much if you were perfect, george. i quite like the i'm perfect george lopez. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> i appreciate you very much. thank you. that was a lot of fun for me. >> oh, well, thank you. of course george's show low pez tonight weeknights at midnight eastern on our sister network tbs. "anderson cooper 360" starts right now anderson is off i'm zain verjee at cnn in london. here are the headlines this hour. five days after the massacre that brought norway to a standstill, the country is still very much on edge. we're joined by cnn's diana magnay out of oslo. diana? >> reporter: a little earlier, police shut down oslo's central train station. apparently looking at a suspect package there. it gives you a sense of how on

edge this country s. five days after the massacre, we know there are undercover armed policemen on patrol. we also know that breivek amassed six tons of fertilizer, according to his manifesto. the police are suggesting to us that there is a certain amount of that fertilizer which is not accounted for in the explosives found on the island or the bomb here in oslo. they say it is possible that that missing amount of fertilizer could be enough to produce a bomb. so definitely a very, very significant part of their investigation. now, breivek's lawyer yesterday gave some insight into his client's mental state saying this whole case does suggest that he is insane, that breivek himself was surprised that he was able to get away with as much as he did on the island, that police hadn't stopped him any earlier, and he was taking some sort of drug before his

attack to sort of keep him steady during that horrific massacre. and as you can see behind me, as lowans, norwegians continue to lay flowers for those who lost their lives. >> cnn's diana magnay reporting. that's an update here on cnn. "world business today" starts right now. i'm zain verjee. good movrng from cnn london. i'm nina dos santos. >> i'm aneesh shah tank. timing running out for a u.s. debt deal. who's got the most to lose if the country goes into default? >> one cred et rating agency has already downgraded u.s. debt. we'll speak to its ceo. three years and $15 billion

later we look back at china's lichl picks as the countdown begins to the games in london. >> first, the clock is continuing to count down in washington. just six days to go until a possible u.s. default unless lawmakers can come to some or the of agreement on raising the debt ceiling. a vote on republican john boehner's bill has been expected on wednesday, but it did run into opposition from his own party and now as a result it's already being rewritten. this is coming after republicans complained it didn't cut spending and deficits as much as originally expected. a vote is likely to take place on thursday at the earliest. in the meantime with a default looming, a compromise is loong more appealing to some. conservative senate republican leader mitch mcconnell is calling for new negotiations with president barack obama urging the party to move away

with some of its demands. the implications of a u.s. default strach far beyond the country's border. a crisis of solvency in the u.s. government could cause a crunching recession. fareed zakaria sat down with imf chief christine lagarde and asked just how concerned she was. >> i am worried because this debt ceiling issue has not been cracked. it's being addressed from multiple angles, but the debt ceiling is still on the table. the united states is the largest economy in the world, one that matters, one that has spillover effects, not just around the borders, but on a complete basis globally. it's an issue that really is lurking in the background of each and every economy of the world which is why i think

there's a very, very high level of pressure and tension so that issue can be, not only addressed, dealt with and addressed properly with a solution. >> the current stalemate in u.s. debt talks is pushing some key world currencies to record strengths against the u.s. dollar. right here in asia pacific we're talking about the australian dollar and the japanese yen. let's check in with ramy inocencio for the details. >> we've seen the u.s. dollar weaken over much of the past year, ever since june of 2010. this is a graph showing the u.s. dollars index. it tracks the greenback's strength against other currency including the euro, jach knees yen as well as the british euro. the big news out of australia today, well, basically the aussie dollar is near a 30-year

high. since last year alone the aussie dlar has risen this much, 18.6% against the u.s. dollar. tony morris told cnn there will be winners and losers because of this. >> certainly going to make it more difficult for exports overseas, particularly manufacturing. will make it much harder for the retail sec tor to compete with cheaper goods from overseas. another direct impact, it makes it much more expensive for tourists to visit. those parts of our economy for the tourist sector, we're not going to benefit so greatly from that. the wig guest winners for this are the consumers. find it far cheaper to buy hopefully things on the shelves, for example. >> so the aussie dollar's record strength comes partly thanks to the debt ceiling deadlock in the u.s., but also linked with higher-than-expected inflation down under. australia's latest cpi reading

