sunday as they call it hit the ski slopes over one hundred and sixty skiers were decked out in santa claus costumes as see behind me they raise money for local charities with so much festive joy and serious skills on display it really does raise the question does santa need a sleigh and reindeer to get the job done or should he just stick with the skis. you're up to date now on d.w. news but before we go we want to tell you that we have business news coming up in just a short while from now with monica jones and she's going to tell you about one cocktails at germany's famous president mark markets and why they have to be served at just the right temperature. that's coming up in just a few minutes time you're watching to see if. you're going to unofficial estimates more than one point two million venezuelans live in colombia legally and illegally. already.

returned to venezuela. to visit friends i don't think i'd ever go back there to live you know what i lived there again i don't know so i'm not sure. bearing witness global news that matters. made for mines every journey begins with the first step and every language with the first word the word from the . rico is in germany to learn german why not learn a simple online on your mobile and free shop d w z e learning course you can speak german made easy. the euro zone economy is going from strength to strength but the european central bank warns of complacency saying there are still pitfalls along the way we talked

to the chief economist of baron back bank to get this risk assessment. and we've all heard the story about the bull in the china shop but have you heard about the robots in the glass factory. but come to a business i want to get germs in berlin so euro zone finance ministers will pick the replacement for euro group chief your own deisel blown today the job is one of europe's top posts and it was especially crucial during the two milters years of the eurozone debt crisis some years it seemed the eurozone was a doomed and with it its currency but recent data shows that life in the old dog yet years of recession on three bailouts if there was ever a poster child for europe's economic crisis it was greece but now the country's fortunes appear to be turning around growth is returning and borrowing costs to fall and.

southern european nations spain and portugal are also showing signs of recovery that's especially good news for the e.u. single currency. since january of this year the euro has risen to around fifteen percent against the dollar landing most recently around a dollar nineteen so is it all rosy not quite says the european central bank while things are improving economic with remain italy's fragile banking sector is a big concern on public debt in the country is high. should europe's third largest economy find itself on shaky ground the euro would be likely to suffer it too. all right for more on the health of the european single currency and the economies that belong to it i'm joined by holger schmieding chief economist at berenberg bank sometimes in london sometimes here in berlin today you're here berlin good to have you with us so let's just pick up on what we heard in the end i mean the european

central bank warns that the euro is not out of the woods just yet if i came to you as a customer and i would ask you for a risk assessment for euro zone economies what would that be like i would say that the euro zone economy is probably in better shape and the japanese the british the u.s. economy among the major regions in the developed world the euro zone are actually looks best it's on the right track we still have significant unemployment but it's falling fast we still have some banking issues in italy but even there non-performing loans are finally being tackled and declining we have pretty strong growth now in the entire area from greece to ireland so we are making a lot of progress as what makes the eurozone economies better than the japanese for example or the others that you mentioned to some extent actually because we had the euro crisis we in the euro zone were forced to tackle of

a number of issues our government finances are in better shape than almost anywhere else in the western world there are exceptions within the eurozone yes but if we take the region as a whole public finances are in comparatively good shape or so a number of countries at the periphery have done significant structural reforms france is now joining in on these structural reforms and that means a better growth potential for the future i would say europe is a good place to invest you sound very optimistic do you see any risks what about political instability and even here in germany we don't have a government right. no well there's always a risk of life and we do have significant risks in the euro zone comparing them to where we were two three four five years ago the risks are not as acute anymore but of course there are risks the biggest risk is indeed the italian political and economic situation there will be new elections early next year we have no idea who might win them specially we have no idea whether there might be you stable

government and whether that government would then do the right things the german political situation is interesting but it's not a risk for the river before the one way of putting it we also said it's interesting the choice of a u.s. president last year and now we finally see a a reform the u.s. tax reform that everybody was waiting for and the head of the german think tank the evil institute claimants who says that that's a good thing for europe do you agree in a very short term sense it's probably good because it provides another stimulus the u.s. economy will benefit near term from the extra money which the citizens are given and we will be able to export more however as the business cycle is doing very well anyway we actually don't need that additional stimulus so it would actually have been better thinking of the long run health of the u.s. public finances for instance to not give that stimulus tax reform a better tech systems including for companies is good but the tax giveaway in the

