let's see if better days are ahead. clearly, when you see bwhat is n the market, that might have a little bit of a dip in the short-term fundamentally rising rates are positive for our business. shares have opened higher after the french food group says it is aiming to accelerate sales and profit growth this year. we spoke with emanuel faber about the results. >> when i look at 2017, what makes me very happy, it is a year where we have been

delivering on all metrics that we had indicated and committed to, particularly on the eps commitment that we had of double digit growth at the same time, preparing the future in 2018, which comes as a mix of acceleration. after a slow start, we would accelerate in the second half. the second half is about 4% growth overall it is a significant improvement in edp, which closes the year nearly there in terms of growth. this is paving the way for an 18 year that will be the gradual acceleration that we need to meet our objectives in two years from now >> a different part of the world and the u.s. in your white wave acquisition, which was a huge acquisition for danone

however, in north america, it was seen as negative when will you start seeing synergies from this acquisition? >> the year of 2017 has been, indeed, a very important one for us, paving the way for danone to lead the food revolution that's sweeping the whole country in which we sdecide we are going to be part of the group that is embracing the revolution as an opportunity and going to become the biggest organic food business in the world to be the largest plant-based alternative business in the world, one of the biggest in north america we went into this ahead of time where overall the food segment, the food category in the u.s. was going into negative

territories about 18 months ago. we have seen that gradually going back we have kept most of our categories in the u.s. overdelivering versus the average food segment by one, two, three, four points additional growth, which is good sign to your question about synergies, this is one thing where we are pleased the integration was delayed by the longer closing process than we had expected. despite that, we are ahead of our synergies, delivering already $50 million of synergies in only seven months of running the two businesses together, which is waving the way for the food synergy delivery we expect by 2020 of $300 million. >> that was charlotte reed

speaking to the ceo of danone ceo. >> the vivendi shares are under pressure profits are on the rise with strong performance at its music division help tog offset softness the firm reported 2017 operating profits up 23% to 987 million euros as released with universal music group from artists such ass assam smith help bring up sales. renault posted a full profit ahead of the results, they have asked the ceo to stay on for another four more years and expand the nissan partnership. stay with us later this morning when we ask ghosn about all this

and much more. >> shares of allianz are trading low are after the u.s. tax overhaul natural disaster and the weak dollar hits results they proposed raising their dividend 5% and says they are targeting a 2018 operating profit of 11.1 billion euros >> italy's eni has more than doubled in the q 4 profit. if market conditions were more favorable, they would be able to create substantial value for sha shareholders shares are trading higher in milan. let's take a look at the europe markets. a strong session in asia led by the rebound in nikkei. it was good news and a relief for anyone involved in the japanese market.

they are up 1.01% in overnight trading, the fifth day in the row that asian shares are on the rise and the picture in europe is still positive. almost all of the names in the stoxx 600 basket are in the green. ending the week on a high note let's get on to individual stocks all of the four major indices are in the green ftse leading up 1.1% the picture is green and all of the three majors are having a good end to the week getting into sectors, we discussed some of the corporate earnings that have been driving some of the performance this morning, we can see that utilities are leading the charge, up 1.5%. that is in contrast to the price action we see in the u.s. markets where utilities continue to drag. some of the theme for telecom, also up 1.3%, in line as well.

media underperforming around the flat line. they have been dragging down that component switching to foreign exchange, u.s. dollar again back in the limelight. it is a similar theme that we have had for the whole year really the u.s. dollar is about the weakest it has been in four years. it is having an impact i want to draw particular attention to dollar yen. it is another quarter percentage point stronger today the pace of that move in dollar yen is quite staggering. that really sets the job out for what they plan to do in the face of such strong yen appreciation and worthy to look at year dollar up .25 for the day and cable continues to charge higher some analysts are saying the next move at breakthrough 144 could set the way for 150.

keep an eye on all those as dollar weakness continues. let's take a look at fixed income yields. that is the major focus for almost all markets it is back around 290, the ten-year note. we did hit a level of 294. that is the highest level it has been in four years time eve thoeven though he can quists haequitiesn recovering it stabilizes around the 290 level. take a look at the ten-year bund it is up italian yield around 2%. a lot of focus on income yields are quite happy to hang out around here. hydroshares have powered higher after the company raised their

dividends and posted strong numbers. earnings came in below expectation but that was due to one of cost. the cfo of hydrojoins us down the line good morning to you, sir talk me through these results. it appears the earnings have beaten but there are also some costs associated with the unit acquisition. can you talk me through that >> i think first and foremost, we are very happy to announce the best results in more than a decade we announce the quarter results strong driven by good products >> i see your cash position has decreased from 7.7 to 4.1 billion. you spent about 4.

