>> deepak chopra, leonard mladinow, thank you very much. "war of the world views." i commend it to anyone who wants to have a huge argument with almost everyone they know. thank you. >> thank you. i'm mid to upper i'm monita rajpal. riot police battle coptic christians furious about the burning of a church in the southern part of the country. libya's revolutionary fighters say they are close to capturing the last strongholds of ousted libyan leader moammar gadhafi. they say they are on the verge

of taking the port city of sirte. a spade of killings at a port on the mekong river has interrupted cargo trade between children that and thailand. at least 12 sailors were murdered in what may have been a drug traffic attempt. investigations are continuing. severe weather in new zealand is hampering efforts to corn taken an oil spill off the country's north eye land. authorities are trying to pump the remaining oil off a ship that struck a reef last wednesday. 30 tons of oil has leaked from the vessel. those are the headlines from cnn, the world's news leader. i'm monita rajpal. "world business today" starts right now. good morning from cnn london, i'm charles hod southern. >> and good afternoon from cnn

hong kong, i'm andrew stevens. welcome to "world business today." the top stories monday, october 10th. >> bell jen bank agrees to its bailout. are more bank rescues on the way? >> and weather hampers efforts to contain an oil spill in new zealand. and -- >> it's a real issue and an issue that's getting bigger and the principle reason it's getting bigger is because of the economic situation. more people are finding it harder to make end's meet. >> the age of austerity has all too many uk residents relying on charity to feed their children. we'll move straight on to the rescue of dexia and what it involves. what we know is that the board has approved a rescue plan by the governments of belgium, france and luxembourg. the beljan unit of the bank is

to be sold. they agreed to guarantee up to 90 billion euros of funding over the next decade. more on that with richard quest in just a moment. now unfortunately it has to be said, this is nothing new for dexia. at the height of the crisis, the franco belgian bank was bald out. three years later, it's gone full circle. it holds $21 billion worth of greek, italian and peripheral euro zone debt. dexia posted record losses of $5.5 billion in the second quarter after writing down the value of those greek holdings. the company stock has plummeted, losing more than two-thirds of its value so far this year. richard quest is in brussels and

joins us now with a closer look at what's going on. richard, very briefly, it seems to me that the bank's board had very little choice. they had to accept this bailout, didn't they? >> reporter: they had no choice whatsoever. basically the retail part, the consumer part of the bank is -- off so ordinary people don't have to worry about what happened. you have a bad bank with toxic assets and the taxpayers of france, belgium and luxembourg end up bailing the guarantees for the rest of the bank. it's a bad situation all around. from dexia's point of view, it was the only solution. >> richard, i think it's pretty welfare to say, that the question in a lot of people's minds is, is this the first of many? dexia has had two bailouts. how many others will need one or

two bailouts? >> dexia needed a bailout because of the unique circumstances of the bank. it was high into municipal bonds, late in the game. it had a particular financial structure that meant when things turned sour, dexia was one of the first to get clobbered. they may be at the front of the line but there are plenty behind. what we have to watch for is if the situation continues to deteriorate, dexia passed the second set of euro stress test for banks. indeed, many other banks will be fine if they get their act together. however, the situation continues to deteriorate. if greek bonds do end up taking a sharp -- without recapitalization, there will be other banks in the same position as dexia. that's what european officials today are looking at. what needs to be done.

recapitalize the banks and put together new structures in place. >> okay, richard, thank you very much. richard quest, you'll be interviewing the commission president in the next half hour. we look forward, if possible, to hearing from you as to what he has to say about the latest developments. let's move on to stock markets here in europe. and they rose slightly at the open on monday. that follows confirmation of the bail joust the troubled bank dexia and proposal by the french and german governments to recapitalize some of the euro zone's other vulnerable banks. the markets quite passive about that, perhaps speculative. we are seeing gains on most of the banks -- most of the indices at the moment. dexia shares still suspended from trade at the moment. there was a credit downgrade

that came from moody's and fitch on friday for italy and spain. they seemed to be reasonably positive about that. the main issue is something we'll be returning to and that is the promise by the french and germen leaders to essentially map out a rescue plan for the euro zone by the end of the month. gains, scant, around 0.25% for the ftse, cac and the zurich smi. the dax went 0.25% the other way. there's not a lot of details at the moment but fred will bring us up to date. let's take a look at what's been happening here at the start of the week. a pretty mixed picture as well. japan closed today for the national sports day holiday. in hong kong, resource stocks

