> it is, as you pointed out, has been very noisy. we've had storm after storm after storm particularly on the east coast. they've got droughts in the west. so it's been difficult to get a decent reading on the economy. i think it's important that we sort of take a step back, be patient here, and not overreact to what's going on because we just don't know for sure yet. >> meanwhile, back here in europe, the imf wants action, but will the ecb respond? the european central bank is holding its monthly meeting today. the imf says the bank should cut prime rates and consider quantitative easing. now, at the cb rate decision is due in just over three hours. so what are the chances of president draghi delivering some

sort of policy move? morgan stanley is predicting a cut of 15 basis points. council economics is a distinct possibly of a refine. now, what do europe's corporates think of at the cb? >> i think there's a -- we will do whatever it takes. >> extra is stimulus and growing the economy in europe. i would welcome it. >> from financial markets. >> deflation can have an effect, but overall in the grand scheme of things, we are a global

player. we're able to manage that. >> i think they're in good balance right now when you need capital to invest you get it. it can lead to speculation and extra models. >> some of the chief executives we've been speaking to. >> i think you're probably just about coping. look, what are the chances, do you think, of the ecb doing anything? maybe nonstop sterilizing their bond purchases. >> well, a lot of people are thinking that they were stop sterili sterilizing. for the eurozone, others don't really see that. i have a feeling that the markets really like the fact that we might get to easing, but i'm here now to discuss that.

share of the imf at university. thank you so much for joining us. >> draghi himself has pointed out recently that there's no evidence of deflation in the euro area. there's no evidence of that. we have some disinflationary pressure. we have in some areas falling prices. but those come with natural adjustment prices. those countries regain competitiveness. we should be happy about that. it's not a threat of sustained deflation. >> mr. draghi says they an easing bias during the press conference since the last one we were attending. these are negative deposit rates. this would help speed up inflation a little bit. >> i think if there were a

threat of serious deflation, a small negative dpovt deposit rate would be a natural step to take and it would help give up credit and help give additional incentive not to deposit money to the ecb, but to lend it out. but there is no need for that now. i think you always have to look at the outlook for inflation and growth together. we ton be on a path where a projection forecasts are being revised up. so if you look at the forecast of others, they're being revised up. so it doesn't make sense now to ease further. >> let us talk a little bit about forecasts. because today we also will get the new stock projections from the ecb. what are you -- first time that we get such a long time forecast, right? >> although it's night to get the forecast we have internally, i don't think so much rate should be adjusted for those.

if you ask anyone, we have to attach a larger amount of uncertainty to that. so these forecasts may actually create an excessive extent of being on the safe side. it's probably going to be getting close to that. but there are risks on both sides and the deflationary risks are not the only one. we have a situation where if you keep rates low for too long, you get the banks, you get the financial sector, continuing behavior investments. i wouldn't attach too much weight to that forecast, except generally, i think it's fine for the banks to be more open about their numbers. >> so what would you like to hear from the ecb today? >> i would like to hear that

what they've been saying is there are no deflationary numbers around and they're preparing himself. i think there is a normalization which we assume for the current area, the current assessments not bad. the ecb has to think about and talk about what a normalization would mean in the long run. that's important in the context after the banking sector. they're trying to repair balance sheets and create the background for this normalization. >> thank you very much for joining us today. so, ross, i'm sending it back to you. just one note, we can be very lucky not to be here. it's very cold. >> he's unlucky not the be with you, annette. stay warm. >> thank you. we're getting some confirmation out from the leaders meeting in the eu. the eu has confirmed that it is

placing 18 ukrainian officials on its sanctions list. that list does include the former president, yanukovych, and his two sons. the former interior minister, the justice minister and the head of security are also on that eu sanctions list. the former ewe containan prime minister, asarov, also on the list. they're going to have their assets frozen. we'll keep our eyes on that. meanwhile, he's the man responsible for building the world's tallest skyscraper and its biggest mall. on tonight's program, we'll meet the dubai found ir and its properties. and what comes next for the construction giant? miss hadley gamble with a sneak peek.

>> at 828 meters, it has become a glittering symbol of what dubai can clearly do. this week we catch up with the chairman, mohammed al abar. >> i would say all these developing economies, look at the middle east and we're still growing 5%, 5.5% overall in the middle east. africa, the same. asia, about the same. so iran will come into that territory. and when things are going well, and i hope it gets sorted, there will be a lot of business to be done. especially in the infrastructure business where we are in. >> so you would say, then, if the economy would open up, anmar would be there. i think we should.

>> we want to talk to you about the revival of the dubai real estate market. property is soaring once again. you were up 104%, i believe, in 2013. what are you looking for in terms of growth for this year? >> well, in this economy, really, we are growing our retail are growing, our hospitality is growing. and many people read the numbers while our -- in the base of our business, which is the residential side of it is growing, you know, really credible numbers. so i would say that diversification has helped us, especially in the crisis. so we are going to forecast in these areas of the real estate. our main, which is residential areas will stay there, but hospitality is helping us and it's growing. . >> are you looking to ipo?