came out today at .9%. many analysts were expecting .7%. because of this higher figure there's a higher chance that the reserve bank of australia may raise interest rates to keep inflation down. some soy asser li as next month when its board next meets. the japanese yen is gaining ground against the greenback today, at its strongest point since march 17th, just after the march 11 quake and tsunami. right now at about 77.64 yen to the dollar. this is not much good for sony, cannon, toyota. a stronger yen here hurts them because when dollars from u.s. sales are repatriated to japan, they're worth fewer yen. toyota estimates if the yen stays up by one unit against the dollar for 12 months, it will actually lose about $380

million. japan's market closed lower today, the third time in the past seven days. if the u.s. debt deadlock isn't broken, the market will keep getting hit and the nikkei will probably keep falling. >> currency moves not helping at all. ramy, thanks very much. i wonder how stocks are fair in europe, nina. >> the currency factor an enormous issue for some of these european markets as well. a number of the companies listed on these stock markets also, of course, have rising currencies, appreciating currencies against the dollar. that makes the goods and services less competitive. as you can see, we have all the european markets falling at the moment with the steepest declines coming from the cac 40 which is down by .75%. the banking sector coming under pressure, and one bank in particular which came out with figures is banco santander. it's listed in spain, based over

there. reported its first half earnings saying net profit came in at $5.1 million. that's still down about 21% and comes in well short of expectations. this was mainly due to a fact it had to set up a compensation fund for claims on payment protection insurance in the united kingdom, manisha. >> so far as stocks go, generally a down day in asia. in sydney a strong consumer price index raised an interest hike there. in shanghai, the day -- composite managed to end the day about .6% to the good. there once much movement for hong kong's hang seng and the nikkei slid .5%. hovering just above the 10,000 mark. tokyo electric power, mean mile, or tepco which runs that damaged

fukushima dich chi power plant rose almost 616. that came amid reports it's considering selling almost 3 billion in shares. about half an hour ago, after the bell went, i suppose, in japan, japan's second largest carmaker nissan reported earnings, net earning for the quarter came in at $1.1 billion, ahead of expectations. uncertainty continues to exist over the u.s. debt seal, investors are once again turning their attention towards the ultimate and traditional safe haven which is, of course, gold. that, in turn, is sending the price steeply north, hovering above about $1,623.63 an ounce. it's currently up about $4.38 at the moment. it is covering just a couple dollars below its all-time high that was just above $1,624 just

the other day. gold very much the beneficiary here as everybody seeks a safe haven, manisha. >> very much so. piling into the precious medal. struggling throughout trade on tuesday, the debt ceiling, a host of corporate earnings figures made for a mixed session. at the close when the bell rang, things were pointing south. the dow losing 91 points to 12,501. as you can see, the nasdaq and s&p 500 also dropping as well. let's take a look at the futures. u.s. markets look set for a mixed open when trading begins later this wednesday. that's where we stand, pretty much flat, unchanged. no one really pushing things anywhere. but we'll keep an eye on those futures for you. nina? >> coming up after the break, his credit rating agency is not one of the big three. but sean eeg en's firm has

downgraded the u.s. debt. he'll explain why his company did that. coming up on "world business today."

any questions? no. you know... ♪ we're not magicians ♪ we can't read your mind ♪ ♪ read your mind ♪ we need your questions ♪ each and every kind ♪ every kind ♪ will this react with my other medicine? ♪ ♪ hey, what are all these tests even for? ♪ ♪ questions are the answer ♪ yeah ♪ oh

you're looking at the capitol in washington, d.c. where lawmakers are desperately trying to come to agreement to raise the u.s. debt ceiling. welcome back. this is "world business today." >> i'm smirking slightly because it looks ever so quiet in washington right now. it's going to be anything but, isn't it? executives from moody's and standard & poor's will testify today to discuss the credit rating and its role in the u.s. debt limit debate. with the drama in washington intensifying before america's debt limit is breached next tuesday, the world is wondering if moody's s&p or fitch will move to downgrade the rating.

