well i think the greek government is realizing that there is actually no other option left the greek economy is going down like a stone. g.d.p. contracted by four percent in two thousand and ten by six percent in two thousand and eleven and there is probably worse to come in two thousand and twelve one of the main reasons is that the greek economy lack totally like external competitiveness and this combined with the need to stabilise public finances to increase taxes and to cut expenditures brings into being a kind of debt spiral for the greek economy and i think we are now at the point where everybody in greece realizes that we cannot go on like this and that unrest and even in the country is becoming so much of a threat that some drastic things need to be done and my reading of what the greek government is doing is that they are trying to that they are looking for an alibi to offer to their public by which they can say well it's not our fault it's the international community that pushes the steward's the exits of the eurozone but what leads to look like greece is using its predicam

those are very unpopular here in greece among the majority of greeks. so anymore seizing of control to the european union would be unpopular in greece. >> is there still a fear over the debt and the repayment deadline? >> there is. i think that was what was driving this german proposal, the widespread concern that greece is not meeting its fiscal target. the deficit is still too high. reforms are not being met quickly enough. the privatizat ion program needed 50 billion euro-s is way behind -- 50 billion euros is way behind schedule. i think this plan is unlikely to see the light of day because there was also a negative reaction in brussels. a spokesperson condemned it and said that was not the way forward. there is a hope that the greeks will reach some kind of deal perhaps today with its creditors to lighten its burden to wipe off perhaps 100 billion euros of greek debt with private creditors. that would be a big step. that would be a step toward unlocking the next bail out which is needed to bay bond redemption, money it does not have, and if it does

it's a blackmail of the using against the greek people took two to have them accept. irrational and then work up a wall so you are saying the greek people are blackmail. it's interesting you bring that up because it struck me today i was very early listening to the world economic forum's press conference about davos which is next week and angela merkel is going to deliver the opening remarks so she's presumably i'm guessing going to talk about some of these solutions that european leaders have come up with for the crisis to a room of the heads of state of some of the wealthiest and most powerful business elite in the world in a place that is literally and metaphorically very far removed from the actual people that have been most impacted by the policies of european leaders who is it more important for angela merkel to convince that these solutions are solutions or working those people in davos or the people all over europe who have been so impacted by austerity. neither members of parliament in berlin. this is not going to. trembling. with being pulled from a seat she

in the lead so let's correct that error right now goldman sachs committed fraud as it relates to greeks inclusion in the euro by rigging markets exactly they've defrauded not only the taxpayers but bondholders and investors around the world who invested in the stuff based on goldman sachs as a lie of which only they knew and the insiders in the greek government who also were able to make huge profits on betting against their own debt so lovely this came out as well insiders were buying and selling those part of the booking huge games based on this fraud perpetrated by goldman sachs now suddenly ten years later they're saying oh well the whole greek unraveling the whole ratings downgrade unraveling well it has its genesis in that basic frog you know what i'm surprised goldman sachs doesn't try to buy these die jury and e-mail scams servers and incorporate them down there it eighty five broad street or wherever there were their offices are in wall street because they could be doing great business for you but the important thing here max is that we laugh at the south koreans who answered t

some greeks are angry at german interference in greek fiscal policy. >> the situation is such that i do not think the prime minister can do anything about it. i think these things have already been decided elsewhere. but i do not think backwards looking will help pierre. -- will help here. >> it does not depend on the prime minister. if depends on your. >> for now, the country's fate hinges on its private creditors began negotiations on the debt right down our on going. athens needs to reach an agreement with private investors before it will secure the next round of private bailout money. >> the markets and the private blue chips started out the week on a negative. >> of the euro crisis came back in focus and greece and portugal put pressure on the dax. greece was not able to reach an agreement with private lenders over the hair cut. at the same time, concerns are rising that portugal will face similar problems as greece. belgium could sell easily 5-year and 10-year bonds at a lower interest-rate and slowly confidence is coming back. >> in frankfurt, we will have a closer look at mon

fury a plan for you controlled by the greeks greece's finance minister angrily rejected a plan by the european union to put in place a budget commissioner to oversee how the greeks prepare their next budget basically the e.u. is telling greece that if they want more bailout funds then they're going to have to let some unelected technocrat come in who has the power to veto tax and spending decisions made by the democratically elected greek government as in we can't trust you guys draw on your own country so we'll do it for you now is the germans who proposed this plan the greek finance minister said no way arguing it would improperly forces country to choose between financial ins assistance and national dignity greece has been through a lot including watching their prime minister be forced out of office by european technocrats last year and be replaced by a bank but where they draw the line is giving up the right to set their own budget to determine their own priorities as a nation and not let some budget commissioner come in and tell them what they can do what they can't do unfortunat

greek debt still the center of the. protests and a general strike. we take the arctic circle to attorney village that has to withstand relentless sandstorms which mysteriously first appeared fifty years ago our special report attempts to solve the riddle. on his way to work every day. the homes of his neighbors.

