tv Squawk Box Europe CNBC March 15, 2023 4:00am-5:00am EDT
4:00 am
in the nona dirksmeyer killing. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. ♪ a european stockmarkets are open for action, still assessing what is taking place across the financial system at this point, a bounceback taking place in some of the u.s. regional banks, mainstream banks, and the european banking space yesterday. but as we get going this morning we're looking at a slight red on the major indices. the benchmark here, stoxx 600 sliding into negative territory. slim ranges at this point, up 0.2% yesterday we marched higher by
4:01 am
just over 1.5% as we picked up some recovery trade. but this morning we're looking slightly cautious again on the back of what was a firm assessing. we saw gains across the s&p 500 also snapping a losing streak. three straight days of losses and the nasdaq by more than 2% technology picked up in the mix yesterday. so despite the handover, you can see caution coming back into the mix this morning let's dive into the boards and see where some of that rating is falling early on in this stage by the different basket of stocks first up is oil and gas. oil and gas reversing another 0.8% stock price had been picked up there were fears about the demand story in case we get a shrinkage in credit in the economy. moves from the central bank to stem the fallout contagion from the svb story.
4:02 am
we're down just over 0.9%, quickly replaced by retail, a slide by just over 1.1%. h&m is toward the bottom of the basket, reversing. two massive retail names, pulling their basket south on earnings. basic resources, down 0 fount0.7% technology stock this morning falling by just over 0.6%. financials are weaker this morning. a number of big banks still has in the basket of stocks, down half of a percent. we've got banks also joining, again, down half of a percent. deutsche bank, barclays traveling low, bba, b pa all
4:03 am
down autos traveling down by about a tenth with the exception of bmw that's toward the top of the basket food and drink slightly higher, but we have big gains in things like heinekens utilities up by a quarter of a percent. similar ranges on that versus health care and the top performer of health care is right at the top of the boards. let's take a look at what we're seeing at the individual indices. don't forget it's budget day here we're waiting for some details from the chancellor that could focus on more systems like child care reforms and pensions. and we have a huge number of strikes carrying today we've got the ftse caution we've created a lot of territory in the point market as you can see in the recent number of
4:04 am
weeks. the percentage drops, though, very similar to what you're seeing on the french market. a little bit less coming off the likes of the dax, moving down a third of a percent of the periphery. spanish stocks under pressure. only slightly weaker for the zurich stockmarket bmw has confirmed its preliminary results for 2022, hosting an eat ta of 10.6 for the year the german carmaker says it plans to keep german prices steady we caught up with the ceo of bmw and asked how much room the carmaker has to pass on costs as it focuses on strategies of luxury cars and evs. >> we have a global strategy, almost an equal footprint in northern america and all of asia, including china, of course, and now the revenue we look at, it includes the
4:05 am
revenues from bba where we own now 75%. we create chances out of all t lower, the medium, and the high. and we look at drive trains. that's a positive development. we don't look at one drive train or one segment or one region in the world. i think for us this plays very nicely into what we said a couple of years before and now we're executing this plan, and now it looks like the plan we're doing here is quite successful on the revenue side but also the market share side. we look at market share, but at the same time at profitability, and that works out, as you see, very nicely for us. >> let's look at h&m net sales picked up in the months from january to february.