one agency has already done just that. sean egan of the lesser known eagan-jones sat down with our maggie lake. >> reporter: in an industry dominated by three global players, standard & poor's, moody's and fitch, sean egan stands apart. the co-founder has battled the primacy and cloud of the big three for years, crediting with making gutsy calls well before the come decision. after his downgrade of u.s. debt one week ago, he finds himself in the spotlight as never before. >> sean, you already lowered the rating on u.s. debt. why? >> eagan-jones did because of our concern about the relatively high level of debt to gdp. that's a primary measure for the credit quality of countries. >> it doesn't matter whether they get a deal on the debt ceiling. >> it's almost secondary. that is secondary. it's akin to your forgetting the pay the mortgage payment before

you go on vacation. it doesn't affect your ability to pay. the issue of a slight delinquency is far less important to us than the overall ability. granted, the u.s.'s reserve currency still has a huge number of resources. but in our view it doesn't quite rise to the aaa level. >> lowering even a notch even a rating o of the u.s. is a controversial thing to do. politicians are not happy with that type of action. have you had any response to the fact that you have done it already? >> yes, we have. it hasn't risen to the level of our other cuts. in the case of gm and ford, we had a number of death threats. not yet. we've had a number of calls but no death threats that i'm aware of yet and hopefully it doesn't rise to that. it is crossing the rubicon. we were the first rating firm to do that. the nsro rating firm to do that.

we felt as though we had no choice. basically it's a reflection of, as i said, the dramatic rise of debt to gdp and hopefully some steps will be taken to ameliorate the problem. >> even if they raise the debt ceiling, there's some talk if it's a patchwork, short-term deal, that you might get company, and other rating agencies might also downgrade. what happens if that's the case? what do you expect in terms of reaction in financial markets? >> the short answer is no one knows because the u.s. has been at the aaa level since 1914 or thereabouts when rating firms were organized. it's not clear what's going to happen. >> are you hopeful? >> i am very hopeful. i think this is a fantastic country. i don't think there's anyplace on the face of the earth like this. i think that if anybody has the resources, we should be able to do it. if we don't do it, it will be

looked upon -- this is really an inflection point. this has never happened in the history of the country. if we don't do it, it will be a real shame. >> sean egan there speaking to maggie lake. of course, it would be a great shame for many people if the united states were to default in its debt. but it seems not for everyone. in fact, an american default would be a money maker for some investors who are currently betting against a debt ceiling deal. a small group of investors are currently wagering that washington will default on its debt and putting nearly $5 billion of money on the table in the form of credit default swaps. if you compare that with the investors who are betting on the success of the deal, the stakeholders are huge from hedge funds to the chinese government. together they currently hold more than $9 trillion of u.s. treasury bonds and they're counting on washington paying up when those investments are

caused maturement. across the atlantic the countdown for the london 2012 olympic games has begun as britain's capital appears to bask in the sport spotlight. we'll look at how the sit difficult that held the last games has changed. that's just ahead. like new sp™ no calorie sweeteners. this bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c. and now, b vitamins to boot. coffee doesn't have fiber. unless you want it to. get more with new splenda® essentials™, a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. new splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in. look in this sunday's paper for a three dollar coupon. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses.

if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget.

with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. welcome back. you're watching "world business

today" on cnn. exactly one year from today the olympic games will open in london. since winning the bid six years ago london has wasted no time to setting the stage to be the first city to host the modern olympics three times. they also hosted in 1908 and 1948. the olympic games have quite an impact on any city that hosts them. some of the changes are long lasting and some are not. stan grant joins us from beijing with a closer look at the olympic legacy there. it was quite spectacular. being someone who comes from london, stan, i worry, can we match up? >> reporter: every olympics is spectacular in their own way, manisha. they all have their own way. london is having it for the third time. for beijing it was the first time. while it all came off successfully they spent a lot of money on it and had to answer a lot of questions.