lost ground, after china's biggest refiner announced it was taking over the canadian gas and oil producer. hong kong turning around in the last few minutes. australia and seoul, both talking up modest gains. shanghai, down by almost 0.66%. the interesting thing here is, not only is shanghai starting after a week holiday, it's also starting at a pretty low base. this is the index performance over the past three years. you can see there. back in july 2010 it was down at 2,300 odd points. you have to go back to 2009 for the composite levels. that's a 2 1/2 year low for the composite. the golden week holiday didn't

bring for any sort of nerves or certainly didn't calm nerves for the chinese investors. they came in and got rid of two-thirds of the value of the composite exchange. we of such a volatile week which ended on friday. most of the markets in asia are down by 1% or 2%. certainly count that picking up where it left off. >> it's interesting, andrew. we are seeing a disconnect between what's been going on in the asian markets and what we've been seeing on the markets in north america and europe. wall street, it appears anyway, will be looking for reasons to extend last week's gains when trading begins on monday. even though u.s. stocks did close lower on friday, they were higher over the week. the dow climbed by a fraction of 1% in friday's trading. over the week it had a gain of nearly 1.75%. the nasdaq lost more than 1% on friday but added nearly 2.75% over the week.

the standard and poors 500 was 2% than it was last monday. u.s. markets, here we are, the futures as you've been seeing them for a little while, actually, they look set for opening gains when trading begins in a few hours from now. just the premarket action there. out by around about 1% across the board. andrew? >> yes. a few hours before the markets open in the u.s. the news coming out of europe over the next few hours will be vital to how the u.s. markets eventually open. let's get back to our top story. like dexia, french banks are exposed to french debt. the french president nichololas sarkozy and angela merkel met over the weekend. this is a pivotal plan.

fred pleitgen is following that story. we seem to have no detail yet. >> there's a deadline and a promise that was made by french president nicolas sarkozy that they'd come up with a comprehensive package to shore up the european currency and indeed the european economy as well. that they would do that before the next g20 summit which, of course, is going to take place in france in cannes on the 3rd and 4th of november. they set up a deadline and a promise. it's not clear what will be part of that package. if you talk to analysts and people on the ground they'll tell you it basically consists of long term and short-term measures. both sides, angela merkel and nicolas sarkozy said they were committed to recapitalizing european banks. there was some discord between the two leaders as to how

exactly that is supposed to happen but the long-term measures could entail some european treaties. it could make it easier to stop some countries if their fiscal policies are not what they should be. no details at this point in time but a promise that a big comprehensive package is on the way, which is something that might not calm down investors but does make some sense if you keep in mind, these are the two most powerful people in the european union. but they'll have to get the support of the entire euro zone to be able to push these measures through. >> europe's politicians have been criticized strongly for really adopting, it's more like a drip, drip approach to dealing with this. just doing enough to stave off the next day or week of the crisis. it's interesting that we have the uk leader, david cameron

saying they only have a few weeks to solve this or there will be a full-blown approach in the euro zone. he's now saying there has to be a bazooka approach, throwing everything at it. >> i don't see angela merkel pulling out bat zook ka at this point in time. she probably also heard what david cameron had to say. if you look at the history of what angela merkel and nicolas sarkozy has been done in the past, it does seem to be enough. both of these leaders are, of course, under immense pressure at home as well, especially angela merkel who's facing a lot of criticism and has a lot of people in her own governing coalition who are not fond of putting up extra money for the european stabilization mechanism for the european stability fund as well. she's got a lot of internal problems she's going to have to

deal with. on the other hand, the french, of course, would like for their banks to be able to access the efsf, to recapitalize themselves. you have the problem of greece as well, because the german economy is so big and people are expecting so much of merkel, people have not managed to stamp out that fire going on there. andrew? >> they have less than three weeks to do it. fred pleitgen, thank you. driving down inflation, china slashes fuel prices as the country's biggest oil refiner moves to shore up its energy supplies. the detail ozzen that, just ahead.

