warwick. i'm zain verjee. here are the headlines this hour. another emotional day of testimony is expected in the trial of michael jackson's doctor when the singer's personal assistant takes the stand on wednesday. prosecutors say dr. conrad murray gave into jackson's demands for drugs. just as one deadly typhoon heads offshore, another tropical storm takes aim at the philippines. the weather system is expected to hit within a day. the country is still reeling from typhoon nessa that displaced thousands. palestinians say israel's latest move is proof that it doesn't want peace. israel's approved plans to build 1100 homes in east jerusalem. hillary clinton called the move counterproductive. and a spokesman for the u.n.

special coordinator for the peace process says it was contrary to international law, joining a wave of condemnation from around the world. in italy, amanda knox's defense team will resume closing statements thursday. and lawyers have to answer prosecution charges that the american was a demonic she-devil responsible for the death of her roommate. knox is appealing her murder conviction. jurors should get the case next week. those are the headlines from cnn, the world's news leader. i'm zain verjee, and "world business today" starts now. good morning from cnn london, i'm charles hobson. >> and a very good afternoon from cnn hong kong, i'm andrew stevens. welcome. the top stories this wednesday, september the 28th. assessing the state of europe's finances. barosa says the debt crisis is

the greatest challenge in the history of the european union. and despite reassurances from the greek prime minister, most germans still think it's a mistake to help greece. plus, selling love to the world. our new member of "the boss" team breaks down the business of romance. >> it's all just ahead. we'll begin with the markets also in just a moment. first, though, within the last hour, the president of the european commission, jose-manuel barosa, delivered his state of the union in strassburg. he's giving his road map for the year ahead. earlier he paid particularly attention to the debt crisis that is now engulfing the european union. and what he said were the reasons behind it. >> we need to achieve it. it was an illusion to think that we could have a common currency

and a single market with national approaches to budget and economic policies. >> barroso also said the commission adopted a proposal for a transaction tax which he said would raise about $75 billion of revenue a year. let's look at how the stock markets are reacting. obviously, we've seen good sessions, strong gains on all of the major indices on tuesday. but we are seeing a bit of profit taking at the moment. here is how they stand right now, off by half percent for the london ftse. more than that for the dax which saw the strongest run-up on tuesday. paris off by .75%, zurich down .29%. banks seem to be the most volatile sector, the ones being

sold off the most sharply. looking at the currency markets, we are seeing a little bit of weakness in the euro. 1.6333. this clearly is wrnong, a dead heat. it cannot right for the euro. we'll try and correct those numbers for you and bring those to you as soon as we can. 76.67 for the yen, andrew. >> charles, a fairly similar story, the euro, 1.35. that sounds a little bit better. now, after yesterday's robust drive in positive territory, asian markets losing, as i was saying, a little direction today. let's get details of the wednesday session. randy. >> hey, andrew. most investors took think fingers off of that buy button. in japan, the income kay closed pretty much where it started after a day of mostly higher trading earlier.

banking stocks here edged higher after yesterday's advances. for example, mitsubishi up. major exporters like toyota and sony also ended up higher. meantime here, the hang seng closed down by about two-thirds of a percent. property stocks. one of the world's biggest real estate companies closed down about 3.5%. also costco pacific, one of the largest cargo terminal operators edged higher by 4%. but trainmaker csr corporation fell by more than 5%. its railcars were involved in tuesday's subway crash in shanghai that did hurt more than 270 people. meantime, the shanghai composite, that closed down by about 1% right here. and finally, this australia, it did close up about 1%, as was the case in japan.