4:06 am
the retailer continues to cut jobs and other costs amid rising inflation. profits have fallen from last year they're passing higher prices to customers. thestocks are weaker in trade. this is the german listing of 0.6%, but i can tell you looking at other listings on the market, it's heavily down, 0.4%. i want to take you to inditex. sales of the largest fashion retailer topped $32 billion. the retailer was able to pass on rising prices. not a great outing today, charlotte, for some of those retailers. >> yes i guess there's a bit of uncertainty there. this is the first full-year
4:07 am
numbers under the daughter of the founder of inditex who took the helm of the group. here we see the net profit of 27% last year to 4.1 billion euro sales the gross margin was down 57%, reflecting higher costs including staffing and rents but they have managed some of the competitors. they've been hiking prices quite aggressively last year and passed it on to the consumer it hasn't impacted sales so far. there hasn't been wiggle room there. for example, h&m is facing more competition from fashion retailers. so here inditex has been able to pass on some of the costs
4:08 am
recently they have shut down stores in the past year. they're pushing for digitalization and online sales as well. they've been pushing into the u.s. quite aggressively. in the release this morning they mentioned there's a significant longtime opportunity in the u.s. there are about 100 stores they want to increase it by 30 stores in the next couple of years, very much focusing on the market here. and looking at the first signs of spring, they said the spring/summer expectations are up they announced this new dividend, up 29% compared to last year. also remember they shut down the operation in russia. they had about 500 stores in russia they put a $230 million charge there after the shutdown after the war in ukraine, but overall you see numbers in line with expectations >> it's a disappointing
4:09 am
reaction, though, isn't it they're almost saying margins could be protected, but that's one that has an up-form rating on the stock if you look at the sales numbers, the third quarter was 11% versus 16% from the same quarter earlier in the second quarter. so it does suggest that what we're seeing now that they've got to step up in the sales print. interesting to see what investors are reacting to. >> they say this morning strong numbers are in line with expectations from the guidance that they gave, they say an increase in store footprints and all this reassuring numbers, the model is quite nimble at inditex. they've been able to be very, very flexible, very nimble on the supply chain they're able to pass it on to the customer so the whole business model has
4:10 am
been quite resilient, and this kind of reflects when you compare it to h&m. aed by of conservatism. >> charlotte, thank you very much for that. come back to the wall to look at the big numbers we're watching this morning it's mostly a negative picture hugo boss is eeking up slightly. you look at these stocks both tracking weaker. china's post-covid year is off to a slow start. retail sales for the first two months of the year grew 3.5% in line with expectations fixed asset investments topped forecasts but real estate sank 4.5% that followed a period from all of last year so the reaction you're seeing to some of the china numbers in the luxury space this morning.
4:11 am
moody's has cut its outlook from stable to negative after a stockmarket route. so financial stockmarkets lose over half in two days. they say it's a rapid deterioration after the collapse of svb, signature, and silvergate banks are seeing a pickup in credit suisse that's bounced 0.2%. we're hearing from the chairman today in a panel h h hsbc is pushing higher elsewhere we're seeing losses on the wall the rest of the range is more modest to the downside. on a different note, there are measures set up to attack
4:12 am
inactivity in early retirement amid economic forecasts. the treasury has confirmed the planned uplift on the energy bills will be scrapped and will hike rates from 19 to 21%. a look at the gilt, you can see it's perched above the 3.5%, taking you to the 10-year. we're at 3.5 as well i think closely we're following the detail with the mini debacle. >> yes, we missed a couple of chances. of course, we miss ed out on mr javin and mr. hamid. coming up on the show, what's going on with the inflation walk compared to financial stability of the svb should the central banks stop
4:13 am
4:14 am
4:15 am
4:16 am
a look at apple stock in frankfort is reportedly expected to delay spring bonuses to employees as part of wider cost-cutting measures which says the tech giants is paying closer attention to its corporate expenses including travel budgets. ceo tim cook has told cnbc this year hiring has slowed meta said it will cut 10,000 more jobs this year. the ceo mark zuckerberg has told staff they will pause hiring and cancel some of its lower priority projects. he also warned that economic instability could continue for years. this is, again, the frankfort listing that got a pop of 1.3% in gains on a session yesterday. bmw has confirmed its
