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tv   World Business Today  CNN  November 21, 2011 4:00am-5:00am EST

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time. >> beam me up. >> shall we just beam you up? >> let's. >> i'm so sorry. >> me too. but don't cry. hello. cnn london. here are the top stories this hour. protesters in egypt are back on the streets of kentucky owe. ten people were killed on sunday. more than a thousand were hurt. demonstrators say the military could become a force upon themselves. moammar gadhafi's son says he's getting proper medical treatment. a day after being captures by forces. the government plans to try him in libya. the national criminal court
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wants him on charges of humanity. police arrested him on sunday while he was allegedly making a pipe bomb. authorities say he got bomb-making instructions from a website linked to al qaeda. those are the top stories. "world business today" starts right now. good morning from cnn london. >> and good afternoon from cnn hong kong. i'm andrew stevens. the top stories this monday, november 21st. >> it's a landslide victory for their political party.
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>> talks have collapsed between qantas unions. the dispute is in the hands of the empire. >> and with hours to go and no budget resolution in sight, u.s. lawmakers are e preparing for defeat. first up though, spain has voted a new prime minister in in the form of the popular party leader who is promising to get the nation back on track with measures to come. if that's giving comfort to span yards, it's not having the same eflkt on investors today. what defined is set to continue. let's have a look at where they stand as we speak. it's a sea of red arrows across the board. a number of the markets are ready in excess. and in recent weeks, market activity is frequently being driven by the costs of european
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economies. and the likelihood or otherwise that these high-barring costs can be sustained. italy and spain has seen their yield stabilize after hitting the dangerous threshold of 7% last week. the spanish not far behind at 6.46 today. very little reason to buy for any investor anywhere at equities today. we got news out of beijing. more on that later in the show. a dial warning on the outlook for the global economy over the next few years. we'll have more on that. casting poor across the region of what's been going on in europe. there's talk in singapore that economic growth next year will be weaker because of external
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influences. so that's how the numbers finished the start of this trading week. hong kong the biggest lose per. financial stocks suffering under the european debt crisis. it's partly due to japanese companies being affected by the flooding in thailand. the just take a look at the niki. if you go back over a year, you'll see it's coming down below the level of hits just in the days after the earthquake and tsunami. it's come right through that level there. down now to its lowest level. it's its lowest point since march of 2009. >> really put it is in p
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perspecti perspective. the set is complete in spain. we're talking about greece,port gal. but none it seems can shake off the fears of financial stress. mair ya know rajoy is now in charge. it escalated borrowing costs. the economy is stagnating now. it's all the more difficult getting this nation back on its feet with unemployment standing at 21.5%, which is the highest in the world. he won with 186 seats. he faces race against time with the bailout increasingly inescapable and yet potentially
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unaffordable. al, as we were saying before, spain has the highest unemployment rates in the industrialized world. that dominated the campaign here for the elections. >> reporter: good morning. that was the issue during this election campaign. during the precampaign and right on election day. and guess what? the markets have given a good morning mr. rajjoy call. we're seeing the spread on the bond as the more stable reference point. it's increasing. that's not good news. one of his aids has come out on state television to say don't worry. we'll have this under hand. clearly, the economy at every moment is on his mind, but on the minds of the people. especially the five million unemployed. >> one of the things that's interesting about what mr. rajoj
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has said, it's skrechy how they are going to be implementing the measures and what they are going to cut. >> reporter: that's right. he said in his victory speech last night that he can't promise miracles. he's saying there's going to be more austerity. the one thing he won't touch is pensions. he says that's off the table. everything else is. he says he's going to convene the regional government. his party controls most of them. they have been running up massive debts. if you look closely and how they play into the deficit problem, that's one indication he may want to make cuts at the regional level to help the overall national picture. >> where ai-am in london, some investors are saying it may be inescapable.
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spain could need a bailout. where you are in spain, do you think they will need a bailout? >> reporter: no, they don't think they need a bailout. the still current finance minister says that the talk of the bailout is basically bunk. the numbers in spain are not nearly as bad. and others say as compared to what's happened in italy and greece. the problem is that the contagion is there. there's a lot of doubt how much debt are the spanish banks really holding from the real estate boom that went bust. and how much debt do they have in the portuguese situation. >> a lot of things for rajoy and the government to answer. thank you, al. spain the next dominating force. two weeks and three leadership changes. evidence was needed that europe is in turmoil.
