i mark barton. >> and i am anna edwards.

at manus cranny, at anna edwards news and mark barton tv. ou in a minute. ♪ anna: chinese stocks returned to pre-crisis highs on hopes for the revival in the economy. we bring you the latest on the global equity rally. mark: inflations are set to stall. we will tell you what it means for the third biggest economy. manus: israeli election too close to call. -- the israeli election is too close to call. benjamin netanyahu's power is threatened. ♪ mark: welcome to count down. i am mark barton. coming up today, john tells bloomberg the weaker euro is good for luxury outlook. >> because of the euro which is week, we have a booming europe. we have a lot of people from the u.s. and china who find it convenient to shop in europe. we see a good development in china. there is a price differential between the u.s. and china that is substantial. it is growing well in japan, which is a stable economy. it is not a booming economy. as it is right now, there are no countries or territories where we do not manage to have positive growth. mark: getting breakin

story sprint lets it gets of them with a mark barton. mark: trading over 2%.iggest shareholder agreement to sell to chemchina that will lead to a 7.7 billion euro for this carmaker. pirelli is valued at 7.1 billion euros and is below the share on friday. jumping to the highest level since early 2000. on thursday, emerged in papers that camfin. pirelli is up by 3%. another stop moving is bi llfinger. moving to the downside. yesterday, it announced a statement saying it is probing allegations of bribery linked to its brazilian unit. payments from the brazilian unit may have been made to unspecified public officials and employees of state companies in connection with orders. the company has carried out an inquiry and said it has been substantiated. investigations are not completed. it is unclear to who and what amount. lvmh, 3% lower today. jpmorgan downgrading to neutral from overweight. 12 month price target has been quite of a run. 42% higher in the last 12 months. it is 6% below its highest of march of 16 when it reached the highest level since 1998. that 12

jonathan: mark barton, thank you very much. a busy week for all things russia., eu foreign ministers meet to discuss that fragile truce in ukraine. this wednesday marks the first anniversary of the annexation of crimea. the world has one question. where is putin? the russian president has not been seen since march 5. the internet a lot with speculation and rumor. if you believe any of that, the russian president has either been overthrown, has been with a lover, or has been struck down with a bout of flu. joining us to break through the noise is leonid. great to have you with us. where is putin and what is the significance of the fact that he hasn't been seen since march 5? guest: nobody really knows where he is. he is supposed to resurface today in st. petersburg. the president of kurdistan has flown there. i expect putin to show up. he's not likely to stand of the president of kurdistan especially their. where he's been for the last 10 days is a mystery. you pick the rumors that you want to believe. i guess the issue is, everybody gets worried when putin goes

jonathan: mark barton, thank you. time to head east.hina's tagus political event of the year kicks off this week as 3000 lawmakers gather for china's national people's congress. for more, we are joined by rosalind chen in beijing. what are we expecting from the mpc this year? >> mpc it is the meeting of china's highest legislative body. quite a lot is expected this year. it runs from tomorrow until the 15th of march. reform was a big focus last year. the key question this year is how to percent reforms while dealing with a struggling economy that is possibly looking at deflation. we also have pollution high up on the agenda. we are talking about how bad the air is in beijing. the government said it will amend laws to curb air and water pollution and there are plans to an act legislation on soil pollution as well. the other big focus is corruption. this is likely to continue. it was a big push by president xi jinping when he came in in 2012. his spotlight does seem to have moved from government to military and business figures. the milit

i am mark barton. >> i am caroline hyde. mark: hanoi speaks to us.aroline: the decisive a week for greece. how many times have we said that? alexis tsipras begins at this week when it a visit to -- with a visit to angela merkel. it is the fifth meeting. let's head out to berlin. international correspondent homes and nichols for details. hence, what we expect for take number two? hans: there will be red carpet. that much we know. being rolled out by the germans. merkel, at least last week, try to downplay and death and expectations saying -- dampen expectations and say the greek debt was the main point of the conversation. the greeks said, the second to get to know you will take place without the threat, the pressure of negotiations. privately, greek press are reporting that mr. tsipras plans to bring gulf the privatization plan and then the issue of how long greeks can remain. how much time do they actually have when are their payments going to start coming to do. there is a report in the financial times alexis tsipras wrote last week they cannot mee

