more affluent, those that are less affluent. it is sort of in the middle. like other emerging markets, it is seeing this expansion of the middle class. once again, a huge expansion creates auto maxx, especially governmental bottlenecks. we are seeing the reaction of a large segment of the population. they are not getting their just rewards. >> why isn't the government doing more? brazil is a country rich in resources. it has money. it has a lot of respect around the world. why can't it do more for its people? >> there are inefficiencies. government has the resources, but cannot get those resources to the final point of contact with their citizenry. it is much more about efficiency than willpower. >> that explains the problem. but the president has come out and said the administration will do more. why hasn't more been done?

>> it takes time to build roads. it takes time to redesign urban landscapes. it takes time to improve teachers and the quality of education. it takes time to put the right resources in the hands of the police and other authorities to reduce crime. these are problems which are transient, in transient to brazilian society, and will take time to resolve. >> the rest of the world is looking at brazil as a new playground, the beautiful beaches. it is not just that. they are going to be hosting the world cup. these are other big international events that are usually showcased for countries that are not developing any more. they are already usually developed. >> on the one hand, brazil as a country -- the last president really pushed big events, wanting to show brazil had arrived on the world stage. on the other hand, part of the reason for the protests we have seen over the past year is,

brazilians are saying, why are we spending all this money on these events when i do not have basic things? >> i think people in the united states asked this, in china or singapore, or any other country on earth. everyone asks this question. no matter what class you are in, do you have an opportunity to move up to the next social and economic class? >> brazilians felt that. there was a strong feeling of social mobility over the last acted. in the last two years or so, as the economy has sputtered, as things have not worked out, as inflation has gone up, people are wondering -- is this dream expansion coming to an end? there are worries among the brazilian citizenry. >> thank you for your time. good to have you on the show. coming up next, another installment of our brazil uncovered series.

>> all the permanent members of the un security council reached an agreement to dismantle serious chemical weapons. united states, china, russia, the united kingdom, and france are meeting this hour in new york. the group could vote on a resolution as soon as friday. bashar al-assad agreed to destroy the chemical weapons in the wake of last month's sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians in the suburbs of damascus. interpol has issued an arrest warrant for a british woman, known as the white widow. she is a muslim convert whose first husband -- whose husband took part in the 2005 suicide bombings in london.

she is wanted in connection to a plot to bomb kenyan holiday results. reports that a british woman was involved in the nairobi mall attack led to speculation that she played a role. an appeal to the sentence of the son of a famous military singer, found guilty of rape. judges also sentenced as -- sentenced 4 accomplices. he claimed he was asleep during the assault, but authorities say the 17-year-old was the first to rate the woman. because of his celebrity family background, there was concern about the court finding a fair verdict. those are the top world headlines. >> welcome back. i am at times square in new

york. >> here are the other headlines from the business world that we have in talking about. canadian prime minister stephen harper has been pushing for u.s. approval to build the keystone xl pipeline to the gulf coast. he says he will not take no for an answer. the obama administration is still deciding whether to give the greenlight for that project. environmental groups want to reject it. facebook continues its upward climb. it topped $150 a share for the first time ever. shares have gained almost 90% this year. much success is due to the mobile ad revenue surge. google says it has made major changes to its search industry, called hummingbird, attempting to answer complex questions. the changes may have an impact on certain websites. >> thanks for that. greece should use some complex

google answers. if you recall in 2009, the great that crisis shook the eurozone and sent jitters across mobile financial markets. the european union is now deciding whether to give greece a third bailout package. former prime minister george papandreou was at the helm when the crisis began. he saidhat austety measures were, fact, ary e >> the weakestin we had our problems. on the other hand, you could say germany could be the weakest link, because it does not take the necessary steps before it pulls in the wrong direction. europe faces problems. >> the eurozone seemso be a situation where today you cannot quite unscramble a scrambled egg.

do you think t creation of the eurozone was a good idea? >> may be, theoretically, if we turn to the nationalization and breakup. but i think it is much less a possibility now. the will in the european union, of all the pitical establishment leaders, is not to have a breakup of the euro. i think there is a very strong political will, as we move forward on this. of course, if we did have the hindsight, i think we would have wanted to put in place a stronger banking union, more economic policies, possibly more transfers of resources to strengthen some of the institutions on the periphery, so we use them in a more transparent, more effective, more growth-oriented way. >> one of the things heavily

