welcome to "street signs." these are your headlines shaerz rise after fourth quarter profit before tax beats estimates as the british lender improves its investment banking performance and vows to give more back to shareholders. ceo jeff staley tells cnbc the bank has a is on track we have recapitalized the bank we've put all of our legacy issues behind the institution.

we have clean air in front of us now. >> mueller shares dive after the shipping company blames higher fuel prices for missing fourth quarter net profit expectations. bad reception. deutsche telecom shares sink after the company forecasts lower than expected 2019 adjusted earnings, but the firm beats fourth quarter revenue estimates as it eyes a big 5g roll-out we'll speak to the ceo at 11:45 cet. >> this was a costly year for the industry as a whole. >> in a year where we had 80 billion industry losses in net cap and a fourth quarter with very volatile financial markets trying to guess where we would end up for the year was not an easy task for anybody.

>> we've had germany and france numbers out, and the euro zone composite pmi has come in at 51.4 that is ahead of expectations. reuters polls suggest we were looking for 51.1 that also marks an acceleration from january that is a three-month high for the composite. the manufacturing side, however, was less encouraging the manufacturing pmi for the euro zone come in at 49.2. that is slipping into contraction territory. in january that number was 50.5, and expectation was for 50.3 a negative number on the

manufacturing front. a more positive number on the services front, and all together, that means the composite number was slightly ahead of expectations. now, just to break down the regions, as i mentioned, we already have the france and germany figures out earlier today. france was quite strong relative to expectation they beat on both the manufacturing and services side of things. germany, however, while they beat on services, they missed on manufacturing. that is in a contraction territory. take a look at the sterling. the euro is trading slightly stronger versus that on the day. now, getting into some corporate news today, barclay's, firmly in focus after reporting a beat on fourth quarter profit before tax. although full year attributable profit missed expectations, after the british bank took a 150 million pound brexit provision. the lender reported a dif debd of 6.5 pence per share and said

it depends e intends to aggressively grow, it adding it will consider additional returns, including buy-backs, as soon as it is practical. the bank's investment division, this was a key focus for investors, withstood a difficult fourth quarter, but reported profit in line with expectations speaking about brexit uncertainty, ceo jeff staley told cnbc earlier this morning that the provision was the right thing to do. >> we think that was the prudent and proper thing to do in the fourth quarter there is a lot of uncertainty out there. what's important for barclay's is we're a british bank, and we're staying kmid to the u.k. a downgrade would not be beneficial to the u.k. by any means. we do think the markets are basically pricing in a fair -- a fairly negative story right now, so overall let's see what happens. it would be great to have this uncertainty behind us. barclay's is standing by ready

to help our small businesses, corporates and consumers across the u.k. no matter what happens. >> barclay's moved towards a more you generous dividend policy and that comes after a year of increased pressure from -- staley told cnbc they had already made progress on shareholder returns. >> we dealt with all the legacy conduct issues and legal issues, which is all now behind us our obligation is to return excess capital to our shareholders in 2018 we more than tripled the amount of capital that we did return to shareholders we ploern doubled the dividend to 6.5 pence, as you said, and then in the fourth quarter, very importantly, we returned some 700 million pounds of capital to preferred equity stake holders that had very expensive dollar preference for us. as we said, as we go through 2019, we want a progressive dividend related to growth in our earnings that the corporate

time we're going to address the issues -- or the issue of buy-backs. >> and elsewhere in the financial space, swiss reported a rise in full net year profit that came in under expectations as claims from natural catastrophes and manmade disasters weighed on the reinsurer, but the company announced a new share buyback program and upped its annual dividend by 12%. now, jeff joins us from zurich with more. he has been spending a lot of time on these swiss re numbers this morning what more can you tell us? >> well, disapointsing headline, obviously. the net number was about 100 million shy of the expectations, but perfectly understandable, and i think the market will understand why when they see the size of the claims $3 billion effectively from manmade and natural disasters. but they bought back one billion shares in 2018, and they've announced that they're looking at potentially $2 billion worth