i'm mark barton. coming up from new york to london.rings the world elite designers to the city. bloomberg caught up with the chief executive. he said despite economic woes the customers are still at the top. >> i think they are one of the consumer goods. i think it will be affected by our products. >> tens of thousands marched room moscow to honor the slade activist, -- slayed activist boris nemtsov. >> this is their first protest of the year but it is no ordinary demonstration. it was supposed to be about economic woes and an expression of protest against a war in ukraine. it is now a vigil to boris nemtsov who was shot over the weekend. one of the opposition leaders organized this very protest. this is the spot where boris nemtsov was struck down at 11:00 in the evening. he was going for a stroll by the kremlin. thousands of people have come here to leave flowers and pay their respects. they just keep coming. >> there are many theories as to why he would have been killed. some say it was because of his opposition to vladimir putin. s

i am mark barton. anna: i am anna edwards. d he is ready to walk away from a nuclear deal with iran. we will bring you the latest on the talks and the reaction from tel aviv as american-israel ties. let's start with europe. two big themes -- stimulus and greece. mario draghi with an unprecedented program of qe. today is the day that the central bank up against asset purchase program and managing 60 billion euros a month. in brussels, the eurogroup finance ministers meet terry anna: yanis varoufakis said if the creditors make requirements of that are not acceptable the greek people may be asked to decide on how to break the deadlock. and tsipras signaled a referendum option could be on the table. let's bring in david powell he is chiefly euro area economist at bloomberg intelligence. he joins us. good to see you. let's talk about the data coming out of the eurozone. it has been getting better, hasn't it? this qe really needed? david: it has been getting better and part of the reason of confidence and etc. but inflation is at a r

i am mark barton. i am caroline hyde. manus: and i am manus cranny. mark: will prime minister alexis tsipras exit the euro? we bring you the latest as greece runs out of cash and time. caroline: we're getting some news from into text. full-year sales, 18.1 billion euros. that is an increase of some 8% on the previous year. they are leading analyst expectations when it comes to give it to -- to ebitda. they also proposed a dividend. they said store sales rose 30%. the issue here is what is it when you factor in foreign currency changes? this is a country whose number three market was russia. the russian ruble has lost about 30% since june and they have about 400 shores -- 400 stores in russia. that is going to be impacting them. now we are going to see a warmer brees going towards in the tax --+++ inditex. china is there second-biggest market. when you look at the u.s. and the u.k., you bring that home and it is bad for the euro. mark: manus said, i have a fact that will blow you away. after you said that to me, i went in search. manus: 60% of inditex i

manus: ian ritchie with mark barton.with us after break. ♪ caroline: it is a reliable companion to a good meal. would you become trouble putting your money into fine wines? a six bottle case sold for 64,000 pounds this week well over the estimate. for a taste of this more unusual asset class, let's bring in our guest. lovely to have you. talk to us about the asset class. it seems burgundies are going through the roof in terms of price point. what got this going? guest: the fact that there is a low quantity of these particular products. people drink them. over the course of the time there are less of them. not just in the u.k. but around the world. individuals drinking them from ship -- from china, the u.s., all across europe. manus: there is a lovely piece about the shop where you go in for the tasting experience. what is the unique proposition you bring to the marketplace? sebastian: we are constantly sourcing the rarest and finest products across the globe. whether from private sellers or collectors. we provide the tra

i'm mark barton. >> i'm anna edwards. coming up, russians bury the slain opposition leader.killed just before he was set to lead a protest against president vladimir putin. >> we're waiting for the numbers from barclays. the bank led by anthony jenkins. the focus is going to be on what the vem bank is doing. here we go. the dividend is 3.5. the goal that jenkins set for himself last year was a return on equity around 13%. 3.5 pence. full-year net operating income comes in at 23.6 billion pounds. the number for the adjusted pretax adjusted profit increased 12%. this looks like an initial headline beat for barclays. 4 the market estimate out there was for 5.2 billion pounds. full year net attributable loss comes in at 174 million pounds. pretax adjustment a 5.5 billion pounds for the year. he has cut expenses and has done so by 9% to 18.1 billion pounds. additional provisions, this is something which the market had -- i had read pieces that they could take up to a billion pounds -- but the fourth quarter, additional f.x. positioning comes in at 750 million pounds. that is ligh

