we look at the latest figures. >> the international monetary fund doesn't know what's going to happenor the global economy in 2012 but it's not looking good. its latest forecasts say the global recovery has stalled, downside risk are intensifying and the financial system is deep into the danger zone. it's all thanks to the crisis across the channel. >> the epicenter of the danger is europe. but the rest of the world is increasingly affected. there's an even greater danger, namely that the european crisis intensifies, in this case the world could be cast into another recession. >> where do we fit into this gloomy picture? the answer is somewhere in the middle. the fund still expects the u.s. economy to grow by 1.8% in 201. that's not what president obama would be hoping for but it's a lot better than most. the forecast for the u.k. this year has been cut to just 9.6%, slightly less than the official forecast and even that's better than the euro zone which the fund is expecting to shrink slightly in 2012 with much sharper downturn for countries like spain and italy. european finance min

taking a look at the markets now more three futures are modestly up on hopes that international monetary fund will get a cash infusion and a head over post of u.s. economic reports most european stocks are high on news that the international monetary fund proposed the new lending program markets are also supported by successful debt sales in germany germany's dax is up over a quarter of a percent and the footsie is up just a notch now years in moscow the markets closed in the black and a rather choppy trading day mys its close half a percent higher while from isaac's and it point seven percent of the r.t.s. and a point seven percent and the. other back in less than fifteen minutes with mine. why from the russian capital our headlines moscow reaffirms is a push for talks to solve syria rejecting any military intervention and questions when sort of the run off the rise and this as america and some allies mount calls against the syrian regime has kept are prosing to send in troops. millions of wit computer users are heading this brick wall right now the world's most popular online encyclopedia i

we will see it in our trade. >> ken, you were the chief economist for the international monetary fund. you look at what's unfolding right now. is the international monetary fund, is the european central bank doing enough to head off a catastrophe in europe? >> not forever. definitely not forever. i completely agree with will on this. right now really the main thing they're doing is printing money. that works for a while, but eventually it will lead to inflation if they don't do something more. but it is very hard to call the timing. europe is going to be in recession. it's not good for us, but we're doing a little better, it will drag us more slower for a long time, but the big question, will they have a layman type event. when greece defaults, as i think it will this year, will it be a lehman -- lay man type event. i think it will not be as immediately catastrophic to be decisive in the november 2012 election, although it is certainly a key wild card. >> that's a very good point to end on, that europe has been in what feels like a recession for some time. that going on may not be the

it could be something of a power shift at the international monetary fund. they want to raise $500 billion in extra cash. remember, it is a preliminary assessment. it will not be making any decision in terms of exactly how much it needs or exactly where the money will come from until it consults with member countries. if country is with the likes of china, rizo, -- china, brazil, and russia have anything to do with it, it has to do with shoring up with economies and making spending cuts in return for the emergency loan. the u.s. will not want to give much ground as it is currently the major stakeholder in the international monetary fund. >> pen -- tensions continue to rise in pakistan's crisis involving politicians. the military and the supreme court. prime minister will appear in court to defend himself on charges of contempt. if convicted, he could be disqualified from office. president obama has rejected a proposal for a pipeline from canada to texas. he said that they set an arbitrary deadline for the decision and did not allow the government enough time

at this hour, chancellor angela merkel is holding talks with the international monetary fund's chief,istine lagarde, seen here at an earlier meeting. sources say the agenda includes funding for the eurozone stability facility, the plan for deeper fiscal integration, and the debt crisis facing in greece and the non-jurors on country, hungary, which is also in danger of default.t. let's go live to our pitical correspondent, simomon, who jois us in berlin. what is at the center of these talks this evening? >> these are being described as informal talks, and we were told that there would not be any official statements to the media. so we can only make an educated guess as to what is at the center of the talks. as you have said, two things in the main, the role of the international monetary fund in helping to rescue the euro. what can it do to is aboard eurozone economies? not all countries are willing to make the extra contributions to imf funds that chancellor merkel things are needed. of course, it is this is written in greece that it will be talking about. that country is stumbling eff