going forward in 2019, but a billion of that will be contingent on themselves e them selling off this reassure business, this life book in the u.k. what are the prospects for the ipo any time soon given that they've been trailing the sale for some time now. let's hear what the cfo told me. >> with respect to details of the ipo, the stock exchanges limit what we're able -- what i can say is the preparations continue pace. we were use ag series of internal and external resources to be sure we're ready in 2019 market conditions will be very important. obviously, this is going to be a u.k. listed business, and there is a certain level of uncertainty at the current moment in the u.k. with respect to where the political decisions will fall out, and the impact might or might not have financial markets. we look forward to seeing how

that gets resolved over this next six to eight weeks. we'll probably have the firm line view on where markets will be in the second quarter and the second half of the year. >> can i just ask you to be very specific on that are you saying that brexit is affecting the timing of the decision for the ipo >> what i can say is that market conditions affect the timing of the ipo and i leave it to people that are better informed than i whether brexit will have a positive or negative impact on market conditions. >> okay. can i just circle back to the results? i'm very interested in the progress made in the life and health business. asia seems to be strong here, but still some issue with the united states.

>> we will continue to evaluate what the actual supgss should be for future business. >> as i look at britain premium trends very early on in the year, they do look encouraging the sizable claims that will have to be paid out surely will lead to a significant increase in premium inflation, or am i wrong? is there just still too much cash washing around in this particular area of the business to prevent you significantly raising premiums >> well, look, we're able in our january 1st renewals to simultaneously increase our premiums by about 19% on that part of the bess which was renew, and at the same time improve our pricing quality by about 1% that doesn't include the loss

affected portfolios we'll see within april 1st renewal in japan or some of the other u.s. property businesses which will renew in july in the u.s we're optimistic that there's more rationale pricing for the losses of the insurer, what we put on the books in the 1st of january, we think, is well priced, and we expect it to be profitable for us. >> there you go. the cfo of swiss re. just to wrap up, they have been pushing into the primary insurance market with a newer -- that is still much smaller than the preexisting units, but they are greatly encouraged by the progress it's making the growth rates are strong, and it is moving into more innovative insurance areas as the cfo told me they now have a deal with bmw to focus very specifically on particular model insurance using, of course, the

extensive data they have about calculating risk there is some innovation there are some interesting trends, but, of course, the share price today, i suspect, reacting more to some of the headline disappointment around the net number back to you, guys. >> thank you very much we'll take a quick look at the swiss reshare price in just a moment i want to, first, take a look at the broader market and see where things stand here now. over an hour into trade, and we are looking at a sell-off dwomt developing early on this morning. now we have a tick down. that comes after the pmi data we just heard the yo all composite number for the euro zone did come ahead of forecast, but the real concern part of these data points this morning are germany's manufacturing sector, which slipped deeper into contraction in february driving concerns and particular around exports. the exports dropped to the greatest extend in over six

years. now, thad to this euro area data, also digesting yesterday's fed minutes were a key focus for investors globally we've also got u.s.-china trades hanging overhead, but some signs of your edging towards resolution, and then, of course, a big day for earnings that is picture for the overall european space let's get into the different regions and see how that split is turning out the dax outperforming. up about ten basis points. the only mashlg region in the green. very interesting to see that that index is holding up despite the weak manufacturing numbers the ftse 100 trading down to the tune of about 0.77%. brexit, of course, still at the foreof investors' minds as may and juncker issued a statement saying last night that talks were constructive, but still a huge number of questions about what happens next. then looking at the cac and ftse mib both trading lower let's get into the sectors we are having a big day for earnings the banks right at the bottom of the board there, down about

1.1% we had barclay's, of course, come out this morning. we've had a ig -- it's been a big week for earnings across the banking space. top of the board there, we've got insurance up 0.4%, and autos towards the top of the leaderboard, this has been a very strong week for autos it's some short covering, perhaps, as the narrative around u.s.-china trade has become a little bit more ullish we are seeing that auto space tick higher. that is the picture for trading in the early hours of the morning. and the united states and china have reportedly begun sketching out an outlook line of a deal that could end a seven-month-long trade war according to reuters, both sides are working on six memorandums of understanding, which covers structural areas like intellectual property, cyber theft, and currencies. now, negotiators are also said to be drawing up a ten item list of commodities and goods that chooirn could buy in order to reduce its trade surplus with the u.s. high level talks continue in washington until tomorrow. certainly one to keep an eye on.

