good morning. positive sentiment ahead of mario draghi's press conference. details on the central bank bond buying program. >> in china the government cut it's growth target to the lowest level in a quarter of a century. signaling further easing in his speech to the national people's congress. >> the world's second largest retailer reports a rise in

profits sending shares to the top of the french markets. >> and continental raises it's out look. a double digit jump in profits. we'll be speaking to the group ceo in the next hour. >> you're watching worldwide exchange bringing you business news from around the globe. >> now welcome to the show. we just got some breaking data on italian gdp. it's come in as expected for the quarter. for the year of 2014 for the final quarter at 0% for the full year minus .5%. it was expected at .3%. so the full year figure just below expectations. a contraction of half a percent. you can see the euro is down

three tenths of a percent today but that's come over the last two trading sessions and ahead of the break. >> they're saying they anticipate we should be looking at growth later on this year for italy. there could be slight growth during the first three month of the year instead but italy is one of the interesting ones in terms of potential for surprise. >> but also so crucial because of the size of the bond market. we'll see forecast from a very important individual today. >> exactly. >> because it's what we've all been waiting for. the date mario draghi's qe program gets underway or we hear the date it will get underway later today. it's likely to come today or soon after. the new projections could also be very important today. anetta has all the latest ahead of that release in a few hours

time. >> yes as you were saying the focal point will be what the ecb is going to say about greece and then of course we are talking about the staff rejections it's key here what they're going to say about 2017 because that brings us all the topic of quantitative easing and whether they might actually extend it beyond the originally planned data point of september 2016. so of course the market is hoping for loads of details that mario draghi should deliver on the qe program but the odds are also high that they won't give us as much detail as for example fed gave to the markets when it comes to timing what they're going to buy, which kind of duration he will most likely not reveal all the details to the public. also interesting will be the

inflation expectation for this year which of course gives them the reason to implemented the huge qe program because inflation eck inflation expectations have redeteriorated. but we should also talk about an upside revision of growth expectation for the euro zone mainly because the lower euro is helping exports from the euro zone to the rest of the world. it's helping countries like italy, spain, cyprus here and also ireland which is really booming. so you see i think there's a lot to talk about here from the ecb when it comes to also positive news from the economy but let us also talk about the effects of qe. the potential effects. we actually have to decide

those. they are signaling effects and we already have them just by the announcements but then also the effects of implementation and i yesterday spoke with the finance minister of cyprus who is presiding over an ailing economy after the bailout years ago and i had to ask him if it's actually helping them. take a listen to what he had to say. >> i'm a strong supporter of this new policy of the ecb and i do believe it will help the euro zone as a whole and of course cyprus and the benefits will be multidimensional. it will be a stimulus for economic activity and it will at the sail time facilitate the reentry of countries like cyprus

into the international capital markets. so it makes our double objective of economic recovery and growth and also international capital markets easier. this should be seen in conjunction to the difficult but necessary job we're doing on the ground. i know there's a dilema regarding the qe policy. if it will be a disincentive for the continuation of economic reform structural changes. the answer and my answer and our governments answer is it will be

a combination. we should continue to execute prudent fiscal polly. we shall continue with our agenda of structural reform but the ecb should essentially lend a land to this and that's the prescription of the qe and that's why i think it's timely and important. >> we also think that qe will lift inflation back to levels we want to see. >> well it will help. it will help. it will be a push in that direction. i would say that our efforts on the ground regarding economic reform structural changes and fiscal consolidation would be in jeopardy if the ecb did not

utilize it's full arsenal in this direction. essentially fighting inflation and encourage economic activity so it's definitely going to be a helping hand at a time when it's most needed. >> but of course also on the agenda today will be greece. we have a very close geographical proximity to greece here in cyprus. loads of greek journalists are here and want to know if they'll be more friendly to the country now as the new greek government agreed to undertake reforms but there's also the odds that the ecb is not believing in the credibility right now of what they're hearing from greece. with that back to you. >> thank you very much. we'll see much more of you here throughout the show and also for

our special rate coverage program coming up after this show. joining us now here in the studio to continue our discussion is janet henry. chief economist at hsbc. good morning. >> good morning. >> what are you anticipating to hear from the ecb today and more importantly how much of a reaction would you think it could have on markets, on the euro, on bonds. >> overall i think the reactions are going to be pretty muted. this is going to be all about the details. we'll be pouring over the detail of the growth and the inflation forecast. all the execution details regarding how they're going to do the qe. of course announcements on greece but i'll be surprise first degree there are big market reactions in response to anything. >> what do you think they'll tell us? what are they going to be buying? how are they going to do the stimulus? >> we already know that the ecb's way of conducting the qe is going to be quite different from the other central banks

that embarked on those programs. we're motte going to get the reverse auction process. a certain amount of discretion will be left to the national central banks in terms of how they conduct the purchases. it will have to be because there's no way that the ecb or national central banks can all buy the same maturities of every bond market given the limited amounts of supplies. also what they will get across is they do intend to be flexible on this. we had comments that came out when he suggested they could revisit the benchmarks. they could consider a change in options of bonds they could buy because there's was a certain amount of concern that the ecb might not be able to deliver for any extended kind of period. >> that's on the qe side and we might expect the ecb to be more guided than the fellow central banks at that front. what about staff projections? we get to hear about 2017

forecasts. perhaps revisions to 2015 and 2016 as well. >> you're right. it's quite interesting the way the ecb makes their forecast some of them are quite mechanical and also they tend to be a little bit out of date. so in december they were making a 2015 forecast based on an oil price of 85. these forecasts will be made on the oil prices it was two or three weeks ago. so it will have an assumption of 59 or 60. so the inflation number versus to come down quite a lot just on oil. of course we also have a euro. their assumptions are going to be about 114. previously it was 125. so just the impact of lower oil and a much weaker euro should have a fairly big impact on their growth forecast for 2015. >> will they be baking into those forecasts the effects that qe is going to have and will they have any implications how big of a impact they're having to the changes on the forecast. >> they'll say they're

incorporated but i don't think they'll spell out the exact mechanics mechanics. most of us have a sense of skepticism. most of us tend to agree the exchange rate depending on what other central banks are going to do will probably have the biggest impact on growth and inflation and they'll say the exchange rate impact that's already come through has had a significant impact on the growth forecast but as you say it's the 2017 forecast that are most important. >> do you think the ecb held off on quantitative easing knowing that greece negotiations were coming up? do you think the time is too much and is it going to keep the market steady given the negotiations on going with greece. >> it may have come into their thinking. we know there was divergence on the council. they still felt embarking on