>> of course, we have neighbor malls in all of our communities. we are building a mall under construction in egypt, we have a mall under construction in turkey and they're all very promising markets. yes, i think we should seriously evaluate ipo business. the market is good. that's something that we should consider. >> what is the number one country that you are not working in now that you'd like to work in over the next decade? >> i would say egypt. i'm working there, but i would like to expand things in egypt. without a doubt. some countries in africa are interesting. that's clear. >> and you can catch more of our behind the scenes look on access middle east.

don't miss that. it starts tonight at 2300 cet. >> all right. that's the latest shot in brussels where eu leaders are arriving for a summit meeting. the british prime minister david cameron has just arrived. still to come, current -- could put the brakes on sales. we'll get rolling right after the breaks speaking with the ceo. ♪ [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina, change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the aerospace industry in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses

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eu leaders arriving for an emergency summit in brussels to decide how strongly they should respond to russia's actions in the ukraine. can sanctions be avoided? well, meet again. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is set to meet with russia's foreign minister again today in rome after showing something concrete had come out of talks in paris. telecom's mega merger on the cards. rates snap up the country's number two mobile operator, sfr, saying it will float the combined company immediately.

and the fed's facebook confirm that's severe winter weather has had a major impact on the u.s. economy. the philly fed president charles plosser cnbc exclusively. the extreme wlb has been clouding his readings. >> the data, as you pointed out, has been very noisy. we've had storm after storm particularly on the east coast and they've got drought in the west. it's been difficult to get a decent reading on the economy. >> david cameron arrived in brussels a short while ago. he said we need to make sure that we get russia and the ukraine talking. we need to send a very clear message to russia. but their actions are unacceptable and they must expect consequences. but he is hopeful of a positive outcome, as well. the russian prime minister is

not expecting action to be announced against russia today. and with that back drop in brussels, let's find out what's going on in the russian capital of moscow. jim maceda has more for us right now. jim, how do you think they'll react to whatever comes out of brussels? >> well, the russians are going to react negatively to anything positive coming out of brussels. i think they're watching the eu leaders meeting today. but most people here suspect that there won't be a decision as you just suggested. even though everyone is talking, everyone in the eu is talking about the eu's need to be united for sanctions like freezing european assets to have any teeth. there are growing signs. people coming from moscow can see these signs of contention within the ranks.

germany saying sanctions against russia will only back fire. the russian parliament as we speak is preparing a tit for tat bill which would allow the seizing of european countries doing business in russia. kerry said his talks with his russian counterparts were constructive. even that never happened. the russians say that the new intrimt government in kiev was put into place by an unconstitutional coup, so what lavrov was apparently asked by a journalist if he met his ukrainian kourpt part, he replied, who's that? these sides will meet in rome

later today as both sides are trying to compromise out of the present crisis. apparently russian president vladimir putin had a phone conversation with angela merkel and they're talking about an end game. so things are talk. there's a lot of talk about talk, but no resolution yet. back to you. >> jim maceda, thank you. good to see you. and we're just hearing, as well, that the crimean vice premier is suggesting a referendum on the region status on march the 16th. that's according to the ria news agency. now, later, we'll be talking to the ukrainian central bank governor. steppan kubiv, at 1700 cet. right now, we dig back into earnings. alex expects first quarter sales

to pick up speed. it could shave up to 4% off growth. stocks open higher. from hannover, very good morning to you. thanks for joining us. you're saying first quarter saying may launch by 3.25%. is that based on a healthy auto market? >> that's true. we appreciate positive development in the european market. as far as for h shares, ross. >> we have a strong euro, though. what impact is that having and how are you able to slug it off? >> that's one of our challenges,

as well as for the whole industry. that has had impact this year. we have foreseen some negative impact of about some 700 million again. this is included in our forecast and target to grow this year to about 35 million euro, leaving the intended acquisition of weigh in the part. >> would you like -- we've got an ecb meeting today. would you like them to try and talk the currency down or get anything weaker? >> i mean, the companies like continental, they can deal with the situation. the strong euro has an impact, but no impacted on our major

yen. very important. smaller mid size company necessary europe, they have a struggle with the same euro. we are spending on suppliers again. and the hope would be more to decide the ecb can initiate some economical stimulus program s pr the weak markets. do you think they should take action to help out those markets? >> i think so. europe is coming back slowly and now would be the right time point to make some decisions to help the industries to grow. >> what other purchases might

you know? what is your strategy now for m&a? you said you would look for other things. >> that's true, ross, indeed. it's one step, a big one for yous. . currently we are paying 1.4. we are ready to pay 1.4 billion euro for turnover which appreciate. to strengthen our portfolio as he comes down to electric electronics, for example. shares further up into the future. including -- we arrived about 35% of total sales. >> thanks so much for that.

>> thank you. coming thick and fast at the emergency summit in brussels, jules has been speaking to the pm. we'll hear from her in just a few minutes times. he's hoping of a positive outcome to the summit. but then he sent a clear message to russia that actions are unacceptable and they must accept the consequences. the lithuanian prime minister says russia will target and the others would follow that and nato is responding probably while europe -- plenty more to come on that. right now, though, let's talk about coffee. prices have risen sharply on fears of a poor south american crop. though the last couple of months, brazil's coffee growing regions have witnessed once of the worst drought in decades.

analysts say it's too early to know the full impact. for your premium coffee, how do you offset prices when you see short-term spot prices are going up inspect what's your buying strategy? >> the buying strat by is always the same. the cafe is committed to doing the best coffee ever. that means as we choose the beans directly from the happened of the growers in order to get our standards, which are above the market. and in order to do that, of course, we are committed to pay a premium for the extra quality that they give. and this premium is -- the lower the market price, the higher the premium. which means still when the price goes up, we have to definite ly

abdomen tosh the higher costs. this volatility is difficult to manage at the company level because we never know what is the real cost of goods. so we are just exiting those costs. >> how much forward buying do you do? >> we make some forward buying in cover aemg. but this is only a short-term alleviation of the impacts. because overall, the economical impacts of higher prices in more than one year. >> and you just have to -- if the price goes a long way, you just have to take hits from your