>> reporter: the eyes of the world were fixed right here. this is the fabled bird easinessed, the stadium of the beijing olympics, a place of dreams that now hold so many memories, and four years later, the people are still coming. it's a memory that will last forever, he says. it made china greater and stronger. on giant screens around the stadium, those magical moments live on. the grand opening ceremony, the lighting of the caldron and those extraordinary athletes. >> the olympics brings you everything. there's great passion. there's great tragedy. there's a real sense that the world comes together. >> tracey holmes is a sports broadcaster. for various international networks she's covered nine olympics, winter and summer.

she's doing her phd on the olympics and politics. >> when people talk about politics and sport not mixing, i think they don't understand the olympic games. it's all about politics and all about making changes in a country. >> reporter: china's olympics games was a political statement. she says one world, one dream. that was the official games slogan, but this was china's world. a coming-out party for an emerging superpower. the cost of all this, officially $15 billion. unofficially three times higher. an expensive public relations campaign. >> there were lots of negative images surrounding beijing and china before 2008. now when you look at the images shown, it's of modern cities, new infrastructure, it eeps of winning and glory and power. >> reporter: one of the winners was not even on the track or in the pool. he was a sports marketing graduate who heard about the so-called green olympics and saw big bucks. he formed an irrigation company,

bid for the contract to water the olympic park and stadium and found his fortune. >> translator: it was a $30 million you juan bid, $4 million. winning the project laid the foundation for our company. >> reporter: he now has contracts all over china, his company turning over millions of dollars a year. all of beijing's olympic venues are still in good use. the bird easiness stadium is a tourist attraction. the water cube has been transformed into a water park drawing people in their thousands. china is still celebrating. the all powerful communist party is marking its 90th anniversary. china's influence an power continues to grow. it topped the tally in 2008, the most dominant sporting nation on earth. but for all the glory, one painful image remains, the pride of china, at the time the reigning world and olympic 110

meters hurdles champion limping off the track crippled by injury. his anguished face is still beamed around the stadium. this is china's unfinished business. his bid to win the gold medal in london that's lewded him. >> i can see him running. even though he didn't, we chinese are proud of this. >> reporter: the beijing olympics are really just a memory now. of course, what remains is this magnificent stadium. the torch is being passed to london. full steam ahead, london 2012. you know, as we said before, london is now hosting it for the third time. you can bet after one successful games, beijing is already planning its next bid as well. manisha? >> i'm absolutely sure about that. thanks so much, stan. back to the story that just keeps getting bigger and bigger, talking about the u.s. debt

deadlock, of course. just ahead on worl"world busine today," we'll take a look at who has the most to lose. stay with us right here on cnn.

from cnn london i'm nina dos santos. >> i'm manisha tank in hong kong. welcome back to "world business today." let's take a look at the european stock market. here in europe the markets have been open four 90 minutes. cac 40 down by the most by about

2/3 of 1%. when we looked it was down by 3/4 of 1%. generally a lot of these markets concerned about the u.s. debt debacle as it shifts ever closer towards a potential default, manisha. >> very similar story here, actually, nina. generally another down day in asian trading. taking a look at the numbers where you can see there what a mixed performance we've had emerge by the close of the session. the neca off by about half a percent. some of the key sectors moving are those that export particularly to the u.s. also the banking sector under pressure. that very much connected to concerns over that debt situation in the u.s. samsung, a good example of one of those exporters suffering a bit today, and suffering because the weakness of the u.s. dollar is at a strength. some of these other asian currencies, the yen in particular. over in south korea, sam stock, down 1.2%.