ai uchida from the business desk with more on that >> the international monetary fund is saying it will ask its member nations, member countries for another $500 billion, and that's to boost its bailout funds. the imf said on wednesday that the injection will allow it to provide about $1 trillion in loans over the next few years. recently the european union had pledged about $200 billion to the imf. the organization hopes to boost the funds available for any market contingencies as the euro debt crisis grows and as the outlook for the world economy may get worse. attention is now on whether japan and emerging economies, including china, will contribute. the g-20 financial ministers and central bank governors are expected to discuss the imf move at a meeting in mexico in late february. >>> the u.s. treasury department said on wednesday that the imf can play an important role in europe, but only as a supplement to the region's own efforts. it also said that the u.s. had told its international partners that it has no intention of seeking extra resources for the imf. >>> france has unveiled

and the international monetary fund proposes to more than double its lending capacity in order to save the global financial system from the worsening european debt crisis bloomberg agency says that the i.m.f. wants its members to add five hundred billion dollars to its reserves earlier the lender's managing director christine lagarde announced the fund is studying options to increase its war chest. cites a group of twenty officials saying the i.m.f. is encouraging countries like china brazil and russia to become the top contributors. let's take a look at the markets now first the u.s. where stocks and bonds with semiconductor companies and builders gaining stocks are also boosted by better than anticipated results from goldman sachs group the bank shares jumped after the company reported results that beat wall street's expectations the bank has also participated in bonus payments during two thousand and eleven twelve point two billion dollars. european stocks ended mixed on wednesday put the pussy on the decks managed to stay in the black markets gained on news that the international m

hello and welcome to our business update this hour the international monetary fund proposes to more than double its lending capacity in order to save the global financial system from worsening european debt crisis bloomberg agency says that the i.m.f. wants its members to add five hundred billion dollars to its reserves earlier the lenders managing director christine lagarde announced that the fund is studying options to increase its war chest cites a group of twenty official saying that the i.m.f. is encouraging countries like china brazil and russia to become a top contributors. with the ongoing turbulence on the financial markets in europe russia is preparing for worsening scenarios in the european debt crisis the country's finance minister. moving the response of preparing last year by increasing no reserve fund to fifty seven billion dollars and the national wealth of funds to eighty eight billion this is obviously still lower than the pre-crisis levels of two thousand and eight. prevent growth of spending and create new budget maneuvers for the implementation of anti-crisis measure

and international monetary fund loan in two thousand and nine came with tough conditions unlike in greecethe remain in government has tried to force its financial house into water budget benefit cuts slashed pay pension freezes falling living standards but some say it's the people who are now. being forced to pay for the mistakes of the few who steered the country to economic disaster. this was done at the expense of there are many in state and now those who hadn't been guilty for the situation they didn't even profited from it had to play for those who had profited the government blames international economic conditions however for the country's worse. let's not forget that we're in the eye of a storm of an economic european storm all around us unfortunately is a mighty tempest with economic consequences that inevitably affect us too it's not good enough said the opposition who argue of course that they could do better every day discourage inefficient government stays in power as a dane last for rumania or jews used to shorten the period as much as we can honest fast as we can by fair el

manchester and harvard university before going on to become a senior staff member with the international monetary fund from one thousand nine hundred sixty one thousand nine hundred currently going are as a financial consultant and with global markets around the world in turmoil and the nation of iceland taking and unique approach to shoring up its economy he could offer us some much needed insight into solutions to get us all out of this mess so without further ado joining me now in our studio in our thomas thank you so much for being with us. how did the iceland let's let's start with the iceland collapse because i think from reading some of your writings that that that you think that in some ways it's a dress rehearsal for other things and and metal other things what happened in iceland well the iceland this indeed the food. a miniature version of things going on a bigger economy in the utopian union and the united states and the us in the u.s. there was an enormous growth of both loans to find most a base we got it channeled through eyes to the foreign banks european and american . the three big i

a look at the markets now all is heading higher concerns about iranian next exports the international monetary fund warns of a twenty to thirty percent price spike if they are to stop that brant blend is trading at one hundred eleven dollars the value. is just under close to one hundred dollars a barrel. most asian stock markets struggle at the end of a modestly positive week but australian shares gain with miners pushing back thanks sang is trading a little higher this hour after falling i add drop in volatile property shares helped drag on the markets after recent games the nikkei is lower in tokyo as securities group fell nearly three percent in a weak a banking sector. and the russian markets open the trading day day lower as well the r.t.s. is losing a point six percent to my xix is down just nearly a quarter of a percent so looking ahead to friday market analysts that is at risk in believe that the sentiment in the russian markets is likely to start trading away. we can see slight correction. probably be too strong. news we have seen over the week or. significant for the markets for the marke