financial stocks pulled stocks higher. resource stocks also higher by nearly 1%. those arrows going up in the hopes that greece in particular are getting closer to getting their financial house in order. >> yeah, it's certainly an issue that's going to affect the markets so heavily over the next days and weeks. randy, thanks very much for that. charles. indeed, andrew, clearly optimism that europe can stave off a greek default or at least corral it so it doesn't cause too much damage. that fueled a third straight day of gains on wall street even though the blue chips ended well off their tuesday highs in reality. the dow finished up 1.3%. nasdaq composite a little behind that, up 1.2% and the s&p 500, a little bit lower than that. the s&p 500 up by just over 1%, andrew. yeah, looked pretty good yesterday. what does it look like today so

far? the markets are set for gains to continue which is a good sign. this is where futures are at the moment. these numbers do move around quite a lot in the run-up to the opening bell in a few hours from now. but as you see, the dow up by another .3% at this hour. charles. okay. well, obviously, this issue of greece and the european sovereign debt crisis have been weighing on the stock markets for months, but the greek prime minister, george papandreou has said it will fight its way to growth and prosperity. as he was making those bold statements live on this program in athens, a controversial vote was taking place in parliament. john defterios has more. >> reporter: the greek parliament passed a controversial property tax which was met by stiff resistance. some 3,000 protesters had to be

tear gassed out of the square after the vote. in an interview, the greek finance minister said now with the property tax in place and salary and pension cuts of 20% or more, the government's in the position to receive the next tranche from the european central bank, european union, and the imf of some $10 billion. >> i'm absolutely optimistic about the investment and the implementation of the so-called new program. always in reference to the terms of the famed decision of the 21st of july. >> reporter: so there's not a new program,o we can clarify for everyone, taking shape for 50% haircut. there's not a new program, not just for greece, but the peripheral countries of europe to reshape and provide a 50% haircut on government debt. >> i am responsible finance

minister of greece. and here in order to apply and implement the joint european of july, not to participate in different discussion, irresponsible discussion, in order to repeat rumors or comment. >> reporter: the finance minister is trying to avoid the debate whether there's a new package being formed to cut the debt of some countries in europe by 50%. it would come with a heavy price tag of some $2.5 trillion. john defterios, cnn, athens. still ahead here on "world business today," amazon prepares to enter the tablet war. we'll take a look at the new product designed to take on the ipad. you're watching "world business today."yo skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno.

should i bundle all my policies with nationwide insurance ? watch this. on one hand, you have your home insurance with one company. and on another hand, you have your auto with another. and on another hand, you have your life with another. but when you bundle them all together with nationwide insurance, they all work together perfectly and you could save 25%. wow... it's all in the wrists. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪

it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse, who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a 5-dollar coupon. a lot of volatility obviously recently in commodities markets. and gold, of course, $1657, up

by nearly $15 as investors seem to be selling off their stocks again moving perhaps back into gold bullion. let's have a look at the price of crude. that is linked to expectations for the world economy. and we are seeing that off by another -- or by $0.5 at $83.97 amid talk of the united states, much of the euro zone and the uk being in a recession. welcome back from cnn hong kong and london, this is "world business today." now on wednesday, the tech giant amazon is expecting to unveil a new tablet version of its popular kindle reader. these are the models of the kindle that's actually succeeding. some analysts say the new device rumored to be called the kindle fire could be the first serious competitor to apple's market-leading ipad. amazon has not yet released any details about the new tablet. but here's a look at the features it's rumored to have

based on reports from tech bloggers and journalists. unlike the current kindles, the kindle fire will have a color screen and touchscreen interface. it will run a customized version of google's android operating system, and it's expected to feature an 18-centimeter screen. the device is expected to cost 250 u.s. dollars. that's about half the price of the entry-level ipad. and in this day and age, charles, i think price point is going to be very important. >> yeah, i think it's very interesting, is not it. we're talking about $250 or something like that for the kindle fire. but let's have a look at the competition that it's going to face. certainly carried out by change wave research in august. you can see that when asked who is the manufacturer and what tablet device are you planning on buying? 85% of the respondents said they would be buying an apple ipad. now, these tablets from samsung, from hewlett-packard, research in motion, they didn't even make