we know this is a firm that has heavy exposure to global markets. shanghai edging up. in sydney, a downwards move at the close by about .75%. u.s. stocks struggled throughout much of the trading session on tuesday. a host of corporate earnings figures made for a rather mixed session. at the close things were firmly pointing south. the dow jones industrial average losing at 12,501. the nasdaq and s&p 500 dropping as well. with the debt ceiling deadline looming ever closer, they're all trying to line up votes. the republican plan put forth by house speaker john boehner is now it seems being rewritten. that's because it lacked adequate support in the house of representatives. a vote on it is set for today. it has been delayed for

thursday. on the senate side the republican leader mitch mcconnell has been indicating that his party must be willing to back off from some of its demands. probably washing the washington drama more closely than anyone else, of course, are america's top creditors. it takes some pretty deep pockets to make it into that kind of exclusive club. we take a closer look. >> reporter: with all the talk of u.s. debt, who is lending the united states all the money? the latest set of data is from march. sturns out the biggest lender is the u.s. itself. as of march, the toelt u.s. debt was $14.7 trillion. 42% of that was held by the federal reserve and u.s. government agencies. 32% was in foreign hands. the rest was held privately by individual investors in vehicles like pension funds, mutual funds and savings bonds. let's break this down. more than 18% of the total debt

is held by social security which is the government's program for retirees. 10% is held by the federal reserve, about $1.3 trillion worth. 5.8% is held by trust funds for federal employee benefits. now to the international creditors, and we start with china. china is the biggest foreign holder of u.s. debt with nearly $1.3 trillion of u.s. treasuries. then comes japan. japan holds about $900 billion worth of u.s. debt. japan is followed by the uk. that's who all the stakeholders are and who stand to lose the most if the u.s. defaults, which would be a first in the nation's history. pauline choiu, cnn, hong kong. as pauline explained, japan is the second biggest holder of u.s. debt. the pressures associated with

the debt come with the heavy burdens of japan's post tsunami and earthquake recovery. >> reporter: the stock exchange and currency markets are holding their breath waiting for u.s. lawmakers to strike a deal. investor concern is rising as tokyo stocks are down almost across the board, reflecting that what happens on the u.s. affects japan's economy from top to bottom, second only to china in holding u.s. debt. it hoeds about 20% of american debt. if the u.s. doesn't pay its bills, it's japan partially left holding the bag. japan's economic minister says he does not believe the u.s. will default, indicating u.s. bonds still remain a good bet for japan. he says if the worst case scenario happens and if the u.s. defaults, it would unleash a similar financial crisis to what the world saw after the subprime crisis in the u.s. he urged the u.s. to clean up its debt mess.

economists say the rancor in washington also tells asia, the fastest growing economic region in the world that america's mighty economic power is declining. >> what you're seeing right now is just sort of the final straw. yes, indeed, politics in washington has become such a celebrity cult, such a fundamentalist debate, that really for all intents and purposes here in japan or in asia, the overall credibility of the united states is taking a serious hit. you've got that reflected in global markets, not so much equity markets, but primarily the currency. at the end of the day, the trust and faith in america for the rest of the world is reflected in the value of the dollar, and the dollar is going down. >> for corporate japan who still lives on the dollar, the falling dollar means a huge hit in corporate profits. the yen is at fresh four-month highs versus the dollar as

investors flock to the safety of the japanese currency and away from the u.s. dollar. analysts expect within the last six weeks or so corporate profits may have fallen by as much as 4% to 5% and can continue to fall until there's a deal. kyung lah, cnn, tokyo. as we told you before, hedge funds are some of the biggest stakeholders. after 40 years, the hedge fund run by bill soros is closing its doors to foreign investors. it will instead what's called a family office. in a letter to investors, his own sons wrote this, new regulations will require certain private investment advisors to register with the securities and exchange commission by march 2012. an exception to this requirement is available if an organization operates instead as a family office. the change has been in the offing for more than a decade according to that very letter.