but a reality because of those problems and also drag on the rest of the world and the international monetary fund now things global growth this year will slow to three point three percent from four percent as was predicting a few months ago and russia is not immune to touche and says that the country can realize its growth potential it could be less exposed textile shocks if it focuses for economic policies. one is to firmly anchor the government budget on a target for the no deficit target that we have recommended should be four point seven percent of g.d.p. that is to be achieved by two thousand and fifteen second is motor to policy focused on inflation firmly anchored by the central bank's move to form inflation targeting third is to develop the financial system and show it stability so it can mobilize say being directed to your productive investment and settle here is very important to strengthen supervision to give the central bank the adequate powers to pursue active and substantive supervision of banks to avoid that you have their view that is to system and to look for slowly but surely we

in the best in the world and america has to take that leap within the international monetary fund. to. basically. do a technical study. how did we get into this mess what should we do on the technical basis now that a political course that a private interest constraints but if you do not pay attention to the technical aspects nothing will work oh another was let's understand let's understand this yes what it is one of both of you know we can then hung that going to thomas thanks so much for being with us it was my pleasure are you with us thank you. to watch this conversation again as well as other conversations with great minds go to our website at conversations with great minds dot com. coming up my panel of experts political commentators will join me for this week's big picture rubble. drives the world the fear mongering used by politicians who makes decisions to break through it through to be made who can you trust no one who is in view with a global missionary see where we had a state controlled capitalism it's called saxons when nobody dares to ask we do art see question more

a look at the markets now heading higher the concerns about iranian exports exports the international monetary fund warns of a twenty thirty percent price bike if there disrupt that grand blanc is trading at one hundred and eleven dollars. close to one hundred dollars a barrel now onto equities most asian stock markets struggle at the end of a modestly positive week she has gained with minus pushing the. hang seng is training. over a quarter of a percent and the nikkei is slightly down weighed by day with securities group that fell three percent. the s. and markets opened the trading day low one of the r.t.s. is losing a quarter of a. is losing. the minds it's likely the r.t.s. is losing a quarter of a percent let's check out the biggest movies on the why is it spread bank is on the rise held by the news about its privatisation energy majors are losing ground despite strong oil price. is down around with third of a percent m.k.s. also lower and the mental giant has increased production by seven percent in two thousand and that the. currency is now the ruble is lowered to the dollar amid weakening g

and the international monetary fund proposes to more than double its lending capacity in order to save the global financial system from the worsening european debt crisis bloomberg agency says that the i.m.f. wants its members to five hundred billion dollars its to its reserves area the lenders managing director christine lagarde announced the fund is studying options to increase its war chest bloomberg cites a group of twenty officials saying the i.m.f. is encouraging countries like china brazil and russia to become the top contributors. come to look at the markets now for us to europe where stocks pare losses on news that the international monetary fund propose a new lending program markets are also supported by successful debt sales in germany germany's dax is up under a half percent led by a three percent gain for hankel and a two percent rise in fenian technologies here in moscow the markets are recovering from earlier losses about the chopping day of trade here in the russian capital however both x. and the ts are trading in the block let's have a look at some index movers on the

a recovery in investment which is still depressed compared to pre-crisis levels and the international monetary fund proposes to more than double its lending capacity in order to save the global financial system from the worsening european debt crisis bloomberg says the army after once its members to five hundred billion dollars to its reserves earlier the lenders managing director christine lagarde announced that the fund starting options to increase its war chest bloomberg cites a group of twenty officials saying that the i.m.f. is encouraging countries like china brazil and russia to become the top contributors let's have a look at the markets now u.s. stocks are edging higher and midday trading investors have also considered better than expected dissipated results from goldman sachs group along with strong the strength in technology sector goldman sachs shares jumped after the company reported results that beat wall street's expectations the bank has also cut its pay in bonus payments during two thousand and eleven to twelve point two billion dollars. stocks in europe ended mixed on wednesday bu