it into double digits. the galaxy tab, 4%, a tiny amount of the market, only 4%, less than 5%. it's so hard for manufacturers to make inroads against the ipad that hewlett-packard recently announced plans to stop producing their own tablets. but one analyst thinks they could give apple a run for its money, saying that amazon will sell between 3 million and 5 million during the fourth quarter and as she put it completely disrupt the status quo in the market. by comparison, apple sold 3 million ipads during the first quarter. you look at those numbers behind it, you'd have to say that's a brave call, charles. well, this man created napster. he's facebook's founding president. you know who we're talking about? sean parker. he rarely gives interviews, but

he did sit down for this cnn exclusive. ♪ >> reporter: snoop dogg performing at a private party for silicon valley's young elite, just one of several marquee acts that also included the killers and the band jane's addiction. it was an event that incredibly had been planned only two days earlier by technology pioneer sean parker. he decided at the last minute to throw a party to coincide with the big facebook conference in san francisco. and to bring attention to his latest internet venture, but more on that in a moment. how much fun are you having? >> putting this event together in the last 48 hours was incredibly fun and also incredibly stressful. >> you're a zillionaire. >> not technically. >> reporter: he's played by justin timberlake in "the social network." i was h he was the first facebook president and adviser to company president mark zuckerberg. >> just facebook.

>> reporter: in silicon valley, parker was already a legend as the co-founder of napster, the music piracy site that fundamentally shifted on how users get their music from cds to the internet. he talked about how shawn fanning wept from being hackers to internet trail blazers. >> fanning and i immediately realized we had an interest in more than just computers and software and hacking and security, that we actually had an interest in doing something with a broader cultural importance. one of those ideas was napster. >> reporter: 11 years later, parker has returned to his music roots as one of the largest investors in spotify, a london-based music service he recently helped bring to the u.s. he has steered the company into an alliance with facebook where users can now listen and share music with their facebook friends in realtime. >> it's my belief that by bringing network effects and the

power of social to the music business, we will create the dominant music platform in the world. >> reporter: a bold statement in a business category now dominated by apple. but parker's intuition has served him well. and though he says being rich isn't as glamorous as it seems, it certainly wasn't evident on this night. dan simon, cnn, san francisco. a judge in the u.s. court has dismissed most of a $1 billion lawsuit against the owners of the new york mets baseball team. the case stems from the team owners alleged involvement in the bernie madoff ponzi scheme. the plaintiff in the case said that the mets owners were willfully blind to the fraud as they reaped $300 million from their investments with madoff. the mets owners deny the charges but could still be on the hook. the plaintiff can recover the mets' owners profits if he can prove that the team owners did

not provide value for the money they received, andrew. well, a strong storm is heading for china. a typhoon slamming into the philippines on tuesday, leaving death and destruction in its wake. how china is now preparing for its arrival just ahead. 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. looking at one of the regular cruiseliners that visits

this city there docked at the callon. welcome back to "world business today" live on cnn. now prosecute boats to planes and plane spotters in japan finally getting a look at the new boeing 787 when it touched down in tokyo this wednesday. the dreamliner is the first of a fleet of 787s ordered by nippon airways. it was expecting the planes three years ago, but their delivery was delayed because of technical problems and a backlog of parts orders. now, the dreamliner's first passenger flight is scheduled for the 26th of october. it will go between tokyo and hong kong international airport. charles? now, typhoon nesat is heading for china. for more we're joined by jennifer delgado from the international weather center. do we see any weakening of this storm, jen? >> you know, it has weakened

since it passed through the philippines, but the problem is it's still a typhoon. if you were to put this in the atlantic, this would be a category 1 storm. now, to give you updated information, winds right now sustained at 130 kilometers. gusts up to 157. right now it's located about 630 kilometers south-southeast of hong kong, roughly about 300 miles away. it's going to be moving over towards the west, making landfall it looks like thursday evening right in that northern part of hainan as a typhoon and potentially making another landfall in vietnam, an area that does not need any rain because they've also been recovering from a flooding situation as well. let's go to video to show you the aftermath of typhoon nesat through the philippines. you're looking at water coming into homes, people walking around. a lot of the problems were caused by the storm surge with that typhoon coming through. it caused a tremendous amount of flooding. many rivers quickly rose and, of