government purchases is something you only do in the case of a last result. they felt a lot of the slow down was triggered by oil prices. and they're going to feel vindicated. i think greece was a factor that may have played on some minds but for the most part it's about price stability. >> the move in the euro in the last day or so and indeed the last week might suggest otherwise. would you agree that's fair? it's moved very sharply as we come into this announcement. >> it seems to have stabilize to some degree. what's happening in the u.s. is just as important as what's happening in the euro zone. maybe this is where the forecast could be very important. it's really about what they say about 2017 inflation. i imagine there will be a number sitting on the fence. it will be about 1.6 or 1.7. if it's 2% or so that means

there could be a chance the ecb stops early. if it's less than 1.5% that will reinforce that they won't be able to stop in 2016. they have to keep going. i think they're going to be very measured in terms of what they project and probably the next move on euro dollar from here will be driven by the fed more than what the ecb is doing. >> whether or not they keep patient in there. >> yeah. >> so janet, thank you very much for being with us. janet henry, chief european economist from hsbc. >> now let's have a look at what european markets -- let's have a look at what european markets are doing. it was a strong finish in the last hour of yesterday's trade where we ended up gaining .6% being been down. that's because we're getting closer to this ecb meeting and the euro did sell off in the opposite direction imlying it's the balance sheet expansion of the ecb that drove markets up yesterday and the euro down.

that sentiment is continued today. we have the stoxx 600 up .3%. let's see where that price action is coming. it's been spread across most of continental europe with the ftse 100 lagging a little bit. we have .4% of gains for germany and france and italy is up .35%. let's look at bond rates. the u.s. ten year has risen comfortably. it was only a brief flirtation when janet yellen's testimony last week was interpreted as dovish but as we just heard the data coming out of the u.s. continues to be positive. that pushed yields up 2.12%. we have nonfarm payrolls to look at tomorrow. most of the other action has been in the likes of italy, portugal and spain. 1.4% on italy. of course greece remains elevated at 9.8% today.

let's look at four x. the euro has slid over the last week. it's below 111. 11045 and expectations of strong easing announcements coming today from the central bank. the broader u.s. dollar had a nice rally in the last week. the broad index up 6% year to date. we paused for breath the last six weeks and in the last week the u.s. dollar tested the 11 year highs it flirted with earlier in the year. now let's look at commodity rates and we had a weak day for oil yesterday. it's bouncing back a bit today. wti at 51.8. brent at 60.8. let's round things off in russia. at the moment it's up .2% but the russian market has halted trading of freshs metals this morning because it's still being

investigated and we'll update you as soon as trading resumes for those particular area of the market but the micex is up fractionally so far in today's show. >> coming up here on the program wilfred, with all eyes on mario draghi's press conference we discipher the language of central bankers. we see if they're listening too much or too little to the policy makers. >> and which sector was a winner this season as we wrap up another quarter of numbers and banking on africa's growth story. the continents largest lender. we'll speak to them in a couple of minutes. you can find us all on there.

hi everybody. welcome back. you are indeed. we got news through earlier. talking about how trading is halted on parts of the moscow exchange. they halted their fx trade and we're hearing via dow jones news writers that the moscow exchange is saying that fx trading is to restart at 1240 local time in moscow.

they're starting currency trade at 1240. precious metal's market and talking about how cancellation of previous orders is available at 9:20 as well. there's been some discussions this morning at moscow. >> let's look at the biggest individual movers here in europe today. continental is up 3.23%. the german tie maker raised it's sales guidance and hiked it's dividend as it benefits from currency exchanges and the acquisition of the u. s. rubber company. now do stay tuned because the company's ceo will be joining us for a first on cnbc interview in around an hour's time. now that's just ahead of continental on the dax today. it's the top 3.4% to the good after it proposed a dividend ahead of expectations. the german sportswear brand thaiks to consumer confidence.

the other reason it's doing well is louisa was spotted jogging in it yesterday. the lse is up .3%. it reported a 19% rise in adjusted pretax profit after it returns to levels in 2014. earlier cnbc spoke with the company's ceo that highlighted the benefits of expanding the tech sector in the u.k. >> there's a tech revolution going on in the u.k. it's not just engineering or software. it's also medical and bio tech. we had the largest bio tech ipo in the world. it's starting to feed through as we have seen in terms of the u.k. economic growth number which is is why the pipeline is extremely exciting. >> and carrefour's turn around after a rise in profit in 2014. let's get more news on that story from stefan live in paris.

>> good morning. the operating profit was in line with expectations and was boosted by the recovery of its french and european operations for france. it managed it in terms of the reduction plan. 1.2% organic growth for france where it's strategy attracted more clients to its stores. in the rest of europe there's the he cforecovery in spain and it improved in italy. all in all they boosted nearly 10% growth for operating profit in europe. that's a sharp improvement. they also boosted a strong performance in latin america. 23% increase for the operating profit. however because of the negative impact from exchange rates, the actual growth was below 10% last year. in terms of outlook it will

increase his capital expenditure this year to renovate and extend it's exiting store. especially in europe. back to you. >> thank you very much. now shares in south african lender standard bank are moving higher after the group reported a modest 1% rise of full year earnings and 12% rise in it's dividend. london unit headline earnings rose by 20% as you can see the shares up very strongly. 5.11% following strong gains up 27%. i'm delighted to say that joining us is the ceo. good morning to you. thank you for joining us. the market taking the results very well and we can come to the details of that. i wanted to kick off with roe. that's fallen. maintaining your target of 15 to 18%. why the fall? and why are you confident you

can get it higher again? >> i think the fall is the continued operations. they in effect had a material impact on the profitability of the group but going forward the continuing operations as you correctly point out are up 20%. so the numerator in the roe calculation was negatively impacted by the performance of those operations. the denominator is negatively impacted because there's large amounts unleveraged held in the international operations as well as the fact that we're ruling out a major it program throughout the organization. >> update us with where you are for the exit from the nonafrican business. when will you be clear of them?