but the footsie of the dax managed to stay in the black markets gained on news that the international monetary fund proposed a new lending program they were also supported by successful debt sales in germany germany's dax was up over a quarter of a percent led by a two and a half percent rise in infinium technologies and a two percent gaper hang gold but finish point three percent in the black only and here in moscow the markets closed higher and in a rather choppy trading day the mys extended half a percent hard while the r.t.s. and its point seven percent and the black. guys have a look at some index movers on the my xix russia's top oil company roll snap has ended in the black on strong the oil prices russia's largest lender is the bad bank finished high after coming under pressure early in the in the session the banks for your profit jumped seventy five percent topping ten billion dollars that's on the russian accounting standards and electricity producing russia's is the only russia is hot on the company's sales rose nine point three percent last year. and russia saw new car sales jumped fifty

international monetary fund warns about twenty to thirty percent oil price spike directly in exports disrupted brant blend is that over one hundred eleven dollars per barrel light sweet is above one hundred. european markets are still makes this with the u.k. stocks down heavyweight barclay's is weighing on the index following in european sectors south on worries over the a sovereign debt crisis mining stocks also we're going to show you stocks also pressuring the footsie b.p. shares are down one and a half percent. here in russia the markets are sitting pretty much where they started struggling for direction the r.t.s. and the my stocks are down by just a modest point two point one percent the second was moving the my six financials are still strong as burbank beginning point six percent energy majors are despite high oil prices down. and steel makers continues to slump in the market for us with a seven percent production increase in twenty eleven. currencies now and that's pretty peculiar. situation rule is pretty flat though you can say it's down versus the dollar versus the year

>> is it a scam, the international monetary fund? >> a scale? many. >> scam. >> no, it's not a scam. you know, they do their work. in fact, they're basically an offshoot of the u.s. treasury. i mean, it's not literally true, but the u.s. treasury has an enormous amount of control in what they do, and there are the same programs that are kind of turning the united states into a sort of a third world society are applied much more forcefully in weaker countries and having terrible effects. so the international monetary fund has over the past several decades been pressing very hard. the so-called neoliberal programs which have been a social and economic disaster almost everywhere. now, not for everyone. take, say, egypt which is right on the front pages. part of the source of the uprising in egypt's gone on for a long time. but peaking because of the disastrous effects of imf structural adjustment programs which have increased but kind of the way they do here with wealth going into very few pockets. and most of the population suffering. and that's b

that compounded caution raised by a warning from the international monetary fund about the global impact of europe's recession. >>> a slew of lack laster earnings reports at home didn't help stocks either. verizon missed estimates by a penny as profits were cut into their profit margins. weak earnings from utah based zion bank made the biggest drag on the s&p. mcdonald's shares fell 2%. nvidai traded lower after late day report that -- on the flip side, disk drive maker western digital boosted the s&p after coming in well above earnings estimates. coach rose 6% thanks to strong holiday sales. in deal news, swiss drug giant roche made an offer for iluminia for $5.7 billion. keep an eye on boeing. a norwegian airline announced today it is buying 22 boeing 737s. fans of dalton abbey now can tour and lunch at the actual english castle where the popular series is shot for a cool 10 thousands bucks. people say it's great. >>> coming up, big baseball signings and a big hockey suspension and the heat beat lebron's old team. trying to keep a ball from going out. a high school player makes a mirac

the international monetary fund were critical of the constitution. the economy could be the real battleground in the months to come. the central right government has promised to create new jobs, but so far failed. mark doyle, bbc news. >> i am joined from budapest by the minister of communications at the hon. justice ministry. thank you for being on "gmt." constitutions are supposed to be above politics, they are supposed to be timeless, but you have been accused of creating a document that is intensely political. >> the nature of the process is political. many in central europe have managed to get rid of the old communist constitution's. now hungary is the last one. >> no one is doubting your right, what they are arguing about, and tens of thousands of people turned up on the street, you are producing a document that entrenches values of the right rather than producing documents that are all hungarian -- that all hungarians can rally around. >> the biggest christian democrat, with new fundamental laws, that is the democracy causeway. in i wanted to