key talks to reduce the brick debt burden have run to difficulties -- the greek debt burden have run to difficulties. greece needs a new rescue package. is central to any deal is investors take significant losses. those talks appear close to collapse, raising prospects of a greek default. >> i think it is 99% certain. when you look at the greek economy and the rates it is contracting. >> france found support tonight from germany, saying the judgment of the rating agencies should not be overestimated. but now the eurozone crisis was threatening once again. bbc news, paris. >> for more on the impact of the downgrade, in joined by my guest. thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> we knew this was going on. how big a deal is this? >> i think it is a bigger political deal than it is for the market's. is clear the decision today this and add new information to financial markets. in fact, it reflects information we already had. in market terms, i think the impact will be short-lived. how it will play out politically in europe, and more broadly with the french-german partnership, which

as long as greece actually implements the this issuance instead of just talking about it all the greeks had responded to that with a lot of that still to be saying that this is definitely out of the question especially since this is a matter of national sovereignty and one former economist who's now the greek education minister had actually called it quote unquote a product of a sick imagination so you can you can tell that the greeks are definitely upset with the german suggestion now why did the german suggested this is because of that ongoing talks between the greeks and their creditors it's still dragging it's been stalling for some time now the greeks need to strike a deal with the private sector and their creditors asking the banks for example to write down some of the greek back to take some losses about fifty to sixty percent of losses and this is in order for greece to get the second tranche of its bailout which it needs to pay some debts in march because if they don't they will technically default now as the e.u. leaders are getting ready for the summit belgium where this is o

there is no understanding of the greek talks and. that's not the end of a story there's portugal has been making headlines today. actually climbed for. almost across the board in europe which is again. and we're going to have a look at those currency rates now low all prices are weighing on the variable is losing against both the dollar and the year right on the year is retreating against the u.s. currency ahead of that european summit. well with me fifty five minutes babe i cancel markets all business here and i'll say. culture is that so much given to each musician on the market crude blockade and the turning off of the taps as the united states meet you again sanction iran is also a threat between posed. the east side. loses. the beasts. with all its the law from moscow are tough you headlines now international observers and. syria killing time in the hotel awaiting further instruction from the arab league fierce fighting to news around the capital meanwhile a russian officer talks between the syrian government and the opposition

>> because it would have a devastating consequence on the greek economy, on the greek people. and on the whole stability of the eurozone through the financial system. therefore, we want and we will avoid any disorderly default. that's why we are now are having negotiations on a deal over private sector involvement, in order to achieve a sustainable solution for greece. >> so how do you believe you can avoid the greek default? >> we can avoid it by possibly taking a voluntary and negotiated agreement between the private community and the greek government. >> but you haven't been able to do so so far? >> we are in the final meters of the negotiations. >> let me ask you about the upcoming dates, because people are looking at that bond payment in march. so if we don't see it this weekend, what's your drop-dead date? >> i'm confident that we will see an agreement shortly in the coming days. either preferably in january or the latest in february. >> and that sentiment from olli rehn moved markets in europe today. ahead on the program, why the uk will not back a european financial ta

allow further write downs and an extension of repayment times so basically let me break this down the greek government is desperately trying to avoid default trying to negotiate with its creditors to seal a deal on debt relief that is going on right now that is the big news but what is really new here the seriousness of the situation in greece has been very clear or at least should have been very clear to everyone involved in these debt negotiations from the start so our european leaders just imposing a bankrupt ideology onto a bankrupt banking system playing the fiddle while the euro project burns at their feet well let's see what yanis varoufakis thinks he's professor of economics at the university of athens he's also author of this book you see there the global minute america the true origins of the financial crisis and the future of the world economy professor verify because it's so great to have you on the show especially on this big day for greece presumably so let's get right to this because it really seems like greece is in default already it seems that the greek government is reall