elsewhere president trump has threatened to impose levies on european car imports if washington fails to agree a trade deal with the block. speaking along side austrian chancellor sebastian kur, trump conceded talks with the european union were proven to be difficult. >> it's tough to make a deal with the e.u thief been very difficult over a period of time, over many, many years. it's something we think about, and we're negotiating with them. if we don't make the deal. >> meanwhile, volkswagen ceo herbert has warned that tariffs could cost the carmaker billions of euros each year in an interview with the ft he said the threat of levies had created political instability adding the situation had become tense again. when asked if he agreed with research by evercore isi that tariffs could cost the german company 2.5 billion euros a year, he responded in the worst case scenario that would probably be close to the real

figure elsewhere, danish shipping company maersk squarely missed expectations in the fourth quarter. the company blamed higher fuel prices for the results maersk, however, confirmed its full year dividend and in the mining space, angela american posted a net profit beating analyst expectations the miner cited lower costs and strong commodity prices for the rise especially in copper, platinum, coal, and nickel remember, if you want to weigh in on the conversation, you can follow us on twitter @street signs cnbc, and fweet me directly @cnbc.juliana. coming up on the show on this busy earnings day, it's been a big day for the teleco space in particular we'll have a roundup of the latest as the companies look for the 5g future. ♪ wake up sweetie. ♪ doctor dave.

♪ here's your order. applebee's to go. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. unpredictable crohn's symptoms following you? for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease, stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tb.

tell your doctor if you have an infection or flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. talk to your doctor today, and learn how janssen can help you explore cost support options. remission can start with stelara®. explore cost support options. the latest inisn't just a store.ty it's a save more with a new kind of wireless network store.

it's a look what your wifi can do now store. a get your questions answered by awesome experts store. it's a now there's one store that connects your life like never before store. the xfinity store is here. and it's simple, easy, awesome.

zo they post a 1.4% rise in fourth quarter for operating profit on a comparable basis that was better than expectations the telecom number one operator said it met its 2018 guidance while full year revenue also grew orange added that it expects adjusted core earnings to grow more slowly this year amid increased competition in france. elsewhere in the teleco space, currency head winds in latin america and restructuring costs dragged on telefonica as the company reported a 9.6% drop in fourth quarter core profit the spanish telecom group kept its dividend unchanged at 40 cents per share and predicted 2% growth in operating income for 2019 and, finally, deutsche telecom has posted a 430 million euro net loss in the fourth quarter europe's largest mobile operator

also forecast lower than expected 2019 earnings as it looks to finalize its merger with sprint and roll out its 5g services where, we'll speak to the ceo at 1 1:45 cet. >> europe will be -- we're talking about 5g and talking about -- the potential battle between the u.s. and china it's always been our view that europe was going to lag behind compared to the u.s., compared to china

we strongly believe the main case will be -- we're talking 2022, 2023, 2024 not right now. europe is lagging behind it's going to take some time, and the reason is the way the market is structured in europe you have still minority of subscribers from many markets on 4g compared to the u.s. this year 5 gr early this year and early next year it's going to take a while for consumers to use those type of services where. >> in terms of the catch-up that's going to be required of europe, they are going to have to invest these operators, but at the same time they're trying to focus on services they are running two investment streams really in parallel can this business model work and be profitable for them to be investing in both at the same time >> they are investing in 5 g and

services it's very difficult for them to do at the same time. they need to have sgs osz top. we've seen the results today that one big positive has been convergence. the thing there's no growth left in the market that means you spend more per user and you increase the margin. you can do it with contechnical as well and do it with the smart car. they'll be coming on basically in a moment where they need to invest to be in the next wave of technology, but in terms of returning margin, that's going to be having a negative impact on them for the short-term >> the elephant in the room, of course, huawei has been a huge topic in terms of government and their stance towards the chinese vendor

in terms of the operators themselves, is huawei in the market of good things? >> yes, it's a good thing for several reasons. one is that the equipment market is basically between players, and you are eriksson and nokia samsung is more of a minor player if you are an operator, you leak -- you want to -- huawei is important to work on 5g. they're one of the key drivers of technology. also, what's important is that if you take the case of orange, orange -- because of -- used to be a french company. historical reasons they will use them in many other markets as spain, poland, africa even if they don't have some markets, they still want to have a relationship in other markets. it's always a key player for them they would follow the political -- >> deutsche telecom stands out of course, their german operation does use the huawei equipment, but they are making a huge bet on the u.s. right now