the international monetary fund plans to raise an extra ks 500 billion so it can issue new loans.he imf says the euro zone nations may need to borrow a trill dollars in the coming years. eastman kodak filed for bankruptcy. the company has had years of falling sales and the decline of its film business. air fares are going up yet again. delta air lines increased fares by $4 to $10 across much of the u.s. a florida cop has been chosen as the best chocolate in america. this is the sixth year in a row that vorman love affections won the top honor. >>> steve nash debuts for the knicks and david beckham decides he is staying in l.a. >>> who says there is no more fire in personality in professional tennis? get it all out there, buddy. your "early morning" sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> snow is heading for many areas. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." >>> good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." >>> in sports the nba washington wizards have having that kind of year. when they win a game, it's the lead story. here is fred roggin with

. >>> separately, the head of the international monetary fund, christine will he guard asked the your peep union to boost the size of the rescue fund to battle the region's financial crisis. >> the outlook imf will release tomorrow and only tomorrow, we will lower forecast in most parts of the world. >> in her speech in berlin monday, she said that the world economy faced a defining moment. she then urged the eu to contribute to a bigger bailout fund that will be established from its current balance of 500 billion euros. she pointed out a possibility that financial turmoil in europe could worsen as costs to repay debts are expected to expand in italy and spain. she also urged eu members to consider should go the unified euro bond to establish a system that would strengthen their financial integration and risk sharing. >>> now on wall street overnight, the dow ended slightly lower, snapping four days of gains. to see how stocks in japan open this tuesday, ramin mellegard is at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. >> good morning to you, ai. let's have a look at the opening levels he

leaders from the international monetary fund attempted to dissuade mr. orban 2 no avail. >> and they call it operation blitzkrieg. hackers associated with the group anonymous and have -- have led an effort against neo-not see -- neo-nazism websites. they have also targeted far right website, shooting them down with cyber attacks. and monday is an important anniversary in the process of coming to terms with the crimes and hours of the east german secret police, the sassy -- the stasi. 20 years ago, victims were able to read it records for the first time. >> the stasi kept files on the protestant pastor for decades. he said he often felt as if he was being watched. on january 2, 1992, he had proof. on that date 20 years ago, he was one of the first people allowed to enter the former state security headquarters and view this file. 800 pages, including personal details about his life and friendships, compiled by 54 informants. >> i was pretty nervous because i knew it could only be the people around me. my friends, relatives, and acquaintances. the was it? i

. >> the international monetary fund has been revised down its forecast. they have said now it will only be 0.6%. the eurozone crisis is a big worry, as well. >> here is a story we've never done before. a trade deficit in japan? >> unless we were sitting here 32 years ago, we werhave not said that. imports rose. exports fell some three% three let's not kid ourselves. japan had a horrible year last year. the earthquake and tsunami. to add to this, the japanese yen has been rising because investors have been buying it as a safe haven and that has eaten away at the profits of the japanese exporters. i asked one expert with this represents a fundamental change to the japanese economy. this is what he had to say. >> more companies will suffer from a rise in these prices along the strong yen. obviously, there will be a transition. i think it's far-fetched when people say that japan will be totally in deficit. basically, the high-end value. it's far-fetched to talk about pulling out of the industry totally. >> far-fetched. he said that a couple of times. the japa

. >> the international monetary fund wants to boost its lending resources by about 400 bli euros in theace of global financial problems. emerging economies like china and brazil are expected to pump up their credit graees, something they have been reluctant to do. the imf hopes to come to an agreement by the end of february when the g-20 finance ministers meet in mexico. shares of commerce bank sold off today as the way to hear the german under plans to close a gap oflmt billion euros in its capital reserves. our reporter has more from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> suspense isisg here at the exchange. on friday, the banks which had not passed the stress test here in europe have to tell the supervisory authorities whether there now fulfilling the new stricter capital requirements. this deain in a site, and must be particularly bad news for commerzbank that the ratings agency, moody's, lowered i ratings for some of its debt. morrell looks are making t sian rights here in frankfurt -- more looks are making the suspense here. theresenewed government bonds in france and spain. at least th