4:17 am
preliminary results hosting a margin of 8.6% in its guidance for the year ahead, the german carmaker said it plans to keep car prices steady after a year of passing on rising costs to customers they expect one in four sales to be battery powered by 2525 and 50% of all sales by 2030 although it did still warn of slowing growth in sales this year we caught up with the ceo oliver zi zipse. she asked the carmaker whether they're starting to see if there's going to be a reopening in china. >> we have a new government there. we're still kind of in a post-covid situation the whole market was down in the first two months, but looking ahead now, we see some light there, and especially with some gradually invested high growth in the end of last year we have
4:18 am
11 -- i repeat 11 cars for the china market >> the concentration on so-called best cars, electric cars, that means you need more commodities for batteries, right? so how do you see the commodities situation unfolding this year? >> what we do now, we decided three years ago, you can't directly look at any of this industry we have supplier contracts, solid supplier contracts with various suppliers for our first generation of batteries for vehicles that was concluded many, many years ago. now we're preparing for our sixth generation where we write new contracts coming to the market in 2025 it's a gradual development over
4:19 am
many, many years the best market is in terms of percentage and we're participating in that. >> inflation is staying high, it seems, also during the course of this year. how is it impacting your business, and can you pass on a big portion of this? >> inflation is a matter of are you able to have pricing power in the market, and we have proved last year this is possible we will always strive for profitability. we will not buy market share on the other hand, we have a very, as i said, very new product before you, which autou automatically results in higher growth with that approach we have here, i would be cautiously optimistic
4:20 am
about the year here, and we will have a slight increase in volume overall. >> the ecb will likely stick to its 50-basis-point hike this week as the inflation rate is 2% above its target the central bank is also expected to raise its underlying projections for 2024 and 2025. we're joined by the chief economist and macro strategist nice to see you today. look, the story du jour is, of course, what does the fed do now? it's got sticky inflation. the services side of things, rent side of things looks way higher than the comfort zone for the fed around yet svb has changed everything as far as expectations going forward in your view, should they abandon -- it was 50 basis points, but should they abandon the pace of rate hikes because
4:21 am
of the risk to market stability by svb >> thank you for having me on the show there's a lot to unpack. first of all, i will start by saying that when it comes to quality packaging, there are effects of lowering the economy to curb inflation which as you say remains sticky, but there are also side effects. high rates is not always good for banks or financials. part of me wants to think svb is idiosyncratic. it's a special type of institution. a mismatch of liabilities and narrow and specific client base. it was the bank for the tech industry in the silicon valley, but there's an element of systemic risk here i think what the fed should do
4:22 am
is be cautious for the time being. it's possible they won't raise the rates this time around, but they should reseem it. >> it's an even-handed summary of the situation moody's over the last 24 hours have gone from negative to stable they're talking about a.l.m. which is asset liability management they're saying the whole svb situation has highlighted some real problems with a.l.m do you think it is a systemic problem in u.s. banks? >> i think just yet i wouldn't describe it as systemic per se, but it's possible there are other institutions, other a agencies the market is already there. we may have other cases. the point is the fed should raise rates even if core inflation was half the level we have now. >> why did the fed do what it did and the authorities rush in
4:23 am
if there isn't a systemic problem? why not let this one go unless there was a bigger problem in u.s. banking >> i think for one you want to prevent a continuation of the outflows we've some of it realized. secondly, you don't want this to become a systemic problem should there be other cases it's not a blanket guarantee or blanket check either, and so they're trying to strike a middle ground between mitigating financial stability while at the same time, the monetary policy side of it should continue to raise rates, if not big time this time around i think at subsequent meetings. >> i know some economists believe this is a root cause of central banks having printed too much money for too long. you look at what's been done in the last two years, 0 to 2.5%. that's an extraordinary move in the save haven aspect as well.
