>> i'm sure the book is a cracking good read. i look forward to reading it. >> thank you, sir. have a great christmas. >> and you. that's all for us tonight. i'm zain verjee in london. there have been at least two bomb attacks. a bomb killed four in northern balk province. the most serious in the capital. we have more from the capital. what's the latest? >> reporter: police are describing a quite horrible impact of the blast inside the

shia compound where many gather on this important holiday and the photographer we spoke to describes how the explosion inside this crowded compound, bodies fanned out and were decimated. the death toll we're hearing could be in one to two dozen but given the scene where we heard from witnesses we are expecting it to rise in the coming hours. zain? >> nick paton walsh. i'm zain verjee. "world business today" starts now. hello, i'm andrew stevens in hong kong. >> and from cnn london, i'm charles hodson. this is "world business today" and these are our top stories much there had a cautious mood

on the markets after a downgrade warning in europe. >> a change of tact by china breathes new life into climate change talks. and a trickle of tourists return as thailand recovers from devastating floods. the timing could hardly have been worse. just as leaders of the euro-zone's biggest economies put on a united front standard & poor's threw a big spanner into the works and put 15 euro-zone nations under review for possible downgrade including germany and france an put the brakes on the rally we've been seeing. >> we'll bring you numbers and detail in a moment.

suffice it to say europe apart from the uk is off by 1%. have a look. these are the 17 that all use the euro. greece's credit rating reflects a high rick of default and cyprus which was already under review. as s&p mentioned they placed the remaining on review for gowngrade. that means there is a 50% chance of a downgrade in the next 90 days. the countries under review include these six which have the top rating aaa, austria, fin lapd, france, germany, luxembourg and the internet l netherlands. and as you said, the timing is odd, here we are making progress on the political front an now s&p has dropped this enormous thing into the works.

>> absolutely. it will be interesting to have been a fly on the wall when sarkozy and merkel saw those. they're doing what they can to break the deadlock of the frefrp and german leaders both finally agreeing on a plan which they'll present to the eu later this week. nicolas sarkozy and angela merkel want a new treaty by march that includes tough budget restrictions and includes penalties for any countries would go too much into debt an want all 27 nations to sign up for it but the treaty could go ahead if the 17 euro-zone countries came on board. >> standard & poor's warning is keeping caution on the markets but no clear direction after an hour of trading if you look right away across the whole continent. it's been a wobbly start.

investors want to see what will transpire after that building on the paris lunch between mrs. merkel and sarkozy. borrowing costs for spain and italy, they remain well below the levels we saw a couple of weeks ago and, in fact, have been flirting with going down below 6% for both of those countries. so there we are. in terms of the dax that really has been off all the way through and explains the picture for the paris cac 40. the ftse at the flat line, andrew. >> yeah, charles, interesting in asia-pacific, there was a much stronger reaction to that s&p downgrade. perhaps that had something to do with the fact that the u.s. markets came off from their highs once that was announced

but certainly sent jitters pretty much through all the markets through asia-pacific. after several positive sessions they all fell and banking stocks taking a hit and australian stocks broadly lower after the central bank there had a warning. they cut interest rates by 0.25 to 4.25%. it is the second time in as many months that australia cut rates to stabilize the economy, so the fears about growth are outweighing the optimism that an interest rate cut will get the economy going again. out of japan this tuesday, trading of olympus was investigated after investigation of their recent cover-up found in evidence of criminal participation and by that time the cameramaker was up 9% on the

nikkei but olympus didn't come out looking too bright from this. this is what the independents said, the core of management was rotten and surrounding management was contaminated talking about olympus hiding those transactions on its book, transactions which amounted to something like $1.4 billion. they will report earnings by december 14. if it misses that it faces delisting. charles? >> well, u.s. markets came down off their highs for the day after the news from standard & poor's filtered out. they stayed in positive territory, s&p 500 finished up over 1% with the nasdaq higher still and the dow ended monday up by almost exactly 2/3 of a percent.

