hi, everybody. welcome to the wall street journal report. i'm maria bartiromo. two players in the center of the storm. my conversatn with house speaker john boehner coming up. we'll talk jobs, washington gridlock and fixing the nation's economy. >> job creators of america are on strike. >> one of the most powerful women in the world today. christina lagarde. what happens next in europe? are there any solutions and what does it mean to the united states. going in style. it's high fashion week in new york. style is going high tech in this $200 million business. "wall street journal report" starts right now.

>> what's making news as we head into a new week on wall street. the world central banks are working together to help ease the debt crisis in europe. five banks including the u.s. federal resesh, the ecb, and banks in spiwitzerland will ope new loans with new credit and allow them to pay a longer period of time. that will help the debt in struggling countries. fourth day in a row of games. the markets ntinued up on friday. retail sales for flat for the month of august, weaker than the two-tenths of a percent reported by congress. spending aounts were about two-thirds of the country's economy. mixed and wholesale news on retail levels. the core index rose 2%, while

the core consumer index was just up one fourth of a percent. the post office is looking for a stamp of approval for a new downsizing plan. the agency considering closing or combining more than half of its 487 mail processing facilities is. it's all in an effort to eliminate 35,000 jobs and save $3 billion. house speaker john boehner talked about the jobs bill this week. i spoke to him about the difference between the public proposal. >> last week we know the president unveiled his jobs plan. he said half this plan, at least 14 times. >> i think there are parts of the president's plan in which we can find some common ground. right now the congressional jobs office are looking at the plan. i'm sure the various offices

will look at this plan. >> can you walk us through whether it be tax reform, regulation, what's wrong with the president's plan and what you would not be wanting to pass and where you would have common ground. >> his $47 billion in tax hikes is not something we'll be favorable about. raising taxes at this point in our economy will help kill jobs. that's what what we're trying to do here. >> fthere are some circumstancl feel the republican party is a no party. anything the president suggests is, the republicans will say no. change has forced washington to look at the issues that need to be looked at. how are you going to convince the american people that the

republican party is not is the no party and that the tea party is not rolling over you? >> the tea party wants what i want. they want le spending in washington, they want a fairer, flatter tax. there is nothing radical about what they're asking for. the only thing radical is they want it done now. i'd like it done now, too, but it's not the way our system of government works. when it comes to the party of no, and the president tried that all year. yes, it's going to be no to higher taxes, it's going to be no to excessive regulations. we've had ideas all year long. we've passed dozens of bills that will help get our economy moving and help job creators. they're all sitting in the united states senate. job creators in america are on strike. they're on strike because they look at the excessive regulations coming out of this administration and they're scared to death. they don't know what the rules are going to be. >> how much accountability are

you taking for all of this and yo party? a recent gallon loch poll showed at 15%. that's up slightly from last month's low of 13%. >> we're dealing with a system of government unlike any other in the world where we've got two separate -- or three separate but equal branches of government. it was designed not to wor it was designed to keep our government from getting too big. and i got to tell you, as someone who is in charge of an institution not to work, by job is to try to make to work. you get 435 people to agree in the house is one thin th we have to get 107 to agree. then the president gets to decide whether he wants to sign it or veto it. it's a difficult process, but it is what it is, and -- oh, i can tell the american people, i'm going to try to do the right thing every day.

>> why do you think things have become so toxic? the debt feeling today was just very frustrating for the american people, and it created people and companies doing nothing for an entire month. why have things turned so toxic for the two parties? >> i don't know that it's toxic. i've had conversations with the president, lots of negotiations on the debt issues this year. it's almost as if we're two groups of people from two different planets who barely understand each other. i come to the shop havi run a small business. you know, the president and his staff, most of them, have never been in the private sector. so we've got competing ideas. i'm a big believer in the free enterprise system. the president and his staff tend to believe that the government has more control over our economy. so there are big, philosophical

disagreements. the key is, how do you find common ground to move forward? and what i look for is, what can we do to help the american people get back to work, because that's what the american people want. >> let me ask you about the frustration out there and people very frustrated with the way the economy is moving right now. but at the same time, they don't see an alternative on the republican side. who in your party do you believe is theest candidate to win in 2012? >> we've got a lot of good candidates. one ll win the nomination and that's the one i'll support. as speaker of the house, it's not my job to tell the american people or republican voters how to think. there are a lot of good candidates and i wish them well. >> the president said last night people can't wait 14 months. are you prepared to go one on one with the president to knock out jobs and get this country moving again? >> i believe there are some

areas we can find some common ground. there is a lot of work to do this fall, and i believe we can do what's in the best interest of the american people. >> what's your timing? >> this fall. got a loft work to do. >> my thanks to speaker of the house john boehner. next up, the head of the monetary fund says the world economy and the debt crisis is entering a dangerous new phase. but there is a way out. conversation with christine lagarde at the imf. $20,000 dresses that go right from the runway to the fashion plate. guys, in 10 minutes, we're going head back down the hill. down the hill? man: all right. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys.