4:24 am
in that context, should banks get going on this side of the world in terms of normalizing policy >> i think, first of all, this issue is arising because interest rates were too low for too long and so certain lending practices went too far now lending standards are tig tightening so generally speaking, maybe central banks move too fast. there is a reason for that the inflation is sticky. they called inflation on this side of the atlantic not even big. even if it peaks at 6% or so, the level is far too high. and to bring it down, there is a trade-off. the trade-off is slowing activity the trade-off is also some side effects from the financial stability front than from the regulatory arm of central banks that's there to mitigate those. >> since the last financial crisis it was very difficult for central banks to enact higher
4:25 am
interest rates while shrinking the balance sheet to bring you that qt. now at this point we've got a very heady pace of increases there are more inflation rates we're seeing from united states to europe and beyond are central banks from the ecb to the fed able to shrink the balance sheet while they're lifting the rate >> they've raised the rate in the u.s. in europe, there's more to go. this trade-off is more difficult for the ecb. then it becomes more challenging. that's the trade-off there is always a trade-off, and we are cautiously positioned for that the fact is that bonds now are much more attract active six-month in the u.s. are yielding 5%. it makes the situation more challenging. >> let me ask you now about what happens for the pathway for the ecb because there are questions
4:26 am
about the pathway for the fed. what does the pathway for the ecb look like for the rest of 2023 >> i think they'll want to continue to raise rates. this week's meeting is probably a done deal. then it becomes 50 i'll say they'll continue at a pace of 50 then it becomes a lot more uncertain. i think the rate level is still too low, though, and they should continue to raise it for the time being, also the next one. >> are we done with the 50 once we get through this? >> i don't think it's obvious we get this done unless it's morphed into something truly systemic, i would expect 50 more. >> thank you very much for joining us today, chief economist and macro strategist at quintet we'll switch focus after this and talk about fiscal policy because it is a big day for the uk and their budget. we'll be live as jeremy hunt
4:28 am
ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. i screwed up. mhm. i got us t-mobile home internet. now cell phone users have priority over us. and your marriage survived that? you can almost feel the drag when people walk by with their phones. oh i can't hear you... you're froze-- ladies, please! you put it on airplane mode when you pass our house. i was trying to work. we're workin' it too. yeah! work it girl! woo! i want to hear you say it out loud. well, i could switch us to xfinity. those smiles.
4:29 am
that's why i do what i do. that and the paycheck. it's official, america. xfinity mobile is the fastest mobile service. and gives you unmatched savings with the best price for two lines of unlimited. only $30 a line per month. the fastest mobile service and major savings? can't argue with the facts. no wonder xfinity mobile is one of the fastest growing mobile services, now with over 5 million customers and counting. save hundreds a year over t-mobile, at&t and verizon. talk to our switch squad at your local xfinity store today. let's take a look at the
4:30 am
european equities opening in the red. the ecb is opening at a 50-point basis rate hike tomorrow while in the background u.s. corps cpi talks estimates, putting more pressure in the wake of the svb collapse the svb crisis appears to be contains for now, adding it should be a warning for the sector, but comparisons between the banks are unfailing. >> that's what they understand you can't compare it to that of course, you can read in the newspaper, you have issues as well on the one hand we already talked it. they're derisking the balance sheet. >> trade toward the bottom of the stoxx 600 despite the world's two largest fashion retailers posting high profits and sales. and bmw vowing to keep price
4:31 am
is stable after passing on rising costs it does warn that ev sales growth will slow the chairman oliver zip see telling cnbc the carmaker's strategy is working. >> we will always strive for profitability. we will not buy market share on the other hand, we have a very as i said new product before you which ultimately results in high profitability and growth as well welcome back the uk chancellor jeremy hunt is set to reject the narrative of decline in his spring budget later today. amid imf warnings, the country's economy is set to increase this
4:32 am
year in the first 17 months there were a couple of mini ones and hunt is expected to continue to tackle inactivity including a bid to bring retires back into the workplace. the treasury has already anouned the morning it will extend support for energy bills, keeping the annual average to 2.5 pounds which will aid to help headline inflation this year let's get to arabile gumede who joins us now from westminster. i do love a budget day, air bela we used to stand there waiting for what the chancellor has to say. we used to have to digest it because it had already been leaked what's in store for us >> that's one to certainly look out for. it was in 2010 we got the sense that george osborn was looking to cut the rate down to 20% or 19% figure we currently have it
4:33 am
at that happened within a five-year sparngs right, cutting it down from the 28% figures we had seen at that time now it may actually go back up from 19% to 25%. so maybe not necessarily a surprise, but really one we're looking out for for clarity, for a clear sense of whether that is indeed what jeremy hunt is slated to do, perhaps to bring in more income the other side of that, of course s whether that will hurt investment in the uk, which already has been hurt overall in lockstep with the left of europe considering the i.r.a. that has happened in the united states. so it is going to be this balancing act that it's going to have to do when it comes to that corporation tax. of course, pension reform is a major one as well to certainly look out for how will that be fixed and perhaps help to maybe balance out the scales a little more it does also help to balance out the books when you change the age of retirement as well. energy, the big question mark considering where we currently