margins, rather than putting up prices for that? >> three actions, increase costs, reduce margins and we are into this exercise. >> on the costs, points a little bit, it's not bad. people are already expecting you to be the most expensive coffee, right? >> yes. definitely they value our quality at the good premium. >> and what -- how do you manage the cost base? >> well, the cost base, it depends very much upon the margin, the growth margin. then we have quite a bit of fix it costs because the -- most of the productive factors are internal for the sake of quality. so all the machinery, all the labor specializes internal. so we have little room for

reducing the viable costs. >> a few years ago, i didn't think we could have any more coffee shops in the uk and i want wrong. clearly, the demand just hasn't stopped. what is job r your sense of demand going to be over the next few years? >> coffee has been leading -- because three issues, pleasure, health, sustainability are all improving at the same time. this is why we can say good coffee is good life. in the pleasure side, the quality did increase both in the raw material, in the growing counties, the preparation system and the places where you can enjoy coffee. so all in all, the pleasure contents of the coffee cup is growing. it's making coffee on

consumption in the world nearly doubling in the last decade. >> you should try tea occasionally. >> i'll try that. good to see you. thanks so much for coming. we're going to stay in the commodities sector. pork futures have been spiking in the mercantile exchange. a deadly virus spreading through the u.s. hog industry might well have an impact on supplies. could the rising prices have something to do with a jump in nand for bacon? jane wells has been taking a look at the latest invention getting bacon fans fired up. >> bacon prices in the u.s. are up 18% in a year. i think i know why. the perfect bacon bowl hit airways in november and 2 million units have already sold. it's the brain child of tom

jenson. >> i was cooking breakfast for my family and i was trying to make a bacon turtle. i was just weaving bacon and i couldn't figure out how to keep it together. >> he came up with a tinfoil mold and submitted the product. >> how much did it cost you? >> it cost me 20 bucks. i know. amazing. >> beautiful, greasy, fatty bacon. i took the bowl for a test run. it worked pretty well, though times the bacon sticks to the bowl. but tom jenson is waiting for his bowl to bring home the bacon. >> how much money have you made off this? >> actually, i get my first check next month. in january, it went into walmart and now it's in target and walgreens everywhere. but that will be like a water fall coming on me, i hope. >> not every invention that tom jenson has created has fried up

a fortune. for that part of the story, go to cnbc.com. i'm jane wells, cnbc business news. >> jane wells with her bacon bowl. we're getting more comments out in the ukraine. the lithuanian prime minister says we need to act immediately as to what she has described as russia's brutal aggression. coming out of that summit meeting, which is taking place, the pictures of which you can see from the outside. more to come on that. still to come on the show, some toys looking to take a shot at an indian liquor producer. see you in a few moments. we needed 30 new hires for our call center.

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more rival necessary paris at the moment. francois hollande is currently speaking. the dutch prime minister saying we should do everything to give

roots of de-escalation a chance. sanctions are back on the table if the de-escalation route isn't taken. another japanese beverage producer suntoi holdings is looking at investing in india's major liquormaker. hi, makiko. >> hi, ross. yes, suntory is looking to spend around $1100 million for a stake in a new liquor unit. ricido's main products are whiskey and gin. their work together seems to be making it a double. demands for liquor in india have reached around 300 million cases in 2012, more than double that

of japan. radico is expected to supply suntory's marketing techniques and suntory is hoping to take a shot at the markets through radico's markets. the firm made headlines in january when it reached agreements to acquire jim beam in the u.s. that's all from nikkei business report. back to you, ross. >> thanks very much indeed for that. some of the other stories we're following in asia, china's key market rates with more than is 1100 basis points today. that's less than half the amount that it pulled out last week. it's led to some traders to speculation that monetary loosening may be on the way to ensure that china its its new 7.5% growth target. and could a $15 million interest payment be the spark for a chinese credit crisis?

the possibility drawing attention to a money losing shanghai solar equipmentmaker. chaori solar says it won't be able to make the full interest payment to bondholders. that would mean the first default ever for the mainland bond market. few are predicting an immediate chain reaction. a fair bitcoin exchange mt. gox is being pressured by mizuho bank to shut down. this at a time when many governments were investigating bitcoin's role in money laundering. audio record heings from january appear to show bank officials telling the ceo of mt. gox to close theback account or having it forcefully closed. 28-year-old american autumn ratke is suspected to have

committed suicide at her residence. she ran first metta, an online exchange for digital currencies and assets that in the past have included bitcoin. police in singapore are investigating the matter and have called the death unnatural. speaking at the national people's congress yesterday, the premier declared a war on pollution, but reaffirmed the country's 7.5% growth target. eunice yoon has this report. >> this is how the skies above beijing looked when china's lawmakers came to town. this is what they looked like last week. days like this are frustrating the public here. and quickly becoming a priority for the country's leaders. if you go to the hospital, so many respiratory issues are

caused by smog. beijing is no longer the old beijing. the old beijing used to have industry. but with decades of big economic growth came big investments in plants powered by coal, now taking a toll on the water, land and air. this is definitely the smog. >> recent studies suggest the bad air cut short residents lives by years. >> they pledged to clean up the pollution. but this year, the capital is shrouded in smog. >> no doubt, the air pollution has made clean air one of the top priorities for central leadership in china. however, it's still the fact that growth and gdp is still the number one priority on many local levels. so these interests, they are still questioning. >> local officials in industrial areas are fearful that closing

plants means losing jobs. and several outdated factories are run by state owned enterprises, many cowzy with the top brass. the government has shut down polluters and in the strongest signal yet to address the country's health confirm, the premier declared a war on pollution at the annual conference. but the leaders are unveiling plans to cut toxins. >> smog is affecting larger parts of china and environmental pollution has become a major problem which is nature's red light warning against the model of unefficient and blind development. >> whether the leadership is willing to sacrifice government to tackle these challenges is still up in the air until the people see more action. eunice yoon, beijing. meanwhile, a look at the agenda for asia tomorrow. china's developer will report full results. we get earnings from china's ping an bank and china merchants

bank. in tie twan, february trade figure get released. >> there's more rivals meanwhile coming in at the summit. we just heard from the dutch prime minister. he says we will put the pressure on russia to de-escalate the situation. we've heard from francois hollande, the french president, saying the pressure with a possible threat of sanctions there to push for direct dialogue. we'll have more on that in the second hour. still to come, the imf has called for ecb action today. but is the central bank likely to listen? we'll have the very latest from outside the headquarters in frankfurt.