>> so what's gregory to happen today? u.s. futures looking cautiously positive ahead of the trading day on the street. currently up by a fifth of 1%. up endown over the past hour so still a long way to go before the markets on wall street open and a lot depends on what happens in europe but certainly fair to say europe remains front and center pretty much everywhere once again. >> indeed, testament to the seriousness in which washington views that. timothy geithner is in europe and will meet mr. sarkozy in paris but today being hosted in germany ahead of meetings with the president mario draghi.

i wonder what he will say, diana. >> reporter: well, yes, this is his third visit since september which is testament to the severity in which they see the crisis and president obama asked him to come ahead of thursday and friday summit's of course to put pressure in the way that the u.s. has been over the last few months on european leaders to try and really find some resolution and some force to stop this sort of unraveling of the euro-zone which, of course, president obama has characterized as the strongest head wind slowing down the u.s. economy in the past. so it is incredibly serious given the interconnected nature of the u.s. and european financial systems and, of course, of the two zones as trading partners that europe gets its act together and we'll see whether the steps that mr. sarkozy and mrs. merkel

announced yesterday are enough to satisfy the u.s. treasury secretary. he will be talking to mario d g draghi. mario has made it clear he may be prepared to act more aggressively in the european bond markets if there is a fiscal compact agreed across europe and that is certainly what the french and german leaders are trying to achieve. and i suppose the pressure put on by timothy geithner over the next couple of days has caused the pressure from the s&p downgrade may serve to put pressure on other euro-zone leaders on thursday and friday so that they do put their signatures to what's the french and german leaders have proposed, charles. >> diane magnay, many thanks to you. >> still ahead on "world business today" following a

bailout and collapse of its government we'll look at how one of the secrets of the debt crisis is now starting to get back on its feet. stay with us. [ dr. banholzer ] every once in awhile there's a moment where everything comes together. where there's magic. and you now understand what nature's been hiding. ♪ at dow we understand the difference between innovation and invention. invention is important. it's the beginning. it's the spark. but innovation is where we actually create value for dow,

for society, and for the world. ♪ at dow, we're constantly searching for how to use our fundamental knowledge of chemistry to solve these difficult problems. science is definitive. there is a right answer out there. [ male announcer ] the same 117 elements do the fundamental work of chemistry. ♪ the difference, the one element that is the catalyst for innovation, the one element that changes everything is the human element. ♪

welcome back. you are a watching "world business today." >> as the future of the euro hangs in the balance ireland can making plans for its own future. details of its budget have been drip fed to the nation over the past couple of days with tax increases expected today. the standout figure, though, is the total amount that the government is slashing from its spending programs. more than 2.2 billion euro, more than $2.9 billion getting on for 3 billion. more than half is coming from cuts in health, social welfare and education. the total value of the 2012 austerity package is expected to be about 3.8 billion euros or $5.1 billion.

andrew? >> the prime minister says the island faces years of economic hardship but as our jim boulden found out, it's not all doom and gloom. >> reporter: reflecting on turbulent times. few places were hit harder by the economic crisis than the irish capital. for two long years the emerald isle was down on its luck as banks and bailouts dominated national headlines. >> we had an awful tough time because there was one financial catastrophe after another and when someone would get their confidence back we'd get hit with another. >> reporter: a year after the eu and international monetary fund bailout there is a sense that the worst may be over.

in the city's center retail is picking up. while the odd shop stands empty acting as a reminder others have been given a new purpose. at the height of the boon, this was a lux which furniture shop. now it serves as a pop-up art gallery. irish economist david mcwilliams says in the aftermath of the crisis dublin's entrepreneurs are seeing new opportunities. >> as rents come down it gives people the opportunity to set up ventures they never did in the city. i think it's fantastic for the city that rents are falling. >> reporter: the much maligned property market is also seeing signs of gradual recovery. take the suburb of valmain. it was constructed at the height of the boom. it was a goes estate. half the houses were vacant.

since then belmayne has become a success story, 99% occupied because the original plan to sell the homes is dead. most people here rent. the property market is adapting to circumstances and it's paying off. david mcwilliams is convinced the rest of the city will follow suit. >> what happens after big disasters, people dust themselves down and they reinvent themselves and i have no doubt that dublin will do exactly this. >> reporter: it is beginning to shake off its hangover from the party that went too far. the next boon may be far off but when it comes they want to be ready. jim boulden, cnn dublin. >> ahead on "world business today" election riots in russia.