4:34 am
sit with that. does that 500-pound spending or saving really still sit as it does, or does jeremy hunt actually do away with it considering that the economy does need or the government is looking to try and find ways to find ways to save a whole host of money it's been key important because of the streif that we have seen whether it be rail, whether it be nurses, education as well all of those sectors and a whole lot more have been asking for double-digit wage increases, which would have help ed to hel. is it going to affect the growth rate that's what jeremy hunt will be looking toward how would he get it back to the levels he would like, around 3%, 4%, 5% even further, in order to get the uk back in lockstep with the g7 nations, there's the fuel cap
4:35 am
that continues does that continue to be the case plus child care support will also be in focus so a whole lot that certainly could be on the pages of jeremy hunt's budget today. we'll certainly be looking out for that a little bit later on. >> arabile, thank you for running us through the detail. unemployment is in record lows, january rising toward 3.7% inflation sticks at more than 10%, over five times the bank of england's target rate. it does jump out that we have the budget being delivered today. we have many striking out around their pay and pensions give us a sense what this budget can deliver today to make a difference to those people. >> i think if you look at it from a business perspective, you see the pain the work force is facing in terms of inflation, but in terms of businesses, they're seeing higher pay in
4:36 am
more than a decade, 5%, 6%, 7% so there's real pressure in the system how do we get british companies to invest? we look at government policy and whether it sticks or not real sustainable long-term thinking is what we're looking at we look at the child care plan, which was very heavily lobbied for not just by unions and parent groups but business groups as well because we think that shifts the dial on inactivity, parents taking themselves out the decision last week was a catastrophe for employment in construction, but also it kicks things down the road in terms of growth benefits it would give. >> we were commenting off camera how earlier some of the child care costs start and by trying to ramp up some assistance for
4:37 am
1-year-olds and 2-year-olds in the home, this does potentially bring more women back in the work force, but on the pension side, tackling the higher end, incentivizing people to stay in the work force for longer. these are contributions to a tight labor market. >> certainly one of the messages from recruiters to businesses across the country, the labor market stays tight for the next decade. government can do something, but companies need to think about it as well. pensions probably move the dial more for people with final salaries and that with those who have financed money schemes. hospital consultants who we're desperate to stay in the labor force, a big part of the inactivity problem, it will shift the dial for them. so i think good practical thinkings. today we're looking at how jeremy hunt stitches it together call it strategy, economic growth plan, call it what you want we want growth
4:38 am
only fix the public finances with economic growth, not the other way around. >> i know jeremy hunt. we've chatted many times off camera he's sensible and quite dull in his job unlike previous incumbents in the job as well. how dull can he be you want a longer term policy. you don't want the hokey pokey will this give continuity regardless of who the next government is because we need to have an election pretty much by the tail end of next year. rachael reaves is trying to reassure the market saying, look, a labor government if she could get in would put business first and we are the party of business supporters. is it going to be enough to say we're going to massively change that or this that's what he's really looking for, isn't it, something that's just consistent?
4:39 am
>> from a business perspective, credibility is built up over time the trouble with last autumn is it damaged the view of britain's place to invest. coming off the back of years of a negotiation, we've seen practicality like in northern ireland and the handling of silicon valley bank over the weekend by the treasury and banks put some confidence in the people we need to see that here as well, particularly focusing on long-term issues and labor supply in our economy, that's huge. we're talking two years of growth if we don't get the labor shortage right by 39 billion pounds >> labor shortage -- i don't want to go bbc, but there's an enormous battle going on between gary lineker and his bosses over at bbc over what he can and
4:40 am
can't say, and it's all about immigration. there was a type of immigration that i presume you are clamoring for and your members are crying out for. is the uk attracting the right kind of educated and wealthy migrants that we desperately need in this country are we getting those individuals? because that was supposed to be one of the dividends of brexit. >> yes the new forced eu migration system is much easier to navigate and much more persistent it's more difficult to bring people from france and germany that's part of brexit and that is an issue. where we're seeing the real pain is in jobs which are skilled but which are relatively low pay chefs in restaurants is a classic example where the system isn't quite flexible enough. we did our work on shortages last year at the r.e.c., we had a third of the recommendations because we do need to think
4:41 am
differently how we employ people, and with the coming te technological changes, what are we resourcing with humans and what are we investing in that's why capital loans are important. >> i had my first knowing experience with a chatbot. i was in a different country trying to chat with a chatbot, and it was absolutely crap i don't know if i can say that word on tele, but it's absolutely rubbish. >> can i ask about corporation tech we see a step up from 19% to 25%. does that detract from investment and new technology, steve talking about does it detract away from benefits in the workplace and investing in staff? >> so i think the weird thing about corporation taxes, it is a signal that's the most important.