there's no understanding of how the greek talks and obviously that's not the end of the story there's portugal has been making headlines today as the yields climbed actually climbed for. almost across the board in europe which is again a negative. over the second look at the currency rates now low all price so why on the ruble it's musing against both the dollar and the year right on the year it is retreating against the u.s. currency that. and now a business exclusive. the owner of the world's biggest producer will sell one of roche buses weren't just meant bob may but it's the first half of the year could be tough for his business he sees commodity prices remaining stable with growth only coming in the second half of the year. we don't expect you know in a significant improvement the next six months in the we're. not in the very bush but optimistic for the second part of those a year but it's a moment come of this market is quite stable in general of course we come here we're. in a positive trend to nation in the improvement in the. slowdown in the euro but in general it's the. and

and their creditors it's still dragging it's been stalling for some time now the greeks need to strike a deal with the private sector and their creditors asking the banks for example to write down some of the greek back to take some losses about fifty to sixty percent of losses and this is in order for greece to get the second tranche of its bailout which it needs to pay some debts in march because if they don't they will technically default belgium is on a general strike a lot of walking and cycling today because all the metros down no buses and one of the airports is also closed the unions are protesting against the government of cutting their benefits slashing retirement age also raising the retirement age rather so they're complaining that the workers are bearing the brunt and the enterprises are not getting here at. the top stories all the way shortly that's off of the business news. thank you bill and welcome to the business program as we've just been hearing that move putin has outlined the changes he things need to be made to the russian economy recognizes the need to diversify

the greek government is realizing that there is actually no option left the greek economy is going down like a stone and i think we are now at the point where everybody in greece realizes that we cannot go on like this and that unrest and even under the in the country is becoming so much of a threat that some drastic things needs to be done and my reading of what the greek government is doing is that they are trying to say that they are looking for an alibi to offer to their public by which they can say well it's not our fault it's the international community that pushes us towards the exit of the euro zone and i think also here in europe at the brussels that quarters of the european commission people start to realize that there really is no other way to solve the greek problem by than by an exit from the euro zone. well with the situation in the eurozone continuing to deteriorate both leaders and markets are placing their last hopes in a fiscal union to guide the e.u. out of the crisis but according to a leading economist. those hopes are misplaced. in my system it is does europe will

central bank showing the bank deposit flight from greek banks and it seems greeks are certainly worried about the future of their country staying in the euro by the way those bank deposits have been taken out of their countries banking system do you think greece will remain in the euro mark chandler. i do think that three stays in the unit here is really why i mean i think that we try to analyze a problem we have to make certain assumptions about the adversary the subject they were trying to analyze and we have to assume i think a rational actor that is their grease politicians grease officials with a side like a cost benefit analysis basis rather than some kind of ideological formation about whether they stay or not and i think that what every advantage is i know there's a lot of famous economists saying greece ought to drop out soon we look at the data itself we try to build some scenarios what would it look like if greece were to drop out we think that any kind of currency advantage by a depreciate by reintroducing a new greek drachmas depreciating it whatever traded very age could a

in the program, the focus is on growth, but tell that to the greeks suffering the toughest cuts in a generation. >>> shark in canada as members of an immigrant afghan family are jailed for killing a female resident for a so-called honor killing. >>> it promises to be a significant week at the u.n. security council and its search for a resolution on the crisis. the head of the arab league is in new york where he'll be joined bid foreign ministers in the u.s., britain, and france. the presence in new york could put new pressure on russia and china who have been reluctant to sign up for measures against damascus. on the ground and suburb, there's talk of urban warfare. the uprising, it seems, is becoming increasingly militarized. this report from london. >> one of the eastern suburbs of lebanon, saqba, still being bombarded day after troops were brought in backed by tanks to bring it under control. this is going on on the edge of temperature capital, so close to the city that bashar al assad may be able to hear the explosions from his presidential pal lace. the escalation has continued

there's no understanding of how the greek talks will end and obviously that's not the end of a story first portugal has been making headlines silly again as the yields climbed actually climbed for. almost across the board in europe is again a negative. and now let's see how those cards he writes god on low all prices all on the ruble is losing against both the dollar and the year right on the year is retreating against the u.s. currency the trade is a favor of. a muzzle from us to business with us for the headlines up next. a soulless substance. cannot touch like a well trained army. villages in ruins. for thailand where time stands still. all becomes a sea of nothingness. the mysterious sons of russia. are. a nation in free accreditation free in-store judges free. range machines free risk free skew tied for free. download free broadcast quality video for your media projects and a free medio dog to our teeth dot com you. from the russian capital twenty four hours a day this is the top stories now. in the hotel the waiting further instruction from the arab league has continues around

