. >> the winner is christine lagarde, the most influential french person in the world. there you can see her on the front page of "vanity fair, the french edition." the head of the imf holds the reigns of the finance world in her hands and that makes her one of the most powerful people among not only in france but in the world. they wonder if she could use this influence in french politics. could she be the first female french president? you can see the front page of "vanity fair" asks the question. what if it were her? and last year, the band daft punk won. >> number four on the list is a frenchman that has gotten a lot of attention economist spaghetti -- thomas diggity -- t homas piketty. >> they call him the>> international guru who is conquering the world. they are gushing about his book. it focuses on wealth and income inequality in the u.s. and europe. capital has been translated into 32 languages. it has drawn praise from world leaders and from everyday citizens. who could have imagined that nearly 700 -- a nearly 700 page book on the economy by a french economis

here is what christine lagarde had to say. >> it is great. it needs to be implemented.ur job will be to monitor country by country, action by reform,reform by whether there is delivery or not. we will dutifully report as publicly as possible so everyone can understand who is doing what and whether it contributes to growth and jobs that are very much needed. target age is a long way off, but already the hurdles are piling up. the us trillion prime minister tony abbott was complaining to other leaders he hasn't managed .o get the budget that was unveiled in may. turkey takes over the presidency of the g-20. for the next year is not going to be so much on economic growth. >> paul allen is a busy man. brisbane is a fantastic place to be. thank you very much. finally a chilly reception for putin at the g 20 meeting. the greatest threat to world markets and will be the biggest loser after the drop in oil prices. what are we expecting out of the the e.u. foreign ministers meeting today? more sanctions on who? >> more sanctions. strong rhetoric. perhaps not what we heard from t

the international monetary fund managing director christine lagarde told last month's annual meetingf and the world we should be very careful not to terrify the planet and respect the whole of africa." what are the economic consequences of the fear of ebola? >> that is a challenge kit that is something we have been trying to do and what the administration was trying to do initially to give people a measure of concern for not scare the pants off everyone, so that we limit trade and limit commerce. that is fine they have been -- that is why they have been strict about not having this travel restriction of some nations are having. than a little bit less minute, talk to me about the stigma that some of the health-care workers have been facing who have been going over there and coming back after having dealt with this. >> i talked to them all the time, and they come back and friends won't talk to them, family members won't talk to problem.is a big we need not fear them. we need not fear them, because they are not going to hurt you. dr. benjamin, joining me from our bureau in washington, i

. >> christine lagarde talking about jobs and growth. i've got some growth stories.on from the eurozone's longest ever economic slump, we've had official figures confirming that recovery is barely happening at all. put some numbers together for you. take a look at this. between july and september, that three-month period, the eurozone's economy grew just this, 0.2 of a percent. ving figures if we break them down, germany, similar story, with growth just nothing. 0.1%. france actually fared a little better. that was a bit of a surprise, actually. france coming in at 0.3%. but italy was not lucky at all, going backwards again, 0.1 of a percent. italy has now failed to grow for 13 quarters. what's that? that means no growth for more than three years out of italy. we also note european central bank has slashed borrowing costs to record lows. they have launched multiple programs to encourage bank lending. so what more can be done to propel europe forward? let's try and find out. it's a big ask. christian schultz joins us. great to have you with us, as always. let's start

--ll, the views are christine lagarde speaks later, she has been making a big push on infrastructure. with such low interest rates, why aren't countries improving their roads? there will be talk about the european labor markets. why aren't they more flexible? central banks argue that they set this pace and for the last few years the government haven't taken on enough. >> simon, thank you so much for that. now, the spotlight is on stimulus. the bank of japan governor will be at the center of attention after his announcement of surprise stimulus last week. ar more, we are joined by director at mizuho. also with us is mark gilbert. we seem to have a divergent view on what the bank of japan has done. half say it was shock and awe and the other saying it just points to the fact that abenomics hasn't been working. >> i think the latter is a little too harsh. japan has a lot of vested interest in their society. obviously, transition takes years and years. for people to ask for results right away is far-fetched. the important thing is, they have not delivered yet. what we have to see now is c