1 billion in results >> it is a very important strategic direction for the company. making us the only fully integrated aluminum company on the globe. >> i see one strategy is the renewed investment in hydropo r hydropower do you get the sense that people are willing to pay a premium for alup aluminum made in this way? >> your co2 footprint will become a competitive advantage for us to control your own equity production and be based on renewables is quite important in the long-run >> with the global economic recovery picking up, do you believe there will be a commensurate pickup in demand for aluminum products?

>> yes, we expect an increase of some 45% globally. quite a good demand in growth. >> china is the largest producer of aluminum in the world have the supply reform measures undertaken by the chinese government helped your business? >> we think we saw a significant impact on the supply/demand balance globally in 2017 with the speed that we see into 2018, we also keep a balanced market look. it has had a significant impact. >> i see that you have raised the dividends and this equates for 41% of net income. is it right to assume that is going to be a floor in the dividend payoff going forward? >> the 41%, we have a dividend policy of paying 41% over the cycle. it is very much in line with the

dividend policy. month we set off 125 there is an increase that is, you would argue, also related to the very strong earnings we have generated in 2017 >> i would like to ask you about the strength of the euro currency as well you probably heard me talking about the strength of the euro i see it has also impacted your overall business can you tualk me through that? >> this is affecting some of the power contracts that we have for some of the assets that are euro d denominated. how this develops going forward will have a different effect >> sir, thank you very much for joining "street signs. congratulations on the strong year that was the cfo of hydro, eivind kallevik. >> rating rates. we find out how we are

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welcome back to "street signs. tokyo stocks continue to climb following the rallying u.s. markets on thursday. makiko is live from tokyo. what can you tell us about the price action in the nikkei >> the nikkei index rose nearly 2% during the trading day and finished over 1% higher. stocks were across the board at the tokyo stock exchange and investors seemed to be regaining in appetite for risk the yen was gaining strength against the dollar which hit a 15-month high. overall, firms catering to domestic demand, utilities, pharmaceuticals outdid exporter shares the japanese government announced the nomination of the governor for a second term and two new deputy governors

the trio will likely keep the current ultraloose monetary policy unchanged it had little impact on the market that's all from the market >> thanks very much. meanwhile, the bank of america, ceo and chairman, brian moynahan gave us his view when he spoke at the economic club of washington >> our view is that normalized rates are into that growth cycle. on the other hand, you haven't seen a lot of inflation. everybody is debating about it our team thinks na it that it ig to grow. i think between chairman yellen and back to bernanke and powell, they are telling what they are going to do. >> i am joined by ryan smith this morning lots of focus has been on fixed income and the move we have seen

on ten-year yields it seems like it seems to be stopping around 2.90%, 3% level. >> that's what everybody is focusing on. you have seen a fairly strong move our view is that there is an upper limit to how high treasuries can go. we think it is the market relaxing to a fairly closed gdp growth we have been looking for inflation. i think the market is reacting to that pushing yields higher. we think there is a bit of a self-limiting element. the higher rates go, that tends to push into assets. >> what we have seen in the past week or so is that equities have actual actually recovered

investors say there is some normalcy returning back. yields are still 20, 30 basis points higher than they were perhaps we are entering into a new environment where we are going is to see higher yields at this level there is a lot to think about in terms of volatility returning to the market when you look at the last nine years post the financial crisis, a big theme has been central banks suppressing volatility a lot of accommodation we have had a longer term view the rates can only go so high to support the level of debt. we think that neutral rate is closer to 2% as you go longer out the curve, you have a bit of a risk premium. we think there is a limit to how high those rates can go. when you see the equity market recovering, that affects the

