that young people are prepared to be college and career ready. >> i agree totally. that's why we work together so much on this. but also with the ability for low-income students and any student to be able to truly to advance and have access to the education every other student has. hello, i'm monita rajpal at cnn london. here are the top stories right now. officials in thailand are working to reinforce sandbags intended to stop floodwaters from inundating bangkok. 281 people have died in the flooding across thailand and the

country's economy is expected to lose billions of dollars. more rain is in the forecast. the united states is pushing other countries to further isolate iran's government after it says it foiled a tehran-backed murder plot. the u.s. accuses iran of killing the u.s. ambassador. the alleged plot sun characteristic of iran's current government, some say. the nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a u.s. passenger play on christmas day 2009 has pleaded guilty to all charges against him. the so-called underwear bomber said he was guilty under u.s. law but not according to the koran. executives and engineers of rimm are in damage-control mode as problems with the mobile service spread into north america. research in motion's chief

information officer issued a written apology to customers. we'll have more details on the story during "world business today" just minutes away. those are the top stories from cnn, the world's news leader. i'm monita rajpal. good morning from cnn london, i'm nina dos santos. >> and a very good afternoon from cnn hong kong. i'm andrew stevens. you're watching "world business today" and the top stories this thursday, october 14th. after five years of political wrangling, u.s. congress passes a free trade deal with south korea. we'll take a look at the impact on business from carmakers to citrus growers. blackberry blackout. research in motion struggles to restore service in many parts of the world. and if you feel like you spend your life in a fish bowl,

wait until you see this week's watery world at work. let's get straight to the european markets at the moment. what we're seeing is stock markets broadly speaking mixed. the ftse 100 down. the stock markets did start the day down, they since recovered but it is a bit of a mixed picture if we look at them at the moment. here's where the indices stand. take a look at that. one of them down, zurich smi, ftse 100 is sort of flat at the moment. there's a couple earnings to mention that are moving, in particular, the cac 40 and the dax. we've had one of europe's largest shopping center and retailers has been saying it's lowering its earnings guidance. that's been dragging that stock down. on the other hand we have alcatel lucent saying it is selling a call center. that may be what's moving that

stock. here in asia stocks up again, six days in a row now that asian markets have risen. all pretty much on the back of what's happening in europe and european policymakers appear to be inching closer to a plan to actually deal with the debt crisis. at least that's how it's being read by investors who are looking at the riskier emerging markets like the ones we see here in asia. hong kong, another big performance up by 2%. shanghai up by 0.75%. the government in china coming out with plans to bolster small businesses in china which gives you an idea of the concern still about the state of the economy there. australia getting a lift from unemployment numbers. the actual unemployment rate in australia falling, according to the numbers out today, down to 5.2%, down 0.1%. if you look at hong kong, it's up 14%, 15% since it hit its low

at the end of trading october 4th. in seven trading days or so we've seen a big bounce in a lot of these markets here, nina. the imf tempering that saying that europe does pose a risk to asia as well. let's move on and talk about the united states, because the new york stock exchange made some pretty hefty gains on wednesday. financials in particular led the way. all of the major banks actually closed up in excess of 3% on the day. alcoa, company shares dropped by 3% on wednesday, after posting lower than expected quarterly earnings on wednesday. this is where the u.s. futures stand in premarket action. mixed picture over there as well. the s&p 500 futures trading up to the tune of 0.5%, the dow down and the nasdaq composite virtually flat. it has taken five years of

wrangling and delay but the u.s. congress has finally passed i free trade deal with south korea. it was one of three trade deals approved by congress. the white house estimates the deals with south korea, colombia and panama could boost u.s. exports by about $13 billion as well as create thousands of new jobs. the white house says the agreement with south korea would remove 95% of tariffs between those two economies, add $10 billion to u.s. annual gross domestic product and help double u.s. exports to south korea within five years. it is the largest trade pack the u.s. has signed since the north america free trade agreement, known as nafta, and that was signed in 1994. in the agreement with ccolombia tariffs would be lifted and in panama, more than 87% of u.s. goods sold to the country will become duty-free and that helps boost u.s. farm exports by more than $195 million a year.