people in the country, it's much less than before. >> we'll tell you why people are angry over the latest elections and why support for russia's ruling party is waning. alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma ♪ fee-fi-fo-femma ♪ em-ma very good sweety, how do you feel? good. yeah? you did a really good job, okay? [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. 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. nymex crude $100 a barrel.

welcome back. russians are worked up about issues of corruptions. several thousand took to the streets of moscow on monday accusing the prime minister vladimir putin's united russia of vote rigging. an independent election watchdog says it's received more than a thousand reports of violations much opposition groups i suppose hardly surprise are up in arms. here the opposition leader addresses journalists monday. >> and the complaints don't stop there either. the economist gregory yevlinski which the election committee says won 3.3% of the votes. he says he has evidence of voting irregularities. >> we have the evidence that the results of the vote were changed

and a lot of votes given for the different parties were redistributed in order to support the party of power. the united russia and we also have the evidence that the votes which were given to the russian united democratic party were just redistributed in favor of the other parties which are supportive to the government. >> and yet there does seem to be a response from the public to suggest that they're less happy with the rulers in russia right now than they have been in the past so do you think they have expressed a message at all through the election? >> yes, the overview of the public in russia is much less support to the party of party in united russia which is the party of mr. medvedev at the moment which is supporting mr. putin,

but the support from the public and people in the country is much less than before. >> why is that, do you think? is that a problem with leadership or the fact that the economy having had so many fantastic years of growth is now starting to turn a little? s>> there are different reasons for that. there is no 21st century to live in russia without the rule of law. >> the official news agency reports that nearly 200 election protesters were arrested in moscow as well as in st. petersburg. >> even with claims of fraud they have a lower than normal

turnout. a look at the the real economy is faring, the world bank says high energy costs will help their economy to grow 4% this year. far outpacing western europe and the united states. it's still less than previous predictions. the word bank cut its forecast for russia in september. warning that the country is leaking cab tall. you just need to look at their main stock index to see that. it's down 26% from its year to date high in april. though it did make some modest gains today, andrew. >> this week on cnn taking an in-depth look at thailand that's come through little struggles only to be hit by a social and economic disaster. recent floods hurt their manufacturing and services sector. but they've crippled what has been a thriving turism sector.

paula hancocks took a tour of the capital and found many critical of their government's response to the crisis. >> reporter: floodwaters lapped around here. monuments and temples usually a tourist draw fell victim to the worst floods in half a century. most of the water is now gone, but so are the tourists. head south to bangkok and most of them escaped the floods. outside the royal palace some stalls have closed their shutters. one sells drinks opposite the palace. she tells me people are starting to come back but nothing like before the floods. nearby clothes shop owner says "i never saw it so quiet during the floods. the streets were empty."

but not all tourists have been scared away. >> they told us they wanted the people still to come to get the money into the economy. that's the reason why we came. >> reporter: the luxury hotel here lost 50% of its business due to cancellations. chief executive shannon tonowanic says conflicting messages did hurt. >> i think maybe too many people are involved. we have all kind of people going out and giving speeches and many of them have different opinion on how things should be done. >> reporter: a number of countries issued travel warnings for thailand which was particularly damaging for the tourism industry. the united states and the united kingdom both recommending against all but essential travel to certain parts of the country. the tourism authority rolling out a strategic recovery plan to

get tourists back and some airlines are dropping prices. thailand has seen dry tourist spells before and numbers have bounced back so experts feel there is no reason why they wouldn't this time, as well. paula hancocks, cnn, bangkok. >> and be sure to visit our special eye on website where you can keep up to date with all our coverage from thailand throughout the week. up next how emerging markets are causing europe's debt crisis. we'll be right back. but here's what i know -- td ameritrade doesn't manage mutual funds... or underwrite stocks and bonds. or even publish their own research. so, guidance from td ameritrade isn't about their priorities. it's about mine. straightforward guidance. that's what makes td ameritrade different. ♪ [ male announcer ] trade commission-free for 60 days.

plus get up to $600 when you open an account.