the trading session for gold, checking out a couple commodities for you, precious

metal climbs, that's continuing. up by just under $20. down about 11% over the past 30 days. we'll see whether that means it is going to move further ahead. have a look at the oil. also on the upswing, not fight so dramatically, up 60 cents. investors encouraged by the posted u.s. jobs report and the merkel/sarkozy summit. good news on the euro debt crisis and the real economy in the united states. welcome back. from cnn hong kong and cnn london, this is "world business today." >> let's just stick with oil for a moment and china's biggest oil refiner, the state-owned signer pick is poised to fork out $2.1 billion for the canadian oil and gas producer daylight energy. that's more than twice the value of daylight's stock at the close of trading on friday. it's just another example of beijing's continuing effort to

find energy to support china's rapid growth. investors, though, not best pleased by news of that outlay. the stock down almost 3%. traded here in hong kong today. staying in china and with energy, beijing slashed gas lone and diesel prices by more than 3%. that is about $47 a ton has brought prices down from record high levels. this is the latest bid to reign in inflation from july's three-year high of 6.5%. we get another reading on inflation in china on friday. the cpi did ease slightly in august. a lot of people watching inflation incredibly closely in china. and finally, this man here, the man who said he's about to run for the president of russia, the current prime minister, vladimir putin will arrive in china tomorrow as wranglings over a

huge gas deal continue between china and russia. with ceos of state-run energies and resource companies among his entourage, they are likely to form a key part of those talks in beijing. >> now, you're watching "world business today." authorities in england rush to contain an oil leak. the weather is working against them. details, next. calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™.

check in quickly at the world currencies. 76.64 japanese yen, 1.5616 and 1.3530 as far as the euro and dollar are concerned. you're watching "world business today" live on cnn. an oil spill off the eastern coast of new zealand's north island is worsening as heavy weather hits the area. you can see quite clearly the slick so far. that's about 30 tons of fuel oil spilled fr eed from rina. oil started to wash up on a popular beach in the area and

they're warning the water has become highly toxic. the prime minister john key says he's looking for answers. >> this is a ship that's played out in calm waters during the night, 7 to 10 knots. >> green peace says the accident shows how unprepared new zealand is for an oil spill that could result from the government's planned deep sea oil drilling program. charles? now, salvage and recovery workers try to pumps the remaining oil out of the cargo ship before it leaks out, the weather doesn't seem to be doing them any favors. we go to the cnn weather center. what's happening down there off the north ireland of new zealand? >> the conditions are deteriorating pretty quickly. putting the maps in motion, this is what the satellite looked a few hours ago. we had a few complexes of thunderstorms well offshore.

you can see the storm's become better organized. as of this hour, the storm moved in. the bay of plenty, they're getting the rains and last check of some of the observations there seeing wind gusts up to 06 kilometers per hour. that's going to be the name of the game with the storm system. winds up to 60 kilometers per hour, not just today and tomorrow. possibly through wednesday. of course, the operations there going to be hampered and the seas could get as high as 1.5 to 2.5 meters. i just want to take you in for a closer look, give you a scale of the vessel out there, the rina. when you measure this, put it together, bids 236 meters across. take 20, 21 london red tour buses, line them up together, 21 of those make the vessel size right there. this has 2,100 containers on board. it's not just the oil and diesel. there's paint, there's greece, hydraulic oil.

a lot of chemicals once they come in contact with the water can become very hazardous. when you have these swells up to 1.5 to 2.5 meters, the vessel being lodged between the reef out there, it is going to slosh around a little bit and the concern, of course, is this could leak more water and more chemicals within the water. this is what we're following. that's the latest here in the weather center. guys? >> okay. joining us live from the international weather center, many thanks to you. >> yes. >> andrew? >> yes, charles, the environmental toll is becoming very, very apparent now. wildlife volunteers are standing by. done -- donna marie lever reports. >> reporter: he's being doused

in sunrise soap and canola oil, flopping in the hands of those trying to save him. >> they're covered in black, sticky gunk, right down to the skin. they've ingested it and they're starting to get anemic, which is part of the toxic effect of the oil. >> reporter: he is one of five picked up after swimming right into the slick. they'll be put in these pools, they'll have to prove they have their waterproofing back before they're set free. >> they have to be able to sit on the surface of the water for six hours without showing any sign of it getting through and them starting to sink. >> with the shags, they don't cope so well. they get more stressed with us and the biggest problem we have with those guys is getting them to keep food down. >> this could be just the beginning.