>> we are all but clear of them. we sold 60% of our global markets business outside africa to icbc. we now hold 40% of the entity called standard bank plc and that transaction has now closed. we are simply waiting for the payment of the purchase price there. so all the activity related to banking outside the continent is complete and we will be focussing our resources both human and capital on the african continent. >> good morning. it's louisa. i was speaking to the ceo of eco bank also an african based lender just last week and i'm just wondering if you would mind characterizing the state of the african banking sector at the moment. i was talking to him about how

different it is from europe and whether we're looking toward kind of an african union in banking as we are in europe as well. >> i think the background to the structure of banking, the tapestry is determined by the sovereign issues. we have 52 african countries. they're all very very sovereign but there's a deep conversation happening on a free trade area that would include a billion people and would be quite large between the east africa union. off the back of that you can invision more interplay between economies and banks. but as we speak, banking is quite bulk. the consequence of that is the

way we run operation is on the basis of subsidiaries. the trick however, or the secret to success is the ability to integrate the operations. >> what will you anticipate from the rest of 2015? how do you think it's going to pan out for your sector? >> we think that the growth of banking will be driven by the economy. we think between 2015 and 2016 the economies will continue to grow around 5%. but eluding -- maybe if i could go back to the earlier question, we grow on the basis of growth in gdp and banking penetration. banking penetration is quite low so as more people enter the middle classes and they enter the banking sector there's

growth for the banking system. we remain quite excited about the prospect. >> thank you for your time today. the ceo of standard bank. >> still to come here on the program, lots more to talk about. >> plenty more to talk about. >> yeah chinese stocks have been slipping as they set a lower growth target for 2015. is there reason to be bullish? we'll be talking about that after the break.

investors expecting detail on the bond buying program. >> a different story in china where the government has cut it's growth target to the lowest level seen in a quarter of a century. >> the turn around plan pays off. the world's second largest retailer reports a rise in profits sending shares to the top of the french market. >> and they raise the sales guidance thanks to the u.s. based technology. this as the tire maker posted a

double digit jump in profits. we'll be speaking to the ceo coming up here within the hour. >> and guess what guess what. >> i don't know give me a clue. give me a clue. >> what are european markets doing this morning? >> doing well. i have a feeling. >> they're flat to slightly high wrer. you're right higher. we're waiting for the ecb and bank of england. we could hear more detail on this program. >> we're expected to hear when it might start. technical details and projections which will include expectations for growth in 2017. >> do you think this will be an impact on the euro? >> we have already seen an impact. it's down another .3% today. it was off the best part of a percent yesterday and only last week last thursday it was still above the 114 handle and now

it's well into the 110 handle. 11043. so all the people saying quantitative easing is tied in in just the last week the euro dollar sold off. has been positive developments in the u.s. but the euro has been weakening over the last week. >> see i think now it's a fed story. now it's a march 18th will the fed remove patient from the language and if she does some are saying we could see not only one but two rate hikes this year if you're hawkish. >> could be dominated by a dollar story but the last 24 hours there's no extra data out of the u.s. and people are definitely still nervous to see what the details are and what the projections are for growth going forward. >> it's a trade. it's a trade as well. >> definitely. >> moving on the chinese premiere league set the country's growth target at around 7% for 2015 down from 7.5% last year. now in a speech before the

national people's congress he also said that the cpi target would be put to 3%. our colleague has been following the story from hong kong. >> it's a growth rate target that so many would be envious of it but does mark a new low not seen in a quarter of a century. they they invoke the new normal. last year 7.4% figure. many took that term around which proceeded the 7% forecast as an indication that leaders would tolerate less than 7%. the figure of course was widely panned to the market but stocks took a dip following the announcement. country is also exhibiting something of a slant planning to hike government spending by more than 10% to 17 trillion and pushing the budget deficit to 2.3% of gdp. social stability also very high on the agenda. china aims to create 10 million

new jobs this year and ensure the jobless rate does not exceed 4.5%. while going heavy on the economy t premiere also vowed to continue fighting pollution and corruption. two highly charged areas that attracted public anger. calling pollution a blight on the people in which china will fight with all it's might and saying the tolerance for corruption is zero. and in a move to atrack motive from neighbors they announced military spending to be boosted at a rate faster than the overall economy. outlays for defense, research and logistics will jump to more than 140 billion u.s. dollars. that's yearly double digit increases but it's just a fourth of the annual military spend of the united states of america. >> chinese equities slipped on the news. you can see hong kong was down

1.1%. shanghai down just under 1%. joining us to discuss this further, the chinese investment manager at henderson global investors. thank you for joining us. now china lowered the growth target. finally some will say waking up to reality. have they lowered it enough? >> good morning, thank you for having me on. anyone that knows china and travels to china and is a china watcher will know this target was going to come down and to be honest if you look at a lot of other surveys like we do like manufacturing pmi the reality is perhaps gdp has been in the sixes actually. so it's not really a surprise and i think a lot of data suggests that growth has been weaker in the past anyway. so it doesn't surprise us. >> should they not drop this target all together? surely it's an obsession that drives excessive debt build up and all the negative aspects of

growth because they feel they have to hit the targets they set themselves. >> i think you're right. probably they should but, you know the historical legacy is this is a centrally planned economy and they'd like to have targets to judge people buy.y. the reality is they're moving from a model under previous leaders where it's all about growth to a model where growth is important but at the same time they have to reform. the president is addressing corruption but they have to delevedel leverage as well. if you try to do those as well overall economic activity is going to be lower and i think investors are slowly waking up to that. >> charlie, hi it's louisa. just assuming that not everybody in the entire world watches or indeed invests in the chinese market, first of all, map out if you would how you invest in china at the moment and where the entry points are.

>> hi. it's important to choose where you invest. what we try to do is balance a portfolio between areas that have sector which is can generate attractive growth and companies are in a position to have profit growth they tend to be health care and consumer related and autos and i.t. and software and also to have area of value and those tend to be more state owned businesses. so for instance, some of the power producers are relatively cheap. some parts of the shanghai market are cheap. trading a single digit piece with dividend yields above 5%. it's something of a bar bell and for us we tend to be a little bit skeptical about the chinese banks. we have holdings there but tend to be below benchmark weight. >> charlie, if we even take a step further back just to

simplify, there's been changes on the market recently. you also have the msci looking to see whether or not it will be adding mainland chinese shares to its index as well. when looking at this what are some of the big areas you're focussing on and how does the structure of the chinese investment market look? >> sure one of the big problems is the index in the market is dominated by these large soes and they are banks and energy. going forward you'll see the introduction of the u.s. listed chinese companies that will broaden out the coverage. and you'll see shanghai come in as well. i think probably the biggest development we have seen actually is that sang high-hong kong connect because it does allow us to buy through our existing trading infrastructure

and trading counter party shares and sectors that we don't have exposure to through hong kong. so an example would be that sector that's not been available to us as foreign investors which has genuine brands and descent companies. >> sum it up for us. are you bullish on chinese equities? you said earlier that you think in reality growth in fact has been more like 6% and they have been papering over the truth. does that make you bearish on the equity market? >> it doesn't. we have been on a couple of times with you guys over the last few months and we have been quite frankly honest about the economy. that's that it hasn't grown well but that doesn't mean the stocks can't advance. our work is about finding shares attractively priced. we had the second rate cut and the market sold off. investors looking at data are

expecting more easing and therefore there's a little bit of fatigue in the market but longer term the consumer is still growing and importantly reform is still happening. it continue with the market based prices and performing soes. they're not as stretched as a lot of other equity markets. overall that's supportive over the medium term. >> thank you for joining us today. >> now the southern chinese city has seen mass protests in the region. it forms part of the governments on going organization strategy. eunice filed this report. >> what you're seeing is a common event in china. >> i came to the manufacturing town after hearing of a mass