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week that european banks are still undercapitalized. i spoke with her about the imf, and whether there was any progress being made in the eurozone. >> there is a crisis, but there is a way out and a way to get past recovery. the gray area we're in at the moment has to do with slow growth and we're seeing the forecast being revised downwards fr from many corners, many institutions. that's very concerning. equally, there is a plus out of it. it's a combination of medium-term, long-term, deliverable, fiscal accommodation measures that will really require a combination of cutting public spending and

broadening its tax base. what will be the mix of both is for political leaders and parliaments to decide, and in the short term, measures that will actually accommodate, enurage growth that is he. the economies are growing, but they're growing much more slowly than we had expected. >> can you tell me, miss lagarde, really, what is the crux of the problem in the eurozone? the average person out there, even the smartest investor, is not clear on why we continue to see things worsen. what's happening? >> lack of confidence for, i think, a simple reason. the monetary union is a complicated structure. it includes 17-member states with each having a parliamentary institution and modus operandi

that is reasonably slow. so when they said, we will put if place a crisis management system, we will organize the apprriate collaterals and credit and huntsmen for the private is sector involvement to happen. we will strengthen our government's rules. we will perform as a country under its obligation. then investors think, where is the beef? where is it? there is a parliamentary process. there is a government in place, and it has to go through the appropriate channels. so it takes time, and that timeline between the announcement of decisions, the excitement of the result of it and the actual implementation is a time that is not acceptable from a market and investors' perspective. whereas, if you look at the numbers in terms of

unemployment, deficit to gdp ratio, the whole of the eurozone combined is actually faring battery than japan, better than the united states. but this intricate way exposes them to bigger debt. >> how stable does europe need to be to deal with the eurozone. >> it has to do with flexibility, the ability to deal with the situation. if it is subject t multiple criterias and restrictions and restraints, then it will not be a proper crisis management instrument. if, as h been indicated on july 21st, it can be gone on by

in the second market, if it can be used to strengthen the capital of banks, then it becomes much more flexible than what it is today and that's what matters. >> let me move on to your vision for the imf. you said you want to be sure it is more global than it is today, more diverse. what are you trying to do and how would you like the imf to look different in the next five years? >> the mission of the imf is stability around the world from a monetary and financial point of view. that was the mission statement of the founding fathers. it has to continue that way. but it needs to be dedicated to serving its membership. seco, we can give advice, we can make recommendations when it comes to economipolicies. third, we can provide technical assistance on the ground. i think of countries like libya, tones is

tonesia, egypt. to organize a tax system, we can do that. finally, we can lend money to those countries going through a crisis that are in a situation of current aount imbalance. >> my thanks to christine lagarde. up next on the "wall street journal report," who is spending $200 billion on luxury fashion? we'll find out. right from new york city fashion week to

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new york just wrapped up another fashion week, an eight-day event with more than a $200 million impact on new york city's economy. some shoppers put no price on the benefits of instant gratification. they allow hmehants to purchase clothes almost immediately after they've gone down the runway. welcome to the co-founders of onine shopping site, mode a a

operan operandi. we just wrapped up eight days of fashion week. how ha they evolv as brands? more democratiprice points? that one of the themes? >> i think across the board, designers are doing everything at different price points, and it somethi it's something that we focus on in providing the high and the low on our site. >> tell me about this site. e-commerce and members-only shopping sites have certainly become hotter and hotter over the years. how does your site, moda operandi work? >> we launched the site in february, so is we've seen huge growth since we launched wech. we work directly with the designers. we post their collections on line within days of the show, and we allow our members to come

in and shop from t pre-show collection. we shoot the runway sample, but we allow ourustomers to order any size that the designer offers wow, that is fantastic. lauren, tell me about the pieces that shoppers are looking at that they can buy right now and when they can get them. >> things go town the runway, and sometimes novelty pieces do not make it into the stores. if you see something that goes down the runway, you are immediately able to purchase it, to free order it. this allows women to participate in fashion week in a way they never could before. >> it really is is . some of the pieces we were looking at earlier, diane von f >> it gives us a chance to look at things creatively and

chronologically. spring is definitely full of color and lots of exciting pieces. there's some beautiful prints coming, diane von furstenberg had lots of flowers. >> whais your characterization of how the consumer is doing today? is it bouncing back from those dark days of 2008? >> absolutely. we've seen a huge turnaround. since 2008 when the whole focus on line was on discounting, this site was actual aly a reaction that. we wanted to come back and offer something full price to the customer that really appreciates the latest styles and wants the latest trends. and we've seen very strong sales. in general, the very high end of the market is strengthened.

sdp >> i guess they say the economy can have something to do with certai fashions. all we hear about is gloom and doom. >> it's a little bit of a contradiction right now in the shows. the hemlines are down but the colors are right. >> so based on what you saw for the shows of 201 how do you feel walking away from it? do you get a feeling for what's to come in 2012 based on what you just saw? >> the fact that we are selling a season ahead gives us the opportunity to see early on what consumers are reacting to and what they're going to be wearing next season. >> do you think that the lines tell you anything? i love your comments, lauren, that things are optimisti because of these bright colors. i wonder if that's a reaction from the designers to what's happening in the world. we need to be more optimistic.

>> i think so that's a wonderful thing about fashion, it allows you to be transported to a new time and a new place, and i think going forward people want to loo ahead and see something right, and fashion really gives you the opportunity to do that. >> lauren sant is owe to ming owe and aslaug magnusdottir. the stock is market its the shores. back in a moment. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more, and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol, stop. along with diet, lipitor has been shown to lower bad cholesterol 39 to 60 percent. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke

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our show and our guests, check out the web site, cnbc.com. i hope you'll follow me on twitter. look for the handle for maria bartiromo. on tuesday, heads of state from around the world will come to new york for the opening of the united nations general assembly. housing starts are al on tuesday. that is the total of new residential units that began construction last month. wednesday, the nation's realtors report the number of homes in august. also, federal reserve market committee opens up the monthly meeting extended from two days to one after device sieve debate. >> this 10,500-square-foot home on malibu's exclusive

billionaire beach is for sale this weekend. with a minimum bid of $22 million, a loss of 65%, by the way, this mansion is the most expensive home ever to be put on the block in the united states. a sign that the housing market's collapse deflated even the most wealthy neighborhoods. bidders, of course, must be preapproved. my guest next week, president bill clinton. haves a go weea good week, ever i'll see you next weekend. ♪ ♪

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