discussed is the banking system around the world. do you think banks arod europe are well capitalized today? >> i would say that what lehman brothers tells is, i think the lack -- one of the problems of our democracies, we needed to have more transparency. we needed to have more understanding. we needed to have more institutional oversight of the financial system. because what happened was, we were being told that these aaa bonds being sold all over the world, not only in the united states, but to billions of others, were aaa. in fact, they were junk bonds. it was somewhat of a fraud. i am somewhat unhappy, five years later, that we still have lingering problems in our banking sector, and people

mistrusting each other -- banks and governments, governments and banks, investors. i think we really need to put an end to this. on the one hand, we capitalize the banks. because of the financial crisis, after five years, many banks are looking at their accounts, and they are not lking at the [no audio] of course, at the same time, there is not much [no audio] holding our economy back. >> do think europe's growth is more heavily tied to the u.s.? or do you see them as being more reliant on asia? >> i do not want to be absolute on this, but i think that the u.s. is more linked with the

chinese economy. but i think the european economy is quite crucial for the chinese economy also, if and its exports of chinese goods to the european union. more and more, if you think about it, a fact maybe not well- known, but the european economy altogether is still the biggest economy in the world. therefore, when the european economy is in recession, that affects the whole world. i think there are many areas where there can be partnerships. i think the area of green growth and green technology is important. there have been a lot of discussions recently about chinese imports of green technology into the european union. i think we need to open up our markets, in a way. as long as we have clear standards. >> would you run for prime minister again? >> that is a good question.

i will philosophize on life and say i have done what i have done. i cannot be sure about the future, but i will help my country anyway i can. >> greece's current deputy prime minister says greece does not require a third bailout, and can cover its needs without further burdening its current backers. the country's foreign minister says greece can avoid a third bailout by improving the terms of its debt, and possibly returning to the bond market next year. the u.k. recovery is proving to be better than expected. the british economy grew 0.7% in the second quarter. but official government figures suggest that the recovery still remains fragile. >> the view across britain's premier financial district suggests a building boom, with a

patchwork of construction sites around the historic city of london. construction was hit hard during the economic crisis. the news should act as a mirror to the wider british economy. and construction grew by 1.9% from april to june, according to the u.k. office for national statistics, a figure reflected in positive returns from one of britain's biggest house builders. >> we have seen an increase of 25% over the past five months. we certainly seem to have turned a corner in the last few months. very positive, i think, about the next few years ahead of us. >> construction is a labor- intensive industry. if they are doing well here, you could have a trickle-down effect two general levels of unemployment. it is being watched closely not just by the british government, but also by the bank of england. mark carney continues to link a

fall in unemployment to any central-bank decision to hike interest rates. upbeat prospects for increasingly confident british consumers, but also a note of warning. business investment fell, and there are concerned about the country's current-account deficit of around $20 billion. cctv, london. >> we are taking a short break. still ahead, our weeklong brazil uncovered series continues. >> if i had 1.2 million -- >> brazil's most popular company features one of the most unique distribution models. details on that plus the other business headlines of the day, coming up.

>> welcome back to our extended brazil uncovered series. there is a country at the crossroads of environmental preservation and profit. natura is a popular cosmetics maker in brazil, with a focus on expanding the country's natural beauty. >> for generations, researchers and scientists have looked to the rain forest for breakthroughs in science, medicine, and even daily household products. the number one cosmetic company in brazil is called natura. its factory outside são paulo employs hundreds. bottles and boxes of all sorts of shampoos and skin creams stream off the factory line.

the person in charge says the company operates with a chief goal in mind. quick sustainability is our model. >> it is a company that prides itself on research, and has a growing reputation for developing new products from plants and fruits, without harming the environment. the company also strives to benefit people in the amazon. >> we want to increase the use of these materials to generate more good economy over there. they need money. we are going to help them and make this a good economy inside the rain forest. >> natura is the most popular cosmetic company in brazil, but this is the only store anywhere. do not expect a big rush at the

front door. the store is limited to employees only, and they can only buy 5 products per month. some economists might label a big part of the business plan outdated and flawed. instead of hundreds of stores all over the country, they have 1.2 million people who basically sell product store to door. it works very well. natura is a private company that brought in nearly $4 billion last year. >> we believe in the relationship. we believe the power of the people to transform people's life. why do i have to have a store if i have 1.2 million stores? >> i need the needs -- i believe there needs to be solutions for a better world for future generations. >> the certification manager for a nonprofit organization makes sure that companies who claim to operate in a green fashion

really do. natura gets high marks. he says it goes beyond being a sustainable company. >> each person has a role to make a better person. sustainable development does not happen in the amazon, alaska, or the arctic's, but in the life of everyone. >> environmentalists will argue not nearly enough businesses focus on what is right for the environment. but natura is one. in this case, lipservice is something good. >> what an amazing story you have put together. it does prove at least one thing. you can make money, but also be extremely good for the environment. in your trip to the company, what was so appealing? what was the big surprise? >> i think the fact that it is so universally liked. you come across companies here or there that will have a certain sector that really likes