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the three economies causing most concern now have new men at the helm. rajoy has taken over the prime ministership from loouz rodriguez. many span yards are unhappy of the handling of the debt crisis. he paid the ultimate political price. elections were not required to seal the fate of this long-term leader. stepping asize as his government str struggles. a veteran money man facing the economic task of his life. another man with a strong financial background but an unenviable set of accounts. he's a former ecb vice president. george partnership owe, just ten
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days ago. his mission is to prove the country can repay its debts and staying in euro zone. >> whatever is happening in the euro zone has a huge effect for what's happening elsewhere. all of this turmoil is affecting markets. the u.s. markets look set for a mostly lower open when trading begins later on monday. this is where the futures stand. the premarket action shows we have the s&p losing the most, down by 1% already, andrew. >> okay, nina. reality is starting to overtake hope. still ahead on "world business today", a group is raise racing the clock on a super committee deal. but are they leaving with no agreement in sight? that's just ahead.
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day for qantas. the conditions grounded hundreds of flights has taken a new twist. full details in a moment. if you look at how the stock prices at the moment, the company shares are down 1.2%. welcome back. you're watching "world business today." binding arbitration will be the next stop pr qantas. talks between the airline and union representatives breaking down this monday with very little agreement visible on the whoson. let's get more from david herbert. this has been a long and bitter fight between management and the unions. were they ever likely to reach an agreement? >> reporter: generally, it's agreed they were never going to reach the agreement.
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certainly, not in the 21 days they were trying to go against. this started in august of last year, the negotiations began. they couldn't reach an agreement. that's when qantas grounded and brought the whole dispute to ahead. they ordered an end all and gave them 21 days to agree to conditions. they came up with some agreement. then today, we find out that the 21 days is up. they haven't reached an agreement. now they are going to impose a solution on the whole affair. >> many people in australia would be thankful that a deal will be forced upon the unions and on qantas.
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is it easy to say at this stage which group the management or the unions any deal is likely to favor? >> reporter: i think you'd probably think that the qantas management have a bit of an upper hand. they were the ones who forced this dispute into fair work australia. they forced it to arbitration. this afternoon the unions were expecting disappointment that the fact that the talks had collapsed. a lot of the rhetoric about fair dealing and whatnot, the qantas management, on the other hand, i'm happy for it to go the independent empire and work through it. it's going to take months before the fair work australia will come up with some sort of decision. but qantas management are probably happier. they are happy it's going to be independently judged. and i think the feeling is they
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are going to win. >> and in the months now it will take for an agreement to be done, will it be business as normal at qantas? or any chance of more industrial action that passengers will have to put up with? >> under the legislation that's in place, and under the rules and regulations of this whole process, industrial action is banned during this period. so that's another thing that alan george was happy about. there was no chance for industrial action. so the unions can't hold up flights or anything. at the same time, the management can't lock its employees out as they tried several months ago. >> unprecedented move there. okay, david. david herbert, thank you for the latest on the ongoing debate.
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nina. speaking of traveling and travel delays, they are delaying canceling flights over western europe. we have the latest on this. i-van, i was caught up in this myself. tell us how bad it is and how it swept e over the region so quickly. >> it did. not only as you point out. it impacted london city and an ongoing issue for western europe. i don't think today as bad as yesterday. thankfully, the last thing you need on a monday morning is a delay on the airport as a result of weather. a few cancellations early on. check with your carrier before you head to the airport. they have not closed. but a lot of flights were not getting in and out. that has been the case this morning. look at the visibility though. yesterday we were down to 0. we're at 3 kilometers right now.
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so not as dense and problematic so far this morning. take a look. we're not only talking problems up in the sky, but this is a pileup in germany there. over the weekend as you can see, as authorities are on scene there. a lot of fog in the region there. area of high pressure, a monster high has been in charge of the pattern. that sets up clear skies at night. perfect conditions for radiational cooling. and that can create the fog in the. before the sun comes up, it will lift the fog. we had problems in copenhagen this morning. and even if paris with reduced visibility as a result of the fog. we're going to do it again tomorrow. relatively mild air. also this storm here, we'll be
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tracking this for potential problems across southwestern spain. we have the potential for severe storms with the low to the south impacting spain and france. we'll keep you posted on conditions at the airports. >> okay. thank you, ivan. still ahead here, all smiles from u.s. congress members. but so far, no deal. democrats and republicans remain far apart on finding more than a trillion dollars in budget cuts. we'll tell you what happens next if they can't get it done. at e-trade it's harnessing some of the most powerful yet easy to use trading tools on the planet to help diversify, identify opportunities, take action. it's using professional grade research and your brain to seek maximum returns to reach your goals. it's investing with intelligence and cold hard conviction. you made the money. you should have everything you need to invest it.