fundment at th fundamentals inflation is still slightly below the fed's target below the surface, a lot of strong things are happening in the economy. >> do you not worry about the increase amount of treasury increase we are going to get with the fiscal spending plans out of the u.s. government >> you are obviously going to have lots of funding needs from the u.s. government. they are likely to issue 400 to 500 billion of new treasuries in the year ahead they will be buying less bonds, 200 billion less bonds by the central bank when we look at our bond portfolio, we are trying to focus on the shorter to intermediate part of the curve if you are going to see more pressure on the interest rates, it is going to happen on the long-end of the curve, whether it is inflation or the market starts to price in more supply that worries bond investors. >> you think that the flattening we saw toward the end of last year is overdone >> you need to be a bit more careful about where you invest in the long end.

if you were to see an unanticipated surprise in inflation or the market discounting or some of the fiscal stimulus, that's where it would land >> do you think this goldilocks environment is pointing to stronger growth? there are signs that inflation is beginning to pick up. you still want to buy that >> when you think about that, we don't expect inflation more than 2.1 or 2.2% this year. it could be a little bit above or below and feel comfortable. with this scenario, we think it could be fairly strong global growth, inflation under control. we are not particularly worried about that when you invest in bonds, the

volatility is roughly 4% to 5% a year a bad year in the bond market is losing 3% to 4%. >> ryan, i am going to have to leave it there thank you so much for joining us that was managing director and head of pimco's global management business. the u.s. senate has rejected a series of immigration bills leaving in limbo the state of 1.8 million immigrants that came illegally as children. all four proposals fall short of the 60 votes needed to advance speaking on the senate floor, republican charles grassley urged senators to make a deal saying this may be the best chance >> we end chain migration and the diversity visa and we have a

path to citizenship for the dreamers this is it in a sense. the only plan that can become law. the president said he would sign it this is it this is your last chance to vote for a path to citizenship for all the people we have been talking about giving justice to and being compassionate about and bringing out of the dark so here we are, an opportunity to do it i how much you will vote yes and support it >> meanwhile, democrats criticized president trump who called it, quote, a total catastrophe ahead of the vote. >> there is only one reason why the senate will be unable to reach a bipartisan solution to daca president trump. president trump created this problem by terminating the daca program last august. he has stood in the way of every

single proposal that could become law in conclusion, immigration is always a contentious issue there are intense feeling s on both sides of the aisle. president trump has failed this test of leadership spectacularly. i urge a no vote >> elsewhere, it has been the biggest start to the year for corporate buybacks data shows 2018 has seen over $170 billion in hedge returns to shareholders we have been speaking to some people to get their take >> the core thing you needed in corporate america was a territorial system and lower tax rate both are in there. it is good for everybody it is good for us. we took a $3 billion charge in the fourth quarter but it will provide good earnings support. we are one of the largest

taxpayers in the united states the benefit we get is a portion back >> this is one of the best things that has happened in the last few months. would i like to thank the administration on the hill for getting that done. we said in was the biggest thing we could do to unleash economic energy we are seeing it it is allowing us to reinvest in our product lines and it is helping us compete effectively around the world >> we talked about this in the past we north an incredibly capital intensive business so there are several options we have we have always talked about the fact that we would leverage this capital to reduce our share count, which we announced yesterday. obviously, to continue our capital strategy of returning cash to our shareholders, we increased our dividend yet again yesterday. we also think we have left ourselves plenty of capacity to continue to deliver mna that we

have laid out over the last 2 1/2 years. >> i want to take you to some pictures of secretary of state, rex tillerson, who is holding a joint conference with turkey they are having various discussions to bridge differences over some of the operations that are going on in northern syria stay tuned for that. coming up on the show, we get the results of the latest tests for the british consumer as we break u.k. british sales data for your heart... your joints... or your digestion... so why wouldn't you take something for the most important part of you... your brain. with an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is now the number one selling brain health supplement in drug stores nationwide.