okay... uhh. the bad news, it's probably totaled. the good news is, you don't have to pay your deductible. with vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance, you got $100 off for every year of safe driving, so now your deductible is zero. the other good news ? i held on to your coffee. wow. ♪ nationwide is on your side ( laughing ) it's actually a pretty good day when you consider. that's great.

from cnn hong kong i'm andrew stevens. >> and i'm charles hodson at cnn london. welcome back to "world business today." well, mixed news makes for mixed markets. on the same day germany and france said they had a plan standard & poor's announced it was putting 15 of the 17 nations on credit downgrade watch that has generated uncertain start to trade in europe in morning. the major indices in the euro-zone are swinging around but basically the dax and cac 40 have been down, modest recovery after a big gap down at the start, andrew. >> yeah, certainly investors not happy about that. the banks, exporters and property companies all suffering across all markets, australian stocks lower after a warning.

they cut the key interest by 4.25%. down a quarter of a percentage point as australia tries to get its economy stabilized and growing more rapidly and certainly there is a lot of australians who are resolutely not spending not helping the broader economy. now, in japan you see the nikkei down by 1.4%. a reminder that olympus remains in the news and says it lanns to report its earnings on december the 14th. you may recall that's the deadline that the company must meet to avoid delisting after the scandal. the olympus stock was suspended in tokyo today after an independent probe into an accounting scandal found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing although it was scathing in its description of how the

management has been performing at olympus and called for action to be taken against the management so watch that space. charles? >> absolutely. fascinating to see the repercussions of that. meanwhile, on wall street there is nothing like a credit rating warning to turn investors off. karina huber has a look. >> reporter: stocks got off to a great start monday as u.s. investors cheered europe's latest plan to put an end to its debt crisis. news that european leaders had reached a deal to amend the eu treaty had stocks surging by more than 1% midway through the session. reports that ratings agency standard & poor's is putting the credit ratings of all 17 members of the euro-zone including france and germany under review cut the day's gains in half. the dow gained 78 points, the nasdaq and the s&p 500 each added about 1%. oil prices also benefited from european optimism in the early part of the day. crude jumped above $102 a barrel before closing at $101 a barrel.

increasing tensions raised concerns about global supply which propped up prices. growth unexpectedly slowed and the truth for supply management said it slipped to the lowest level in nearly two years. factory orders disappointed. orders declined by 0.4%, the second straight monthly decline and suggests a possible softening in manufacturing. and that's a wrap of the day on wall street. i'm karina huber in new york. >> well, we're about five hours from the opening bell on wall street again. on tuesday and u.s. futures are currently pointing to just a very slightly higher open despite the losses we've been seeing in europe and asia. how they stood a moment ago.

well, let's go back to the story of the moment if not the entire year, the debt crisis in europe. it may have started in greece but the while of the euro-zone and much of the world is feeling the effects. first john defterios reports on how emerging markets are responding. >> reporter: set to average more than $100 a barrel a year for the first time ever which is a benefit to the persian gulf economies but not enough to stave off concerns of what may lie ahead. the u.s., the world's largest economy and the european union are key export markets for everything from commodities to manufactured goods for the emerging markets. >> if the u.s. were to fall in a recession very difficult for others to post a higher growth. what we believe is their ability to bounce back as they did in 2009. >> reporter: after the ihh eye

teches after 2009, they're not taking chance. brazil put aside inflationary fears and growth was at 7.5% last year and just over 3% now. if the west continues to stumble expect more easing from brazil. china cut its reserve requirements last week as manufacturing output hit its lowest level in nearly three years. in india economic growth is below 7% which sparked criticism from the business community that not enough is being done to buffer companies as europe's debt problems start to bite. strategists are eager to see if companies can still tap the debt market or will it seize up as it did a few years ago? >> in 2008 we saw for example corporate debt in emerging market space closing for six months after lehman went under. this is not what's gone on today but if we go to that, that's an

important sector of the financial markets to look for clues of what were the slowdown could come from. >> emerging markets are growing at three times the rate of those in the developing world. many believe that the central banks in the emerging markets will do whatever it takes to protect their interests in 2012. john defterios, cnn, abu dhabi. >> well, euro-zone crisis, the u.s. economic challenge is certainly taking its toll on emerging markets around the world and, of course, asia is basically one large emerging market and a new report today by the asian development bank says the growth is at its slowest rate since 2010. ramy inocencio has been looking at it. >> they predict overall economic growth for emerging east asia to slow from 7.5% this year to 7.2% next year.