course, this proved to be deadly. people now cleaning up. and the problem is there is another storm that looks like it's going to be heading in that direction as we head into the weekend. eventually another typhoon moving into northern luzon. if you look closely, you can kind of pick out that center of circulation. you can see some of is that rain working into the coastline. weather conditions will deteriorate across this region. heavy rain spreading up towards taiwan. anywhere along this path, we're talking about 25 centimeters. some locations potentially could see about six to ten inches of rainfall. right now the winds 30. 18 in haikou. and as i said, those winds will continue to get gusty and especially along the guangdong coastline. this gives you a better visual of the track. you can see it moving just to the north of the capital of

hainan. another area, this is the u.s., a really good-looking area of low pressure. this is potentially going to cause flooding problems for the mid-atlantic. but another problem it's causing with the, we'll say, let's go to this video coming out of washington, d.c. they're trying to go along the washington monument to inspect it for cracks. this coming after the 5.8 earthquake that happened back in august. well, you can see two brave souls scaling down along the washington monument. they're trying to inspect it to see the cracks because the race is on, charles, because with winter coming, of course, you don't want those cracks out there with cold temperatures, of course, that's going to cause expansion. but the rain has been quite heavy over the last several weeks. so it's making it pretty tough to get out there and inspect the washington monument. i'd like to get that back open. it's 127 years old. my chimney is about 500 years old. >> you told me about that.

>> come along and replace the flue line. >> yeah, you told me about your own sealing efforts. >> it's a whole another story. >> we'll talk later. >> jennifer delgado, thank you very much indeed at the international weather center, andrew. >> charles, i live in what's considered quite an old building in hong kong, built at least in the 1970s. gives you an idea, doesn't it. now, germany is preparing for a key showdown in parliament that could decide greece's financial future. it comes as the greek prime minister makes a promise to his german counterpart ahead of thursday's vote. we've got more on that in just a moment.

from cnn london, i'm charles hodson. >> i'm andrew stevens in hong kong. welcome back. you're watching "world business today." let's have a quick look at the european stock markets. we're looking at some profit taking. the markets are falling in early trade after the strong gains that we saw on tuesday, off by actually 1.25% now, moving downwards fairly sharply in the

case of the dax and the paris cac. ftse off by 0.8% and the zurich smi down by 0.5%. the volatility seems to be never ending for the banking sector. obviously, they led the market charge in the previous session, andrew. >> here in asia, charles, not such a miserable looking outlook. but a lot of reaction coming from the positive day on wall street yesterday. having said that, though, it wasn't great either. a bit of a mixed market. not a lot of direction here. the nikkei finishing flat after trading mostly higher. around the rest of the region, financial stocks among the strongest performers of the session. in both japan and australia. the s&p up by nearly 1%. hong kong down 0.6% and the shanghai around 2,390.

charles. wall street kept up its buying spree on tuesday at least for most of the session. allis alison kosik has our wrap-up from new york. >> reporter: continued optimism that the european debt crisis is close to resolution sparked a buying spree. reports chipped away some of the gains near the end of the session. at the close, the dow jones 100 to end at 11190. it had been up as much as 325 points earlier. the nasdaq and s&p 500 each climbed more than 1%. energy and materials shares led the rally, and most bank shares managed gains. citigroup, wells fargo and morgan stanley added about 1% to 3% on the day. commodities bounced back as well with oil, gold, copper and silver prices off with solid gains. consumer confidence edged up

fractionally in september, falling short of wall street forecasts. while that didn't seem to bother investors tuesday, the survey did show americans' main concern this past month was about the outlook for their earnings. coming up wednesday, the latest look at durable goods orders which measures the demand for big-ticket items is expected to come in flat after surging 4% in july. that's a wrap of the day on wall street. i'm alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. back to europe now. it is a vote that could decide whether greece will get another round of bailout money. so thursday's showdown in the german bailout, the greek prime minister met with the german chancellor in berlin, and he personally promised that his country is committed to its painful aus tterity program, bu not everyone is sold on that. >> reporter: as sunbathers enjoy a lovely day in front of the