now more than 30 kilometers of this coastline is under close guard. dozens of teams armed with body bags are on alert for any more wildlife victims of the spill. >> we have pillow cases carrying live ones. that's what we're expecting. >> reporter: while it doesn't appear the oil has washed in yet, locals are worried about this popular fishing spot. >> there's no slick on the surface anyway. i know a lot of the heavy oil is about three feet down anyway. you can't see anything out there. >> reporter: what you can see is the crowds, the stricken ship is a talking point. >> i don't really want this beautiful beach to be covered in oil, you know. >> reporter: surfers aren't sure how long the waters will still be safe. >> you're thinking it could turn pretty quick. >> reporter: foot the penguins, it will take several more bobs to get them clean.

the bill for this disaster response unisit being picked up by the ship's owner. donna marie lever, one news. it is known as the bay of plenty. we'll take a short break. when we come back, as growth in the euro zone and the u.s. slows down, many are pinning their hopes on asia's future prospects but is that wise? and we explain why hong kong's hang seng is one of the worst performing indices of the past three months. stay with us.

from cnn london, i'm charles hodson. >> i'm andrew stephens at cnn hong kong. welcome back. you're watching "world business today." let's have a quick look at the european stock markets now an hour and 33 minutes into the session. higher, rounded about a third of a percent across the board as far as the ftse, paris cac and the zurich smi are concerned. the losses on the xetra dax are nar rogue. investors do obviously seem to be get something kind of reaction to the bank's bailout, dexia's bailout. it is imagined when dexia shares resume trading they will probably -- well, we'll see what happened. they plunged by 4 % last week. i should imagine we might see some kind of bounce on that. this deal has been largely in the price for a while, andrew.

>> yes, absolutely. charles, here in asia meanwhile, the mixed picture for the markets this monday. the nikkei closed today. the shanghai re-opening. it was off for the entire week last week for the golden week holiday, playing catch up. the catch up is all negative, down by 0.66%. the kpos its at a 2.5-year low. this is not so much about europe in china, though europe is playing its part. it's also about worries on china's own economy and whether that which is now the world's second biggest is on track for a hard landing. here in hong kong, the hang seng index made up about 1.5% or so in the past few minutes, it ended the day flat. certainly coming back from a negative position. stocks losing out in hong kong after sixt nopec made an announcement.

we always talk about events on one side of the world affect investors on the other. the european debt crisis no different. certainly being felt around the globe significantly here in asia as well. pauli pauline chiou explains why. >> reporter: asian stock markets have been even more volatile recently than those in the u.s. hong kong's hang seng index plummeted almost 23% in the third quarter of this year. south korea's benchmark index, the kospi, fell more than 16% in the same period. and the nikkei in japan lost nearly 12%. now, south korea and japan are big exporters and highly exposed to the troubles in europe and the u.s. but why is the hang seng down so much? it's got a lot to do with the fact that many mainland chinese companies are listed on the hong kong stock exchange and china's economy has problems of its own.

those chinese firms listed hong coy by selling stock known as "h" shares. according to a manager director of ubs asia pacific, "h" shares aren't doing so well. he says the mark set concerned about china's hard landing and banking crisis and, of course, about inflation as well. this has been making "h" shares underperform. we expect the equity mark tote rebound first once inflation eases and the authorities start to reverse tightening. rising prices in china are a long-term problem. in august, inflation fell just slightly to 6.2% and we're expecting september inflation numbers later this week. so does that mean china's economy is cooling down? andrew sullivan at piper jaffray had this to say. >> growth in china will slow down because growth globally is slowing down, that's without doubt. even if it grows from 8% or 6% or 4%, that's still more growth

than we're seeing out of europe and the u.s. >> for all the talk of decoupli decoupling, the economic prospects are closely linked with those of the rest of the world. europe is still the number one export destination for chinese companies and many asian firms are funded by european banks. so what happens in the euro zone has ripple effects here. pauline chiou, cnn, hong kong. now, in the united states, stock market investors seem to be looking for a positive start to their week, dow, nasdaq, s&p futures all on the plus side right now. if we can have a look at those, it is expected to be a busy week in the united states with jobs and financial action in washington and important consumer data due out. alison kosik has a preview. following september's better than expected jobs report, president obama's jobs plan takes center stage this week. i'm alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. the senate is set to vote on