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welcome back. you're watching "world business today." what's happening in washington now could spell more uncertainty for the world markets. the super committee is down to the final hours of its self-imposed deadline to come up with $1.2 trillion in savings over the next decade. congressional leaders are expected to announce today that there's no deal. that's a lot of finger pointing going on between democrats and republicans. but what's clear is that both sides remain divided over tax increases and entitlement reforms. kate baldwin is at capitol hill. >> reporter: the so called super committee is at best on the
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brink. there's a shift in tone among the committee members themselves. the conversations, as many members took to the sunday morning talk shows, shifting from they are pushing for a deal and an agreement and hope fful they would reach it to now who should be to blame if and when the committee does fail. >> nothing new came out of this. from the democratic side, raise taxes and pass the president's jobs bill. no sbientitlement reform. on the republican side, you had one true breakthrough. that was this new concept of tax reform, which can generate revenue from the upper brackets for deficit reduction. >> the truth is, at this point today, democrats have made some tough decisions and come to tough choices. and be willing to say revenues have to be a part of the solution. >> reporter: both sides clearly
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blaming the other for not being able to reach agreement of the minimum of deficit savings over the next ten years. the talks breaking down largely on the issue that's held up negotiations to this point. the issue of taxes. democrats insist that real revenue tax increases need to be part of any balanced approach or a balanced deal as they like to say. but republicans, on the flip side, are oppose d to tax increases unless they are part of an overall broader effort to reform the tax code that would bring down tax rates. and with such little time left, it seems likely that the committee has failed and the question now barring a dramatic shift or breakthrough, the real question becomes how and when does the committee make its formal announcement. many believe it could come as early as today. kate baldwin, cnn, capitol hill.
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this is the latest sign of dead lock in washington. remember what happened last time? in august political fighting cost the united states its topnotch credit rating for the first time ever. they downgraded the debt assessment from aaa to aaa plus. it followed months of squabbling over raising the debt ceiling. even though a deal was finally rea reached, the credit agency says it didn't go far enough. >> all sounds familiar. coming up on "world business today", burned while the underground world of banking. the once thriving town of munjo. it could be a domino effect of lawsuits. who need
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from cnn london, i'm nina santos. >> welcome back. you're watching "world business today." let's take you back to the european stock markets. it's not a great start to the week. stocks are sliding across the board. that's despite stabilizing bond yields and an election result in spain that should see austerity measures being passed. perhaps another element is the asur jant from the chinese prime minister that prolonged recession is on the horizon. that might be one of the reasons
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stocks are lower. the spanish market losing 1.8%, despite the fact they now have a new government here. even the london down about 2%. athens, things aren't looking better despite the fact they have a new government. the bond markets have proven a big mover as well. as the stock markets over the course of the last weeks, like spain and italy, two countries as well. but the major indexes are sliding. they hit the dangerous 7% threshold last week. italy slightly worse. it's about 6.6% for bond yields.
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but spain not far off either. >> you were talking about volumes in europe, nina. we didn't have the same volumes here, but still a dismal day. shanghai down a fraction. from japan, the nick cay is now at a two and a half year lo two. the hang seng finishing down 1.5%. also dampening the mood, china is peek ispeaking out about feas
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of a long-term recession. that came from the prime minister. let's get a sense now from the asian business analyst, who has been looking at the comments. it casts a lot of gloom across the markets. >> it did. the big question is is the big dragon becoming a big bear? it seems it might be headed that way with negative comments out of beijing from the prime minister. he said in a time of uncertainty, the only thing we can be certain of is that the world economic recession will last a long time. and coming from the guy in charge of china's financial sector, the counterpart to the u.s. secretary of treasury timothy geithner, that will weigh even further. oemp the past three quarters, china's growth slowed from 9.7%
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in the first quarter to 9.1% in the third quarter. analysts expect this to continue on its downward trend. but it could be a sign beijing may loosen their monetary policy. it's really a case of rhetoric versus real policy. we'll be watching to' see if this takes effect. >> very strong words there from beijing. let's switch from monetary policy to exchange rate policy. never far away from the headlines, obviously. talking to the u.s. president about the uwan. >> the talk between the two is more of the same rhetoric we have been hearing over the past few years. when the two leaders met at the summit down in bahly, he didn't