german house of parliament, inside this lawmaker is working hard, trying to prevent fellow mps to give additional bailout money to greece. "the money we've given them so far has only inflamed the situation but made it worse. greece is collecting tax money and spending more. the aid has not helped." scheffler, a liberal democrat, calls himself the taxpayers' robin hood and he's seen as a threat to chancellor angela merkel because he's a member of her own governing center-right coalition and because most germans seem to agree with him. a recent poll shows that 66% think it's a mistake to help out greece and other eurozone countries even though many feel europe's largest economy has no other choice. >> we should put more money into greece because if greece goes bankrupt, all the other

countries like portugal and spain will follow them. >> it makes more sense to look at ourselves first because if we don't help the people here, how can we help the people in greece? >> reporter: greece's prime minister was in berlin this week for talks with angela merkel, trying to reassure the chancellor that athens austerity measures will be sufficient to fend off a looming default. but with merkel barely able to persuade her own political allies of the need to help greece bridge the next months with more cash, businesses are getting worried. recent numbers show a drop in german business confidence due at least in part to the back-and-forth on the greece bailout. >> the uncertainty for too long is a problem for business as well. so we need to make sure the necessary decisions are made. >> reporter: and those actions need to be decisive, experts say. >> the biggest danger is that there is the risk of contagion so that there would be a spread of risk to other countries in the euro zone, in particular those in southern europe including italy, spain, portu l

portugal, ireland. >> reporter: and they say that would make for a crisis too large for even germany to handle. in the end, the vote here in parliament will be about more than just extra money for greece. it will be about angela merkel's ability to govern this country and about germany's commitment to the idea of a single european currency. fred pleitgen, cnn, berlin. cambodia is coping with poverty, but it's not all bad news as young cambodians learn new skills and the economy grows. the next installment of our week-long look at a country with a dark past but a potentially bright future is up next. that's why you should consider an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. all medicare supplement insurance plans can help pay... some of what medicare doesn't, so you could save... thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. call now for this free information kit and medicare guide. if you're turning 65 or you're already on medicare...

you should know about this card -- it's the only one of its kind endorsed by aarp; see if it's right for you. all medicare supplement plans let you keep your own doctor, or hospital that accepts medicare. there are no networks and no referrals needed. help protect yourself from some of what medicare doesn't pay... and save up to thousands of dollars in potential... out-of-pocket expenses with an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. call this toll-free number on your screen now... for this free information kit, including this... medicare guide and customized rate quote.

the typhoon warning alert has gone off here in hong kong as nesat heads past the philippines on the way to hainan south of hong kong. certainly no rain at least yet.

welcome back. you're watching "world business today." well, all of this week we've been focusing on cambodia as an emerging economy. on monday we looked at how the country is attracting investors with low labor costs and attractive opportunities. the economy is set to grow between 6% and 7% this year. on tuesday we focused on the growing tourism industry. tourist arrivals jumped by 14% in the first seven months of this year, so the market, the high-end accommodation does seem to be growing, andrew. well, for foreign investors in cambodia, finding well-trained workers can indeed be difficult, but one entrepreneur is trying to change that. pauline shu takes us to a school set up by an american businessman who tries to create a trained and motivated work force. >> reporter: this stuffed animal factory is one of only three u.s. manufacturers in cambodia that took a chance on this

pioneer market with minimum wage set at $61 a month, labor costs here are cheaper than china, vietnam or thailand. this has helped the company first stay profitable. >> we're at the end of our production line. >> reporter: brad set up shop here three years ago. finding low-skilled workers is not a problem. the bigger challenge is finding educated cambodians to fill jobs that require knowledge like basic math. >> workers are not as well educated as we would assume them to be in the states for the same age when we hire them. so we have to teach them basic skills. >> reporter: he has also had to change employee mindset like training them to come to work on time. local business consultants pin these inefficiencies on history. >> you can't deny the fact that three-plus years of khmer rouge rule destroyed the education system here. >> reporter: westline school is part of a wave of new, more