hello. you're watching "worldwide exchange." i'm ross westgate. the headlines today, eu leaders arrive for an emergency summit in brussels to decide how strongly they should respond to russia's action us in ukraine. the british prime minister david cameron among the voices issuing a stark warning. >> we need to send a very clear message to the russian government that what has happened is unacceptable and should have consequences and where further actions are to be taken, that would be even more unacceptable. we'll meet again, u.s. secretary of state john kerry having another meeting with

russian foreign ministers in rome after assuring something concrete had come out on of talking in paris. telecom's major merger on the cards, snap up the country's number two mobile operator sfr saying it will then slow the combined company immediately. and the fed beige book confirms that severe winter weather has had a major impact on the u.s. economy. fed president charles plosser told us extreme weather has been cloudy. >> the data you pointed out has been very difficult, they've got droughts in the west, storms in the east, it's been difficult to get a decent reading on the economy. >> you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. and a very good morning. if you've just joined us

stateside, welcome to the start of your global trading day here on cnbc. the nasdaq up 0.1%, the s&p flat after hitting that record high the previous session. right now, we are called higher at the open. the dow called something like 34 points above fair value. the ftse 100 at the moment, just up 0.1%. we're up 0.4% earlier. xetra dax is up 0.3%. the cac 40 is up 0.6% sxwt ftse mib at the moment is up around 0.9%. european leaders have been offering comments before they sit down in brussels to discuss the crisis in the ukraine. the lithuanian prime minister says russia's aggression needs to be countered as the situation is becoming unpredictable. while the dutch prime minister says sanctions could well be imposed against russia. french president francois hollande says there must be pressure to de-escalate the situation. british prime minister david cameron has been speaking on why

the talks in brussels aren't so crucial. >> first of all, this matters to people in britain because we benefit from a world in which countries obey the rules. and we also benefit when we enable people like those in ukraine at being able to choose their own future. i think there are three things that stand out today. first, we've got to make sure we get russia and ukraine talking to each other. second, we've got to demonstrate here in the european union that we will help the ukrainian people in their hour of need. and third and just as vital, we need to send a very clear message to the russian government that what has happened is unacceptable and should have consequences and where further action is to be taken, that will be even more unacceptable and would require even more expenses. all of those three things matter. those are the things we'll be discussing here today. i'm hopeful of a positive outcome. >> that's going on in brussels. meanwhile, eea news agency is

quoting moscow. the crimen parliament has voted to become a part of russia. while this is going on, steve has been in ukraine. how do they get out of this, steve? >> yeah. about the crimean parliament, widely reported, rustam galev, he's reported as saying that a referendum on the region's status will be held on the 16th of march. that is next sunday. and the question is not about autonomy. we understand from the reports the question is whether crimea should remain part of the ukraine or on join the russian federation. we'll follow that part of the

story. twin crises, one is the political crisis is going on in the south of the country without any shots being fired. then we have the economic crisis. and it is a long-term economic crisis. it's been brought about for many reasons. an indemic corruption. being pointed out by leaders on both sides, pro western and pro russian governments, as well. with that in mind, we'll speak to a lot of the leaders here. the prime minister points one of the key issues of mismanagement looking back at this country. now, i also spoke to vitale klitchko partnership spoke to him about this corruption issue and about the infamy that ukraine has. let's listen in. >> famous as the most corrupt company in europe.

>> in politics, it's business. >> from 26 members so far of foreign government, 24 make official more than $1 million u.s. it's an official number and much, much bigger. no, we have no opportunity markets. we have monopoly in ukraine. and is a way to make the people wealthy. and more for the people who control the money and have

wealth like and the rest the people who try to leave. >> you are a very successful man. why would you want to go into politics? >> i spent a lot of time in the united states. i know what it is to -- up a flag. and also, back to my home country, very simple things. what work. you can make a demonstration. you can write letters. but no -- nobody listen to you because everybody makes his job what they want to make. and just one way to change, go

in and try to change from ins e inside. >> current events are tragic for the country. russian troops, depending on who you listen to in the crimea, trouble in the east, as well. what do you say to mr. putin who says, first of all, they're not russian troops and secondly, this is an illegitimate government in kiev. >> almost one week we can find a president. no information and we decide and we have majority -- constitutional majority in parliament more than 300. and we are going to change the speaker, we change the government and we bring new government right now on all the president elections.

>> do you think mr. putin is scared of what's happening in this country? >> yeah. he's worried about what's happening in the country. because ukraine is -- the people who want to leave with this. leave with the corruption, without human rights. and that's why the people want the changes. if we will be successful, i am more than sure everybody in ukraine want to be -- want to live in european country with european -- it will be very bad example for venues for russia. >> this man, ross, had 45 whips out of 47 fights. only two technical defeats, one because of a shoulder injury and one because of a deep cut above his eye. could he beat his brethren?