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give details as to how china would loosen the policy. it allows for flexibility. but it has allowed for this to happen. year to darkts the u.n. has risen against the dollar. since january 1st, it's gained 3.8%. trading right now at $1 to 6.34 hmb. the u.n. is still undervalued by a great deal. as much as 25%. he added that makes u.s. exports that much more expensive. the pressure will continue to be heaped on beijing. >> it's going to make it less like likely china will be accommodating. you and i will be talking about this topic for months to come. as china tightens their
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monetary policy to reign in inflation, it's becoming difficult for ordinary citizens to get bank loans. many have turned to underground lenders. nonbank credits has propped up local businesses. from the people's bank of china, they say 90% of individuals and 60% of companies have a finger in the city's murky banking channels. the underground activities represents 5.6% of china's total lending. >> the lending system seems is crumbling. there was millions lent to an underground finance company. one man spoke anonymously about losing his life savings. >> reporter: this story is not the kind we would normally hide
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someone's identity 37 it's about a dispute over a simple investment. but in today's china, a simple matter can raise fears of life and death. i'm afraid, this man says, that the authorities will take revenge on me. he's a resident of a community in the wealthy city of wenjo. for a decade, people here privately lent their money to a real estate company called lerun. investors got a 36% return every year. but in october, as the central government clamped down on credit, he said it could pay the $300 million it owed, wiping out the savings of thousands here. we never thought it would come to this, this fruit seller said. nearly everyone we have met here lends in the shadow market. this country has capital controls. the interest rates at the banks
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are low. so these people look outside official channels to get better returns. this resident says he invested $30,000. every penny he saved as laborer. but when people started to complain outside the company and government, the locals say the protesters were detained and authorities put up posters. those posters were still up when we came to town, making clear we weren't welcome here. citizens cannot protest or loiter in large groups without the permission of the government, it reads. journalists may not be invited here. this man took a chance any way and contacted us. by posting that sign, the local officials made us despair. if we have grievances, why can't we air them, he asks. if there's unfair business conduct, we should be able to report them and protest.
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bans on protests happen frequently. the threat of detention very real. and the tension high at the loan office. this is where the company organized the loans. the people here have very little recourse. the company offered a modest settlement. but few trust the company promises. i don't think what they are doing is fair, this man says. this should be a clear judicial process. the company representative said they don't want to do an official interview. the local government says it hopes to ease investors' d distress. right now, i don't trust the government, the resident said. maybe after you leave and the report comes out, i will be taken away. but telling his town's story, he says, is worth the risk.
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>> still ahead on "world business today", egypt grapples with their economy. it's feeling the discontent. we'll look at the difficult balancing act of trying to stop a complete economic collapse. so this is enzo, the artiste behind my wardrobe.
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you're watching "world business today." egypt is braising for a third day of travel. ten people were killed and 1,700 injured in the demonstrations. they promised to transfer power to civilian parliament, but egyptians are unhappy with the pace of reform. there are concerns the budget would not be scrutinized. mubarak was pushed out in
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february. egypt is not just grappling with political unrest. there's plenty of more issues at heart. economic challenges mounting by the day for a currency reserve down overseas. investment is only trickling in. unemployment has been rising. the government needs to spend money to create jobs. while on the other hand, trying to make money at the same time. we examine that difficult balancing act. >> reporter: anger on the streets and fresh calls for change. against a background of tension, the only certainty in egypt today is the economy is grinding to a halt. since protesters took to the streets in january, unemployment is up and investment from abroad, no more than a trickle. faced with rocketing borrowing costs, the government is reconcerning a $3 billion loan
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from the imf. a loan it had previously rejected because of the measures that came with it. in the past, egyptian officials have turned to the arab countries for pledges, but international loans have so far been slow to materialize, and like the rest of the region, the biggest challenge facing egypt is getting young people off the streets and into jobs. each year, half a million young egyptians enter the workforce. the economy must grow by over 5% annually just to create enough jobs for them. yet the imf forecast growth of just over 1% this year. in an effort to fend off social unrest, the ruling counsel has signed off a budget that increases spending on social programs and subsidies for food and energy. it's a popular policy, but one that puts a strain on an already creeking economy. cnn, alabama da bee.
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u.s. lawmakers are racing against the clock. at stake, budget cuts. but what happens if they don't make a deal?