it was exactly a year ago that president barack obama did exactly this, he signed the dodd-frank act into law. according to that act hedge funds must register with family regulators. family run ones are treated a little more leniently. you're watching "world business today." coming up, we'll meet two bosses, one of them pressing the flesh in new york. the other is working it in macau. stay with us.

welcome back. it's worlds. we'll check on your business travelers forecast now and talk to someone who i can only describe as being very much like the weather here in hong kong right now, stunning. jennifer delgado. >> too kind you are. manisha, not so stunning through

parts of the philippines. >> i heard. >> dealing with a die foon. we're watching that because it's been causing all types of flooding and, of course, causing delays across parts of the philippines. as i show you on the satellite imagery, you don't see an eye there. there was an eye a couple years ago. since then it's become much mourn ragged. we'll continue to see the rainfall through the next several hours. you can see as indicated by the clouds in the red shading, the winds right now at 120 kilometers. it's going to be moving very slowly over towards the west. the slower it moves, the more problems we deal with flooding. let's go to some video to show you exactly what it looks like through parts of the philippines. you're seeing cars washed away, people walking through waist-deep water. in some parts they've already picked up a half a meter, about a foot and a half of rainfall. with the system moving so slowly we're talking even more problems. we do know nine people have died

and reportedly there are 11 fishermen missing. as i take you over to our graphic here, as i take you into the future, 48 hours out, notice in the south china sea and headed towards hugh nan island, winds right around 102 kilometers, moving into potentially vietnam, including laos and cambodia. right now still talking rainy where in red, talking roughly about 50 centimeters of rainfall. roughly about 20 inches. that's going to again make the flooding situation worse. another area dealing with bad flooding, we're talking about the korean peninsula, north and south korea, heavy rainfall. let's show you the video of what's happening there. travel has become virtually impossible in some locations. you're looking at a road there where there was a landslide. you can see people trying to drive through. areas looking like rivers. the problem is there we do know 13 people died due to the landslides and flooding there.

they picked up a record amount of rainfall. it's been very rainy across the korean peninsula, all that moisture coming off the yellow sea. the next two days, we'll continue to see more of that rain working in. again, if that wasn't enough, we're also watching an area of potential development in the caribbean sea, located about 120 kilometers to the east of cancun. that has a clans of becoming a tropical cyclone, a 72% chance. very active out there. manisha enjoy your beautiful and quiet weather across hong kong. nice treat. >> seems incredible given the kind of systems we've got whirling around this region. thank you very much, jennifer. people out there, please, please check on your weather reports before you venture out. nina? >> coming up next on "world business today," whether it's cold beer or vino, being a sesful salesman is a big part of

being "the boss." that's next on "world business today." [pig oinking] [hissing] [oink] [oinking] [ding] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. keep your family safer. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. [oinking]

hello again. welcome back. we're live from cnn hong kong and london. this is "world business today." >> it's time now for "the boss." in new york and macaw, this week it's all about slelg for steve hindy and francis lloyd. despite being the boss, stooech isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty when it comes to drumming up business. for francis, it's the first

chance to show off galaxy's new resort. >> previously on "the boss," checks and balances. francis lloyd pays his butt lers a visit. >> i believe i will be the rah rah person to make sure all our staff is pumped up. >> in brooklyn, new york, steve hindy turns to a famous designer to gain an edge. >> people immediately said, wait a minute, how did you get milton glazer involved in this. >> it's a hot summer's day in williamsburg, brooklyn. outside, temperatures are soaring. that's not stopping our boss, steve hindy. he's hitting the streets on an important sales call. >> hey, steve.