protest over hand right which is the villagers were saying were taken from them as part of china's property explosion. >> there's a dark side to chinese property boom. these people have been marching outside of a government building because they're not getting proper compensation and being forced from their homes. >> like veteran petitioner. >> give back our land. give me my share. >> all the partitionetitioners share the same goal. >> it started in 2004 over land they used to have rights to. these high-rises were built after they agreed to turnover their rights to local officials in the 1990s. they were promised a share of the revenues and whatever replaced the farm but he says they haven't released a dime. >> the developer came to build all of these properties. you see the properties are so

fancy but we didn't get anything. >> as part of the deal the farmers embraced city life. today the 58-year-old works at a factory as he did more than 15 years ago. he earned $1,000 a month as a safety inspector. he can only afford to rent a small apartment for his family. >> we adjusted to life and worked in factories to contribute to this part of china. now decades later business is prosperous, the city is modernized and the developers are wealthy but we don't get anything back for our sacrifice. >> that's why he and many other farmers are so determined to take their cases to the state. >> these are all the documents signed by the villagers. thousands of us. they all put their fingerprints on it. >> the local government says it's looking into their claims but the villagers have heard

nothing. >> i can't remember how many times i cried into my pillow at night. i feel so guilty toward my family that i failed to provide them a better life but i know deep in my heart i can't give up fighting since i walked along this road for so long. >> no thanks to a boom that left many in chuy flaina forgotten. >> another effect of the industrialization process has been the high level of air pollution. public awareness looks like it's rising fast. over 200 million have watched the new documentary under the dome which focuses on the thick smog hovering above major chinese cities. it's produced by a former anchor at china central television. >> it's really interesting. at last year's mobile world congress, and i'm sure they have

it there this year as well. phillips had this interesting technology where in your home you can have an air purifier and then you have an app. if you're in the office you can see on your app whether your home is clean or smog free. you can turn it on and by the time you get home your home has been desmogified. >> i like it. it's a massive issue in china. >> >> huge issue. >> my home is still arkaic. >> you do still have electricity. >> i do. >> that's good to check. >> speaking of technology here's something to put into your home. with increasing awareness about health consumers in china, they have been heading to japan to make an unexpected purchase. state of the art electronic toilet seats which heat up. they wash they disinfect. they were the third most popular

item among shoppers in japan over the chinese new year. go to cnbc.com for more details. nothing nicer than a warm bathroom bathroom. >> i would have one. >> hello kitty one. >> it would be like a home away from home. >> it would be popular. >> i think we should get them installed in the cnbc toilets here. >> i would love that. >> we'll make a campaign for it. as well as that still to come on the show all eyes on mario draghi's press conference. we attempt to decipher the language of central bankers. we're joined to see if markets are listening too much or too little to policy makers. we're back in a couple of minutes. just because i'm away from my desk doesn't mean i'm not working. comcast business understands that. their wifi isn't just fast near the router. it's fast in the break room. fast in the conference room. fast in tom's office. fast in other tom's office.

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cnbc filed this report. >> >> neither severe winter weather or layoffs in capital spending declines from lower oil prices kept the u.s. economy from its rounds of moderate and steady growth. the federal reserve collection of economic anecdotes was full of troubles plaguing the u.s.

economy but growth kept shuging along. consumer spending continues to rise and retailers are optimistic about the months ahead. job gains were reported across industries. >> there's going to be weather in all of this but as we look at what's more important and what's going to drive fed monetary policy it's going to be the jobs fun and we'll see something in line with the last couple of months. north of 250,000 jobs that continues to create jobs at a good pace. >> confirmation that the u.s. is on track for another 200,000 plus jobs report came in the form of a report from the private payroll company. it estimates the u. s. created 2012 private sector jobs in february. >> that's below the estimate of 240,000 private and government jobs but close enough that economists didn't change their view on the report coming friday from the government. if accurate job growth for the

12 months in february would soar. a level not seen since 20,000. for example, weak overseas growth, a federal reserve that seems intent on raising interest rates as soon as this summer or a winter that seems equality intent on overstaying it's welcome through the spring but so far the u. s. faced those challenges and like the postman, continue to deliver. back to you guys. >> meanwhile, the bank of england is widely expected to keep rates at a record low when it meets today. a poll out last week thinks 28% of economists think a rate hike won't happen before 2016. >> also the main focus, of course turns to mario draghi's press conference after the ecb decision later on today. are markets listening too much to policy makers and how are we supposed to decipher their language. we're joined by michael mcmann. welcome.

>> thank you. so nice to be here. >> do you think that the policy makers makers, are they speaking clearly or are we interpreting them in a way we shouldn't be? >> they always used communication as a policy tool. once interest rates hit whatever we think of they have been using talk even more so. i don't know particularly if they listen too much or too little but we're in this world where central banks agonize because they know markets are listening. so they agonize over what they're going to put in their statements. and because of that the markets put a lot of emphasis on any small changes of words or adjectives and we've seen it a lot in november. >> but it's become ridiculous hasn't it? aren't you supposed to communicate and get a meaning

apart apart. >> where in a world where because central banks know markets are listening, they referred to bank communications as drafted to within an inch of their life and that's right. there's a lot of time spent with very senior policy makers choosing exact, you know use of adjectives or removal of adjectives and because we know central banks are doing that markets are very rational to put a lot of emphasis on whether these words are included or not. i'm not sure that's the right way but that's where we are. >> would it work better if we heard from them less often? >> already we hear from them at very preorchestrated moments they have the speeches and the minutes and statements that accompany decisions. i don't think it's a matter of the quantity we hear from them. i was excited when he announced forward guidance. he was much less core graphed in

what he said. he was dragged over the coals for that because the exact meaning of the words could be interpreted slightly different differently. the big picture was the same across all. policy makers have a good understanding of the big picture and they're trying to communicate it using whatever language works better at the same time. >> ultimately that must be what drives their decisions. >> so one thing that markets and everybody else can believe is the future outlook for the company. they put more resources into forecasting and understanding the economy but that's one reason to put extra wait on what the central bank thinks. the other is they're the ones that will set policy and the other thing you can learn is how they're going to react to different policies. so i think markets are right to

listen because they can ascertain two different things from it and it becomes difficult. >> are we all down to inflation now or at least when looking at the ecb, the bank of england and the fed? is that the most important measure or has that switched to wage growth and things like that? >> i think that what's gone on in the oil markets for the last while has meant that look at headline inflation becomes more problematic and we're being told we should look through the low numbers for inflation. wage growth is where we're looking. not because they have a target necessarily in the case of the bank of england for wages or unemployment but rather because these are going to give us a clearer sign building in the economy. >> very quick question. who is the best central banker? >> i like them all but i have to

say whatever it takes, the three most powerful words ever uttered piano a central banker probably for me makes it for mario draghi. >> so he deserves his super mario label. >> yes. >> thank you for joining us michael. >> now of course lots still to come and also it's been a tough quarter. >> even with me exactly wandering around in those stores. >> childish stores i would describe them as. >> we'll wrap up earnings season in the u.s. later in the show.