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one of the world's richest men has paid a visit to the underachieving economy this is monday. warren buffett creating staff at a cutting-tool factory near the
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fukushima plant in japan. buffett posed with this sign demonstrating hope for the disaster-hit area. it fuelled hope that it's about to invest in the country's stock market, which hit a two and a half year low this day. welcome back. you're watching "world business today." let's take a quick look at some of the top business stories we're following. japanese trade is back in negative territory after a surplus in september. october finished with a deficit of $3.6 billion. economists had been expecting a surplus. to try to encourage trading, the tokyo stock exchange is adding 30 minutes to the session. the afternoon session stays the same. japanese media reporting that prosecutors have questioned a former vice president of o'limb pus over his involvement in covering up investment
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losses. dating back to the 1990s, the company's former chairman and president are also expected to be questioned. here's a story that's going to be closely followed by governments around the world. phillip morris is suing the australian government over its new tobacco law. it requires that all cigarettes be sold in plain packaging. it starts in december. the tobacco giant argue iings i will make it easier for counterfeiters to produce fake cigarettes. let's go back to the markets now. after a tough trading week on wall street, u.s. markets will be hoping for brighter times when they open in a few hours from now. it's not looking good at the moment. futures pointing to a substantially-lower open. one of the major indexes are now down more than 1% in terms of futures. felicia taylor has a preview of
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the week ahead. >> it's a holiday-shortened week for investors in the u.s. the stock exchange will be closed on thursday for thanksgiving. investors will be focused on the congressional super committee and whether they will have a budget deal in time. 12 lawmakers in washington, d.c. have until midnight wednesday to agree on a plan to reduce the nation's debt by $1.2 trillion. the outcome of the vote will impact wall street. if there's no deal or congress doesn't approve it, stocks could take a beating. there's a slew of key economic reports. we'll have the the first revision of gross domestic product for the third quarter. and the federal reserve will release minutes from their latest policy read eing. spending has increased each of the past three months while incomes have remained little changed. existing home sales for october will round out the week. and finally, it's called black
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friday. as it kicks off the holiday shopping season. this retail extravaganza marks the dale retailers move into the black or turn a profit for the year. that's a look ahead at the week on wall street. i'm felicia taylor at the new york stock exchange. >> wall street is bracing for the outcome of the debt-slashing talks in washington. what happens if the members of the super committee fail to reach a deal? >> reporter: take a look at where super committee failure could fall. this aviation business in virginia. >> it's on the outside, it looks like a normal airplane. on the inside, this is the equivalent of r 2 d 2 sglrp it's a drone made for u.s. defense. cuts hitting the pentagon in 2013 could hit this aircraft and this business too. >> the employees are incredibly
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nervous. in a small business, it is a hand to mouth kind of thing. >> reporter: let's stop here. specifics. super committee failure triggers 8 to 9% in cuts for the defense department. also social programs that help the poor. and other places like border patrols and hurricane readiness. because the nondefense side of government gets a 8 to 9% cut. >> if there's no deal, taxpayers actually win because we get a sequester. that means in washington budget talk there are automatic reductions in the projected growth of government spending. >> reporter: how much would automatic cuts stop? >> the maximum is $1.2 trillion over nine years. obviously, $1.2 trillion is a lot of money. >> reporter: that's the federal
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budget expert. he said $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts. sound like a lot? >> but over nine years, it's not that great. >> reporter: the bottom line? they worry super committee failure looks like across the board cuts that will knife defense but barely scratch the debt problem. >> even as we're talking about bringing overall spending down, you have to do it wisely. >> reporter: and those cuts coming because of failure, they don't happen until 2013. if congress waters them down, that could have repercussions on wall street and extend the debate into a messy campaign year. cnn, capitol hill. the state will look at how the european stock markets are fairing this hour. we have a lot of political upheaval. also with elections in spain now that we have a new party. the popular party all tt the he.
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there's concerns about how they are going to be implementing their austerity measures and where the knife will fall there. you can see the ibex is losing 1.9% on the day. paris and athens, they also have a new government. that's down by 2.7%. >> it's pretty ugly picture over there. not quite so bad over here, but red arrows across the board. one of the big issues worrying investors here and is about to have repercussions pretty much everywhere is a statement out today. it was being reported in the "financial times" from the head of the economic leadership in beijing. he says, "prepare for prolonged global economic recession." that usually means they are taking a long, hard view.
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a lot of investors would share that sentiment. we have seen that continue in asia. the nikkei down about a third of a percent. shanghai down a fraction. >> don't forget if you want to comment on any of the stories that you see today, get in touch with andrew, myself, and the rest of the team on our facebook page. go to facebook.com. let us know your thoughts. we'll also see in a few hours from now right here on cnn, that's it for this edition of "world business today." >> you're watching cnn, the world's news leader.
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