i remember like listening to him breathe while i was watching tv, so i -- i think it would be something like that. premiere "piers morgan tonight" january 17, 9:00 p.m. eastern. his first guest, oprah winfrey who just unveiled hire own tv network own. hi, cnn london. the headlines. former baby doc john claude is back in haiti. crowds cheered when he arrived unexpectedly. it's not really clear why he chose to return to haiti now. soldiers and tanks are patrolling the streets of

tunisia's capital trying to prevent more of the widespread looting that happened on sunday. that battling among supporters of the country's former president. they're trying to form a new unity government. it could happen pretty soon. the worst of the flooding could happen soon. now it's just a matter of cleaning up and burying the dead. brazilian authorities say at least 631 people died in the massive floods and mudslides. the military is now helping rescue those trapped in their damaged homes. australia is dealing with another round of flooding too. this time the southeastern state of victoria has been hit with heavy rains. rising floodwaters have already damaged homes. at least 18 people have died from floods in queensland in the northeast. those are the headlines. i'm zane verjee. those are the headlines. "world business today" starts now. good morning from cnn

london. i'm max foster. >> and a gmp from cnn hong kong, i'm andrew stevens. and a very warm welcome to our viewers in the u.s. who are joining us here on "world business today" for the first time. >> here are the top stories on monday, january the 17th. gunfire, riots, and looting as tourists are airlifted out of tunisia. neighboring countries fear the economic contagion could spread. china, the u.s., and a question of currency. president hu calls the dollar, quote, a product of the past ahead of his visit to washington. and what goes up must come down, so says the skyscraper index. we'll explore the correlation between building booms and economic busts. but before all of that, we want to bring you up to speed on the latest story involving wikileaks.

a swiss whistle blower plans to give the website offshore banking information of prominent people and corporations in the u.s., europe, and asia. julian assange has released thousands of sensitive documents in the u.s. we'll have details on this in the next hour. it's going to be interesting stuff. now we'll have a quick look at the european stock markets to see what they're doing at the start of the week as eu finance ministers get to work today on tackling europe's debt crisis. this is how they are looking here in london. the ftse is unmoved so far. in paris shares down slightly. the only upside the zurich smi up marginally. german shares down .1% at this hour. let's take a close look at bp because those shares are trading interesting viewing here in london. a tie with state owned rosna on friday after the market closed.

bp share price is 508.90 pence, up nearly 2% is another way of looking at it. after a deal that makes the russian government bp's biggest shareholder now. bp has agreed to swap $7.8 billion of its shares for 9.5% stake in rosnev. the two want to drill for oil in russia's arctic region. this is what's happening on the currency markets. the euro is down a shade. pound also down a fraction. and the yen creeping up at this hour, andrew. >> yeah, max. generally a down day for the start of trading here in asia this monday, starting in the biggest market in the region. tokyo exporters higher on the back of a weaker yen, and the nikkei, the border index, as you say, just barely holding its head above water. look at the rest of the big three markets in asia down sharply, particularly shanghai, down more than 3%.

it's been a familiar story in shanghai. banking and property stocks are down on concerns about inflation, which could lead to more interest rate rise ins china. on friday, what sparked the fear is beijing increased the reserve requirements for the banks. what that means is banks have to hold more money back on reserve so they can't lend as much. it's the seventh time the authorities in beijing have done that. investors are also on edge ahead of december inflation numbers which are due out a little later this week. we've also seen two interest rate rises over the past 12 months or so, and that certainly has been dragging down the shanghai markets for the past several months. this is not a new story, but it's certainly having very strong impact still across the investment community in shanghai. in sydney meanwhile mining stocks down as australia continues to struggle with that record flooding. a quick look at the commodity markets. gold has very much been in the headlines. that's up from yesterday's -- excuse me. friday's 1% dip as investors