one key supporter of this key south korea trade pact is the american auto industry which stands to benefit from a cut in tariffs on car imports from the u.s. as paula hancocks report, the design-savvy south korean market may not be ready for america's gas-guzzling vehicles. >> reporter: jung hang su bought his car three months ago. he even joined a local chevrolet club. he's not convinced the u.s./south korea free trade agreement will not lead to an influx of models into south korea. first of all, he says, parking spaces in korea are made to fit korean cars. european and japanese cars are okay but the big american cars will have problems. the korean mark set an attractive one for the u.s., given the phenomenal explosion

in car ownership here. back in 1990, just over 3 million vehicles were on the road. 20 years later, there were almost 18 million. that's an increase of more than 400%. environmental concerns could make some u.s. models undesirable in an increasingly green korea. as part of the fda agreement, south korea agreed to lower its strict emission and safety requirement in some cases. car design is also a factor. one fta expert tells me when koreans buy cars they look for style, design and convenience. big powerful cars like in the u.s., are not seens astylish here. i don't expect a surge in demand for u.s. cars. korean car and auto parts companies declined to talk about the fta, saying the topic was too sensitive. but korea's trade investment promotion agency, kotra, says

they will benefit. gm has hinted they will increase auto parts to $1 billion from the current $700 million. ford predicts imports rising by over 20% in the next ten years. korean cars are expected to travel well. but for now, experts assume u.s. car fans could remain in the minority in korea. paula hancocks, cnn, seoul. speaking of korea, key court victory for apple could mean a grim christmas for the korean electronics giant samsung. an australian court has temporarily banning the sale of samsung's new galaxy tablet in australia right before the holiday shopping season comes. apple claims samsung copied its touch screen technology, this is the latest salvo in the rival's global war. in some instances consumers may be the ultimate winners. some are walking away with a new galaxy smartphone for as little as $2 apiece.

>> every morning, the first ten people in the store get a samsung gl accuracy 2 for $2, which is worth $800 retail. >> it's great stuff, because it's on the street. it's worth it. it's like $2 phone, for an amazing one. >> we've been playing cards, playing poker and stuff like that. i brought people with me. we're playing football in the street at 3:00 in the morning. >> a lot of people walk past asking us what we're waiting for, which was annoying but we got used to it after three days. >> the phone is brand new. great features but i can't afford it. >> the iphone 4s is coming out

tomorrow. unlike samsung, apple gives no discounts on the iphone. i'm not sure why you would line up to pay full price for a phone that's not as good. >> okay. let's stay on the theme for problems for smartphonemakers. ri rim announced a significant uncrease in service levels in europe, the middle east, india and africa and modest progress in the u.s. and canada. rim's ceo says the company is working around the clock to restore its systems as well as its customers' trust. the blackberry system failures cowl not have come at a worse time for rim. the stock is already down nearly 0% this year and friday brings even more competition in the form of apple's upgraded iphone 4s. an executive says the company knows what's at stake.

>> at this stage we understand the frustration our customers have because blackberry uses a communication vehicle for people to connect with their friends, family and work colleagues. we understand the importance of that system working in realtime. we do see improvements. we have seen a marked improvements in both business and consumer e-mail through our systems. we still don't think we're out of the woods yet. our team is working and will continue working night and day until we can get to that resolution point. >> some disgruntled investors are hoping to remove research in motion's board of directors. up next on "world business today," prisoners have been released in one of the world's most repressive states. myanmar's military-backed rulers are trying to prove they are turning over a new leaf now. some say they are just trying to fool the world. we'll have all the details right here on this very show. stay turined.

welcome back. this is "world business today." live on cnn. the european union and the united states have welcomed the release of a number of prisoners, including some political prisoners by the military-backed government in myanmar. a representative for foreign affairs, catherine ashton says this was one among a number of states authorities have taken recently that helped to make promises of reform more credible. she cautioned that, quote, we need to see the full picture first. myanmar which is run by a brutal military junta for more than half a century is a long way from being rehabilitated in the international community and the regime's latest bid to improve its dismal image has been

dismissed recently as it tries to have international sanctions against it lifted. >> he came into power this year and he's been on a very big charm offensive. there's been very positive words, promises of reform, a few small gestures so far. but actually no concrete measures towards democratic reform. i think what we're seeing is that the president wants to make the minimum number of concessions in order to gain the dropping of sanctions and the lifting of international pressure. >> u.s. sanctions against myanmar date from 1988 and include an investment ban, asset freezes on some mayanese businesses and banks, a ban an imports from myanmar and these are restrictions from the regime. t