>> no, my brother is my -- i have just one belt. the rest, four belts have my younger brother. he's strong first point. second point, i love him so much and i would not want to fight against my brother. >> isn't that lovelily? one of the toughest men in brussels and he loves his brother so much he wouldn't fight him. >> i say duck when he throws one, probably the best thing. >> he was up there. i don't really have to duck because i'm already so far below him. >> thanks so much, steve. joining us now, julia morgan. there are so many moving parts going on right now, foift of all, let's kick off with this news we're hearing according to a news agency that moscow is

saying the crimean parliament is voting to become part of the russian federation. what are the implications of that as they follow through with that? >> well, as you said, these are just reports. and we have to wait for confirmation. if this is the case, then it really complicates the situation. it puts russia in a position where it has to react one way or the other where it's accepting crimea or not. if this report are true, it means that crimen most ly -- th dominant part of the population have decided to exercise their right to self-determination. from the western viewpoint, this is creating even more headaches because now they have to really lean on russia to curtail any moments that would encourage crimea to take the part of braking away from ukraine.

>> the west would have to support the principal of self-determinatiself self-determinati self-determination. it was put forth originally by woodrow wilson. this is a principal, something they would find it hard to imagine again. >> the true principles that the west has been talking about when it comes to the exercising or right of self-determination and the right of territorial integrity, i have to say this is also a debate that the u.n. has been looking to closely. if you look at other conflicts or territorial issues in other part of the soviet union, you would see this tension between the two principals. how do you know? do you support the right of self-determination or do you support the country's rights to

territorial integrity? and, of course, when the crimens are arguing for self-determination, they will say the look the ukrainians have exercised their right to self-determination to go with eu and we want to go with russia. so it is complicated, the picture, as i said earlier. >> do you think, very briefly, we've got angela merkel speaking to reporters at the eu emergency summit taking place. what sanctions if anything, what measures do you think europe will take? the lithuanian prime minister has come out and said nato has been much stronger than anything these politicians are going to do. >> i think there is an understanding among major plays in european block debt perhaps. so now the main emphasis has to be trying to sort this out

without resorting to sanctions. those people who were the decisionmakers, or it can target the businesses, which is -- it will have the worst impact, not only on just russia, but on european union and european union businesses. so the understanding is that for now, let's try to sort this out through diplomatic means before we resort to sanctions and, worse, economic sanctions. it could lead to retaliation by russia. they're looking to connect commercially and both sides will feel the pinch. >> thanks for that.

now, on a programming note, we'll be talking to the ukrainian central bank governor, steppan kubiv. it will be on the website, cnbc.com. if you're somewhere else on the planet and not watching that. meanwhile, as far as the agenda today in the united states, weekly jobless claims out at 8:30 eastern, forecast to drop by 13,000 to a total of 335,000. if at 8:30, we get revised productivity numbers expected to beery vised down from 3.2 to 3.1%. and at 10:00, we have february factory orders out. as far as today's earnings are concerned, look for results today from staples, kroger and h&r block. still to come, can ebay pull

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e you looeders are arriving at the emergency summit in ukraine.

the imf says the ecb should take action today to address falling inflation. and federal reserve member charles plosser tells cnbc the weather is just a temporary headwind to america's recovering economy. news agencies are errored that the crimean parliament has voted to become part of russia and they are having a referendum on march the 16th to vote on joining the russian federation. crimea had previous set a referendum to address its autonomy on march 30th. so the crimean party has voted to become part of russia.

this news comes as european leaders sit down in brussels to discuss the ukrainian crisis. russia's brutal aggression needs to be countered according to the lithuanian prime minister. and the french president, farther swan hollande says there must be pressure to de-escalate the situation. as far as the german chancellor is concerned, angela merkel, she says we'll discuss support measures for ukraine and germany strongly in favor to so sill tate the dialogue. they'll discuss the use of sanctions in russia. meanwhile, the european central

bank holds its monthly meeting today with many calling to help counter inflation. the imf says it should cut borrowing rates and consider quantitative easing. annette is in frankfurt for us. how much will the imf comments have them thinking in frankfurt, annette? >> i actually think the imf comments will not provoke a lot of action. mario draghi has shown us in the past that he can resist pressure from outside pretty well. there might be some pressure also from japan. but for today, most likely, we don't hear a lot of news in terms of interest rate cuts. there might be some news on the end of the smp sterileation

program. the majority of analysts expect that to happen. so probably rates will stay where they are. perhaps some news additional measures like the substantialzation program. back to you, ross. >> we have extended programming, as well, to take in the bank of england and the ecb deciding on rates. it's a five-year anniversary with record lows at 0.5%. meanwhi meanwhile, ahead of the u.s. open, we're weighted to the upside. advancers outpacing decliners by a ratio of about 7/2 at the moment. plenty more to come. [ male announcer ] first the cookie at check-in...

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after a fairley flat session yesterday, u.s. eks are called a little higher this morning. the s&p 500 currently called up 2 points. it hit a record high in the previous session. the dow jones currently up 33 points and the nasdaq up 5 points. some of the stories we're following stateside, the white house is looking to contain political fallout over the president's health care laws. it's now letting consumers renew health plans that don't comply with obamacare for two more

years. that will push the issue out well beyond this year's midterm election. previously, some people could keep current insurance plans that would have otherwise been canceled through this year, but now that's extended through 2016. the administration administration says the changes are in response to a concern of consumers as well as businesses. the ebay ceo says the online retailer is backing him in an effort to resist carl icahn's demands that the company spin off paypal. most understand that ebay and paybalance are stronger together. the top shareholders hold 22% of the company's stock. the co-founder has repeatedly say ebay should stay intact. icahn told cnbc on wednesday that ebay's corporate governance is the worst he's ever seen. and puerto rico has hired

advisers, a washington based affiliate, one of the top restructuring firms. the move comes a week before the u.s. territory is expected to sell around $3 million in bonds. puerto rico can't file for chapter 11 bankruptcy under u.s. law. it's exploring measures similar to a bankruptcy filing. and the world cup, believe it or not, is set to kick off in less than 100 days. coming up later today on cnbc, an exclusive interview of nike's ceo mark parker as the athletic shoemaker looks to use the game for an opportunity to expand its prand. that's today at 10:30 eastern on "squawk on the street." ♪ [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong,