turn their attention back to safer assets. right now it's up about 30 cents, up to $1,362 per ounce. u.s. markets closed on monday for a public holiday. don't be fooled by the four-day week. there's still plenty on the agenda as earnings season accelerateds. now 10% of the s&p 500. that's 49 companies opening their books this week. look out for big names from the financial and tech sectors in particular. goldman sachs and google amongst them. investors will be poring over their reports for clues about the health of the u.s. economy. now tensions in tunisia remain high as the prime minister prepares to unveil a government of national unity. the country's military is still fighting with armed gangs, supporters of the former president on friday. 23 years of authoritarian rule ended following weeks of protest over government corruption and stagnating economic conditions. tunisians described terrible

living standards brought on by unemployment and high prices. meanwhile, standard european tourists caught up in the civil turmoil have been flowed out. tourism has been a boom for tunisia's economy but could not suffer if the political crisis insists. they're hoping the demise of the longtime government will bring them a better life. that remains to be seen. as cnn's ben wedeman reports, mere survival is the goal now. >> reporter: looters flee from a supermarket in the upscale tunis suburb of carthage. fleeing as soldiers fire in the air. the army stuck around for about ten minutes and left. there's a fire sale on at the burnt out monopris. everything's free. this young man who gave his name as muhammad told me he's searching for food. like everyone else, he says, i'm

looking for whatever i can. that's all. but after the fire and waves of previous looters, there's little to be had. this is the messy part of the jasmine revolution. these are poor people who have come from another part of town to this middle class neighborhood to loot from this store because most stores in the capital are closed. frustration and rage boil over when we try to videotape hundreds of people lined up in a bakery in this district. the specter of chaos, of angry hungry people has residents of this working class suburb worried. they've organized them into an ad hoc neighborhood watch, another concern that old armed regime loyalists are trying to stoke confusion and fear. at this checkpoint, the attitude is speak loudly and carry a big stick, or for some, a sword.

and they cheer the arrival of army troops, who are slightly better armed. the well off residents of one wealthy street in carthage are building up their barricades. unknown attackers have already struck. >> it's day one a boy was killed. he was only 21. he was a student, and he was in front of his house. because he was protecting his house. >> his house, yeah. >> i see that you don't have -- >> we don't have guns. we don't have anything. >> reporter: all you have is baseball bats. >> we have only this. >> we have to defend our neighborhood. >> reporter: municipal services once taken for granted, like garbage collection, have broken down. so residents are taking up the slack, trying to maintain a semblance of normal life.

and despite all the uncertainty about food, about security, the thrill that ordinary people were able to overthrow a 23-year-old dictatorship hasn't worn off. >> lovely tu to you nnisia, we . >> reporter: ben wedeman in carthage, tunisia. >> the worries about tunisia and the economy certainly affected the stock market. the benchmark tunindex slumped 13% in the last week alone and is at a two-year low. unemployment, which sparked the unrest in the first place, went up to 13%. and the cost of living just keeps rising. and there's a shortage of some basic goods, including food. about three-quarters of tunisia's exports currently go to the european union. with the european economy itself in the doldrums, the country faces a tough time exporting its way back into growth.

and inbound tourism is likely to take a hit as holiday makers stay away because of the political violence, max. >> and the news of tunisia are sending shock waves across north africa. in egypt, the stock market has taken a hit as investors are jittery about the country's political stability and the rising cost of food subsidies is adding to the growing budget deficit there. algeria saw protests to the food costs last month, which some analysts say could boil over into unrest. the algerian government has responded by trying to slow rising prices. we've also had libya, home to the biggest oil reserves in africa, also try to keep the cost of food down to head off public discontent. all companies will be watching for signs of similar unrest in those two countries this week, andrew. >> of course, we'll be keeping a close eye on this story and how it affects, not just tunisia, but the whole region. we want to tell you about the week ahead, from fixing