sanctions include ban on weapons sales, asset freezes of 1,200 firms and an eu travel ban. critics say the prisoners should never have been locked up in the first place. just to put the prisoner release plan into context, it's worth noting it's made quite a few similar gestures in the past, accord together alternative azian network on burma, a human rights group. there have been ten hume amnesties since 1949 freeing about 6,000 people. it says only 1% of those freed inmates were political prisoners. nina? time to get a check on the worldwide weather forecast. hurricane jova has made landfall in mexico on wednesday. now parts of the southwest are dealing with major flooding. >> many areas are dealing with

flooding along the southwestern coastline and we also have confirmed that four people have actually died since hurricane jova made landfall in mexico yesterday. as we go to some video, let's show you what it looks like. the problem is many areas now are dealing with this, rushing water. this is out of manzanillo, mexico. people are dealing with flooded homes, people walking through flooded streets and there's rescue operations going on there because the water came down so fast and furious with jova. that was the big damage out of that as opposed to the wind damage. the hurricane-force winds were basically in a smaller area than typically you see in a larger hurricane. as i take you back over to our satellite, showing you remnants of jova, not looking that impressive. believe it or not we have another tropical depression to the west, that's irwin. down towards the southeastern part of mexico, we have remnants of tropical depression number 12

which formed yesterday. yes, we are still dealing with moisture out there but the problem is we'll continue to see more problems with flooding coming right through mexico as well as through certain tral america and that includes gaud mall la, el salvador and honduras. the totals have been incredible there. let's go to the video, showing you what it's like coming out of costa rica. officials are helping the residents because the water is getting so high. river levels, mudslides and land slides. that threat is going to be, once again, happening for today as well as tomorrow as the totals continue to climb. as i take you over to our graphic here, you can see 308 millimeters, 24. some locations, again, dealing with roughly about 11 inches of rainfall. more is in the forecast. you can see, especially right along the coastal area, right near the pacific ocean. meanwhile, across europe, things are looking better there. you can see for yourself. a ridge of high pressure in

place, beautiful weather for parts of england as well as northern ireland. you can see for spain as well as into portugal, over towards the east, we have the slow here. that's going to be keeping that cold air in place for today and tomorrow. and then we'll start to see that system shifting over towards the east. but nonetheless, very nice weather. where you're going to be, nina, we're talking about sunshine, mild temperatures, some locations roughly right around 20 degrees. you know, it's been so cool across parts of the uk over the last several weeks and months, now you're finally getting it when summer's over. better late than never. >> it is indeed. many thanks for that, jennifer delgado. now, it could get worse before it gets better. new zealand is trying to contain an environmental and economic damage from the grounding of a container ship. we'll give outlatest in just a moment. during the first week

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a warm welcome back. you're watching westbound, live on cnn. in new zealand, salvage crews are making a last-ditch effort to pump oil after the grounded cargo sheep rina before it breaks up. you can see the breakdown in the

hull that's getting bigger every day. it struck a reef a week ago. since then at least 350 tons of oil has leaked into the sea in the country's worst ever marine pollution disaster. it's not just the oil going into the sea either. more than 80 containers have so far fallen offer the ship, some have come ashore scattering debris along the country's finest coastline. crews have immobilized to remove some of these items from the beach. that includes food items, and timber as well as other items. as matt mcclain reports, the accident is having a major economic impact on the fishing and tourism industries. >> reporter: roger rolandson is

a man on the verge of going broke. >> if we don't catch fish this week, we can't catch twice as much next week. >> reporter: his ships are unable to leave because of rina, costing him thousands of dollars in lost revenue. >> it's affecting us just about straightaway. we've got boats that can't fish in our normal grounds. we have boats that can't leave the port safely without hitting containers. we have the oil problems. it's just all mounting up on us. >> reporter: we're told some workers will have to go on the dull, others could face losing their jobs. >> if i can't go, what am i going to do with them? i can't pay them. we get paid on the catch. if you don't catch anything, you don't get paid. >> reporter: customers at his dolphin-watching business are threatening to cancel upcoming tours. >> with all the oil on the

beaches, the water being obviously toxic, basically, it's covering a huge area out here. people may not want to come. if they don't come, we're not going to have people to take out to see the dolphins. >> reporter: in summer, this is one of the country's busiest vacationing towns. but this man has heard the beach could be closed for months t. will be a loss of revenue. we'll be hit hard by the economic recession. that's been going on for a wh e while. this is just not nail in the coffin for some. >> reporter: locals have no idea when it will be business as usual. fruit and free trade, a new agreement with south korea is welcome news to florida's citrus industry. we'll take a look at what it means for one grapefruit business over there. there's no time like the present