christine lagarde, first female head of the international monetary fund was invited to speak at smithto bow out. on the pc campus, shouting down a controversial voice is not necessarily seen as an evil, but a virtue, a small group of close minded students and faculty is all that is needed to cut off discussion on the grounds that their view, the correct of you, is the only view. trigger warning -- this speech may contain traumatic material in the pursuit of truth. it wasn't always this way. back in december 1820, as he founded the university of virginia, thomas jefferson laid out the foundation of the -- of academic freedom. the university will be based on the emir middle -- the inimitable freedom of the human mind. we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it. again, in 1859, john stuart outlined the matter. the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is robbing the human race, posterity, as well as the existing generation those of deceptive opinions as well as those who hold it. they are

the backdrop of this, sir martin, is christine lagarde. i am watching markets on the move. your stock has done better than good. it is a moonshot. wewe report in sterling, so see a currency headwinds, having a significant impact on our reported results. that makes life difficult. just to point this mediocrity, the top line, worldwide gdp growth is only about 4.5%, 5%, next year the forecast is nominal. companies are faced with lower topline growth and the possibility of a topline growth, so they are focused on cost. i have said this before, the thing that i really worry about is clients are totally focused on cost because in order to get to their numbers, they are going the cnbc 25th anniversary -- >> who? us.hat does not concern >> they said it is amazing what companies have done -- hold on -- it is amazing what companies have done to reduce and lower costs in america. that in my view is a short-term approach. what has to be done is investing in capacity and brands. >> do you have it all in interest? >> i have no interest whatsoever. i am totally agnostic. >> we should con

jim grant, i need to get your comment on a global gdp and what christine lagarde says is the new mediocre. do you agree with the new mediocre? >> i doubt think -- we should not be fatalistic about accepting, economics. gdp estimates have gone toward jim grant. >> you can't even count gdp, let alone world gdp. what policymakers say we ought to settle for the new mediocre, what they are saying is our policies have failed. you kindly mentioned my book, tom -- >> only kind this hour. >> thank you. >> shameless plug. go on, jim. >> we have collectively come to say there's no way out of our difficulties except through greater statism, through more and more taxation, more spending, more interest rate suppression, more central bank intervention. it is not always been thus. it seems when we begin to accept the new mediocre, we have to reconsider history. >> the forgotten depression. this is about tuition payments. my kids are through school, so i'm done with that. >> with a lot more coming up on "bloomberg surveillance." we're just getting started. the world's busiest online shopping day is underw

he is sitting down with a drop or of the imf christine lagarde to discuss a range of international economic issues -- he is sitting down with the direct or of the imf. his travel to asia and eventually g 20 in australia next week. he is convening members of his team who have been focused on is funding to the ebola situation. the president has a pretty full schedule today. it's an important part of his leadership in the country to be focused on these priorities. the president over the course of these last several months has spent a lot of time talking publicly about the elections. the president has aggressively made the case for democrats who share his view. policies that benefit middle-class family should be the priority. he has had the opportunity to make his case in a series of rallies to drum up support for democratic candidates, governors, senators, even some house members. the president has aggressively made the case for democrats. the other thing that happens to be true when the president himself as a candidate on the operationsa time for to thrive and organizational energy focusing o

christine lagarde, first female head of the international monetary funding, was invited to speak to the graduating class of smith, only to back out after students protested her support of imperialist and patriarchal regimes. on the pc campus, shouting down a controversial voice is not necessarily seen as an evil, but a virtue, a small group of closed mind eed students an s faculty is all that is nedded to cut off discussions that their view, is the only view, the correct view. for those who believe our colleges and universities have an obligation to foster a robust exchange of ideas in the pursuit of truth. it wasn't always this way. back in december 1820, as he founded the university of virginia, thomas jefferson laid out the foundation of academic freedom. the university will be based on the eliminatable freedom of the human mind, he wrote. for here we are not afraid to follow truth no matter where it may lead. again in 1859, jon stewart mill outlined the matter elkwechbtly. the peculiar evil of silencing the expressing of an opinion is that it is robbing the human race, posterity as