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>> hi everybody. welcome back. you're still watching worldwide exchange. >> here are your headlines from around the world. >> well, positive sentiment ahead of the press conference. investors expecting details on the central banks bond buying program and revisions growth forecasts. >> some of the world's biggest bairngs may bairng banks may be feeling stressed today. >> and buying in bulk. costco reports higher second quarter profits this morning beating forecasts thanks to a tax benefit while revenue was in line. >> they strike a deal for about

$21 billion. the drug firm johnson & johnson reportedly had it's eye on. >> you're watching worldwide exchange. bringing you business news from around the globe. >> so europeans markets trading a little higher this morning. thank you to all of you that decided to send your pictures of the warm toilet seats from japan. >> indeed. if you just tuned in you'll be wondering what we're auking about. check out the twitter feed but the other thing of course european markets taking positivity as we lead into the ecb meeting today. of course getting more details about the bond buying program. >> so would you buy europeans equities on this notion of quantitative easing? or do you think that train has gone? >> i think you buy them on this notion of a weak euro and that helps you and on the fact that

we have seen gdp figures start to turn around already. so i think the initial jump in equities that came from the announcement of qe might well have come through but the benefits from a weak euro and growth picking up may still to be to come. >> i also wonder whether they're going to surprise us and draghi is going to talk about greek collateral or debt colal ratlacollateral. >> indeed. we'll see when they'll go back to giving greece the waver to deposit. they wonlt't be included to start with. that's why yields below 10%. >> what's your twitter handle again? >> if you're just joining us we have another hour to go. send your e-mail questions

through. we're focused on the u.s. markets implied open. a mixed story just off by less than a point or so on the implied open. the dow and nasdaq both being called just a tiny whisker higher. not a lot though. when it comes to the european marks, over here as i just leg it to the wall backwards we have our ftse dax and cac trading higher. dax still around 11,400. seemingly the new area of interest. cac 40, 4937 and athens off by a tad. we're looking at the greek december unemployment data coming through at 26% from a revised figure seen in november. we know that unemployment is high there. >> yes. >> that's the november data as well. the big development there was the four month extension and can

they make meaningful developments and negotiations over the next four months. hets look at the bond market more generally and as i said at the top, yields in europe have been hitting record lows over the last week ahead, of course of more details from mario on the bond buying program. so italy 1.4%. we also hear from the bank of england today. we're not expecting change in the rate decision but over the last two or three weeks we've seen a big move in the ten year. rate rise expectations have been pushed back to early next year. that's something we're looking to hear more on from the bank of england meeting today. u.s. yields 2.21%. they briefly flirted down last week but good data continues to come out of the u.s. that keeps rate rise expectations closer than we're seeing in the u.k. people expecting between june and september. yields 2.12%.

let's look at rates as well. flirting once again with an 11 year high today. it's taking it back to the levels in early january. it's up about 6%. the broader index for the year as a whole. most of it coming earlier. now it's back up again. the euro has been the big mover over the last week and the last day. it was over a week ago touching 114. it's now at 110. quite a big move. let's look at commodities. we're bouncing back a bit today. bent 61.2. >> thank you wilfred. as we have been saying we're all looking very closely at the ecb today. the press conference taking place after the actual meeting. mario draghi is expected to reveal the date that the quantitative easing program could get underway and it's widely expected to raise it's growth forecast as we have been

talking about too. the lebanese like to say that see press is all theirs. but annetta tell us more about what the ecb is anticipated to do today. >> i'm not getting started on that political debate who actually owns that island. of course greece will be high on the agenda. the question of whether they will reinstate the collateral wave will be one of the prominent questions at least during the press conference but the odds are high that draghi and his team will say no from now. it's not credible what they see from the ecb. there was this letter from the ecb also in reflection of what we are hearing from the greek

government when it comes to the extension of the program also saying well they don't really actually believe in the fact that the greek government may actually implemented those reforms which might also be harmful. on the other side we have the staff projections from the ecb. for the first time ever most hike likely get them for 2017 as well. it is widely expected that the ecb will revise it's growth forecast upwards quite a bit due to the lower euro which is helping the euro zone economies to export themselves out of the crisis but also the lower oil price is helping the economy when it comes to gdp growth and inflation will be the key to watch out for because 2017

inflation still from the target perhaps not and that could give us a clue if the ecb extends their program beyond the original date or even considered to not run it as long as september 2016. so a lot of open questions. it will be once again an interesting press conference. >> i think so. i think -- what are you going to ask him? >> it depends on which question i get. you have to prepare say ten questions. and then pick the one which hasn't been asked. >> then you're like took my question. took my question. but you always have other questions. we'll talk later on. here's the other top stories we're following today. some of the biggest banks are bracing for word today on whether or not they passed the

fed's latest stress tests. doing stress tests again. >> always. >> they'll be releasing partial results at 4:30 eastern time and they'll be revealing whether the banks are approved to return cash to shareholders. four banks failed the test last year. remember city group, zion's bank corp. and the u.s. units of hsbc and rbs. >> let's look at what else people should be watching this trading day in the u. s. weekly jobless claims out at 8:30 a.m. eastern time. filings for unemployment are expected to drop back below the 300,000 mark. also at 8:30 revised fourth quarter productivity. unit labor costs are expected to be revised upwards. at 10:00 a.m. january factory orders are out and we get the san francisco fed president jon williams speaking in hawaii this evening. a pair of super market chains report earnings today mainly kroger and the fresh market. now u.s. markets closing the session lower for the second day. down transports continuing to be

lagging. carter joins us now. he joins us from new york. let's kick off to talk about the nasdaq rossing 5,000. do you put value on hitting key numerical targets like that or only when you meet important resistance levels does it matter? >> sure there is this notion and it's perfectly valid that there's some psychological import to a round number and big number such as this epic 5,000 level associated with the great market peaks and bubbles of all time. it's not the absolute high. we're still shy of that by 100 plus points but also what is interesting we're nowhere near to the high adjusted for inflation. the s&p 500 just last week