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from cnn london, i'm nina dos santos. >> i'm andrew stevens at cnn hong kong. welcome back. you're watching "world business today." >> let's take another look at how the european stock markets are faring at the moment. shares started the day on a downbeat note. they recovered with substantial gains in the technology companies and then in the last 15 months or so, take a look at what happened. they've soured once again. they have companies, the supermarket giant, dragging down the cac 0. even though we had gains of the

likes of alcatel lucent. also, ftse 100 down. we should point out in germany we've had a herer than expected reading for inflation for that country. one of the reasons why the dax is down to the tune of 0.66%. andrew? >> nina, no sign of the red arrows in this part of the world. take a look at the numbers. stocks up again. it is the sixth straight day for manufacture these markets now. on generally growing optimism that policymakers in the euro zone will come together with a plan that will actually work and try or at least take the euro zone out of its crisis threshold. looking at the numbers today if we can get them up, you'll see hong kong was the best performer, up by more than 2%, the nikkei up just under 1%, australia getting a lift as well. unemployment coming in slightly better than expected, dropping

in australia. that happened markets there. nina? let's go to wall street. stocks ending wednesday's session quite a bit higher. that was thanks to financial stocks that led some of the gains. >> stocks on wall street got a boost from europe wednesday. the major averages jumped the at open. this week there's a perception europe will come up with a backstop for the banks. financial shares led the gains with citigroup, wells fargo and bank of america all adding 3% or more. at the close, the dow jumped 102 points to end at 11,518. it had been up more than 200 points earlier in the day. the nasdaq and the s&p 500 each added almost 1%. the federal reserve released the minutes from its latest policy meetings a few hours before the close. they showed the central bank did

consider a new round of quantitative easing but ultimately chose to go with operation twist which aims to lower yields on long-term bohn bonds. three objected to taking any new measures at all. all fed members agree that while growth was slow, the u.s. does not appear to have entered a new recession. coming up thursday, vests will get new numbers on weekly jobless claims and earnings season starts picking up steam with releases due out from jp morgan chase and google. that's a wrap on the day on wall street. i'm allison koison kosik in new. lawmakers approve three trade deals in a bid to boost america's presence in the global market. now, the white house estimates the deals with south korea, colombia and panama could boost u.s. exports by around $13

billion as well as creating thousands of job, which is obviously key for the white house at the moment. it says the agreement is by far the biggest of the three trade deals. the biggest since 1994. that deal would remove 95% of tariffs between the two countries and double exports to the country within five years. at least that's what the white house says. it has an agreement with colombia as well. under that, tariffs are more than 80% of goods would be lifted and the panamanian deal will see more than 80% of exports becoming duty-free. the fta between the u.s. and south korea has boosted grapefruit futures in the u.s. state of florida. mike miller spent time with american citrus packers who are counting on a fruitful future between the u.s. and south korea.

>> we're here in the packing area where we custom pack fruit that's shipped all over the world. our family business supports a free trade agreement with south korea. because it's going to impact our business in the short term and in the long term with increased sales and hopefully better pricing. the idea would be providing access, better access to the south korean consumer, which enjoys and appreciates the quality of florida citrus. it's a premium market for us. and by expanding premium markets anywhere in the world, that tie lifts all boats. we might experience better pricing in all of our markets worldwide by benefitting from a single mark net south korea. it's a typical supply and demand equation. it offers less fruit for the rest of the world, prices are inclined to be up in those areas. one of our goals is expanding our world wired market share. we compete with lots of other