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eu leaders arrived in brussels to determine how they respond to actions in the ukraine. the british prime minister issuing a stark warping. >> we need to send a very clear message to the russian government that what has happened is unacceptable and should have consequences and where further actions to be taken, that would be even more unacceptable. crimea's parliament votes

unanimously to become part of russia saying a referendum will be held next weekend. and a telecom mega merger is on the table. plus, the fed's beige book confirms severe winter weather has happened a major impact on the u.s. economy. a fed president tells cnbc exclusively with the extreme weather has clouded his readings. >> the data, as you pointed out, has been very noisy. we've had storm after storm after storm, particularly on the east coast, and they've got droughts in the west. it's been difficult to get a decent reading on the economy. >> you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. hello. warm welcome to you if you've just joined us stateside. welcome to your global trading day here on cnbc.

u.s. futures indicating slightly firmer start off with a fairley flat session we had yesterday. the dow down 0.2%. the s&p pretty flat. right now, the dow is trending some 34 points above fair value. the nasdaq at the moment is nearly 7 points above fair value and the s&p 500 at the moment is nearly three points above fair value. european equities have been up, but lower than they were. the ftse 100 is flat. the xetra dax is up about 0.25%. it was up 0.4 earlier. the cac 40 is up 0.5%. the ftse mib is up 0.6%. it's been helping a little bit this morning is the thought this we might get some talks under way, an improvement in terms of the situation in the ukraine. meanwhile, the local government of ukraine's break away session of crimea has said it's going to hold a regionwide referendum on whether to formally secede from the ukraine and join russia. that referendum will take place

on march 16th. at the same time, we understand that the parliament in the crimea has voted unanimously to join the russian federation, as well. so the crimean parliament voting to become part of russia. now, while this is going on, european leaders have been offering their comments before they sit down in brussels to discuss ukrainian crisis. the lithuanian prime minister has been saying that russia's brutal aggression needs to be countered as the situation is becoming unpredictable. the dutch prime minister said sanctions could well be imposed and the french president says there must be pressure to de-escalate the situation. as for the german chancellor angela merkel, she says they're going to discuss the port measures for ukraine. she's also stressed the need to facilitate dialogue but will discuss those sanctions against russia, as well. the use of those sanctions

depends on progress in the political dialogue between russia and the ukraine and the finish prime minister has just come out and said we need targeteded measures if things get worse between russia and the ukraine. they could use political sanctions rather than economic ones. we'll keep our eyes on what's going on in russia. meanwhile, the fed's latest beige book has confirmed what recent data has been showing. but severe weather has had a major impact on the u.s. economy. the report, which tracks conditions in the first regional districts says winter took its toll on consumer spending in recent weeks which led to slower growth or outright contraction in some parts of the country. although the fed continues to say it will take a major change in the economic outlook for them to change their tapering plans. janet yellen is now to do all she can to boost the u.s. economy. without employment too high and inflation too low. at a swearing in ceremony yesterday, yellen reiterated comments that she made to

congress last month that while the economy is stronger, it's still falling considerably short of the fed's dual mandate, full employment and stable prices. dallas fed president richard fishes has pointed to stirring margin debt and narrow spreads between corporate debt and treasuries is concerned. while separately the san francisco fed president, john williams, sees a rate hike by mid 2015 as unemployment continues to fall and growth continues to pick up. earlier, "squawk box" charles plosser asked him about the tapering of the bond buying program was hurting the global economy as well as emerging markets. >> at the end of the day, chairman bernanke and chairman yellen had it right, the best thing the u.s. can do for the global economy is to have a strong economy itself.

and so in that sense, most u.s. monetary policy has been focused on trying to restore economic health in the u.s. over the longer run, that would make for a much healthier world economy. >> mark hammerick is joining us from washington, d.c. mark, very good morning to you. >> morning. >> do you think the fed is handling this right? obviously, one of the concerns is that they mishandle tapering. >> well, you know, i don't want to discredit the fed. they've got a lot of very smart people over there who have a mountain of data. and i think what janet yellen would say privately as well as publicly is we're doing the best we can. but in all truthfulness, we're going down a path we've never been down before. and it may be only in the rearview mirror do we know whether all of these remarkable measures were the right thing to do. but, you know, let's say they're doing the best they can and, you know, there's a lot of criticism

about this building in back of me, the u.s. capitol, that fiscal policy has not been helpful for the u.s. economy in the aftermath of the great recession. so in many ways, fed has been the only actor available. >> yeah. in many ways, the monetary policy has had to create the slack that allows governments in the u.s. or elsewhere to try and can rebuild their balance sheet. >> yeah, absolutely. i mean, you know, ben bernanke is a rather soft spoken individual. janet yellen has a let's say tempered voice. but, you know, you know that they're very frustrated with the way things have gone here in washington. and at the same time, it is essentially congress that gives the fed its mandate. and so they don't want to bite the hand that feeds it. >> we saw the adp yesterday, private sector added fewer jobs than expected. the beige book talking about the weather toll. how long do you think before we