exceeded it's 2,000 high and the nasdaq is nowhere near. so the bigger milestone in a way is that the general equity market as measured by the s&p 500 just in the last moments has eclipsed or made a new all time high, 14 or 15 years later. >> let's talk about one of the other sectors in your notes. the transport sector which has been underperforming recently. is that a correction or something more meaningful in your opinion. >> one starts and it can become the other but let's talk about it. this is an important part of the market. if you look at the industrials as a sector it's lagging the s&p as well. part of the transports are down on the year. versus the market up 2 and certain parts of the market up 6-7 like health care and the

consumer. the issue is why. it could be one of two things. it's because of either the proceeding strength transports great outperformers and this is a pause while they catch their breath or the beginning of something worse. the fact that it has rested is meaningful and we think it's the beginning of something worse and the reason would be as follows. the airlines had a great run and much of that is on account of the drop in crude but how much of that is priced in? perhaps all of it. secondly the rails that benefitted from the high price of crude, many of them transport fuel and fuel rated products are now suffering because of the decline. so if you have the circumstance where the airlines have derived all the benefit from the plunging crude and yet the railroads are starting to feel the effect of the plunge in crude you do have the prospects

of further weakness going forward or at least this. >> yeah. >> so you're saying -- you're saying sell the dow jones transportation average. >> yeah. individually we have favorites we like or don't like. it's good. we're pleased with the results so far. but we think it should be remaining underweight and if one is on the short selling side there's opportunities here to find things that are starting to deteriorate and are still quite extended and go after them. >> carter thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> chief market technician. have you ever changed a car tire? >> i have of course. >> like the side of the road. >> i've changed the tires. i've never fixed one obviously. >> but you can like -- >> what image do you have of me. >> well i don't know but i'm asking you because the german auto parts maker raises it's

guidance. we'll be steering through the companies latest results after the break. they're the second largest maker of vehicle parts. we'll be talking to continentals ceo. opportunities aren't always obvious. sometimes they just drop in. cme group can help you navigate risks and capture opportunities. we enable you to reach global markets and drive forward with broader possibilities. cme group: how the world advances. heroes charge! ♪ (explosion) ♪ (explosion) ♪

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welcome back. u.s. futures take a queue from

europe as investors remain positive ahead of mario draghi's peach today. the fed releases the results from the annual stress test and a $21 billion deal for california based pharma. >> sorry, i can't help myself. >> it's a tough word. >> i do it all the time. >> i've done worse. no doubt about it. continental is doing well after it raised it's dividend. hired by some 2.5% in trade today over the last three months has had a pretty solid run. up by 26%.

27%. he's the ceo and joins us now from hanover. good to have you with us. europe's second largest maker of vehicle parts. it's appropriate to start by asking you what you're seeing in the health of the auto market at the moment. >> we have different situations in different markets. if we're comparing russia with china, they'll have a decline. maybe double digit this year compared to china market. good for 30 million. coming from about 22 million expected this year. what at the moment is really driving you? what are you seeing from your industrial clienlts as well? >>. >> on one side we're driven by

the automotive market. which is moderate at the moment. we're expecting about 2% this year compared to last year. but before us is definitely technology. technologies which are needed to connect vehicles to the internet for example. to enhance safety. our vision to use accidents and fatalities completely and also to ill prove the sake of the environment. >> let's talk about technology a bit more then because we heard a lot about this coming out of recent auto shows. the mobile world congress that technology is getting into cars. would you want to partner with the technology company to try to develop such a technology enhanced car? something hike apple in the future? >> now if apple would really decide to enter the auto mif industry then apple would be an

interest interesting partner and customer for a systems supplier like continental. apple has a great reputation. they is a very strong brand so we would be happy to work for apple as well as we are doing today for lots of customers around the world. >> now in the noncore tire space of your business you just completed the acquisition. tell us about the rational for that and will there be more acquisitions in that space for continental? >> yeah it's very complimentary to our portfolio. >> we are very strong in europe. we have some activities in asia. it's very strong in north america and some activities as well as asia. so from a market perspective it's a perfect fit and it's

working in four areas. for example conveyier belt and also in areas we are active in so we're strengthening our market position. it's the second most important aspect and we believe by doing so we will grow toward the biggest producer in the industry. we will integrate weigh ins this year next year. and by doing so strengthen our nonoe turnover. >> let's talk about the regional performance across your results. there was weakness in europe and russia. how severe is that weakness? >> now we believe we will see a slight recovery in the your

honor sewer penne markets this year. moderate again but unfortunately overcompensated by the situation in russia which we all know is politically driven and based. our hope is politicians will find a solution for the ukraine issue in the next 12 months. if this will be the case then we believe that the market in russia could relatively quickly recover again. >> on the flip side, china was very strong. how significant is that for you and what's the growth forecast for the years ahead? >> now china will grow to a share into the direction of 20% in the next five years based on corporate sales. so significant importance. this is the fastest growing market in the awe motive sector

in the world. we have about 23,000 employees in china already and our target is to expand our sales volume in china in the year 2020-22, into the range of 10 billion euros. it's significant. growth rates will come down. that's natural. but we would appreciate growth rates in the range of 7 or 8%. so no reason to complain. >> thank you very much. we appreciate it. >> still to come on the show we're still surprised you can actually change a tire. >> absolutely. >> people are writing in about this you know? >> are they? >> yeah. >> i hope i get some credit for that. >> people have a warped opinion of me. no more so than seema. >> it's brilliant. now we know you can change a tire. u.s. oil inventories hit an 8 year high. where is all the oil being stored. do you know? we'll explore after the break.

the future of the market is never clear. but at t. rowe price we can help guide your retirement savings. our experience is one reason 100% of our retirement funds beat their 10-year lipper averages. so wherever your long-term goals take you we can help you feel confident. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. hello, everybody. welcome back to worldwide exchange. this is wilfred, frost. we're both glad you're with us. >> it's true.

>> i know it's true. >> i'm not lying. that's why i brought you back in. they strike the deal to buy the u.s. drug maker for about $21 billion in cash and stock. they'll pay $261 per share. that's a 13% premium to the closing price. the move is a bit of a surprise as reports on wednesday said that johnson & johnson was expected to close the deal. johnson & johnson, they sell a drug that's been approved already for several rare forms of cancer. we have been looking for these in german trade. up by 10% as you would anticipate. >> i got it now. you taught it to me. >> no you have to read it really really slowly. >> well, there we go. now still to come here the u.s. earnings season is just about all wrapped up with a few companies still set to report.

the latest out today, big box retailer costco will break down the company's numbers and analyze them for you after this short break.

good morning and welcome to worldwide exchange. >> good morning. these are your headlines from around the world. >> positive sentiment.