president obama's multibillion dollar jobs act. they've been pressing congress to pass the bill for weeks, stating the economy is weaker than at the beginning of the year. many observers say the full proposal will not pass. the u.s. federal reserve's latest stimulus move dubbed operation twist will be laid out in detail on tuesday when the fed relesions the minutes from its most recent policy meeting in september. retail sales figures for last month are due. figures last week indicate that retailers posted a decent back-to-school shopping season. the report will give insight into consumer spending as we approach the all-important holiday shopping season. also coming up, we get readings on consumer spending, sentiment, trade balance on import and export prices. in washington, the house will vote on deals to renew funding for workers who lost their jobs to outsourcing. the senate will also vote on trade deals with south korea, colombia and panama. the deals are worth 1 billion in new exports. that's a look ahead at the week

on wall street. i'm alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. >> meanwhile, barack obama says that his jobs bill will pave the way for a stronger economy if the plan can make it through the political gridlock in the nation's capital. cnn's athena jones looks at the politics in play over the bill. >> reporter: for president obama, putting people back to work is high priority and something he says his $447 billion jobs bill will do. >> these independent economists say we could grow the economy as much as 2% and as many as 1.9 million workers. >> reporter: he's been pushing the plan everywhere. at a press conference last week, on the road, on facebook and twitter and in his weekly address. >> this is not the time for the usual games or political gridlock in washington. >> reporter: the bill would cut payroll taxes, extend unemployment benefits, give tax credits for raising wages or hiring out of work veterans or the long-term unemployed and

provide money to keep public workers on the job and invest in rebuilding schools and roads. it would be paid for with a 5.6% tax on income over $1 million. starting in 2013. the political stakes for mr. obama are high. no president since franklin roosevelt has been re-elected with an unemployment rate above 8%. still, chances are slim that the entire package will pass in this political climate. even if it survives the senate, it faces a tough road in the house. >> we have a difference of opinion with the white house on how best to create jobs. we don't think doubling down on failed stimulus policies which have already proven to fail is the right way to go. >> reporter: house republicans say the bill will do little to create jobs. >> it's doing the same thing he's done before and expecting to have a different outcome. >> we want to work with ideas that have proven to work, that means getting certainty in our policy, regulations, taxes, debt, so that small businesses can grow. >> reporter: economists say some of the bill's provisions like

the payroll tax cut for employers would add jobs. though how many is in question. >> there isn't enough demand for the goods and services our economy can produce. so things you can do to boost that will at least temporarily create more jobs next year. >> reporter: temporarily analysts say, is the key word. >> the kinds of things that are being discuss ready not by any stretch permanent solutions. the economy is suffering after the financial crisis. it takes a long time to heal. >> reporter: both the president and vice president are hitting the road again this week, traveling to two battleground states, pennsylvania and michigan, to push the jobs bill. athena jones, cnn, the white house. now, the lengthening economic slump is driving families around the world into poverty. coming up we'll take a look where thousands in the uk, wealthy economy, are turning for basic food. as the downturn makes it tougher to secure own the basic necessities of life.

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we are still in the same financial crisis because we didn't actually deal with it. what we did is nationalized our problems across the world and now, the question is are governments credible. >> in the eyes of many americans, indeed a growing number of people here in europe, the answer to that question is starting to be no probably. that was the financial author, michael lewis talking to fa rre zakaria earlier on cnn. >> people in the u.s. beginning to demand change as the economy shows no sign of getting much better. the occupy wall street protests are well into their third week and are spreading across the u.s. protesters have gathered in more than a dozen american cities from boston to chicago to san diego. according to many, they're

directing their frustrations in the wrong direction. >> i don't know where it's going to go but they need to go away, because in my opinion, they're focusing on the wrong thing. wall street didn't pass a trillion dollar stimulus bill that didn't work. wall street didn't create these economic policies that are not working. this was done by the white house. they need to be protesting the white house, not wall street. secondly, this is just taking class warfare to another level. that's all it is. class warfare doesn't work, although it will get some people thinking in those terms. they're protesting against the wrong entity. they didn't pass these infective, failed policies. >> now for the protesters, their cause remains just one and their method remains a simple one. >> that's basically all we're here to do is express the frustration. we're not here to solve the problems. we're here to make people deal with the problems that are supposed to be dealing with them. the more people rise up, the

more they will be forced to deal with the problems. >> the demonstrations have morphed from their original anti-wall street greed stance to incorporate a host of ills ranging from unemployment to the environment and even to the war in afghanistan. people everywhere had better get used to the kind of economic pain that those protesters are demonstrating against. at least that's according to martin wolf, the chief economics editor of "the financial times. he was also talking with fareed zakaria on gps. >> i believe that we have to accept that there is going to be this very long-term process of healing, as housing markets stabilize, investment in housing stops falling, this affects both