with the t mobile-sprint merger. the u.s. a different view of huawei do you see any flexibility from deutsche telecom in terms of t mobile -- in terms of deutsche telecom's exposure to huawei in germany if it means getting the t-mobile-sprint deal over the line >> they have to be careful i this i they're going to wait for the german regulator to decide what it wants to do with huawei, whether it can go ahead with their equipment i think huawei as a potential equipment vendor doesn't mean that they'll pick it obviously, they have to be careful because the u.s. is not very keen on huawei. they're not going to make a decision until the government of germany will decide whether its approved or not for huawei to be a major vendor in germany. >> in terms of the m&a space, we

have seen a number of high profile deals stopped in their tracks in europe we had alstop siemens, and the european commission locked that deal we heard from the cma here in the u.k. yesterday that they are all but killing the azda sainsbury deal what does this mean in temz of prospect for further m&a and the appetite of regulators to create an environment that allows for it we've seen the currency position will be changing they can be very keen not to see any consternation,and that's have i different weave seen a deal improving very soon we're going to see a commission. there's some stalks. i mean, obviously in germany, vodafone, they're moving ahead with the potential merger.

i mean, once we have very vrks he few potential deals available right now. most are three or four operators. you can't really have two. you can go to four to three. it's very difficult. it's if anything to be potentially small deals in there. people in the country not so much have a different subsidiary, but operating as one. that doesn't really work so far. we'll see whether that goes ahead and we'll see if they're having 27 countries with two or three operators or we see five, six big operators across the entire continent thank you for joining me around the desk senior analyst ict research at fitch solutions. now shifting gears to another

sector henkel is expecting further growth after a full year rise in net profit the chemical and consumer goods company says it plans to hike its dif debd to 1.85 per share they're expecting sales growth of 2% to 4% and an adjusted ebit it between 16% and 17% this year relex posted a 14% decline in full year net profit citing increased acquisition spend and a lower gain from u.s. tax credits. the company also launch aid 600 million pound buy back standard charter, meanwhile, has set aside $900 million to cover multiple fines in both the u.s. and u.k. it hopes it will cover regulatory investigations. the current probe in the u.s. focuses on the bank's alleged dealings with iranian clients since 2001 while the country was under u.s. sanctions the bank said that the provisions will also cover the $133 million fine that the u.k.'s financial conduct authority has imposed over

historical financial crime controls deutsche bank lost $1.6 billion on a single bond trade involving insurance from warren buffett's brookshire hathaway. the german lender bought $7.8 billion worth of municipal bonds 12 years ago and subsequently purchased default protection from brookshire. then in 2016 after delaying the recognition of losses on the trade it sold the bonds at a loss and retired the insurance coming up on the show, shifting away from the earnings space, greek finance minister tells cnbc that investors are confident in his country's economy. more from our exclusive interview when we come back.

unpredictable crohn's symptoms following you? for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease, stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection or flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. talk to your doctor today, and learn how janssen can help you explore cost support options.

remission can start with stelara®. (danny)'s voice) of course you don'te because you didn't!? explore cost support options. your job isn't doing hard work... ...it's making them do hard work... ...and getting paid for it. (vo) snap and sort your expenses to save over $4,600 at tax time. quickbooks. backing you.

the lender improves its investment banking performance and vows to give more back to shareholders the ceo jeff staley tells cnbc

the bank has a bright future >> results in the fourth quarter and for the year demonstrated that the strategy of barclay's is on track. we have recapitalized the bank we've put all of our legacy issues behind the institution. we have clean air in front of us now. >> mueller haersk shares die after the shipping company blames higher fuel prices for missing fourth quarter net profit expectations.

skbro we are one and a half hours into trade today, and receipts take a look at how the equity markets are fairing a little bit of a mixed picture. we are seeing the dax build on some of the early gains. up about 0.28% the clear outperformer of the bunch. the ftse 100 is the key underperformer today down about 0.6%. it is an overall picture of weakness with euro area flash pmi's a bit of a mixed picture. the composite came in better than expected. a lot of weakness coming out of the german manufacturing sector as it slips deeper into contraction territory. however, the french market a little bit of a bright spot when it comes to the data, but that is not translating into higher stock moves so far today let's take a look at the 4x markets. we, of course, yesterday had the