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welcome to "street signs." these are your headlines riding high, renault rises as it records record profits for the full year after the board ceo, carlos ghosn is at the top we speak to him later. no music at vivend shares see red as they fail to

provide a clear 2018 guidance despite taylor swift helping to boost full year profits. >> water works gets a boost from brands such as evian and they support a bullish outlook as the ceo tells cnbcz we are ahead delivering $50 million of synergies in only seven months of running the two businesses together >> and allianz misses expectation after the fourth quarter profit falls 22% as tax changes, a weak dollar and natural disasters erodes gains the cfo says better days ar ahead. >> clearly, when you see volatility in the market, that might have a little bit of a dent in the short-term fundamentally, rising interest rates are a positive for our management business.

>> we are just getting some flashing on u.k. retail sales. the december number was hugely disappointing. it tends to be quite volatile month to month january, so far, retail sales are pointing to .1% month to month. that is up 2.5% on the year. it looks like it came in lower than expectations but much higher than that december number of course, the retail sales have been a big focus in this country and, of course, that december number was a little bit scary for most this one appears as though it has recovered somewhat >> let's ta let's take a look at foreign exchange cable has come up and it was higher a half hour at up at 141.10 the theme continues to be one of

dollar weakness as we look at all of these currency crosses. you can see that dollar yen continues its decline. we have broken through at 105.90 lots of challenges and big challenges for mr. koroda. still, very much a theme of dollar weakness. let's take a look at europe markets. the picture is more positive ending the week on a firm note ftse 100 up almost .76% we have dealt with the third week through of corporate earning season and the numbers so far have been good. switching to u.s. futures, which is where all the action has been the last couple of weeks, we can see that dow has opened up about 150 points higher, s&p about 14 points higher. the s&p and dow are through

their 50-day moving averages it looks as though for the time being, we could say that the worst is behind us with vix now firmly through that level and everybody saying that volatility for the time being, the volatility spike we saw is now over elsewhere, preparations are underway in ba vaf yvaria aheade munich conference opening today. benjamin netanyahu will be present. the u.s. and the u.k. have blamed russia for the 2017 cyberattack that impacted firms. the attack notpetya started in the ukraine and across europe. hadley gainer is live in munich. what can you tell us about that cyberattack? >> reporter: essentially, what we are hearing on the munich

conference, a real focus is going to be cybersecurity. up next, we are going to be speaking with rob joyce. we had the chance to talk to some of the business community, t joe kaeser let's listen to what he has to say. >> cybersecurity has impacted mostly the i.t. systems. with the internet reaching the industrial world, all of the sudden, we see the combination being harder and softer being affected it goes softer i.t. into the automation embedded into the physical function of the product. there is a value change. the typical i.t. environment used to be that's something that we

actually thought is important to address. >> it is no coindense that president trump has tapped the former head of cybersecurity for the army to be the potential head of the nsa. let's listen to what the defense industry is thinking here. john harris says he thinks cyberattacks are going to be the greatest threat to security going forward. >> cyber is a core focus of our company, one of the fastest growing elements in defense and commercial we have made significant investments over the past 15 years. we are a world player in cyber that is one of the largest and most important threats to our nation and our allies. the plor we amore we are connece more we are vulnerable our job is to understand the threats and device systems to

protect us >> reporter: cybersecurity brought a major focus here we are going to speak to america's cybersecurity czar, rob joist. >> hadley, i want to ask you, what are the other issues that have come up as well or you are expecting to be coming up in the next couple of days? >> reporter: a large process underway in terms of what happens next with the middle east, a lot of questions as to whether this iraq funding conference we saw in kuwait really did get the numbers they were hoping for. we are going to be speaking hopefully to the prime minister of iraq getting more information on what happens next we saw major contributions from the saudis for funding for the

redevelopment of iraq. we will get an idea of what the plans or for syria >> i know it is cold out there, hadley so stay warm elsewhere, flu details hanee appeared about the florida gunman 19-year-old nikolas cruz legally purchased the assault rifle. the fbi investigated a tip that may have foreshadowed the attack thousands attended a candlelight vigil in parkland where they called for tougher control measures president trump called for action onement ta mental health speech following the shooting. >> reporter: the president's efforts to comfort the nation tonight striking for what he didn't say >> answer hate with love answer cruelty with kindness >> reporter: president trump in a nearly seven-minute statement,