sides of the atlantic. unemployment finally really stabilizes and while the household's finances are cured. we have to accept that. and while that is happening, there has to be a commitment, a very strong policy support, however unpopular and risky it is. >> but the chief economics correspondent, basically he's stating what so many people have been saying for so long, which seems to have gotten lost in the latest political wranglings. it is housing and it is unemployment. neither of those two issues can be healed quickly. certainly not in the speed that a lot of economists and protesters are hoping. >> no. i think the frustration on that, andrew, is likely to grow, because clearly the recovery is slow. if it is indeed a recovery at the moment. indeed, the long period of he healing that martin wolf was

talking about can't end soon enough for many people. the financial sector very important here relatively. thousands of people are finding it increasingly difficult to afford basic necessities, that includes food. our cnn international correspondent dan rivers has their story. >> reporter: for rebecca saunders, this small bag of food is critical. she's just one of the 35,000 people in britain helped out of food poverty by a network of charities. with a disabled husband she can't work and without this help she literally can't afford to feed her two children. she lives in a deprived area of lester. surviving on just under $200 a week in state benefits. >> we have pasta and tomatoes. some fresh ham. >> reporter: she shows me the weekly food handed out by the charity fair share. without their intervention, all this perfectly edible food would be thrown away by supermarkets

because of overstocking. it means her daughter amelia gets a better diet, but every week is still a struggle, especially as winter approaches. >> they'll need extra vitamins and stuff like that. they'll need more fruit and veg. we can't afford to do it on what we get. >> reporter: at the fair share depot in london, more surplus food donates by supermarkets is packed for distribution. you might not think that food poverty was possible in a first world country like the uk but fair share says it is overwhelmed with demand. this is one of just 17 distribution centers around the country, which are set to get busier and busier as more and more people rely on food handouts simply to survive. >> it's a very, very, very real issue and it's an issue that's getting bigger and the principle reason it's getting bigger is

because the economic situation. more people are finding it harder to make end's meet. >> reporter: roger clark also realize on weekly food handouts. the joseph storehouse christiansener it was set up to predominantly help the homeless. it's increasingly seeing victims of job cuts like roger swallowing their pride and asking for food. >> thank you. >> bye. >> it was very hard to start with to accept that i could have the food, without them, i'd be in a fair amount of trouble. for me it's a god send. >> reporter: the weekly battle to put food on the table made a little easier as britain's poor struggle through what the bank of england is describing as the worst financial crisis the uk has ever faced. dan rivers, cnn, lafbra. depressing stuff. the bright spot is there are

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a quick check on the price of gold, bring you up to date. it's come back a bit, up $20 an ounce at 1660. still, a long way from the 1920 record it hit a few months ago.

analysts expect gold investors will remain cautious as well, at least until they see what happens at the eu summit early next week. welcome back, live from cnn in london and hong kong, you're watching "world business today." european stock markets seem to be trading higher on the news of the dexia bailout. here's how they stand right now. we are seeing gains accelerate, actually. the xetra dax which an hour or so ago was down by about 0.2% is up by 0.3%. as for the others, up about 0.66%. london ftse, less than that for the paris cac. nearly 0.5% for the zurich smi. clearly what's happened with dexia over the weekend, the offer of a bailout by the three governments, french, belgium and luxembourg and acceptance by the board is being seen as positive, although dexia's difficulties have hardly been a secret, andrew. >> yes, absolutely, charles. certainly it's been watched very closely in this part of the

world as well. let's show you how the asian markets ended this day, hong kong virtually flat. shanghai coming back after a full week holiday last week and the catch up on the downside. that brings it up to speed with markets like hong kong and japan. japan actually closed today. seoul up by 0.3%, australia up by a little more on the back of stronger resource stocks there. still, as charles points out, it really is all eyes focusing sharply on what's going to happen in europe over the days and weeks ahead. don't forget, if you want to comment on any of the stories you see on our show, get in touch with us on our facebook age, facebook.com/cnnwbt, let us know your thoughts. that's it for this edition of "world business today." thanks so much for joining us, i'm andrew stevens in hong kong. >> i'm charles hodson in london. you're watching cnn, the world's news leader. good-bye for now.

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