affordable private schools. tuition is $1,000 a year, expensive for the average cambodian family but within reach for the middle class. sal lives in an orphanage and was given a scholarship through an ngo. how important is it to learn english? >> i think english is an essential language, yes, because if you learn english, you can have higher chance to get a job and higher salary. >> i can help my country to communicate with another country so my country will have higher economics. >> reporter: it's this generation of cambodians that would help fill the education gap and act as a bridge for western companies. >> we are a pioneer. we're one of three. so we're a novelty. we're one of three american manufacturers in the entire country and the only company of our type that manufactures stuffed animals. >> reporter: and with plans to

expand in cambodia, businesses like his are counting on the education system to keep pace. pauline chu, phnom penh cambodia. >> for more from our crew in cambodia and the rest of the world business today team, just check out our website at cnn.com/biz360. check out our blogs on all the issues affecting global business. you can also leave your comments online all at cnn.com/biz360. up next on "world business today," the business of love. we meet this week's boss, a man who loves to make a living out of selling love to the world. we'll have the details in a moment.

can a trading site help make you a sharper trader? mine can. td ameritrade can. they've got trading specialists i can call for help. and paper trading. free practice trading that helps me hone my technique. complex options. and free tutorials. online or in person. can a trading site really make a difference? if it can't, why are you trading there? number one in online equity trades: td ameritrade. trade commission-free for 30 days, plus get up to $500 when you open an account. aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme.

welcome back. live from cnn london and hong kong, you're watching "world business today." we'll recap our top story now. within the last hour or so, the president of the european commission, barroso, delivered his annual state of the union address to the european parliament in strasbourg. he's now answering questions as members of the european parliament debate his road map for the year ahead. earlier, of course, he paid particular attention to the debt crisis that is engulfing the european union and what he said were the reasons behind it. >> we need to achieve

maturation. it was an illusion to think that we could have a common currency and a single market with national approaches to economic and budgetary policy. let's avoid another illusion, that you cannot have a common currency and a single market with a mental approach. >> barroso said they adopted a national transaction tax that he said would raise some $75 billion in revenues each year. let's have a look at the stock markets in europe now. and here we are with quite a bit of profit taking going on. getting on for 1% for the london ftse here. 1.5% more like it for the dax, although that had the strongest run-up in the past two sessions. paris cac up by 1.4%. zurich smi off by 0.4%. it is banks once against the most volatile who are being sold the most. enthusiastically, andrew. >> yeah, well, there was a bit

of buying for the banks in asia today, charles. a mixed picture at the close for the broader indices, but the banks were among the stronger performers in the session. certainly supporting the nikkei which closed just up and the australian market up by almost 1%. huang song and shanghai both finishing in the red. charles. managing a successful career and looking for love at the same time. this week, though, on "the boss," we meet a man who's made it his business to help people find their perfect match. our new boss is shawn cornell, the international vice president of e-harmony, a matchmaking website you've probably heard of, and it's found success in the united states market. it's now expanding vigorously overseas. >> honesty, not pretense. i love you. not i'll call you. >> reporter: a task with an emotional twist. selling love to the world.

meet shawn cornwall, the international vice president of e-harmony, a modern-day cupid and our new boss. ♪ soho, central london. teeming with shoppers, tourist and couples. love is everywhere you look, also on the fourth floor of this building. it's here we find shawn cornwall whose mission is to spread love to far-flung corners of the world. >> what we do is we first get to know people through quite an intensive questionnaire and really get to understand people's personality and then match people with others with whom they are compatible with and have a good chance if there's a chemistry between two individuals of having a long-term relationship. >> at eharmony we match singles