fed minutes sharply in focus, and we saw that the minutes showed the fed expects to keep rates steady for now and prepare to end the balance sheet runoff this year. we are looking at a slightly stronger dollar versus the euro today. they are meeting in brussels this week to try to reach further agreement onthe deal now, let's take a look at u.s. futures. yesterday another positive day state-side we are looking like another positive start for trade the s&p 50000, the dow, and the nasdaq all looking at stronger starts today investors had some time yesterday to digest those fed minutes. we'll see if there's fall-out from that today in the u.s. markets. back in europe spain faces a it snap election

in april after lawmakers in europe's fourth quarter -- fourth largest economy failed to agree on a draft budget plan last week. now, speaking exclusively to cnbc, pablo casado criticized how spain's current socialist government has dealt with separatists. we have to explain that spain has a really new constitution, and it's one of the few constitutions in the world that allows it even to change the way of the state i mean, the principles of the state. i mean, we can become a republic, and we can, of course, become a different country dividing parts of that country, but that has to be decided in parliament, and all the spaniards has to vote -- have to

vote >> the people are based on weather. here in spain all the spaniards has to vote. it is not enough that the mp's decide to how independence of the country. i also -- i always raise an example. can anybody imagine that in germany angela merkel would allow that -- gets independence. >> 50% of the people in bordeaux are calling for a right to vote, i'm not sure it's necessarily the case that they would be denied that. >> i don't think so. if you pose democracy, you have

a problem because they would they wouldn't have democracy anymore. it would become another thing. not a democracy. the problem here is that you have to accomplish the law why are the people can vote about what spain and not the barcelona people can vote about what is catalonia? what is the electoral base and the sovereignty base to vote that is a problem. that has to be accomplished with law and constitution i say majority because they don't have majority. we want elections, constitutional parties, but we have an electoral low that up until now they will change it and give more to that party, in that case, but what we want to

do from our government is win elections next april, is just to make clear that in spain as in all the democratic countries in the world, we are going to make sure that everybody accomplish >> coming up, willem will bring us his exclusive interview with the spaniard trade minister as a snap election looms in the country. be sure to tune in if you are following spain. he will sit down with president roger torrent as the region looks to play a key role in the highly anticipated election. that's also an exclusive interview coming up tomorrow elsewhere greek finance minister euclid sacal on s says he expects the european commission to support his government's progress on reforms. in a key report later this month. speaking to cnbc exclusively, he added that investors have confidence in the greek economy. now, sylvia joins us from athens

where she's been covering greece all week what more can you tell us about your conversation? >> good morning. you know how over the last three days we've been talking that greece is no longer under a bail-out program however, athens still has to comply with certain fiscal targets and actually put forward some further measures under a debt relief package that it signed late last year. of course, when -- actually, i should say that european officials told me earlier this month that greece was behind schedule when it comes to delivering this latest set of reforms, and, of course, as a result, it risks not getting fresh money from europe. yesterday when i interviewed the finance minister, i asked him what are the plans really? what's the status of the latest

reform implementation? let's listen in. >> i see the most likely wrult is they'll have a report that says we've done an awful lot of work there's still something to be done to just pass legislation that has been agreed by the time of the euro group of the -- so the report will be favorable it will say that we've done all this stuff there are one or two things that have to pass through parliament, but agreed legislation is a formality until the 11th of march. >> fair enough just one final question on the subject. greece issued the first bond post bail-out, and it was quite successful there's a big buffer as well after exiting the third bail-out program. is greece in a position to potentially say no to that central bank profit money? >> well, we don't see it as an

issue of whether you need the money. we see it as an issue that covers the creditors and institutions are confident that greece is continuing on a reform strategy it's a signaling thing more than a money thing. money is always useful we don't need it immediately because, as you say, we have you have a cash buffer, which means our debt is in a good situation after the summer deal. that's why we were able to go out to the markets three or four weeks ago and why investors are confident in the greek economy and spreads reduced since we've come out now even the ten-year bond yield is much reduced. i think it's continuing with the reform strategy, knowing what you want to do we don't surprise investors. we provide this growth strategy. i told you before where it had the priorities on the justice system, the public administration, on the business environment. we also put in there that it