europe's debt zone to a raft of earnings. it's got to be a big week for the business world. what have we got coming up? let's take a look at the key numbers. starting today, it's going to be a very big day in brussels today. the 17 eurozone finance ministers are meeting, and they're going to debate whether to increase the emergency fund for the block's struggling economies. right now there's $586 billion to play with in that pot, but some analysts say it should be more than double that to protect the eu's most vulnerable members. and certainly this is a story which just continues, the eu debt crisis as it's known. on tuesday, the chinese president hu jintao touches down in the united states. from wednesday's welcoming ceremony on the south lawn of the white house to his summit with the u.s. president, cnn, of course, will be covering all those highlights. what else have we got on tuesday? it's the company that we all talk about pretty much all the time. apple opening its books. that happens after the closing bell on tuesday. now, briefing.com forecasts the

fourth quarter earnings at apple are going to come in around $5.39 a share. that would be up from $3.67 in the same quarter last year. get this, that would mean apple's earnings have gone up something like 47% over the year, and given the fact it's been a pretty tough year, gives you an idea just how hot apple is at the moment. taking a look at wednesday. the financial sector is going to be in the spotlight. both goldman sachs and wells fargo are going to be reporting. that comes before the opening bell. going to be a close eye on that one. on thursday, the focus shifts to the tech sector. we've got google and amd, advanced microdevices, both reporting. that will come after the close of trade. pretty quiet on friday. next is really going to be focusing on earnings on wall street this week. it's not just the earnings, it's the quality of those earnings people are looking at. analysts are looking at whether the growth is actually real,

whether there's demand out there or whether companies are still cost-cutting, which means there's not a lot of demand, which means not a lot of job creation. >> absolutely. lots of corporate news coming up and lots of economic news this week as well. particularly we're going to be following expressing doubts about the u.s. dollar's valuation. chinese president hu jintao wraps up currency tensions on the eve of his state trip to washington. it's a very important trip. that is next on "world business today." and try...and try. i heard eating whole grain oats can help lower my cholesterol. it's gonna be tough...so tough. my wife and i want to lower our cholesterol, but finding healthy food that tastes good is torturous. your father is suffering. [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. and the life you want to live. with rheumatoid arthritis,erol. there's the life you live... fortunately there's enbrel,

the #1 most doctor-prescribed biologic medicine for ra. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, fatigue, and stop joint damage. because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, and other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis. ask your doctor if you live or have lived in an area where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. and help bridge the gap between the life you live... and the life you want to live. when it comes to investing, no one person has all the answers. so td ameritrade doesn't give me just one person.

questions about retirement? i talk to their retirement account specialists. bonds? grab the phone. fixed-income specialist. td ameritrade knows investors sometimes need real, live help. not just one broker... a whole team there to help... to help me decide what's right for me. people with answers at td ameritrade. get up to $500 when you open an account. of nfl training camp to put our 24-hour frequent heartburn protection to the test for two weeks. [ diehl ] people think we're indestructible, but if you're out there and you're feeling burning it's gonna affect the way that you play. prilosec otc is the one thing i can count on to block my heartburn. when i take it in the morning i'm ready to go for the rest of the day [ male announcer ] prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn! buy two 42-count boxes of prilosec otc. get $25 back.

welcome back from cnn hong kong and cnn london. you're watching "world business today." talks between leaders of the world's two biggest economic powers are still a couple of days away, but pre-meeting positions are already being staked out. the chinese president hu jintao, it's his first trip to the white house for wednesday's meeting with his u.s. counterpart. ahead of the visit, mr. hu replied to questions from the two u.s. newspapers, saying the

u.s. dollar's position in the global currency system is a product of the past. china has also been critical of the u.s. federal reserve's quantitative easing measures, adding "the u.s. monetary policy has a major impact on global liquidity and capital flows. and therefore the liquidity of the u.s. dollar should be kept at a reasonable and stable level." he also rejected arguments about timothy geithner about allowing china's dollar to depreciate, dismissing the notion it would help rein in inflation. >> to coincide with the chinese visit to washington, we're exploring brand china this week. we'll also be looking at china's growing economic influence spanning multiple industries. that includes a tour of geely