based on 29 dimensions of compatibility. >> reporter: on its home turf in the united states, eharmony is long established. with ten years matching up lonely lovebirds. eharmony claims it's responsible for 5% of all marriages in the united states. >> it's the most magical connection of all. it's called love. >> reporter: now sean must take it global, a big challenge, but also a golden opportunity. >> it kind of had the best of both worlds. it was a start-up. it was an entrepreneurial opportunity which is always, in my view, the most fun. but it was also really well resourced and backed by a very successful american parent. and you don't get that combination very often. >> reporter: sean has played a big part in the company's growing global success. since launching its international operations three years ago, he's opened eharmony offices in the uk, australia, japan and brazil. with 3.5 million international users registering for the service. it's one thing to open, quite

another to be successful. >> i think the time has come now to become truly local in each market, to feel authentic and genuine, and that really means making sure transforming the brand from an american brand which has come into different markets to a local brand which symbolizes -- which still has that common symbolism of long-term relationships. >> reporter: so his strategy over the next six months is clear. to tailor the eharmony brand to distinct international markets. not an easy task. as attitudes towards online dating vary from country to country. >> we've got a very interesting challenge in japan because on the one hand, online dating has never really taken hold there. it's still regarded as a bit seedy. there are concerns over privacy. there's also this aspect that no japanese will go on a date with anyone else without knowing what

their blood type is. so, for example, we have to adapt the product to ask people, what is their blood type and then only match people according to certain blood types and so forth because otherwise we'd just be dead in the water in japan. >> reporter: to break through this social barrier, sean must do his research, focus on the detail and leave no room for error. >> i think the opportunity is huge, and we can be very successful in japan, but i think it's a market where we'll need to tread carefully and we'll need to learn. it's already very rapidly and really make sure that we get the customer proposition spot on. >> reporter: with the local expertise in his international offices, sean believes eharmony will strike a chord with local singles. giving control to his colleagues doesn't bother him. in fact, it's a quality he picked up from his previous job at google. >> i think google teaches you the importance of hiring and the importance of people and how if you hire the best people, they

will, in turn, hire the best people themselves, and you'll create an a-class organization, and you'll create a top-performing organization. i think the other things that i've learned from google and i've taken is focus on the end user above all else. hey, jason, it's sean. >> reporter: in business as in love, faith is fundamental. and this boss not only has faith in his colleagues but also in his product. >> if you don't believe in love, it's very hard to work at eharmony because it's all around you the whole time. and we make sure it's all around you because as i said, you know, it's -- i think it helps inspire people in this company. >> next week on "the boss" -- sean cornwell tells us how he aligns his goals in an international market. and in brooklyn, steve hindi tells us how he's beating the rising price of barley and hops. that's next week on "the boss."

in keeping with this week's theme, this is how we think the new boss logo should look. i hope you think that's appropriate. don't forget, if you want to comment on that or any of the stories on the show, get in touch with the team on our facebook page. just go to facebook.com/cnnwbt and let us know your thoughts. farming is a serious business. so when the pop superstar rihanna turned up in a field to film in shall we say rather relaxed attire, the farmer who had given her permission to use his land wasn't best pleased. he told the good girl gone bad star to stop the music and break it off after she stripped down to a skimpy red bikini and then even less. now, graham took exception to her raunchy antics of the northern irish sunshine. no umbrella nice. as rihanna filmed scenes from her "we found love" single. the crew may have been told to "shut up and drive," but the farmer who says he wouldn't have recognized rihanna even if she

was the only girl in the world insisted there were no hard feelings as they bade a final good-bye. yes, for those rihanna fans out there, you may have spotted one or two song titles in that story. in fact, there were eight. >> very clever. that's it for this edition of "world business today." andrew and i will be back with maggie lake at 2:00 p.m. in london, 3:00 p.m. in central europe, 9:00 p.m. in hong kong, 9:00 a.m. in new york and 10:00 p.m. in tokyo. for now i'm charles hodson in london. >> and i'm andrew stevens in hong kong. i'll have you know, charles, i knew all those titles because i'm intimately acquainted with rihanna. you're watching cnn, the world's news leader. good-bye for now.