not once mentioning the word guns instead, signaling his focus is on the mental health of shooters, not the weapons they use. >> to every parent, teacher, and child, who is hurting so badly, we are here for you. >> the question is how and when? >> we can not tolerate a society and live in a country with any level of pride when our babies are being slaughtered. >> reporter: florida governor rick scott calling for action. >> how do we make sure that individuals with mental illness do not touch a gun >> many lawmakers say congress needs to take a breath >> this is not a time to jump to a conclusion >> the idea on days where there are school shootings, i can't talk about the need for change is ridiculous. >> the president's initial response suggesting the parkland community could have done more so many signs that the florida

shooter was mentally disturbed neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. despite ex emphasizing mental health, it would have made it harder for some people to buy guns with mental illness >> t the new president of south africa, his swearing in sparking jubilant scenes. he was elected unopposed after the previous president re-signed. he failed to launch an anti-corruption drive. they hope that the new president will put the country ahead of party interest speaking afterwards, he said he would become a servant to the people >> i truly feel humbled to have been given be this great

privilege of being able to serve our people i have with all members here because i do believe that when one is elected in this type of position, you basically become a servant of the people of south africa i'll seek to execute that task with humility, faithfulness and dignity as well. that is what i will seek to do >> on this new south african stocks, they have rallied quite significantly. to get involved, streetsignseurope@cnbc.com join cnbc tonight for a special report on our oceans

ted kemp has a preview >> reporter: this is a crime story. the perpetrators are elusive their product, seafood in the u.s., we import 90% of our seafood. our dinner comes at an unimaginable price >> this is a fishing industry that has been built on traffic and forced labor >> one boat crewman was stabbed in front of me and thrown into the water. for more than a year, i was beaten and kicked and we got no medicine when we were sick >> slavery is just beginning of the 120 million tons of seafood that humans catch. roughly a quarter is illegal stolen from other country's

waters >> this is struggling and criminal in many cases >> some nations are fighting with fire. bh while activists take matters into their own hands splchlt dw we have fou . >> it is making sure the industry understands we have this planet where our fisheries don't disappear. >> americans consume nearly 5 billion pounds of seafood every year what is the real cost. a journey through oceans of crime.

welcome back to "street signs. let's check in on european markets which seem to be ending the week on a positive note. all of the four major indices are doing well ftse up .82%

all of this is happening in the last 45 minutes or so. momentum in european stocks this morning. let's get into some of the key names that have been driving some of the performance. the vendi shares are under pressure after the french firm left investors disappointed with a vague 2018 guidance. profits are on the rise with the music division the firm reported 2017 operating profits up 23%, 987 million euros with releases from such artists at sam smith, u 2 and taylor swift renault has solid demand in europe and ahead of results, the board has asked the krechlceo t

on board and expand the nissan partnership. there were some expectations he could hand off to a cfo. stay on board when we ask carlos ghosn about this and much more allianz q4 targeting 2018 operating profit of 11.1 billion euros. about 15 minutes ago we had the euro sales numbers, disappointing, expectations were at 2.6%. they came in at 1.6% that is higher than the december of 1.5%. relative toex pe relative to expectations, this is another miss. the consumer spending habits in the u.k. continued to come under pressure that's something to keep an eye

on and has been weighing on all markets, currency, in the last 15 minutes elsewhere, the race to mars has the competitive juices flowing amongst aerospace users. the falcon heavy launch by elon musk the boeing ceo says the work of musk and others is competition >> they are adding energy to the space market we like the attention that that is generating. it is good for the country i prefer to put our focus on performing, operating, delivering for our customers we are building that first rocket to mars it is about 36 stories tall. we are going to the first test flight in 2019 the first person that gets to

mars is going to get there on a boeing rocket. >> for more to find out what elon musk thinks about boeing's contribution to the space race, head to cn to cnbc.com to the olympics, germany has won yet another gold medal in the luge this time in the team relay event. natalie guisenberger and johannes ludwig. germany has won three of the four luge competitions at pyeongchang. whoever thought the germans would be so good at luge germany is now leading the way the dutch have fallen into third followed by the u.s. and canada.