university in beijing, where the auto industry is training its newest recruits. and also a glimpse into the oil industry in china. and hear from china's leading sports brands and appliance manufacturers. first, we start with baidu. it's china's biggest online search engine. they asked the chief financial officer how the company began and what it's planning for the future. >> baidu, the word comes from the song dynasty poem. >> reporter: the term originates from ancient times. now it's the name of one of china's technology leaders. >> it has something to do with search. >> reporter: baidu is china's answer to america's google. it dominates the computers here. it listeded on the nasdaq. it's gained ground from the high profile retreat of google which ran into problems with authorities from cyber attacks

and the country's notorious censorship. baidu is looking to compete outside china's borders, pitting it again against its american rifle al. >> google is a great company, but we do very well in the chinese market. when we go internationally, we will keep the core, the key success factor that enabled us to be where we are today. >> reporter: do you ever feel that you're in the shadow of google? >> we will, not only because of the search technology itself because we understand the local markets. we offer a whole slough of different products that the user comes to baidu. >> reporter: on the chinese internet, there's a lot of censorship that goes on. how do you operate in that type of environment? >> obviously, as a search engine, you want to enable free flow of information without border, without restriction. you look at the history of china's media development over the past 30 years, i think the media space has given up tremendously in terms of openness, freedom, flow of

information. so you put things in perspective. we're moving towards the right trex. >> reporter: one criticism of baidu is that you're a copy cat, and you can't be a leader if you're a follower. >> there are plenty of international companies that has to come to china in the internet space. you look at ebay and google and yahoo, these companies, they have the technology. they have those ideas. are they successful? you can't copy everything here and make it work. it has to serve the local markets. it's those kinds of appreciation, understanding, and innovation that's in the dna of the chinese product that makes them successful. >> eunice yoon talking to baidu ceo jennifer lee. this time tomorrow eunice will be talking to automaker geely. geely's $500 million acquisition of volvo from ford helped launch it last week.

that's part of brand week here on "world business today." with oil prices hovering around two-year highs, how is opec responding? could those costs threaten the global recovery?

still hanging around that $90 a barrel mark. you're watching "world business today." >> the price of oil has fallen from the 27-month high it hit on friday when it reached more than $99 a barrel in intraday trade. there are concerns it could hurt the global economic recovery, but opec ministers say price,still fair, and they are not likely to add more oil to the market. live from cnn abu dhabi.

oil prices vital right now? >> reporter: the reason the opec ministers say they're not likely to add any supplies soon is because they believe there's enough supply on the market, and these high prices are due more to speculation rather than supply and demand. they are aware that rising energy frprices are obviously n good for growth as you mentioned, especially at a time when the world is emerging from recession. according to the latest global risks report from the world economic forum, max, rising economic price ss one of the key risks we look to as the rest of 2011 continues and beyond. here in the middle east, a growing population means demand for oil is set to increase in the medium term, and that means prices could go up even more. now, that comes as global food prices which you mentioned are also at the highest level since 2008. those prices, the costs in addition to high unemployment, which is particularly high

amongst the youth in the region. 60% of the population is under the age of 25. and amongst the wealth disparities that exist in this region threaten civil unrest. that's what we're seeing in tunisia. we've seen similar protests in nigeria last week. a number of countries have outlined their plans for nuclear energy. that, of course, is amid concerns about iran's nuclear energy program, max. iranian officials are set to meet with international mediators in turkey next week, and they're going to be discussing their nuclear program, of course. we spoke with jeremy greenstock, the former british ambassador to the u.n., last week and asked him what he thought was the best approach to these talks. >> there's still a huge amount of diplomacy to do on iran. the downside is the use of force, which i think can't be excluded in terms of prediction,

but the downsides are very great. and the scope for diplomacy is very large. there's a lot to talk about. but the western parts have got to remember that in the region it's not just about, or all about the nuclear issue, which is large, but it's also about iran's role in the region. >> reporter: iran's nuclear program has obviously raised alarm bells in the region. over the past year, max, we've been looking at uae, saudi arabia, kuwait, egypt, and jordan who are all exploring nuclear energy purely for electricity generation, but, of course, any nuclear program in the middle east raises concerns because of the fear technology could get into the wrong hands, max. >> leone, thank you very much indeed. the middle east increasingly known for its tall buildings as well. up next, are some economies reaching too high into the sky with their buildings? one theory says skyscrapers,

traditionally signs of prosperity, could really be omens of trouble. we'll explore that ahead.