investors expecting details on the central banks bond buying program and an upward revision in growth forecasts. >> some of the world's biggest banks might be feeling on edge today. the fed gets set to reveal the first set of results from the annual stress test. >> buying in bulk. higher second quarter profits this morning beating analyst forecasts thanks to a tax benefit while revenue was in line. >> and they strike a deal to buy them for about $21 billion. the cancer drug firm johnson & johnson reportedly had it's eye on. >> if you're just tuning in thank you for joining us here on worldwide exchange. let's have a look at u.s. futures. what are we expecting ahead of the market open? it was a weak day yesterday for all of the u.s. indices although

they did rally in the final stages of the day. we're expecting a bounce back today. the s&p up half a point. the dow to open up 10 points and nasdaq up 2.5. they're getting it from european markets. they continued their strength today. really just ahead of mario draghi's speech today. we're expecting more details on the date it will start in march. and which bonds will be included in the purchase program and we'll also get his forecast -- ecb's forecast for growth for 2015 to 2016 including 2017 for the first time. that pushed european markets up but also pulled the euro down. let's have a quick look at the euro dollar. it's slid strongly over the last week. in particular the last two trading sessions. we lost the best part of a percent yesterday and we're losing about 0.3% today.

only about a week or so ago we were above 114. the euro slid into this final week approaching the ecb meeting. the dollar is going up because of fresh positive data. we have the nfp tomorrow. that has risen to a fresh 11 year high again recently. >> as we were talking about some of the biggest banks are bracing for word today on whether they passed the fed's latest stress test. the central bank will be releasing partial results at 4:30 p.m. eastern time and next week the fed will be revealing whether they return cash to shareholders through dividends and buy backs. four banks failed the tests last year. city group and the u.s. units of hsbc and rbs. >> now let's take a look at the other top stories as well. hilary clinton is urging the u.s. state department to release her personal e-mails from her

time as secretary of state. she made the comment in a tweet on wednesday night. it comes after investigating the attack in benghazi in libya issued a subpoena. she used a personal e-mail account in office rather than a secure one operated by the government. >> the u.s. ambassador is in stable condition after being slashed in the face and wrist by a knife wealding man. he had been seated at a breakfast ahead of a lecture on korean reunification. the attacker that was arrested was shouting that south and north korea should be unified. >> let's give you a run down of what to watch this trading day. weekly jobless claims are out at 8:30 a.m. eastern. filings are expected to drop back below 300,000. at 8:30 beget revised productivity. unit labor costs will be advised upwards. at 10:00 a.m. january factor

orders are out and we hear from the fed president who will be speaking in hawaii this evening. a fair of super market chains report earnings today. kroger and the fresh market. meanwhile costco already reported earnings. second quarter results came out a few hours ago. the wholesale operator posting higher profits. beating forecasts thanks to a tax dividend related to a special dividend last month. u.s. same store sales rose 4% including the impact of fuel prices and foreign currencies. in studio with us this morning, brian, retail analyst. good morning to you. let's kick off with costco. overall the earnings pretty solid. >> very solid. there's a little bit of noise in the numbers as you highlight with a one time benefit and with gas prices but overall it's another very solid report and very much as expected. >> so as expected solid report and they're in a sweet spot for the dynamics at the moment n.

particular oil prices coming off. they're a clear beneficiary because they're at the right price point. >> right we have to keep in mind costco serves the higher end customer. it's interesting because it's a wholesale club. but what's driving their business now is the on going improving spending environment in the united states. gas prices are helping but it's overall improved spending environment. >> what about the valuation overall because doing well but pretty expensive? >> that's my concern. that's why my team and i have not been recommending the stock because it trades at almost 30 times earnings. now what we're learning in the marketplace is that the market is very much willing to pay higher multiples for these well positioned companies. >> how are the upper range retailers doing compared to the no name brand-type retailers? is there a big divide happening between the haves and the have

notes state side? >> there is. we've seen that for awhile. what's interesting with the decline in gas prices and thinking about where that benefits the consumer that's probably -- overtime that's probably more of a benefit for the mid tier type reretailer and consumer. but as of right now we're seeing that have and have not type of dynamic that's been the case for awhile. >> i find it so interesting. the whole buying in bulk phenomenon. in the u.s. there's a lot of the buying in bulk. they really work there and here in europe we've seen a number of the chains that rolled out hyper markets they had to roll them back again it wasn't working to the same extent where you can buy everything from bikes to fish to whatever. are we still going to -- we're still going to see that divide between how retail is done state side versus europe or are we moving more to some of the smaller stores in the u.s.? is the trend changes? >> that's an interesting

question. i don't see it changes much. in the united states -- i live in new york and it's more similar to europe and how we live in smaller places. a lot of people have really big homes and room to put these bulk items. so it lends to their life style very very well. >> let's talk about e-commerce because it was originally a massive drag on the retailers. is it an opportunity or still killing market and losing market share? >> it's a work in progress. i think what we're seeing right now is most companies established a website. they're selling products online and that's allowing them to stave off market share losses to the companies like amazon but interestingly, it's coming at the expense of margins. these online sales are less profitable than in store sales and overtime these companies will work through this. but right now it's less profitable. >> let's talk about your top picks. we touched on costco which you

like but what's the topics? >> home depot and lowes. i think about the overall environment of the united states. an overall better consuming depending environment they're probably better there. some smaller cap names i like tractor supply which isn't too different in that sense. high quality. good demographicic. i upgraded best buy. still challenges for best buy but as i think about the results which we're likely to see here over 2015 i think the results will get stronger and stronger. >> coast coe opens up or down today? >> probably up. i looked premarket. so i think the answer is buy up. >> nice to have you with us today. >> now etsy the website that sells handmade goods and craft supplies, you might know it wilfred with your oragami lamp

shade you have at home. >> i was a founding partner in it. >> but no it's a big business right? it sells all of this kind of stuff. they're filing for an ipo. seeking to raise around $100 million. they'll be listing shares on the nasdaq. it was founded in 2005. it had 195 million in revenue last year. lots of stuff on their website. >> lots of stuff. >> not really my type of thing. >> i love it. >> but it's doing well so i can't complain. >> let you change the tiers. >> indeed. the pharma sector drove last year and doesn't appear to be slowing down in 2015. the latest on a deal between two drug makers coming up after this short break.