great job done by mark barton today. that is on this index, the dax. you are looking at the best quarter since 2003, and equity index that has added 200 billion euros in value. you are looking at 25 out of 30 components of the dax over 10%. it really is a great synopsis of what has gone on in the dax this year. bank of america merrill, 63% of fund managers favor the european market. that is very much evident in terms of what is going on. dealmaking, banking, getting the deals done bartering as to who will run the company between the lafarge and holcim deal. buying 6 billion euros worth of assets. it will make crh the number one player in cement in the united kingdom. what has albert got to do with u.k. holdings? holcim and lafarge, will they get the savings? 77.25, 77.30 for wholesome. credit suisse, another day another scandal. what you've got there is, monte dei paschi is suing credit suisse for alleged unauthorized financial activity. i should say that banko leonardo is also included in this lawsuit. they are cooperating fully. brady dougan went dow

still to come, mark barton caught up with the england ceo. here is a sneak peek from the interview. i'm standing inside twickenham stadium, the home of the english rugby unit. i will be speaking to the chief executive in this week's business of sports segment. the timing is perfect ahead of the world cup to take place here in england and tomorrow's encounter between england and france. right here in about 35 hours time. ♪ manus: top stories, teaming up to take on apple. it's becoming the large luxury swiss watch brand to make a small watch. the ceo told bloomberg about the partnership. >> it is in a norm his contract. it's an enormous partnership, -- an enormous contract. it's an enormous partnership because we are going with the giants to make the luxury was connected watch. manus: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is pulling back from his campaign remarks and saying he supports a two state solution with palestine. he told msnbc he remains committed to palestine's status if circumstances -- statehood if circumstances improved. a solar eclipse could leave the u.k. and parts o

ryan: special shout out to mark barton who is out today. an exciting event we will tell you more about once we know more ourselves. mark will be out and caroline and i have the honor of joining you today. caroline: stay with "countdown," because in under an our we will be speaking with natalie your mesko -- natalie yuuresko, sitting head-to-head with her. stay tuned. ♪ >> it may certainly have an affect and delay the raising of interest rates, but it is liable to come and it will have an effect on the less developed world that has a lot of debt. caroline: that was hedge fund billionaire george soros talking about the impact of the dollar on any potential fed rate hike. the economy shows signs of easing this year and that could be china where the manufacturing gauge fell to and from 11 month low in march. let's bring in brandon brown. obviously, the impact of eventual rate rises coming through the united states will be hedging the rest of the global economy. it seems to have eased off of its strengthening road at the moment but talk to us abo

i am mark barton. manus: also bringing up, we have a close-up of what a $40 million watch looks like. plus interviews with the ceos behind the brands. mark: treasuries rally as janet yellen proves she is predictable on patients. the exit from easing may be more gradual than markets anticipated. yellen: because we removed of word patient does not mean we will be impatient. anna: the dollar saw its biggest drop in six years as she stressed to there would not be a tightening until inflation returned to targets. these things might take longer than markets anticipated. she warned of the impact of the strong dollar. yellen: inflation has dropped below the longer-term objective. declining import prices have also restrained inflation. in light of the appreciation of the dollar will likely continue to do so. anna: other currency swings on the backs of the news. let's get over to manus at the touchscreen. manus if you want to: rep it up, my that woman packs a punch -- >>manus: my that woman packs a punch. volatil

i'm mark barton. >> i'm ann aedwards. >> we have an exclusive interview with luff lufthanz's chief executiveere tested on their ability to survive nine quarters of adverse economic conditions including a decline in the stock market and g.d.p. and the price of oil rising to $110 a barrel. it is the first time since the fed started stress tests in 2009 that no firm fell below any over the main capital thresholds. here with more is caroline hyde. good morning again, caroline. so are people celebrating? >> maybe. but i do think the champagne is on ice for the time being. i'll get to that in a moment. it is the first time six rounds of stress tests all of them passed. ufrle them have sufficient capital. an 8% buffer, that protective layer. even with unemployment soaring to 10%. even with house prices plummeting by a quarter. even with wall street crashing by 60%. these banks are strong enough they have enough capital reserve they would be able to lend to companies, to individuals. basically the federal reserve added up all the losses and said if you put this to the test, actually there would stil