would raise the minimum wage everybody knows what is seen there's no surprises there's no hidden agenda whereas, we have new democracy who promises huge tax cuts which i can't see where the money is coming from, whether it's budgeted, which is a serious issue for both, i think, markets and for people thinking of voting a democracy >> this money that the finance minister is mentioning is profits that central banks in europe may when purchasing greek bonds, and it's going to be really important now to follow the reports to understand what the european institutions are going to say in the coming weeks. it's expected the european commission will publish a report later this month to really give an update on the latest set of reforms here in greece then the big focus is really on the euro group meeting on march 11th that's when the europeans are

going to be discussing whether greece has implemented, shd say these reforms and is, of course, in a position to actually get fresh money from europe. >> excellent, sylvia thank you so much for your coverage in greece all week. you can head to cnbc.com to find more coverage from greece, from sylvia, including how opposition leader would reform the economy. back to brexit british and european leaders have described the latest round of talks as constructedive as they outline slight changes to the divorce plan in a joint statement officials underlying the temporary nature of the irish backstop and a tweak to the unbinding relationship between the u.k. and e.u. negotiators, of course, face a tight deadline to forge a deal with the u.k. set to.

>> i had a constructive meeting with president juncker this meeting. i've underlined the need for us to see legally binding changes to the backstop that insure that it cannot be indefinite. that's what is required if a deal is to pass the house of commons. we've agreed that we're to find a solution, we'll continue at pace time is of the essence, and it's in both our interests that when the u.k. leaves the e.u., it does so in an orderly way. >> fitch rating says it may downgrade u.k.'s double a debt rating over the uncertainty over the brexit situation fitch warned that britain would see substantial disruption in its economic and trade outlook if the country crashed out of the e.u. without a deal in place. taking a look at sterling this morning, it is trading a touch higher versus the dollar

above that 130 mark. a little bit of optimism in the market in terms of avoiding a no deal scenario, but, of course, a number of question marks remain. it is u.k. parliament could vote on a revised brexit deal as soon as next week according to chancellor phillip hammond prime minister theresa may was in brussels yesterday for "constructive talks" but commission president jean claude juncker over last minute changes to the backstop. hammond said the prospect for another meaningful vote hingeo what progress u.k. negotiators make in the coming days. crucial what happens now coming up next, the fed signals its ready to end its balance sheet reduction this year. we'll have more on the fomc minutes. stay with us plus, samsung unveils its new foldable smartphone, but with a steep price tag we'll also have deals -- details on that coming up next a business owner always goes beyond what people expect.

that's why we built the nation's largest gig-speed network along with complete reliability. then went beyond. beyond clumsy dials-in's and pins. to one-touch conference calls. beyond traditional tv. to tv on any device. beyond low-res surveillance video. to crystal clear hd video monitoring from anywhere. gig-fueled apps that exceed expectations. comcast business. beyond fast. ♪ wake up sweetie. ♪ doctor dave. ♪ here's your order. applebee's to go. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. my mom washes the dishes... ...before she puts them in the dishwasher. so what does the dishwasher do? cascade platinum does the work for you, prewashing and removing stuck-on foods, the first time. wow, that's clean! cascade platinum.

in honor of my dad, who was alzheimer's. i decided to make shirts for the walk with custom ink, and they just came out perfect. - [announcer] check out our huge selection of custom apparel for every occasion. you'll even get free shipping. get started today at customink.com.

>> in yesterday's minutes hoping for more clues around the balance sheet reduction plan in these minutes the fed has signalled they intend to end the reduction this year. why is the fed deciding now is the time to bring forward the discussion about the balance sheet? >> well, it's because it's an easy way for them to, in effect, cut rates and get a little -- back into the yield curve without actually cutting the federal funds rate the fed really ever wants to do. actually, it is to cut the funds

rate they don't want to be seen as cutting it and then a few months later having to increase it. they're still holding on to their basic forecast that they'll have to raise rates later this year. that would be more newsworthy if they thought it was because if it wasn't going to -- they weren't going to do that, then they would be cutting rates already. they are sufficiently nervous. they're not 100% convinced that the economy is going to slow down there's a lot of signals in terms of business and consumer sentiment as well as the flatness actually inversion of the curve from one year up to five this is a way to, in effect, get a little steepness into the curve, drop yields a little bit without that actually having to cut the funds rate >> and in terms of the detail around their balance sheet reduction plans, the precise