>> it was a blockbuster year for deals in the drug sector in 2014 and companies still have plenty of ammo to continue making acquisitions this year. let's get out to landon that has all the details as ever. >> wilfred that's exactly right. the drug and health care industry has been fuelling the surge over the past year as companies seek to refill their pipelines with new treatments to replace treatments losing sales or coming off patent.

the latest deal, abbvie buying phamacyclics. they'll pay $261 a share. it's a 13% premium to wednesday's closing price. they expect it to start adding attorneyings and revenue by 2017. it gives them access to the promising blood cancer drug. it's already been improved to treat four rare forms of the disease. they are projecting it will generate $1 billion in shares this year. they've seen a huge turn around as far as back in 2008. it dipped by more than $1. it took many by surprise as late as wednesday evening. several reports had johnson & johnson close to sealing a deal. they look forward to continuing the partnership. let's say the acquisition is positive. reducing it's dependence on

humera. it accounts for most of the company's revenue but sales are forecast to start declining over the next few years. it's been a very busy few months of 2015 for deals. in february pfizer agreed to buy it for $15 billion and they snapped them up for 10 billion. checking shares in europe abbvie is down while pharma is up by 8%. >> thank you very much. netflix may have hit a big hurdle in it's quest to be a movie producer. major u.s. theater chains are refusing to show beast of no nations. an african war film netflix bought the rights to this week for $12 million. that's because netflix plans today beau the movie simultaneously on its streamsing service. they typically have a 90 day delay between when movies open in theaters and their home entertainment release. >> now they're in talking to the

launch partners for the highly anticipated hbo now video streaming service. is that how you say it. hbo now video streaming service. yeah. reports say the service will be launched next month to coincide with the new season of game of throwns. you're a fan, right? >> i am a fan. >> i've never watched it. >> it's very good. the first few was definitely better than the last few. one of two series and it starts to get tired. >> it's a lot of time to spend watching these things. >> it is but you do one episode and then you're hooked. >> you show up the next day with very red eyes. anyway, time warner higher in german trade. >> apple told suppliers to stop production on a bigger screen ipad in the second half of the year. they wanted to start mass production in the quarter. the bigger tablet is aimed at the enterprise market. apple is considering adding usb ports that could transfer data at up to 10 times faster than

current technology. apple up ten basis points in today's trade in frankfurt. >> i know what i'm going to invent. >> what? i can't wait for this. >> i'm going to invent an ipad that's a bit smaller next time. >> wow. >> after that guess what i'm going to invent them? >> an iphone that's a bit bigger. >> exactly. >> and then they'll cross over and what? >> and then after that maybe a smaller one again. >> why didn't you get in touch with tim cook. that's such a good idea. >> i know. obviously they've got great brains there already. bigger and smaller. it's amazing though that they manage to pull it off. people actually buy it because we've been there before. ipad sales have been off quite a lot recently. the the iphone 6 killed it in last results. >> but i swore i would not get an ipad because i had my mac laptop. i got an ipad i don't know if i

can live without it. >> the bigger thing you're pointing to there is you're committed to apple because you like their ecosystem. so it doesn't matter what you're buying from them because you like the sync ability. >> it's not that i like the ecosystem. i can't figure it out anymore. social media is an important tool for companies to reach a broader audience. we know that already. a new survey is suggesting it might not be happening a firm's bottom line. according to a gallop pole 62% of u.s. adults that use social media say it has no influence on their purchasing decision with only 5% saying it does. do you look stuff up before you buy it? do you see what people have to say on it? >> no i like to go to the shop. >> so you don't look at reviews. >> not really. i have my own judgment. usually regret that shortly

afterwards. >> it's amazing though if you go in on youtube and say you want to buy a new tire because you change -- >> because i'm an expert in that. >> whatever the tire brand is and you have a ton of people reviewing tires. >> really even on tires? >> you want to bet there's a tire review on youtube. >> sure. >> a bet. >> a coffee done. >> we'll hear from you on this. does social media have an impact on what you buy? let us know. find us by e-mail. you can also find us on twitter. >> may as well let us know via social media. >> what's our twitter handle? >>@cnbcwx. we could go on but let's not. just before we head to break let's remind you of what the headlines are at this hour. u.s. futures point higher. global banking giants are under the microscope as the fed

releases it's results from its annual stress test and abbvie get ace $21 billion deal for pharmacyclics. xkç

welcome back. let's have a quick look at european markets in the green continuing from the last hour or two of yesterday's trade where they rallied. we will hear more details on what will constitute in mario draghi's bond buying program. we're up in continental europe and the ftse 100 just behind behind .2%. >> heading to the states we're still a couple of hours away but the implied open relatively

flattish. a couple of points higher now. dow jones up by 12 points or so. when it comes from abercromie: well, no it says here shares in teen retailers. i'm no longer a target. we'll go with it. they closed the session sharp hi lower yesterday. 15.5%. this after it reported another quarter of declining sales with net income down a third to $44 million but it was a different story for american eagle outfitters. shares closed up around 7% after first quarter revenue growth in two years. 7.7% in the green. >> it is incredible. i never thought i would have to leave a retailer because the music was so loud. >> is that the case with

abercromie. it is very loud. >> can i have a small? what? a small. anyway earnings season is coming to a close according to our next guest they beat the estimate consensus on earnings while they reported a higher than expected revenue. christine joins us now from new york. good morning to you. thank you for getting up early to be with us. what's your feeling about the overall earnings season? we've seeing out performing but are you worried about the length of the business cycle? that it has been very long? more than 67 months i'm told and that that can be coming to an end? >> the season has been okay. i previously called it a lackluster earnings season.

if you take apple out that number falls in half. on the revenue front you saw there only 49% of companies have been able to beat revenues. that's a trend we've seen continue again this quarter. we've only at revenue growth of 1.5% for the fourth quarter. it's been an okay season. typically we see earnings growth of about 8%. revenue growth over the last 15 years closer to 7% so we're behind on those metrics and i think it's going to be touch and go going forward into 2015. you have a lot of sectors expected to benefit but energy expected to be done due to lower gas prices it's going to rev up over the next couple of quarters. so this quarter energy was down about 20%. that will increase to 40 and 50% as we go throughout 2015. right now we have been able to offset some of the losses. i'm not sure it's going to be easier as we come into this year. >> let's talk about the retail sectors. you point to the fact that it's

been home improvement retailers and diskounlters beaten in thecounters beatens. does that suggest the low earners are benefitting too. >> yeah i'd say right now the middle class, the mid tier such as macy's or jcpenney is the ones we're seeing hurt this season. the low end is doing fine and the higher end is doing fine but retail earnings have been mixed. considering we have this perfect storm of lower gas prices improved jobs picture which is all leading to a rise in consumer confidence which should translate to good things from the retailers. i don't think it's translated as well as many of us thought it would considering the environment. >> thank you so much for joining us today. i'm sorry we got squeezed there. that is all we've got time for today on worldwide exchange.

>> thank you for keeping us so entertained as well on twitter. it's been great having a good laugh in the breaks for wilfred and myself. we'll see you very soon. bye.

good morning, breaking overnight, the country lowers it's growth target to the lowest level in 11 years and i think they actually use the term new normal. media matters, hbo in talks with apple and google to launch a streaming service and new this morning, hilary clinton breaks her silence in a tweet from her personal e-mail. she wants the state department to release all of her e-mails. it's thursday march 5th 2015. squawk box begins right now. ♪