countries for that market share. a free trade agreement also gives us a balanced, level playing field. >> by selling more fruit, extending our season, selling it for a better price allows us to re-invest in our groves primarily. that's not a short-term endeavor. from the day that we pull a trigger on planting new trees it's about a ten-year proposition. it's expensive and it's risky but there's a lot of jobs that are in between there. once those trees are in the ground, besides the labor for the nursery men and the fertilizer companies, there's a constant reinvestment in that tree before it starts producing fruit. being in agriculture, period, is a business you have to be passionate about. not something for the weak of spirit. it's a challenge every day. anytime government-to-government relations can improve the ability for us to market in other countries is a pretty good thing for us. >> from farming grapefruits to

building up a business empire, the key to both is growth. and our ceos in this episode of "the boss" are all about expansion. we'll show you what they're up to, after this very break. the, i know pleasing fans is a top priority, 'cause without the fans, there'd be no nascar. just like if it weren't for customers, there'd be no nationwide. that's why they serve their customers' needs, not shareholder profits. because as a mutual, nationwide doesn't report to wall street, they report to their customers.

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live from cnn hong kong in london, this is "world business today." he makes a lot more money than his secretary and has famously said he pays proportionately a lot less in taxes as well. billionaire u.s. investor warren buffett has riled a lot of conservatives for his call for the rich to pay more taxes. he's upping the ante in a challenge. buffett revealed that his adjusted gross income last year was nearly $63 million but because of various deductions, his taxable income was only

$39.8 million. he paid nearly $7 million in federal income tax or just over 17% of his taxable income. the republican lawmaker who had asked buffett to release his full tax return for last year says buffett should still do that. what does he disclose, writes a congressman, may be accurate but it is incomplete, and fails to explain how he shelters millions of dollars in income. >> you have a number of very wealthy individual friends. have you talked to them, warren, about whether they're release tax return? >> i haven't talked to them about releasing their returns. maybe the congressman could do that for me. "the wall street journal" also suggested that i release it. maybe "the wall street journal" can get their boss, rupert murdoch. he's one of the ultrarich like i am.

i'd love to have his return published with mine. people can see what we're paying and whether they regard that as the proper system or whether some adjustments in our system should be made. i welcome the congressman's inquiry into this. if he can get these returns released, i think that -- i think a lost congressmen will get educated as to how inequi inequitable the system is. >> warren buffett, not the first time he suggested that rupert murdoch should reveal his tax statement. buffett says that people who make money from money are taxed at a far lower rate than people who earn money by their own labor. he is championing a rule that people making more than $1 million a year should pay more taxes than those who make less than that figure. meredith whitney calls the buffett rule a punitive tax that would not generate enough revenue for the sacrifice is

would create. it looks like he's not going to be backing down on his views. >> certainly some healthy debate going on there, vis-a-vis the tax gains of some of these ceos and the ultrarich as he was saying, andrew. you can pour overle little details as much as you'd like. being at the top is about thinking big. that's the focus of tonight's episode of "the boss." sara kern has been moving my wardrobe warehouses for the third time. and shawn cornwell, he's been finding out various things. it's time for this edition of "the boss." >> reporter: previously on "the

boss," bottling bliss and your bottom line. e harmony's sean cornwell outlines his strategy for the year ahead. >> the time has come to become truly local in each market. >> reporter: and after bottling it up, sarah curran learns you can't have it all. >> i'm not doing enough with work or not spending enough time with him. we're in nottingham, we moved into this particular location in january 2009 and already we're starting to feel we might be running out of space. >> reporter: that was november of last year. this is now. a new warehouse for mywardrobe.com. 38,000 square feet of it with

space and light aplenty. getting here wasn't easy. it took my wardrobe three days, 36 truck loads and 25 people to move more than 49,000 items. a big move for this boss but one that needed to be made. >> when you're looking at a growth plan in your strategy, what we didn't want was to get to a stage where we had been the first time with the first unit where the production -- the productivity was completely flat because actually you can't work and the teams can't work in the environment because it's too crowded. >> reporter: today, sarah is surveying the new space with her warehouse major, sue alt. she's paying close attention to how her team is using the unit. >> essentially we put it into the cages and then they pack. >> reporter: how items are being packed. >> actually, change the handles. >> reporter: and whether the space is improving productivity.

