. >>> good afternoon from cnn hong kong, i'm manisha tank. north korea plans to put its nuclear ambitions on ice in return for food aid for the country's starving. >> give greece a chance. that's the message from businessmen who say the taxpayers have been unfairly labeled as lazy. >> and the criminaled cruise line is pushed -- finally pulled into port. we're live in the seychelles for that. first up, let's get straight to the european stock market action. these markets have been open for the best part of just over an hour. this is how the indices are performing. a little die cot many between the two eurozone markets. the cac is trading down about .25%. ftse 100 up. what has got their attention. ben bernanke's comments are weighing heavily on sentiment not just across europe but also across the world markets as well. this is because he's offered a down beat assessment of the recovery. it is one of the things that has these markets pausing for the moment. european leaders and finance ministers are also in brussels today. over the next two days

i'm manisha thakor. >> susie: here's what we're watching for tomorrow. we'll get a check on inflation at the wholesale level with february's producer price index. the big board gets revved up for allison transmission. the autoparts maker is expected to be the largest manufacturing i.p.o. this year. and we learn how junior achievement is grooming the nation's next generation of entrepreneurs. that's "nightly business report" for wednesday, march 14. we want to remind you this is the time of year your public television station seeks your support, support that makes programs like "n.b.r." possible. thanks for joining us. i'm susie gharib. we'll see all of you again tomorrow evening. "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

i'm nina dos santos at cnn london. >>> and i'm manisha tank in hong kong.rketplace middle east" is up next. >>> this week on "marketplace middle east" is the boom back in dubai? we take a look at the once thriving market. >>> growing ambitions. we talk about the development plans in the region and beyond. >>> oil prices hit a ten month high this week triggered by increased tension between iran and the west. the uptick is not only causing petro prices to climb but may prompt the largest exporter, saudi arabia, to open its tanks of iranian oil not reaching world markets. the strait of hormuz is the main artery for gulf oil, where in this region nearly 2/3s of the world's proven oil reserves sit offshore or beneath the desert sands. like the human heart, the strait can't operate if it's plugged. >> the market would go towards 150, 200 if we saw that. i think it's in everybody's interest to try to avoid getting there. >> as the u.s. military steps up its maneuvers in the gulf, the racheting up of tensions has pushed crude prices to a ten month high feeding righ