get all the weather related stuff out of the way to get a really firm idea of what the u.s. economy is doing and what it's capable of doing? >> well, right now, i think it may be a month to six weeks, could be maybe eight week. we're here in washington, for example, and the cherry blossom festival is still scheduled. the trees are expected to bloom in about three to four weeks. but even as we speak here, in a climate that is typically fairley moderate, it feels like january. and we know that the car dealers have suffered. we know new home construction has suffered. and your own steve liesman said yesterday, the beige book was replete with 119 references just to the word weather alone. and that isn't even accounting for sin cincinnatsi synonyms. that was about three times the mention of superstorm sandy, which was a different kind of

damage. clearly shows how substantial that severe winter weather has been and how much of a broad based shot it's taken at the u.s. economy. >> and you've been surveying economists, as well. what are they saying about -- because we had that coming into the introduction rates, short-term rates going up next year, as well. does that tie in with what your survey says? >> it sure does. the one thing that we have that the fed helps us with, and i'm speak background the federal reserve right now, is there's a survey taken of members of the marketing committee and essentially they have told us they see increase in short-term interest rates about a year out. so there are relatively few economists that want to get on the other side of the fed with that prediction. our first ever quarterly survey of economists at bank rate found by and large they agree with the fed's prediction that we'll see short-term interest rates begin to rise next year.

to me, it's so interesting, though, that we don't seem to be discounting that in the financial markets a whole lot right now. as we know, interest rates have gone down in recent months. >> you raise a fair point. stau there and we'll take a break and come back to you. still to come, results are out from big u.s. discount retailer costco this morning. what are consumers buying in bulk over the last month or not? we'll break down the numbers. il] [ telephone rings ] [ shirley ] edward jones. this is shirley speaking. how may i help you? oh hey, neill, how are you? how was the trip? [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors... [ shirley ] he's right here. hold on one sec. [ male announcer ] ...you'd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. kevin, neill holley's on line one. ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing.

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this is the pursuit of perfection. crimea's parliament has voted to become part of russia. ryan mepp says the ecb should take action today to -- inflation. charles blosser says the weather is just a temporary headwind to america's recovering economy. do you need a gallon of ketchup? that's a lot of fries or a drum of olive oil, you might just head to costco. the discount club reported earnings earlier this morning. courtney has more for us and a look at how the rest of the

retail world is fairing. i don't know whether i'm ever going to get a gallon of ketchup, court. >> yeah, me, neither. it's an awful lot. they sell those bulk quantities. but nevertheless, costco reported fiscal second quarter results about three hours ago. the warehouse club operator's profits fell 15% to $1.05 a share. revenues rose 6% to 26.3 billion, shy of estimates. richard galanti says weaker growth margins on nonfood items, particularly during the holiday shopping season, and low international profits weighed on the bottom line. in february, same-store sales rose 2%, slightly below analyst estimates of 2.3%. costco sales have grown steadily since 2009. research firm tracer says 4.3 million new members signed up last year. that's an awful lot of folks

going after those gallon jarses of mayonnaise. in frankfurt, a little pressure, down 11 .6% at this point in the trading session. costco is among about a dozen retailers along with gap and l brands reporting february same-store sales today. analysts expect sales to rise 1.9%. that's down from nearly 5% a year ago. last month's cold and snowy weather across much of the country did hurt mall traffic. many stores are still trying to clear on up that winter merchandise, which is as you would understand heavily marked down to make room for spring items. staples reports fourth quarter results before the opening bell. investors will look for evidence the office supply chain strategy focusing more on new categories, such as tablets and coffee services is boosting sales. last week rival office depot reported a sprees fourth quarter loss and say they expect sales to continue to decline this year. taking a look at stairs of staples, down about 0.8%.

ross, back to you. >> a gallon of ketchup, i wonder how many fries you could get to before you ran out of that. >> it depends. if you have little kids, you could go through it faster. they love ketchup. >> that's right. court, good to see you. thanks so much for that. meanwhile, the world cup, this is the football world cup is in less than 100 days. coming up later on cnbc, you get an exclusive interview with the nike ceo mark parker as they look to use the games as an opportunity to expand the brand. that's coming up today at 10:30 eastern on "squawk on the street." stay tuned for that. we've got more "worldwide exchange" coming up right after that. le announcer ] we know they're out there. you can't always see them. but it's our job to find them. the answers. the solutions. the innovations. all waiting to help us build something better. something more amazing. a safer, cleaner, brighter future. at boeing, that's what building something better is all about.

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to tick higher today. the ftse 100 is just flalt. the xetra dax is up 0.2%. the cac 40 is up 0.5% as is the ftse mib, as well. it hasn't been helped out by news that the parliament in crimea has voted to join the russian federation. there will now be a full referendum in crimea on march the 16th, as well, to vote -- for the people in crimea are going to vote to do that. that referendum had been previously set for march 30th. and this is as european leaders have been offering their comments before sitting down in brussels to discuss the crisis in ukraine. angela merkel says sanctions against russia will be discussed. but anything they do will depend on progress and political dialogue between russia and the ukraine. other leaders have taken a harder line. lithuania's prim says immediate action is needed to bolster against what is called russia's

brutal aggression. and the british prime minister, david cameron, spoke on wider talks in brussels were so crucial. >> first of all, this matters to people in britain because we benefit from a world in which countries obey the rules. and we also benefit when we enable people like those in ukraine at being able to choose their own future. i think there are three things that stand out today. first, we've got to make sure we get russia and ukraine talking to each other. second, we've got to demonstrate here in the european union that we will help the ukrainian people in the arab league. and third, and just as vital, we need to send a very clear message to the russian government that what has happened is unacceptable and should have consequences and where further action to be taken, that would be even more unacceptable and would require each more consequences. all of those three things matter. those are the things we'll be discussing here today and i'm hopeful of a positive outcome.