composition of their holdings, when do you think we're going to hear those precise details from the fed? >> well, we still think it's going to be march. if it isn't march and it moves to the next meeting after that, which would be the end of april, it's only because they haven't really finalized or finished working out all the details. that for the fed is a lot. it's a lot of work to do in terms of getting all the fine points worked out. >> yesterday's minutes around where we go from here in termsz

of rates themselves. the only sense you really have from the fed's perspective is they are officially nervous about the outlook. dropping from the statement that risks are roughly balanced, the mooumt of the balance sheet reduction to the end of this year, all these things belie their confidence and tells us that they are nervous. now, being nervous is one thing. having solid evidence that the economy is weakening is another. the issue is or the question is whether or not they will wait for that solid evidence before acting we have thought they would, much more proactive simply because 2.5% is a lot closer than zero, and i don't think they want to

risk a slowing economy and then having to rush to meet that by cutting rates. they would much rather be preemptive and deal with the higher inflation rate and stronger growth next year, which is something they know how to handle just inflation is a much more difficult problem for them >> we'll have to leave it there. thank you for joining us this morning. that was steven blitz, chief economist from ts lombard. fresh headlines around danska bank now this morning we have just learned that the danske bank is being investigated by the u.s. securities and exchange commission this is in addition to the doj they have stated this is in relation to the case of possible money laundering at danske bank's branch in estonia in addition to dialogue with the doj, they have received an inquiry from the u.s. securities and exchange commission, which is also carrying out an

investigation. now, danske bank said they are cooperating all relevant authorities in order to clarify full details in the case the ceo says we have no information about when investigations conducted by the doj and sec are expected to be completed, nor do we know what outcome of these investigations will have. we continue to cooperate with authorities in order to establish a complete picture of events in the case, and we get a quick look at the danske bank shares and see how the stock is reacting to these fresh headlines. it has been under pressure lately, and it's now down another 4% on these headlines. shifting gears to the tech space. samsung has unveiled its galaxy -- it's the galaxy fold that has stoenl the headlines. is that because of the technology or the price tag? to help us answer that elizabeth

shulte joins us. they delivered on the foldable phone. >> samsung had a parallel event here in london last night. we were here to try to get a gauge of what the reaction was there was a lot of anticipation for this foldable phone. excitement that this is creating a new phone, a new category. the idea is that you can essentially have a tablet and smartphone in one. the other side of this is that it's expensive about $2,000 we asked a samsung spokesperson at the event last night what went behind this effort and is it going to pay off? take a listen. we've taken a lot of care in terms of the thought and the engineering that went into it. that is literally ten years worth of design, r & d to bring, i think, the best, but also usability. you know, we didn't want to just

bring a novelty device to market it had to have a curve and meet a need, and we think we've really delivered on that >> we'll have to see if it delivers it is not cheap, but a lot of excitement still >> thank you very much, elizabeth. we'll have to leave it there before i hand you over to my colleague stateside, let's take a quick look at u.s. futures and see how things are shaping up. it looks like another positive start for u.s. trade another day of positive trading yesterday. that is it for today's show. worldwide exchange is coming up next, and that's in just a few minutes. we'll see further fall-out and reaction to yesterday's reaction to yesterday's all-important fed minutes.active 's disease, stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer.

some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection or flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. talk to your doctor today, and learn how janssen can help you explore cost support options. remission can start with stelara®. explore cost support options. my mom washes the dishes... ...before she puts them in the dishwasher. so what does the dishwasher do? cascade platinum does the work for you, prewashing and removing stuck-on foods, the first time. wow, that's clean! cascade platinum.

[ ding ] show me just add magic. hey toothless. [ ding ] [ gurgling ] [ ding ] show me cartoons on netflix. [ ding ] [ cooing ] [ door closes ] [ cooing ] ♪ [ ding ] show me fish on youtube. say it and see it with the x1voice remote. from netflix, prime video,youtube and even movie tickets. just say get "dragon tickets".

it's 5:00 a.m. here's yours five at 5:00. breaking trade news that u.s. and china are reportedly one step closer to hammering out a new trade agreement. we'll have the full details straight ahead futures also pushing higher on hopes of a new trade deal and lyft reportedly planning to file its ipo as soon as next week johnson & johnson says it has received subpoenas from the justice department and the s.e.c. over its baby powder products and a basketball blowout. nike doing some damage control this morning after last night's