>> how are you doing? >> nice to see you. >> steve is visiting a popular hangout in the area called diner. his goal here today is simple, to persuade owner, andrew tarlow to carry more of his beer. steve sees himself as more than just the president of brooklyn brewery. in his eyes he's the consummate salesman, an aggressive negotiator for his brand. >> so much of beer selling is salesman. i think if i retreat to my office and never get out and talk to people, i think that's a big loss to my company. >> diner already stocks many of brooklyn brewery's beers, but in an ever-growing market, steve doesn't want to lose out to the competition. >> i could have more of your beer on tap. >> you think you'd be interested in the brew master's reserve? >> for steve, these sales calls are crucial. they allow him to keep in touch

with his customers. >> when i go into a place like this and our beer isn't here, i get very upset, and i talk to our salespeople and they said, oh, you know, he has a problem with the distributor. he feels like we've gotten too big. you know, i decided, i got to get out there and find out for myself what the problem is. honestly, i don't think there is a problem. i think we just have to work harder and be more persistent. >> reporter: the face time also gives steve the opportunity to see how his products are being received, and to find out whether he's missing a trick. >> another thing i'm thinking about is doing a brooklyn only beer, like a beer that we would only -- a draught beer that we'd only sell in brooklyn, something special. >> that would be great. >> salespeople are always going

to have excuses why they're not selling certain accounts. the only way you can counter that is to get out there and try it yourself. then they can't bs you about what's happening in the market. >> reporter: steve has been pounding the pavement for years. he says he'll continue doing so as long as he's the boss. >> i don't think i could sell something that i wasn't really in love with. and, you know, it's important to be able to convey the passion you have for your product to the customer directly. >> reporter: it's less than 24 hours and the media are closing in on our boss, francis liu, the

vice chairman of galaxy entertainment group is working every angle of this press conference. five years of hard work is about to come to fruition. the opening of his casino resort, the galaxy macaw. before it does, he needs to get the message out, sell it and get people excited. >> which an derg more questions hopefully that they would learn about the man behind the property, what i was thinking at the time, what was the vision at the time. >> reporter: today he's briefing the press, 30 who have been invited for an overnight preview from hong kong, china and beyond. he's answering any questions they have. of course, he's showing them who is at the forefront of this new venture. >> i don't want them to say who is actually running the show. i want to spend more time because it's my passion, too. i have built something which i

think is very special, wonderful, and i want to share it with the friends who want to know. >> reporter: throughout the media sessions that follow, francis stays on message, playing up his casino resort. >> how do you make such a big, huge property look small. >> reporter: its authenticity. >> we have actually recruited 12 beautiful, graceful, japanese ladies to come and dress in kimono for us. >> reporter: and it's asian experience. >> how do you service a customer where a glass of hot tea will be served to you without being asked. >> reporter: francis has been here before. he's used to speaking to the press, but nothing has quite prepared him for this. >> i think i've done more press in the last two years than i have been doing for the last 20 years. >> reporter: francis has made the galaxy macau his priority, working through the resort's design, construction and

staffing. now the real test begins. >> i am never a person who believe in a quick fix. all this preparation is by the minute, by the day, by the month, that the year that you work through se so you would be able to get ready. you will not get ready because you have crash course. >> reporter: next week on "the boss," years of planning and preparation come down do this moment as our boss, francis lui opens his casino resort, the galaxy ma macau. let's have a look at how things are shaping up and the markets, really feeling the brunt, not just of the impasse surrounding the u.s. debt ceiling and a potential default by the world's largest economy. they're also suffering because we've had a number of

disappointing earnings coming from the likes of a whole raft of european companies across all sectors. that has done nothing to try to encounter those concerns about a potential u.s. default. manisha. >> some of the story here, we can show you how things ended on the major asian stock markets by the close on wednesday. down .50% on wednesday as we saw the yen gain in strength. the japanese currency, this as we saw the edge come off the u.s. dollar, a similar story for other currencies in the asia pacific region as well. one of the reasons you've seen the fall of the s&p asx. still very cautious and mixed markets over here. that's it for this edition of worls. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com