>> the flow of work isn't efficient. >> reporter: for sarah this is a strategic move. >> when she's picking she tells them where to go get it. >> yes. >> reporter: she knows to keep up this rapid growth her operational side needs to keep pace. >> the business is growing up and it needs to. because you can't go to next stage of development, the next stage of volume without really sort of having the operational part, really stabilized and in a position where it can grow and can grow at speed. >> reporter: since its launch in 2006, sarah has moved warehouse three times, relocating from a 4,000 square footed unit to 8,000 to its current space of 38,000. a sign of fast growth and one of success. >> i remember the first time i grove up and i saw the cars in the car park and i just thought,

my goodness, this is my -- it's here, it's really weird when you see your business grow like that. >> reporter: meanwhile, 200 kilometers south of nottingham -- >> this is all really about fundamentally answering that question, have we built an iconic brand in our international markets? >> reporter: sean cornwell, the international vice president of e-harmony is trying to follow in sarah's footsteps, grow the business and do it fast. >> now is the time to take that leap and go towards developing a local, creative, which is made and produced specifically for the uk and the australian markets. >> reporter: today he's doing just that. taking that leap into new markets. getting there and staying there, however, requires research. inside understanding of the

market and, most importantly, team work. >> the main topic we're going to cover in this meeting is the development of international creative for our english-speaking markets, uk and australia. >> the first kiss was great. >> reporter: for years, e-harmony has relied solely on u.s. advertising to spread its message of love. >> it was so natural, so good, and it's still good. >> we brought over footage, put a uk voiceover or australian voiceover on it and gone down that root. >> it's incredible the sort of people you can meet that you wouldn't meet otherwise. >> reporter: now with the company's expansion into international markets, sean is looking to strike a chord with local consumers. with local advertising that is authentic and culturally aware. >> we work in the same company, got matched and we've gone well on our date. >> it's a big step for us as a company, it's a big step as an international business. it's a big vote of confidence in the u.s. in our international

markets. it's exciting. we're not the typical online dating site. >> reporter: sean has thought through every step of this expansion. he's starting with advertising spots in the markets he knows best, the uk and australia. a measured step by a boss who has everything to prove. >> we have a good culture at e-harmony. i think there's a culture of taking sensible risks. we hope and think this creative campaign, this direction we're going down is the right one. but only time will tell. >> reporter: next week on "the boss" -- f. you ask me if we should get it back and do it again, i want to make it even bigger. >> reporter: francis loy looks for room to improve and room to grow. that's next week on "the boss." [ female announcer ] in the grip of arthritis, back, or back joint pain?

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welcome back. well, it's a world away from the hustle and buszle of britain's capital. london aquarium isn't just one of the city's top tourist attractions either for the deputy curator. it's a chance to experience the majesty of the ocean each and every day. this is his world at work.

>> i've been doing it for a long time now but i still find it really, really exciting every time i get in there. it's a privilege to dive and swim with these magnificent creatures. you always have to be sharp and on your best guard, but every time it's a real pleasure. it's amazing. first and foremost you have to have a real passion for it. it's not a normal 9:00 to 5:00 job. you can't walk out the door and leave things behinded if something needs doing, if there's a problem. one of my favorite aspects is really getting in the tank, doing some scuba diving with these amazing creatures behind me. we have to go and check the fish health, check the health of the sharks, basically things like cleaning the windows, making sure it looks good from a public -- a guest point of view,

ine int interacting with them is great, really. exhilarating. when you're down there, you get so close to the animals. do i prefer animals to people? definitely sometimes. they don't talk back to you. the sharks do take a lot of care. and anybody that is employed here does go through a lot of special training to look after them, whether it's diving with them or feeding them from the surface. they're specially trained to come up and take food at different points on the surface. i will feed them whiting, had dock, mackerel, squid. last year when we had a female zebra shark in here we played barry white music under water in the hope that it was relaxing and would maybe get them in the mood for mating.

♪ the male certainly attempted a few times. so having a few sharks here, letting people see them in the flesh, allows people to appreciate them and seeing how amazing these creatures are. being in there, seeing them that close, we're very lucky with the job that we do. we still get a real boost from it. it is, to me, having dived this morning, i'm going to be on a high the rest of the day, really. >> fantastic. barry white and shark love. who knew. that's it for this edition ever "world business today." thanks so much for joining us. i'm in hong kong. >> and i'm nina dos santos in london. what we're hearing now is

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