from cnn hong kong. i'm andrew stevens. >> and i'm maxwell in london. welcome back to "world business today." let's see what's going on in europe when the markets are now 90 minutes into the trading day. all the main markets pretty much on the move. the zurich smi the only market up at all, up .03%. the main talking point, a finance ministers meeting in brussels, talking about the euro crisis. one bright spot is bp.

shares are up after they announced a deal on friday with rosnev of russia. the big talking point in asia, max, is what went on in the shanghai market. down more than 3%. the nikkei, first of all, the biggest market here, up just a fraction. exporters getting a boost. let's get back to the shanghai composite, down sharply. banking and property stocks leading the way down there. really about the worry there will be more interest rate rises in china to try to combat inflation there. a move on friday to increase the consolidation for the banks. this is the amount of money the banks have to have to take money out of the system. it's a way of cushing lending. certainly chinese authorities are worried about lending in china. if you look at the market, they're expecting more to happen. you see the big selloff there. and they've got december inflation figures out this week

in china, which will be closely watched. quickly in sydney, mining stocks down as australia continues to struggle with record flooding. max? under the u.s. markets closed this monday for the martin luther king jr. national holiday, but there will be plenty to keep traders and investors busy through the rest of the week. all sorts of corporate news. here's a preview from new york. the financial sector leads the way with corporate earnings this week. i'm allison kosik at the new york stock exchange. citigroup, bank of america, wells fargo, and morgan stanley are all scheduled to post quarterly results. analysts have been cautiously optimistic about this round of profits. and jp morgan chase topped wall street estimates when it reported last week. more positive results from the banks could translate into higher hopes for the broader economy. it could fuel more gains for stocks at the financial sector has led the charge over the past few weeks. a number of major tech companies will also weigh in

this week. earnings from apple, google, and ibm are expected. we'll also hear from general electric and coffee chain starbucks. also on the docket, a slough of economic data. housing market will be front and center with new readings on housing starts, building permits, and existing home salss. sales were mostly higher in november, but this latest round will not be so rosie. analysts say housing seems to be taking a couple of steps forward and then one step back over the past few months. that's a look ahead at the week and u.s. business news. i'm alison kosik in new york. >> so a big week ahead in new york, particularly in the financial sector. asia's markets, of course, we'll be watching closely. joining us now is the chief asian and emerging markets equity strategist for jp morgan chase. nice to see you back. let's talk quickly about the u.s. because the more i read about what's been going on with this endless up cycle for the

dow and the s&p, most people now are saying it's gone too far, that a correction is in order. do you see it coming? does it need a catalyst to see a sell-off? >> i think what you're going to see is a whole series of revision upwards in terms of people's expectations for u.s. growth that probably continues through this quarter. then i'd be worried about a correction beyond that point. >> so we've got another three months or so. >> possibly. let's say another two months. but another thing is what clients are saying about developed markets relative to emerging markets. now the trend that's building. people are saying that emerging markets are going to underperform, asian markets are going to underperform, and other markets are going to outperform. what we're seeing in the developing countries are a reversion of european. and in the emerging world, we're seeing rising inflation, which

is a broader inflation story. you talk about the weakness in the chinese equity market, the market is succumbing to austerity measures designed to control inflation. >> what is the bank's view on china inflation? i think shanghai was down 17% in 2010. so obviously, there's been a sell-off there. it continues in 2011. how far has this sell-off got to run? >> there's really two questions there. there's the market question, and there's the inflation question. the inflation print at the end of this week is likely to be down for the november number because of pricing controls. we then expect inflation to begin to pick up once more. the chinese economy is very strong. we've had retail sales running at 18%. car sales at 29% year over year. if you look at residential construction starts in the month of november, they were 1.5 billion square feet of residential property. that number was billion, yes. >> and they're already talking about a property bubble, yet you've got this sort of thing