welcome to countdown, i am mark barton. also coming up, almost a million dollar tribute to the late marvin gaye. and the late lawsuit. net income falling 17%. seems to be below estimates. analysts expecting a drop. earnings before taxes, down 1.9%. 905 million dollars. analysts were estimating 94 mine dollars. what is important is the projections for 2015. the company has confirmed the forecast for 2016. they will pay a final dividend of 85 euros. those are the headlines. stay with us. later this hour, i will check with the chief executive. the strongest euro in a dozen years. concerns about corporate earnings. ftse 100 fell 2.5%, pulled it down by commodities stocks. the swiss market was not hit as hard. it was buoyed by the news at credit suisse. let's focus on credit suisse? a bank in transition. the new man at the top will be -- the announcement of his replacement had an immediate and positive effect on the stock. what about the man he is replacing? he sat down with bloomberg's manus cranny to talk about his time. he be

i mark barton. >> and i am anna edwards. >> also, we will speak to greg keeler. >> breaking numbers fromwe. let's bring those to you. we have some fairly good guidance in terms of how the numbers of 2014 were going to shake up. not surprisingly, they are somewhat in line with estimates. net income has come in at 1.28 billion euros. that is exactly in line with estimates. a little higher up the profit-lost account, that is 1. 73 billion euros, nicely ahead and estimate of 1.659 billion euros. because of what is happening to energy prices, just last week, they sold their north sea business. they sold it for just over 5 billion euros, trying to mitigate the falling energy prices as they go. concern from the u.k. government about how the sanction environment against russia might impact on the north sea oil producers. but that is the background story as we head into these numbers. about 6 billion euros of impairment losses on power stations in germany and the u.k. they are proposing a dividend of one euro per share. that matches the estimate that bloomberg had for that. a lot of focus on the

i am mark barton. i am anna edwards. anna: manus: i am manus cranny.s that they could live with.net and yahoo!. anna: -- without netanyahu. -- anna: west texas intermediate fell below $43 a barrel. the lowest in six years. it comes after the international security agency said the u.s. output because training the country's output. mark: the highest levels in over three decades, companies at a record pace. we will look at the oil price throughout the morning. man is at china now. the stock market at a five-year highs premier league has wrapped up congress found to press ahead with structural reforms -- premier league has -- premier ku has wrapped up his press release ahead with structural reforms. slashing of risks. yvonne: pretty graphic from the premier he is known to be quite the eloquent guy especially speaking and chinese idioms. the one thing that really hit home was the economy and how the downward pressures we continue to see in the country of china 7% growth target he lowered for 2015. lip saying it would be hard to achieve that but they have pr

mark: join us all in the twitter sphere. --manus: join us all on the twitter sphere. there is another barton in the family. congratulations. anna: coming up greek stocks heading for a fourth quarter of losses. after the break, we will ask our guest why investors can't keep their hands off these volatili ties. ♪ mark: the greek prime minister is looking for a consensus in parliament after his proposals for a bailout failed to satisfy european creditors. i have been away for a week -- what has changed? jen: i think the key thing to understand is that it is a political discussion, which means it takes a lot of time to get these things through. it is a bit frustrating because we all get excited and we hear monday is the deadline of monday comes and goes and we aren't any closer. the point is -- the proposals haven't been made public. what we are hearing is that there is not enough detail, not enough tangible, hard, defined timelines. this is what they are trying to iron out. what i think we need to focus on in terms of the markets is what happens next. we think the most likely scenario is that some warm of political compromise

mark: i know frozen was trending earlier, it certainly was in the edwards household. tell us what you are following today and what you want to hear more about. the barton household has not quite got into "frozen" yet. ♪ >> in the short plan you see some recovery and the economic indicators suggest a recovery over the medium-term. the debt dynamics in italy and parts of the periphery are still unsustainable with private and public debt rising with the gdp. there is political risk right now in the eurozone. in spain, lorentz he is fragile -- lorenzi is fragile. so you have austerity and reform fatigue, you have anti-euro parties emerging. the fundamental medium-term problems of the eurozone have not been resolved and there will be a recover of the eurozone for the next year or so. mark: that was the prominent economist new rally roubini -- noureli roubini let's just stay with that as the ecb comes to its first week of qe. let's bring in patrick armstrong who is the chief investment officer and managing partner. the beginning of the qe program pushing yields further into record low territory, do you worry about the unintended consequences of qe? >> it is