overseas, markets are up on news the international monetary fund plans to add $600 million to help europe. tokyo's nikkei average rose 89 points today. hong kong's hang seng was up 256. in london, the ftse opened higher. op wall street, the dow added 97 points. the nasdaq gained 42. >>> the company kodak is refocusi refocusing. they announced late last night their plan to file for bankruptcy. they waited too long to acknowledge digital photography would replace film. >>> for retarls, the weather outside is frightful. it's been too mild this winter. clothing stores are overstocked with warm weather. hardware stores are sitting on salt and shovels. not as many cold and flus as last year. >>> the internet protests may have been successful. more than a dozen people in congress have withdrawn support for the bill in congress right now. some law makers posted on facebook they heard protests from constituents as well. >>> the washington monument is getting some help. a local investment banker is putting up half the $15 million that it will take to repair the icon after last summer's east coast e

. >> the international monetary fund is predicting a global economic slowdown. the imf said the recession in europe will slow the a global economy this year. they are asking global leaders to take steps to increase growth instead of slashing budgets. >> the police in vienna virginia have found a fight club made up of 12 and 13-year-old boys. this happened after a call about a fight behind a strip mall. the county the boys in a fist fight and a large group of middle school is watching it all. -- they found the boys in a fist fight. they admitted they were a part of a fight club. >> metro is preparing to close one of the escalators for prepares -- repairs. it will close on february 1st and they will work around the clock and on weekends to rebuild the escalators. it will still take eight months to get the $12 million project down. >> still the, abc7 news, why some local unemployment checks may be a little late in the mail. >> what does your local apple store and the white house have in common? >> a pipeline for human trafficking. i'm pamela brown. what you should

they'll also ask china to cooperate in boosting the capital of the international monetary fund. the committee members also planning to to see india before visiting china. >>> here in japan, the national budget for the fiscal year starting april is set to exceed last year's. this means a third straight year of budget increases. in a plan submitted to the diet, the government has requested a total budget of about $2.9 trillion. that is an increase of 3.9% from the current fiscal year through march. the government says the increase is due to rising social welfare expenses, stemming from an aging population, and the costs of rebuilding from the march 11 disaster. analysts fear that japan's fiscal situation, the worst among industrialized nations, will deteriorate even more. the country's debts outstanding are set to reach about $14 trillion at the end of march, 2013. >>> time for a recap now of the latest market figures. >>> that's the latest in business for this hour. back to you. >> thank you very much, ai. >>> we go straight to bangkok to find out what's making headlines there. >

that compounded caution raised by a warning from the international monetary fund. >>> a slew of lacklusterarnings reports at home didn't help stocks either. verizon missed estimates by a penny as pricier phones cut into its profit margins. meanwhile, weak earnings from zion's bank made it the biggest drag. mcdonald's reported strong sales. regardless, its shares fell 2%. not surprisingly, yahoo! missed quarterly expectations due to dwindling ad demand. nvidia traded lower after its late day report that disk drive shortages have hampered sales. on the flip side, western digital boosted the s&p after coming in well above earnings estimates. luxury retailer coach rose 6% thanks to strong holiday sales. in deal news, swiss drug giant roche made a hostile offer for illumina. keep an eye on boeing, a norwegian airline announced today it's buying 737s. >>> finally, fans of the pbs drama can now tour the actual english castle where the popular series is shot for a cool $10,000. people say it's great. >>> coming up, big baseball signings. a big hockey suspension. and the heat beat lebron's old team

it is expected to function as an asian version of the international monetary fund in case of a monetary crisis. >> reporter: the ceremony held in singapore today marks the inauguration of the macroeconomic and research offices. the body is formed by 13 countries such as the members of the association of southeast asian nations as well as japan, chi nab and south korea. in the wake of the asian monetary crisis in 1997, the 13 countries established a multilateral currency swap arrangement in order to make funds available to debt strapped nations during periods of financial turmoil. amro analyzes economic data and decide whether or not to implement currency swaps. it also has the right to advice members about accepting imf improvement plan if it says any problems in the financial or monetary policies. however, the u.s. usa was uneasy with the idea of asia having its own monetary supervising body and tried to discourage the establishment. meanwhile, japan and china battled for its leadership. amro finally began operations in 2011 more than a decade after the plan was created. the former exe