that's for these eight countries and territories first off asean-4, plus china, hong kong, taiwan as well as south korea. along with outside pressure from europe and the u.s. policies and events within the region have definitely been slowing down growth, for example, china, tightened its monetary policies like raising those bank reserve requirements to fight inflatio , gdp has since slowed and the floods that caused many factories to close now it's forecast to be 1.5% down from a 4% expectation and also in hong kong as well as singapore they're seeing slower global trade pull down numbers. in the report as of the third quarter, as of the third quarter kind's gdp was the highest at 9.1, the asean-4 are 5.1 and

ashake's four were here at 3.8. the takeaway here is that early 2010 these gdp growth numbers have been falling across the board. if europe doesn't solve its debt crisis we should expect steeper d gdp drops. >> given the asian growth remains tied to the u.s. and europe, how bad could it get for asia. >> good question. if you live in these places in hong kong, china, singapore and taiwan today's report says your economies will be the worst hit if the euro-zone can't find the fix because these economies here are most exposed to europe or are involved in banking or trading. now, the adb played out three scenarios for asia. the first involves a recession just within the euro-zone itself that could reduce growth by as much as 2% next year.

the second involveds a deep recession in the euro-zone and that could drag the u.s. into recession and reduce growth by up to 2.5% by 2012 and third looks at a drop in european and u.s. gdp to 2009 levels, worst case scenario. there is a silver lining to all these and shows less fallout in asia than during the 2008 global financial crisis. the adb finally adds this, east asia should be able to weather another global financial crisis. that is if the region's policymakers respond promptly, decisively and collectively so the adb is keeping a cautiously optimistic outlook into 2012. >> all relative and certainly asia looks pretty good when you compare it with europe and the u.s. thanks, ramy inocencio. charles? >> coming up on "world business

today," china is shaking things up at this year's u.n. climate change summit in south africa and could mean big changes for countries around the world. we'll take you live to the summit next. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals.

welcome back to "world business today." as the u.n. climate summit winds down in south africa, the focus has turned to china for an unexpected reason. on monday the head of china's delegation said beijing is prepared to accept a legally binding global agreement to reduce carbon emissions beginning around 2020 and that appears to be a big shift from its early position and china's move could have a big impact on the u.s. and other developed countries which have been holding back on such a deal. to robyn curnow at the site of the summit in durbin and, robyn,

they're saying they would agree to legally binding carbon emissions. is this a game changer? >> reporter: you know, i think it might be. china has said there are a number of conditions that would be involved and whether they would sign up to some sort of global agreement. i want you to listen to what the chinese chief negotiator had to say exactly. >> translator: after 2020, what we need to negotiate, the framework i think should be legally binding one or some document to that effect. what is of the great significance so far is that we need to pin down the commitment so far made by parties. before 2020 and we need review on these efforts.

>> reporter: okay, so the key here is 2020 and many island nations, for example, many scientists say that's too late. the effects of climate change will be irreversible by 2020, that the world shouldn't wait for that but china is important because it actually is the model as one described it as the example of how nations should be tackling carbon emissions, they have clear, defined policies on capping their own co2 emission, clear targets on renewable energy so effectively they can promise it because in a way they're already doing it so it is a game changer on many things but particularly on a political level because this is a bit of a chess game or poker game, call it what you will so china coming out publicly saying this does indeed throw the ball black into

the united states' court, for example. >> and on that point, robyn, any reaction from the u.s.? >> reporter: well, the u.s. when i spoke to todd stern, the chief negotiator for america, he basically said he was "skeptical about this." i wanted to talk to the chinese negotiators, get some clarity on the conditions on all of this. now, what is clear is that in a way the americans and the chinese have got sort of similar points because the americans are also suggesting delaying any sort of decision till 2020. either way, the chinese are in a far stronger position because they're making all these massive changes on a domestic level. the united states is not and they're not because there's absolutely no domestic appetite for climate change issues. there's an election next year, the economy is faltering and the public is largely disengaged from the debate so in a way the americans and i put it to todd stern were sort of impotent or