. >> as far as the agenda on the united states today, weekly claims are due out at 8:30 eastern. they're forecast to drop by 13,000 to a total of 235,000. also at 8:30, we get revised fourth kwarer productivity orders. they're expected to be revised down from 3.2 to 1.9%. and union labor costs are forecast to drop 0.3%. at 10 on o'clock a.m., february factory orders are out. and the atlanta fed president dennis lockhart speak this evening. as far as the u.s. futures are concerned, meanwhile, they are forecasting a little tick higher after a fairley flat session yesterday. right now, the dow is called some 41 points above fair value. nasdaq is currently nearly 7 points above fair value and the s&p 500 is currently 3.5 points above fair value. we'll get more on the u.s. session ahead. let's get more from jules, first, though in brussels. he's on the telephone where eu leaders are meeting. jules, we've had a range of comments out from those leaders

arriving. how big do you think is the spread between them in terms of opinion and how firm they want to be against russia? >> i think it's about as divergent as it could be, ross. it's quite interesting. i just spoke to the lithuanian president. she said russia today is dangerous and unpredictable. that they're trying to reshape their boarders and quite frankly europe isn't taking this seriously. she comes with a very strong message about what needs to be done here. i just spoke to the swedish prime minister. i was very diplomatic. but he did say he would look towards more stringent sanctions targeted asset freezes perhaps targeting the visas of some russian officials. more than what we expect to hear from the french and the italians, of course. but he did make a great deal of talk about just what we can do to support ukraine and i think that's the bottom line here. it's far more easy to support ukraine financially here than it is to impose any kind of

sanctions on russia. so i do still feel that that's the route we're taking here. obviously, those discussions about to begin in around 30 minutes. we'll see how it goes. back to you. >> jules, thanks for that. that's the latest from brussels. meanwhile, mark hamrick is with us, washington bureau chief at bank rate. mark, good to see you. clearly what's going on in the ukraine is sort of impacting the sentiment as far as investors are concerned. but what else with the employment report will have a much more meaningful report. >> well, it was about the longer term perspective and that looks for eventual improvement, not only in hiring, but a decline in the unemployment rate to 6.2% 12 months from now. as for this friday report, it's almost gotten to the situation where it's a nonevent. i hate to say that, but it's getting a free pass in the face of all this -- all these many

indications that winter weather is going to really play a big role. but having said that, you know, the consensus is for another subpar report, well shy of 200,000 jobs, more in the range of 150 to 170,000 jobs added. we may see a slight rise in the unemployment rate. but, again, we're discounting that and looking ahead. >> yeah. and we talked about this view, this fed view, interest rates go up in 2015. what do we then think is going to happen to treasury yields? >> well, you would expect that if the economy performs well, that interest rates should rise in tandem. but we don't know the unintended consequences of the federal reserve's actions because all this is relatively unprecedentsed. but, you know, our survey or our predictions of bank rate led by our chief analyst greg mcbride indicated that we do expect interest rates, at least the longer end of the curve to rise

over time over the next year. >> it will be interesting to see when we start to -- as you said earlier, we're not really pricing that in at the moment. it will be interesting to see when that takes place. >> yeah. the economy, let's face it, has underperformed here. by its own admission, the fed has tended to be overly bullish on the outlook for the economy. very often the economy has underperformed in the face of the fed's bullish predictions. and i suppose we might say at this point we're hoping the fed is not wrong about that, once again. >> and look, inflation, they've been helped out by the low print of inflation, as well. do most think it will stay low? >> most of on our economists think inflation will rise over the next 12 months. between headline, consumer price and the core, in a sweet spot, around the 2% area over the next 12 months. that is not at a worrisome rate. as we also know, one thing that

workers in the u.s. have seen over these many years is that their incomes have been relatively flat. so at this point, i think workers and the fed would agree they would like to see all of that rise at a modest rate. >> yeah, well, let's hope that that continues to be the case. i mean, i think one thing, of course, we're looking at markets is the underlying strength of the consumer, as well. and the retail is down 0.4% in january. clearly, the weather is not helping out. it looks like they'll pick up. house prices have been fairley strong. >> yes, indeed. the housing sector is probably still predicted to be the strongest contributor to the u.s. economy in the sense of a positive over these next many months and into the next year. obviously, the weather hasn't helped out recently. but we believe most of that activity has been deferred and we'll get a lot of that back. >> mark, good to see you, as always. thanks for that, mark hamrick joining us from washington, d.c.

that's it for "worldwide exchange." viewers in the u.s., you now get "squawk box." viewers in europe, you get two hours to cover the rate decision from the bank of england and the ecb.

good morning and welcome to "squawk box." the march to friday's jobs report. we've got more economic data ahead for the m markets this morning after little reaction to the beige book from the fed, which came out yesterday and blamed weather for slower growth. a big name in silicone valley, defending ebay and paypal from those accusations from carl icahn yesterday. and the eu holding an emergency summit to deal with the crisis in ukraine.it's thur 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 who is joining us from new york this morning, refusing to come back here after yesterday. our top story today, big decisions ahead of the european central bank. the ecb is expected to take action to losing lending decisiones and try and pull inflation out of the danger scope. it's been dangerously low in europe. this would support europe's economic recovery and we can expect an announcement at 7:45 eastern time. that will be followed by mario draghi's news conference. european markets ahead of this decision have been trading slightly higher. just barely at this point. the cac is up by about 22 points. that's 0.5%. other markets have seen more moderate advances. as for the futures here in the u.s., after a modestly down day yesterday, once again, you'll see green arrows here today. the dow futures look like they would open up about 38 points above