. >>> the international monetary fund downgraded outlook for the world economic growth. it says global financial conditions deteriorated and risks have escalated. they revised the forecast to 3.3%, down 0.7 percentage points from the september forecast. it says the global recovery is threatened by intensifying problems in the euro area and instability elsewhere. the fund expects europe to go into a mild recession. it adds growth in most other advanced economies is also lower and predicts a significant slow down in emerging and developing economies. they kept the outlook for the u.s. economic growth unchanged at 1.8%. downgraded the forecast for eurozone by minus 0.5%. the outlook for the japanese was downgraded to 1.7%, a drop of 0.6 percentage points. monkey merging economies, the growth outlook for china was revised down by 0.8 percentage points to 8.2%. imf downgraded the outlook for the global company to 3.9%. this is also a downgrade of 0.6 percentage points from the previous forecast. >>> the european union is considering imposing sanctions on hung ar ee for failin

. >>> the head of the international monetary fund christine lagarde has asked the european union to boost the size of its rescue fund. >> in the economic outlook the imf will release tomorrow and only tomorrow, we will lower forecasts in most of the world. >> in her speech in berlin monday, lagarde said that the world economy faced a defining moment. she then urged the eu to contribute to a bigger bailout fund that will be established from its current balance of 500 billion euros. lagarde pointed out a possibility that financial turmoil in europe could worsen as costs to repay debts are expected to expand in italy and spain. she also urged eu members to consider issuing the unified euro bond to establish a system that would strengthen their financial integration and risk sharing. >>> let's get a check on the markets now. tokyo stocks are up moderately this tuesday morning. the nikkei currently trading at 8821, a gain of 0.6%. the broader topix higher by 0.4%, currently at 759. a pause in the yen's surge against the euro is prompting sell orders for export-related shares. investors are kee

fairness and what happens, brenda, you talk about grosse pointe woods in the last reporting to international monetary fund and the 13 countries that are reported amongst those 24 showed grosse pointe woods growth of 10%. what was your grosse pointe woods growth last year? flat or, you know, up maybe 1 or 2%, so, clearly, when you have a flat tax, you have grosse pointe woods growth, what are you going to get every time we've seen big grosse pointe woods growth like that. it it leads to increased jobs. i can't see a reason not to do it. >> well, david, tell me, how does a tax hike lead to more employment? >> well, where-- well, if i might say, it's a realignment and you have the tax cuts that we're spent to the millionaires and billionaires, for ten years, into the bush years and into the too in obama and has not generated the jobs and in fact has led to 2 trillion dollars being on the side lines. where the jobs are coming and what we should be be doing is stimulating the middle class not imposing a tax on them. that's why the president is mil job, to more jobs for americans? >> well, it's not-- well, from

. >> the people who run the international monetary fund have warning for the rest of the world, be prepared to pay more for oil. the imf says u.s. and european sanctions against iran could cause crude oil prices to skyrocket. a new report suggests a halt in iran's oil exports without offsets from other sources could trigger a 20% to 30% price hike. it says sanctions could cut the supply of iranian oil to the tune of 1.5 million barrels per day. that's comparable to the drop in supply during their first global oil crisis in the 1970s. many companies worry about their future oil supplies. government lead frers the uk, china and japan recently asked saudi arabia to make up for the shortfall from the iran sanctions. saudi arabia have become the focus of interest. here's a report on how japanese technologies can enhance production in their oil rich company. >> reporter: from japan lies under saudi arabia's desert. it was first developed to survey underground fault activity. it is called across, short for accurately controlled routinely operated signal system. normally, it gets detailed informati

. >> that was international monetary fund managering director christine lagarde on the tough road aheador the european political and business leaders. europe's financial crisis is a huge topic here in davos this week. i sat down with famed billionaire investor george soros and got his ideas on taming the turmoil in europe. >> the european union itself actually resembles a financial bubble. you know, it's self-enforcing on the boom side and then self-enforcing on the negative side. so you had this period of integration where the leadership was pushing for further integration. and then you had a period of stagnation and after the crash of 2008, you started a period of disintegration. when angela merkel said we will guarantee the financial institutions but each country has to do it on its own, not europe wide. it has to be country by country. that was the first step in that process. it was the beginning of the euro crisis. things have gotten worse, declining economic activity which is now occurring because of the credit crunch. it will reinforce the political disintegration and that would