4:42 am
25% is still relatively low next to other developed economies clearly, you know, business is never in favor of tax rises, but what i would say is we should think about the whole base of tax businesses pay tax of profits, we've been subtly raising taxes for years and years. you think about business tax and the impact of rates on businesses and restaurants if the chancellor has a priority of where he cuts taxes for businesses, i would cut taxes on activity rather than corporate rights. >> we've tried to work things out. we got to 5 or 6 and still missed a couple. why is it successful, conservative chancellors are failing to listen to their heartlands and say business rates are not working, they're a disaster. >> it's really hard. that's the honest answer it's a tough challenge but actually the issue here is
4:43 am
to pitch a big tent with businesses and work out -- go in and say we need to raise the revenue, how could we do it? take time. we tend to do this in the month before the budget rather than thinking about it over the long term and i think business rates in particular, of course, is being highlighted because the differential effect for businesses that are doing things online, the difference between business rates for shops and business rates for distribution centers for whom it's really big. i think there there's something in getting away from one of the giveaways in the budget to protect sectors and start to see how the taxes for systems changes. >> you look at it from a slightly different angle from overnight. we've heard from more job cuts at meta. we're talking a huge amount. this is the second rate of cuts. this is as we try to bring more people back into the work force. do we have a reset taking place
4:44 am
in some sectors that are actually causing companies to rethink their staffing levels? to what extent are you seeing that >> i think we see clients not gloomy but cautious as the labor market continues to grow that's a classic flight to add to the temporary when people are uncertain about the rest of the year the market has dropped off a bit in the last four or five months. it's dropped off from record-setting levels in q2 and q3 last year i.t. has been hit harder than other sectors. probably on the flip side construction has recovered really well this year. in i.t., i think we're seeing more challenges in dublin where there are big silicon valley headquarters in numbers than we are in the uk because here in the uk what's happening is those -- that world, the sector has caught a bit of a cold from the
4:45 am
valley those companies are being eaten up by smaller tech firms in the uk. >> we have to leave it there, neil cautiously optimistic. perhaps we'll hear from chancellor hunt as well. it won't be as exciting. it's been like covid lockdown. it's one of those things you think about with absolute horror and say how did that happen. >> these were safe haven assets that were sold off aggressively. as we talk about svb, it was toxic assets so far that led to u.s. government debt we're talking the safe haven stuff. that's where the similarities have been versus a decade-plus ago where we're talking about the really risky end of the market. >> neil carberry of r.e.c. the work continues
4:46 am
the uk and eu announced a deal for northern ireland last month and canada's business promotion trader told us more. >> we have an agreement that canada and the uk signed at the point when the application of ceta, which the uk belonged to, rolled over and we've got that there's a timetable to get the agreement in place in a couple of years there is a timeline. right now we're on schedule and the negotiators are at the table, so it's making good progress. coming up on the show, inflation eases, but there are warnings the government could be under remo pressure.