how greek are we to be? how do we adapt to the surrounding culture? what is the real meaning of the death of jesus? how important is the death of jesus? maybe it's the sayings of jesus that are really the important thing and... and not his death and not his resurrection. >> i think we're right to call it the jesus movement here, because if we think of it as christianity-- that is, from the perspective of the kind of movement and institutional religion that it would become a few hundred years later-- we will miss the flavor of those earliest years of the kind of crude and rough beginnings, the... the small enclaves trying to keep the memory alive. >> we're hampered by our vocabulary.? we know that this group will eventually form a gentile community, and they'll be known as christians. but this group didn't think that. this group expected jesus to return and establish the kingdom of god. >> he is a jewish messiah. they are followers of a jewish apocalyptic tradition. they are expecting the coming of the kingdom of god on earth. it's a jewish movement. >

you've got that greek debt payment.s for them to come up with an agreement on the psi and that payment is due in march so right now we have breathing room, but there are some deadlines coming up that are likely to make people nervous, don't you think? >> as far as -- as far as greece goes, everybody here i've spoken to, the assumption is greece is going to get the money. however it happens, greece is going to get the money in march and there ain't going to be any kind of default. so i think that's basically the way everybody thinks, karen. >> the ltro because that seems to be coming into the conversation a lot with ceos and a lot with analysts that this really has created some confidence and even more we were watching that davos debate. we saw the latest auction out of italy and this did show the yields have fallen significantly. a good thing for markets. if we take a look at some of the market reaction as well during that debate you can see we had the ftse down beforehand and both -- the cac was down 0.3%. the ftse is

analysts think a further write- down of the greek debt is unavoidable.egotiations to join the greek government and private sector lenders over voluntary writedowns have been stalled for months. at the crisis summit in october, european leaders agreed that banks and insurance companies would have to write down the greek government bonds they hold by 50%. that would relieve greece of some 100 billion euros of debt burden. if the talks fail, default for greece would loom. and it that would mean an even larger hole in, or its bank's capital reserves. >> to last year's last year's biggest banks -- bankruptcy and germany, the maker of printing presses will now be broken up. officials have agreed to its biggest plant going to a conglomerate. two smaller plants said to be restructured in a management buyout. it was a world market leader in the press is used for newspapers. the downfall is attributed to the crisis and the printing industry. 4500 jobs were at stake. what else is at stake in the world? >> we have a major visitor here in berlin, the palestinian auth

the iconography is very greek or greco-egyptian. the symbol do you see perched on the pediment is the crown of isis. the figure of the central round portion is isis holding a cornucopia. on each side are dancing figures and a winged figure and lord out wewh have at was probably a medusa face surrounded by vegetation. on each side of that, there are a wing at plans phasing out and images of abundance. all of the faces have been chiseled away. that was done intentionally and we don't know who did that, if it was the later iconoclastic christians or iconoclastic muslims. asuryreng from the treasavury further into petra, the magnitude of the site is overwhelming. buildings and mountains blend together. it is easy to see and experience why pasetra hur become one of today's great tourist destinations. >> we are in the middle of the desert. we are in the middle of the desert and we are in petra. does the word have significance? >> it does. it is the greek name for the city and it actually means rock. the nabatian name was a different. it's

investors are desperate for direction as greek debt talks stall. europe and the united states slap unprecedented sanctions on iran to squeeze its nuclear program. and as republican presidential hopefuls slug it out, we take you inside the mitt romney money machine. the -- how low can you go? the limbo, that is greek debt debate, private creditors can't lower the bar any further. they've named their best price for bond restructuring, but euro zone leaders have rejected it. the dance has stalled yet again. european finance ministers continue to talk in brussels with greek a -- they want a solution within days. but officials in athens have set a deadline of february 13th for agreement. that is five weeks before an $18 billion debt repayment is due and it seems that even if the debt dance resume, the various parties will move to different tunes. >>> in many ways it's been the story of the crisis. different people wanting different things at different times. imf chief christine lagarde offered her starkest warning yet on the dangers of that disunity. >>