paralyzed coming into this debate so even though the chinese threw it back into their court there's not much they can really offer. >> fascinating. robyn, thanks for that joining us from durban in south africa. the recent five-year plan issued by beijing has focused quite heavily on the move towards green energy and as one prominent businessman said to me, when china announces these five-year plans it usually sticks pretty much to the script and gets it done. >> okay, well, i think let's look forward to that because they've had some problems if you look actually beijing itself they've been looking at serious smog in the past couple days enough to ground flights. for more on the latest conditions ivan cabrera is at the cnn weather center. good morning to you, ivan. is this all cleared then. >> it is completely cleared. i think we have about another 24 hours then we'll be at least in

the clear as far as the danger to folks that are trying to get around this. let alone the air travel disruption. what you can see, the smog from outer space, you have a problem here and that's what we've been able to do over the last couple of days across beijing. take a look at the fog and low clouds versus the haze and smog which is further to the north which encompassed all of beijing. the air quality index shot up to about 500 plus, i mean just off the charts and that was december 4th. it is now half of that. still around 250, till unhealthy but below the hazardous zone going the right direction. take a look at the picture before and this is how it looked after once it all settled in. very -- clear skies, calm conditions, light winds all contributed to the formation of this. at this point now we have all the systems moving through so the cancellations are not going to be with us.

the delays aren't going to be with us but look at the aircraft, all surrounded by this fog that at one point the visibility was down to nil and so we had to delay and cancel some of these flights but things are getting back to normal now as that smog begins to ellipse, see the pattern changing, the weather systems moving from west to east that will mix out the atmosphere and help with the stagnation across portions of beijing so that is excellent news as that low moves off toward the east and watch for that. interesting here in indonesia which is where i want to take you and fly into a particular island in the eastern part of indonesia. a fascinating aisle. if you look at it, conical island and how densely populated it is. this volcano has erupted. take a look at the scene from indonesia. it spewed ash into the atmosphere to 2,000 meters, we

understand that this is not going to be a disaster. it is a problem for the aircraft trying to get in and around. flights have been delayed or canceled. pop population, 10,000 people will be okay. we'll watch that closely and keep you posted. >> ivan cabrera joining us there with interesting news about that volcano. well, just ahead on "world business today," a grim week for,i.for r.i.m.

on "world business today," welcome back. >> research in motion finds itself in a jam this week as too embarrassing episode garner more unwanted attention to the company. after what should have been a rare piece of positive publicity their outgoing indonesian boss and three others found themselves charged with negligence and causing personal injury. here's why. a promotional launch at a jakarta mall turned ugly leaving several injured. a stampede ensued on the 25th of november. r.i.m has apologized but it's not the only dent.

>> another two executives have been fired from r.i.m. after getting drunk and disorderly on an airplane. they were en route to beijing and was forced to turn around when the pair became hostile and placed in plastic handcuffs. the plane was diverted to vancouver and it wasn't just the flight that ended prematurely. their contracts were also terminated both ordered to pay air canada on top of losing their jobs $35,000 each. charles? >> mixed tart to trade in europe. mix signals from the edwards, s&p certainly threatening to downgrade 15 nations. losses around 1% for the dax, 0.5% for the paris cac 40. the worst being escaped by the london ftse and zurich smi,

andrew. >> admit it, charles, i certainly have. i suspect a lot of people have. we all had a pretty good image about handling the debt crisis. what if the future was in your hands? could you do a better job than central bankers? now you can try. the ecb has created an app that lets you become ecb chief mario draghi. it lets you set interest rates while you try to keep inflation steady at under 2%. that's what the app looks like. if you follow the pattern, this is the feedback you get. not too bad. many would say in this case not bad is frankly not good enough. i was having a go at this on an

ipad and i set interest rates at 0.75% and all these bells and whistles went off and was awarded the gold star central banker of the year so drop them to 0.75% and we're done. >> okay. that's it for this edition of "world business today." andrew and i are back in about four hours' time. i'm charles hodson in london.