going on. >> so we need to see significantly more austerity measures in china designed to slow down growth. and i think, when growth slows down and inflation comes off, then you will see the market responding to that and being less nervous about further tightening. >> how much has been baked into the market, further austerity measures? >> i think there's a fair amount baked in. the valuation of the market is very reasonable at these levels. i don't see significant downside. i wouldn't be shorting chinese shares at this point. i don't see any sustained rally in them until we get to that point that shows us the economy slowed down, inflation is less of an issue. then the market's anxiety about the pboc's next policy will be less. >> keeping on the big picture for the moment, you mentioned the german economy obviously growing very strongly at the moment. but the peripheral economies, as they're known, where the euro debt crisis is still centered, spain, italy, portugal, and so

on. do you think this still has the potential to pull back global markets? >> yes, i do. i think there are a number of factors that could cause markets to begin to correct in march. the u.s. government breaches its debt ceiling in march unless they vote for a higher debt ceiling, and that could be politically very contentious as we run up to that vote. we have possibly an irish general election in march. we have the rolling over of a greater quantity of debt in march and april than we've seen for the balance of the year. so i do see a number of stress points that could cause the market to correct, particularly the developed markets, which as you were highlighting earlier, have had a very good move. i do see that move continuing for now, but then maybe we see a correction there. we could also get another source of a correction, which if we see a more meaningful tightening out of china, then i'd expect commodity prices to come off,

and that could cause a broader correction in risk assets. >> we're almost talking about a perfect storm here. >> absolutely. >> something about beware the ides of march. someone said that. thank you very much for coming in. the death toll is ticking up from the devastating flooding in brazil. government officials say at least 631 people have been killed in the mountainous region of rio de janeiro. for more on the forecast there, let's cross over to meteorologist jennifer delgado. she's at the weather center for us. hi, jennifer. >> hi, max. you're right. it's such a sad situation what's been happening across brazil. as we look at the satellite, want to point out we're dealing with the clouds around. they're going to continue as we go throughout the day. once we get afternoon heating and with the persistent low off the coast, we are going to continue to see the chance for more thunderstorms to pop up. that means heavy rainfall at times right along the coastal region, and this is going to last for monday as well as into tuesday. i point this out to you because so many people now are homeless. they're living in mountains.

let's go over to some video just to show you exactly what it looks like across this region. people don't have anything. after days of heavy rainfall, the ground gave way. we're dealing with mudslides as well as landslides, and we're also dealing with people who are living on river banks. when you get more rainfall across the region coming down the mountains, because this is a mountainous region, as we go over to the graphic, we're going to continue with the threat of more flooding problems in the form of landslides and mudslides. certainly everybody still needs to be cautious across this region. as i take you into the future, as we go two days out, notice for rio and the area, mostly to the northeast of rio, that was the areas hardest hit. looks like we could see potentially 15 millimeters of rainfall for areas down towards the south, including sao paulo. we're talking about 33 millimeters. that may not sound like a lot, but the problem is, when you add more rain into an area that's already saturated, it's going to cause more problems with flooding across the region. quickly want to update you on

australia. we're looking in victoria. that's where we've been dealing with the flooding over the weekend as well as into today. good news to report as we go over to this graphic for you. hopefully, our director will pull it up. this is our google earth. this is going to show you what you're seeing in red. this is actually the only river that we're reporting where we're dealing with major flooding. so the rivers are slowly receding from this time yesterday. we reportedly had 44 towns dealing with flooding across the area. as i go back over to our graphic, the good news is we are going to be dealing with dry conditions for victoria as we go through the next several days. heaviest rain to the north. for queensland, we're really only talking about 5 centimeters of rainfall over the next several days. that's going to be a benefit for drier conditions across australia. >> jennifer, thank you very much indeed. the saying is what goes up must come down. is there a link between the rise of buildings and the fall of economies? our next guest says there is. we'll talk about his skyscraper index and what he sees as the

next trouble spot. transform dry, damaged hair... and give it a whole new life! with the aveeno nourish plus moisturize collection. the only hair care with active naturals wheat formulas, that target even the weakest parts of hair with hydrating proteins to help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. [ female announcer ] aveeno nourish plus. and for a luxuriously nourishing shower experience, add positively nourishing body washes. visit aveeno.com to save, and discover the power of active naturals.