u.s. which is part of the package is actually not what the u.s. and the european economies need at a time when growth is substantial anyway then it just briefly look at the the currency exchange rate the euro against the dollar i do remember i remember so well when the euro actually hit one sixty u.s. dollars i was in two thousand and eight and economies still seemed ok i mean how strong should a currency be in order to reflect a healthy economy. the euro is actually believe it or not still slightly undervalued long term value to the u.s. dollar is a rug one twenty five we typically gyrate lot around that the car would find i think one or two years from now the euro could actually be slightly stronger ok holger schmieding there a chief economist at bear in the bank thank you so much for being here with us today you are now it's the season to be jolly in many parts of the world and here

in germany there's no better way to get into the festive spirit and this is one of the many christmas markets across the country and treat yourself to a mulled wine or two but when it comes to the seasonal drink quality is key and it is somebody's his job to make sure the mulled wine is up to standard. here in the center of cologne locals and visitors are getting into the festive spirit for many that means indulging in a seasonal drink or two food quality tester all of our maya has come here to check they're up to scratch. for the boiling point of alcohol is seventy eight degrees is so mulled wine shouldn't be hotter than ours. and don't go together why we only hold that evaporation and that will reduce the quality. when it comes to drinks there's no competing with mulled wine in the four weeks before christmas a store like this one can expect to bring in

a rant one hundred sixty thousand euros. with some two thousand markets across the country it's no wonder germans consume a total of fifty million liters of mulled wine a year. so what makes for the perfect you've tied experience. of colder weather maybe a bit more mulled wine and another few visits the christmas market it's only a matter of time before you get into the spirit. getting into the christmas spirit is big business and at this market at least visitors can be sure their mulled wine has enough of the other kind of spirit. now everyone knows and probably loves r two d two the little egg shaped robot out of star wars it is ok to have robots in a galaxy far far away but here on earth in our daily lives well it is happening and fast a new generation of robots is now taking over and they are working more closely with

human employees and their grandparents. fragile products like these require a delicate touch his company makes a laboratory glassware the newest employee goes by the name of it you five he doesn't take holidays and is never sick and costs as much as a human employee earns in a year company boss will but hoffman says he invested in a robot because he couldn't find the right people to perform the repetitive tasks. or blame the problem was i had assistants and temporary workers who didn't have a real connection to the company so we had an issue with their work ethic and the quality of their work. or. qualitative all right. robots on the other hand can work nonstop when it comes to mass production and this generation of machines can also collaborate with humans employees are often close

at hand. in the past skilled workers ended up having to perform menial tasks to make sure all those were completed on time now robots can do these jobs but actually producing a laboratory glassware requires a lot of experience and a human touch. but now the new one that i don't think that our jobs can be replaced by robots because we have to respond to problems when they arise robots wouldn't be able to do that. and with money they are younger looking for. the concept for these metal coworkers or co bots comes from denmark they're intended to be simple and easy to use the supplier universal robots began life as a startup over the last two years it has seen its turnover double to one hundred thirty million euros the company's founder is convinced that using robots increases

overall productivity and that this will help keep payroll costs down in the industrial world. when we stop automating more we see that the percentage of machine time compared to the percentage of manual labor increases which means we can stop reshowing manufacturing we are you getting off the playing field making it cost the same to manufacture all over the world and in the end it benefits the countries with a high salary level at this company the thug the robot will soon be operational it's currently being programmed. this one has already paid for itself and the company's boss already has ideas for where he could use another one. or more you can go online of course follow us on twitter with more.

now talking wasn't one to go back to their roots a scheme is a substantive returned. simplicity time to resist the distractions of pseudo glamour the award ceremonies and all the fuss you get to with music is the core of it all of us have to. explore new c.w. . creative and political courageous stories that the burly knowledge talent can see. engaged in the fight for equality and justice and against censorship hatred and violence. filmmakers fighting for their cause. our special program. in sixty minutes d w. this is a damning is coming to life somebody but the right to our correspondent is in central istanbul i'm joined by the helicopter did up his political correspondent on

those stories in just a minute but first this news just it's all about the perspective closer d.w. news yes. it's all about the moments that lie before. it's all about the story in so. it's all about george chance to discover the world from different perspectives. join us and inspired by distinctive instagram or years at g.w. stories the topic each week on instagram.