the company. but it seemed to cut across so many sections. maybe it is because they are so public about what they do for the environment. not only do they reach out to the amazon and the people living in that region in a sustainable way, but they also try to give back, so people can get more than just a job. they improve their way of living. they like to think the tide raises the whole ship. >> this is not a tiny company. we are talking about $4 billion a year. it rivals every major cosmetic company in the world. in surveys that we talk about, there are people who are willing to pay more for cosmetics for a variety of reasons. >> it is not just cosmetics. it is any company. united labs did a study that just came out. last year, it showed about 48% of the people would pay more for something if they could prove it was done in an environmentally sensitive way.

this year, it jumped to 69%. two out of three people are willing to pay. the same study showed it believes not enough companies are doing that. maybe that can be the impetus that gets countries to do it. >> you not only visited the company. that is great. they do good things. that you visited different cities and towns in that area that not only produce the products, but use the products as well. what was the reaction from people who produce it and also use these products? >> everybody knows about it. we have people who help us translate, and they say, i bought that product after i had my first baby. i did this. after we went to some of the smaller towns, you would see the natura symbol on certain doors. this is where the people, the 1.2 million people who sell the product store to door -- they were the people in that area. it rivals avon here in the u.s.,

but overtook avon in terms of business about seven years ago. it is doing good and wants to expand beyond latin america. >> let us talk about expansion. for those watching, thinking, why isn't this product shown in places like shanghai and new york -- why is that? >> you have to not overextend yourself. that is one thing the company would say. they have a business program that works for them. they have a good foundation. the gentleman we interviewed is the business leader in brazil. they are looking to grow. they have operated in france. they had one store in france. they did not stay long, because it got away from their core values. i hope to do that. the big thing -- is it going to translate the way it does in latin countries? the door-to-door salesmanship, the word of mouth, will that be enough? that is a tough market to break into if you want to sell cosmetics.

>> i am sure it is an amazing company you have found. we are back in just a moment.

>> welcome back. here in washington, we recap our top stories. 4 days and counting before the u.s. government runs out of funding. the house, senate, and president must agree on a bill by october 1, or hundreds of thousands of government workers could be furloughed. >> the british economy grew by 0.7% in the second quarter. stronger growth offset slower government spending. analysts now expect stronger growth in the second half of this year. in canada, the canadian government may look at the

takeover of blackberry. stephen harper says the review will be in the interest of national security. fairfax holdings wants to buy blackberry, and is offering shareholders nearly nine dollars a share. investors wait to see how the mess in washington is going to turn out. a pullout from the ipo of the hong kong stock exchange. >> markets in asia have been showing mixed results this week. a budget battle in the u.s. could potentially lead to a government shutdown if not resolved soon. in asia, the nikkei down nearly 0.2% in early trade. the cost be in south korea is up as well. mainland china stocks are just slightly higher. in hong kong, disappointment at

the stock exchange, following news that ali baba group will issue its ipo in the united states, after talks with regulators broke down over the proposed structure. regulators decided they would not allow the ali baba partners to retain control over board negotiations, and canning all shareholders should be treated equally. you're traditionally permits dual structures. -- new york traditionally permits duals ruptures. -- dual structures. it would have been a big boost to the hong kong exchange, which has seen a slowdown in the past several years. more steps to liberalize the banking industry. the china central bank said on thursday that it will allow commercial banks to price based on market and mark critz.

-- market benchmark rates. certificates of deposit pay higher interest than savings accounts. nissan has said it will recall more than 900,000 vehicles globally, due to an excelerator sensor flaw that could cause the engine to stall. the models were produced in japan between 2004 and 2013. a company spokesman said it will replace accelerator pedals and update engine control programming to fix the problem. nissan says no injuries have so far been reported. shares were down slightly at the start of trade, but the stock has gained around 50% in the past year, according to reuters data, gaining on the back of a strong rally overall in japanese shares. that is the latest from hong kong. back to you in washington. >> you might have extra money laying around.

you could be the owner of this rare diamond. so the bees showed it off this week. it is a 60 caret pink diamond. asking price, $60 million. it is being referred to as an oval cut pink diamond, and will become the most valuable diamond ever to be offered at auction. in new york city, and for myself here, thank you for watching biz asia america. do not forget you can e-mail us. cctv news is coming up next. we will see you tomorrow. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--