at basf i worked as a chemical plant manager and in many other roles. i completed graduate studies in chemical engineering and i have masters degrees from columbia and counseling psychology for business and industry. i understand the issues related to some of these human behavior topics. in the five months that i have served on the u.s. chemical safety board, what has impressed me most is the dedication and professionalism in the staff. i have been to industrial chemical accident sites with investigation teams and have seen firsthand how diligently they perform potentially hazardous work. put in long hours and spend months away from home. they have a steadfast commitment to making industrial chemical facilities safer, places for workers, companies and communities. i am privileged to work alongside of them and the rest of the staff. the federal viewpoint survey does not -- does show csb staff morale is low in some areas. the board is taking steps to improve morale and i also believe there are critical steps that congress will take to help. but the survey

they have tough competitors, great global competitors like basf that, you know, are very, very strongpanies and buyer and they've got to compete with companies around the world and the japanese and chinese as well. so you got to stay ahead of the game or america won't be ahead of the game and won't be providing break through consumers want and create long-term shareholder value. i'm very much a shareholder value guy but for the long term. that's what we did at medtronic and it's paid off very well. >> i do want to ask you one final question. because you do -- i guess aside from taking issue with mr. peltz himself and ac itty vists in general, this conversation certainly is larger and it's what's best for america, what's best for corporate america. you used to run a company that is now inverted. how would you respond to someone like nelson peltz saying or anyone for that matter, how is that good for america? how are those companies making their decisions to do that good for america while at the same time criticizing these sorts of things done by activists? >> well, i think, scott, poin

caroline: meanwhile, basf has reported better than expected rockets for the year.rman chemical firms sought increased demand from the automotive and agricultural industries, helping to drive profits higher. they're also concerned that they are sticking with their goals to match earnings from last year. airbus reporting this morning. this company missed revenue estimates after its claim making division made fewer units. mark: the world's number two recruitment reporting first-quarter sales in line with estimates, a 22% rise in earnings. let's get more with the chief executive officer. good morning. >> good morning. mark: looks like you had a good first quarter, helped in part by "significant favorable affect impact." where was the biggest impact when it came to affects? >> the affect benefit topline, but at the same time it is not benefiting costs. overall, there is a slight benefit, but most of the benefit we do see increased growth compared to europe mainly in our french business. that is close to 4%. that gives us a good quarter. mark: do you expect the euro to s

you can see basf beating estimates. the only gainer really, if you look at the three, stmicrodown. nokia and sanofi down as well. guy: let's take a look at what else is on our radar this thursday morning. greece and europe targeting a preliminary deal of may 3 for a deal. francine: lafarge reported first quarter 593 swiss fraungs below estimates. we'll be joined later this hour by the holcim c.e.o. that is a conversation you don't want to miss. guy: airbus earnings fell in the first quarter. the drop comes after its airliner unit delivered fewer planes. the company confirmed slightly higher deliveries for 2015. francine: we'll look at r.b.s.'s loss and b.n.p.'s surprise gain. veteran hotelier joins us. we'll get his thoughts on the u.k. politics ahead of the election. ♪ francine: welcome back to "the pulse" live on bloomberg tv and radio and streaming on bloomberg.com, your tablet and phone. guy: r.b.s. posted a larger loss than estimated. b.n.p. paribas reported a surprise jump in profit. shares are trading lower. let's find out what is going on. richard, let me start with you. my

most disappointing news i get in my time as finance minister, the beginning of i think, 2011, that basf the major company all over the world, in greens and technology moved all its research capacity from europe, from germany, to u.s. not on behalf of german regulations but on behalf of european regulation. it is one of the key problems. we have a different view on being manipulated -- i am not the best expert on this. we are risk givers. we have to discuss how can we link the needed innovation capacity to speed up innovation? if you look at the new technology we all know that the digitization of the country is a must. last sunday, it's the industry 4.0 was opened. industrial. i think we have taken this to be successful. the government is very engaged in this. if it comes to data protection, you know the discussions in -- it's what i meant. i said we should start to discuss how we can find a good relation between the -- use in communication systems and our values. of course, privacy and not to be manipulated without any limits. to control and so on it's a huge challenge. not only for eur