looking towards the western part of hong kong, the sun setting. quite a pretty picture, one of the cruise ships heading out as we pan back eastwards up towards victoria peak, pretty too. looking at those skyscrapers there brings us to our next story. can buildings like those be actually a sign of rough times ahead? the so-called skyscraper index says, when tall buildings go up, the economy goes down. case in point, the burge khalifa in dubai, by the time it opened as the world's tallest buildings, the united arab emirates was in a debt crisis. we saw the same thing in malaysia in the late 1990s. the opening of the petronas

towers in kuala lumpur resulted in the asian crisis which rumbled on for three years. it can be traced back as far as the 1870s. the equitable life building in new york, viewed by some as the world's first actual skyscraper was followed by a financial depression. this is where it once stood, now the site of an even taller building. andrew lawrence of barclays capital here in hong kong came up with the skyscraper index, and he updated it recently. he's here to tell us more about it. andrew, welcome to the show. >> thank you. >> it's a fascinating study. how close is this correlation if you go back through sort of the history of developed and developing economies. does the bust always follow the boom in buildings? >> i think, if we look back over the index, we've had some very close correlations between the world's tallest buildings and the most severe financial crisis. if we go right back to 1873, there was a crisis in 1873 in the u.s. if we go through 19 -- late

1890s, there was a crisis. around 1910, another financial crisis. and then particularly the 1930s then the 1970s and so through. >> they're big cycles. what about the smaller ones between the 1930s and '70s, you've obviously got 40 years. can you do correlations there as well? >> what we can see is that building booms of skyscrapers. it may not be the world's tallest building in that building, but we have a number of skyscrapers going up. particularly late '80s in the u.s., there was a building boom, and we had the s&l crisis. >> savings and loan crisis. what does it tell you? skyscrapers go up towards the end of an economic cycle. >> i think it els us they start the planning period after we've had an extended boom, and they typically get completed in the downturn because of the build period, et cetera. we typically see them planning and started when money is free and available, banks are lending. >> and what's the lag, five

years? >> it really depends. if you look at, for example, 1930s, buildings completeded. 1929, 1931, 1932. it tends to come, if you like, just a couple years after. >> this is no surprise here because booms in buildings will always be followed by a downturn. would you agree with that? i mean, it's just a natural thing. >> i think it's the fact that we have these building booms which are erratically timed and come at particular points in the cycle, business cycle. and it's not that we can necessarily just see if you like regular building cycles. they are particularly timed towards financial crisis. >> speaking of financial crises to come on the skyscraper index, you'd have to put china right up there, wouldn't you? >> we would. if we look at building booms, people can rest a little bit easy because there isn't a world's tallest building

planned. there isn't one coming through. >> there are quite a few big ones. shanghai's got two, which may be the world's second and third biggest. >> correct. if we look at china going out over the next six years, it's going to build about 44% of all the new skyscrapers coming in over this period, and basically expand skyscrapers in chinese cities by over 50%. >> does this factor into your number crunching and your asset allocation? >> we tend to look at it as an interesting anecdotal of what's happening in the market. >> fascinating stuff. andrew, thanks so much for coming in. andrew lawrence with barclays capital. max? >> you're watching "world business today" live on cnn. our next story is ideal for fashion followers if you're one of them as we kick off a week long series on luxury living. here how fashionistas and high end brands are finding ways to stay competitive. for people with astigmatism. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink

and created with hydraclear® plus. i'm seeing more clearly, crisply, comfortably, all day long. now life doesn't have to be a blur. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. you need the patch. (announcer) icy hot patches. targeted no-mess relief. icy to dull pain. hot to relax it away. pain's no match for the icy hot patch.