the dollar index has hit a three-year note as the green back continues its dissent the dollar fell against the yen for the first time in a year the rise has been driven by the u.s. dollar and the people's bank of china. many seem to think this rally won't last a reuters poll suggests that the currency will weaken if the federal reserve sticks its rate hike path. as we kick off the year, james cho weighs in with the forecast. >> some currencies in some ways are helping the country to ward off from america it is a reflection that the

economy is fairly strong and steady and the accumulation of foreign reserves supports that strength >> do you agree? >> i generally would agree when it comes to intervention, i think the chinese government has proven time and time again they are more than happy to intervene when ever it suits them. whatever they say in terms of falling market forces or being more open to greater volatility, that's certainly true. the currency is still highly restricted moving money in and out of the country is highly restrictive. the rules keep changing, because they change them to suit their needs. one of the most watched figures is the fixing at 915 they are artificially setting the exchange rate at the mid-point, a 2% plus or minus which has never been touched the previous year always intervening if it is moving. you have to remember as far as china has come, and it is certainly more open in some ways

than it has been before, its markets have clearly developed and changed over the years there are still many areas where there is a particular chinese characteristic i think it is easy to forget that as we watch tickers going along the screen and we see greater volatility it was for decades pegged to a certain number anything beyond that is more volatility >> could it be the year of the dog that we see this dance of intervention change? the message we were getting last year from shi jinping, was a message of openness. >> we have seen that happen over 2017 there is a buildup in foreign reserves in china. in terms of currency control, there won't be that much emphasis and control >> i think the panic has certainly come out of the market in 2015, 2016, a lot of panic.

the government was scrambling. when you think of $1 trillion lost from reserves, not enough coming in, money trying to leave. that's a big number for china. is the year of the dog going to be significant or is 2018. the chinese themselves have raised the bar so much they were in davos talking about going to surprise on the up side when it came to opening the markets, particularly the financial sector the chinese are talking a big game sadly, for those of us who have long experience in china, we have heard it all before it has taken a long time to get here the chinese have upped the stakes them being a force for globalization. back on the global agenda, 5g, as executives meet in barcelona

for this year's mobile world congress i am happy to say we have the chairman and ceo of rivada joining us >> the bottle nexts are the old model of carriers dominating the wireless space from 2g to 4g that has to change open access wireless is the future of 5g we have to enable price discovery on bandwidth that is not the same right now as it was at 4:00 a.m. open access wireless will deliver price discovery and is going o disruto disrupt this iny >> there was a leak that came out that said president trump's

administration was considering a nationization of 5g. >> it is a brilliant idea. that's what regulators do. the proposal that was leaked from the national security council and very unfortunately leaked and then misrepresented was to allocate 500 megahertz of government held spectrum to released and say it could be shared with the government but that price discovery should be allowed on a neutral, wholesale, giant 5g network that private capital will pay for that's exactly what the west needs to reassert leadership in the wireless indwustry. >> do you think the u.s. is going to lead when it comes to the arrival of 5g technology >> right now, as of today, china is in the lead if the u.s. releases this 500 megahertz to a neutral wholesale

network that is privately owned and open access and open to everybody, then they will have leadership in the wireless industry globally. >> i am going to have to stop it there, fascinating discuss we could talk for hours. that was the chairman and ceo of rivada network i hope you enjoyed watching. "worldwide exchange" is coming up next. mom, dad, can we talk?

sure. what's up son? i can't be your it guy anymore. what? you guys have xfinity. you can do this. what's a good wifi password, mom? you still have to visit us. i will. no. make that the password: "you_stillóhave_toóvisit_us." that's a good one. [ chuckles ] seems a bit long, but okay. set a memorable wifi password with xfinity my account. one more way comcast is working to fit into your life, not the other way around.

>> mark market alert the s&p 500 tries for its best week in nearly five years. your full market setup straight ahead. no deal, the scc rejecting a chinese takeover of the chicago stock exchange a crypto comeback, the bitcoins next big move after another wild week. friday, february 16th, 2018. "worldwide exchange" begins right now. ♪