4:48 am
4:49 am
4:50 am
straight out to hadley who joins us from the business financial sector hadley. >> good morning to you, steve. i'm here with south africa's finance minister great to have you on the program, sir welcome to cnbc. i want to ask you specifically about what's happening in your country today. you have blackouts affecting people for five or six hours, there's a lot of anger in the country, and what is your government's plan to fix the situation? >> you'll recall that the president said this is going to be given full attention and we'll be putting together something where the minister's main task will be in the next 1 to 18 months is address the energy sector. that has been done to my knowledge that was done when i left home wednesday. >> to your mind, we're going to stop the blackouts very soon or
4:51 am
how long is the timeline >> we set a target of 12 to 18 months >> at that point you think the country will be on the path to economic growth? >> yes if you look at the performance, it co-insides with two events which is the global financial event in 2008. we've not been able to recover is because 2008 is when we started to have blackouts. >> sir, there are real questions about whether your government is going to be able to get the political will and the votes from your cot state yents to stay in power beyond 2024. how is this going to impact your ability to stay in office? >> let me say a number of people every election writes an o obituary. >> a lot of people are calling for government assistance. is that off the table? >> let me just tell you. in the next election, we'll see
4:52 am
the biggest boost after the elections. if we don't reach 50% plus one, we'll probably be more. >> so you're not worried about elections. you think you'll stay in pow sneer we're not worried about elections. we're worried about doing the right things for the country let me give you an example a lot of people thought i was going to present a budget to buy an electorate. we didn't do that precisely because we know the challenges >> you're characterizing government assistance to people as buying an election. >> let me say even analysts -- you guys thought because we're going to an election, we're going to come up with this the budget was intended to
4:53 am
achieve the growth. >> that's in spite of the fact it's making a lot of people unhappy. >> sometimes we have to make policy choices, and those policy choices, by the way, one of them is a fundamental investment in the state-owned infrastructure, which has been handicapped we 'll put in $224 billion in te next few years to make the right balance sheet to make the right investment. >> you have serious problems as you say with the energy sector in south africa. >> yeah. >> in your mind, is this something western countries should be footing the bill for because that's been one of the questions that have been raised. >> no, no. they would be flipping the bill only for efficiency. what they should be flipping the bill for is a different debate it's transition. it requires enormous resources
4:54 am
that developing makes cannot afford that's why in cancun, the developed nations have not been able to commit. >> what commitments have you had so far from saudi arabia >> saudi arabia will not make any commitments. it's because of that relationship they've invited me to participate in this as a friend -- as a friendly contribution. >> would you expect or want business from saudi considering how much they're doing in the energy sector? >> i would like to share some experience before i put the cart before the horse one of the things i want to do is share some experience, what do they do, how can we learn from them. i'm more than happy to talk to them. >> could we see nuclear energy as a secure way forward for your government. >> where we stand, we're talking about a mix of technologies, which will take us through it.
4:55 am
our preoccupation is energy. >> no doubt. i'll send it back over to you. we'll take you back to the markets. modest down-beat starter has given way to selling across the european boards. take a look at where we are. we're almost 0.9% on the french market 0.6 on the ftse. it's budget day, so perhaps some portion around what we're going to see from the budget but the other major markets traveling lower. in terms of the selling, retail fighting it out. we had numbers from h&m and the likes of inditex that's taking retail toward the bottom of the charts, but, of course, there's still selling taking place in banks and financial services. >> it's funny you mentioned retail we had it pretty hot on the services side. what happens if the retail sales figures in the states today are good and the producer of prices
4:56 am
are good, still robust, and with high pressure prices as well s that going to send the market tumbling back down again because the inflation is still in clear and present danger despite the relief it's gotten from svb. that's it for europe plenty more ahead. stayun fwodw tedor "rlide exchange." we'll be back same time, same place tomorrow has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com.
4:58 am
i screwed up. mhm. i got us t-mobile home internet. now cell phone users have priority over us. and your marriage survived that? you can almost feel the drag when people walk by with their phones. oh i can't hear you... you're froze-- ladies, please! you put it on airplane mode when you pass our house. i was trying to work. we're workin' it too. yeah! work it girl! woo! i want to hear you say it out loud. well, i could switch us to xfinity. those smiles. that's why i do what i do. that and the paycheck. everything's changing so quickly. before the xfinity 10g network, we didn't have internet that let us play all at once. every device? in every room? why are you up here?
4:59 am
5:00 am
it is 5:00 a.m. here at cnbc headquarters and here's your top "five@5. it's been a volatile few days for the markets, but bank of america says don't get too bullish yet. and higher this morning, bank stocks bouncing back in a very good way yesterday. today they're set to gain more ground at the open. and this is the fed's drill-down on the legal action with its former executives in its crosshairs plus why carl icahn says he's not buying any stocks a
72 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CNBCUploaded by TV Archive on