welcome back from cnn hong kong and cnn london. you're watching "world business today." >> things seem to be looking up in the financial world. how about the luxury business? will high ends goods companies repeat their strong performance of 2010? we take a look at our first installment of the week long series on luxury living. >> reporter: the luxury sector may have been able to stave off the worst effects of the recession. still this is not the time for complacency. brands are feeling the pressure to innovate and push boundaries to retain their healthy hue. >> the heritage luxury brands like louis vuitton and aramis have been really smart about their offering and about concentrating on what they do best and products that are almost beyond fashion, and that has positioned them extremely well over the last two years and probably going forward because it gives them a base on which they can build fashion

offerings, which may or may not bolster the bottom line as much but will give them buzz while also creating products which are clearly investment vehicles. >> reporter: one way brands have found to create buzz to keep them in good stead for 2011 is to collaborate with each other in the form of pop-up shops. shoe designer ma know la blahnik teamed up with liberty of london last november. >> i can't believe i'm doing it because i refuse to do this kind of collaboration before. but it's good to challenge yourself. you collaborate with a lot of people now because it's going to be tough times. >> it shows the resilience, just going out and fighting for the brand, for the continuation of the company. these companies came up with the idea of, let's see, how do we not invest too much into a store where we're going to commit to

it but still open up, introduce new ideas, make it a platform to showcase our brand. >> reporter: the consumers that many brands want to reach are in asia, particularly china. with sales of luxury products expected to reach $14.6 billion in china by 2014, brands are poised to profit from these increasingly wealthy shoppers. burberry has bought all 50 of its franchises in china to have control over its image. and hermes has gone a step further, launching its own chinese luxury brand to tap into the local luxury market. >> if you're not there, you're missing something. you're missing an opportunity that is just enormous. growth is there, and there is a lot of sensitivity to the luxury category. it's a culture that likes beautiful things and appreciates beautiful things and is very aspirational. >> over the next few months, the luxury brands will be fighting

for their share of the emerging markets, and their idea is to tread carefully. >> the luxury growth in 2010 was something i expected. to tell you the truth, i wasn't expecting it as fast and significant as what we've seen. and i still believe that we need to be a little bit cautious about the trends for 2011 and 2012. it is a market that bounces back. we need to build up. and 2011 we'll be challenging this all the way. >> reporter: monita rajpal, cnn, london. the markets are unmoved in the first hours of trade. the main talking points, finance ministers meeting to discuss the euro, and bp's deal with rosneft of russia. andrew? main talking points in this part of the world, as we look at the numbers, is what's going on on the inflation front in china.

shanghai down another 3% today on fears there could be more interest rate rises in the pipeline. most people are betting on it. the question now is just how many will there need to be to calm the chinese inflation story? apart from china, australia down about .045% as they're still dealing with the flooding. >> i'm max foster in london. hong kong world one starts now. let's say hello to zain verjee. >> tus. thanks, max and andrew. here's some of the stories we're working on right now. gunfire on the streets of tunisia trying to keep the peace as the prime minister continues to establish a new unity government. plus shining the light on the murky world of swiss banking. what a former bank executive

says he's about to hand over to wikileaks. plus this -- >> and the golden globe goes to colin firth, "the king's speech." >> a royal reward for colin firth after a moving performance that left audiences speechless. that's just moments away on world one live on cnn. curtis: welcome back to geico radio, it's savings, on the radio. geck csteve, go right ahead. steve: yeah, u i jt afree rate, curtis: welcome back to geico radio, it's savings, on the radio. saved a ton, and it only took me 5 minutes and 12 seconds!

steve: i was wondering that some sort of record? gecko: that's a good question. e 5 milet's have a look.ds! curtis: mmmm, not quite. someone's got you beat by 8 seconds. cko: still, i mean, at's... that's qui steve: well, what if i told you i only used one hand? anncr: geico. 15 nuco save yor insurance. 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.