markus karlsson with the business. we are taking a short break on "france 24." 06/01/16 06/01/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from nenew york, thisis is dedemocracy y now! >> thus far, 2016 is proving to be particularly deadly. 2500 lives have been lost. ofand the first five e months 2014. amy:y: up to 1000 0 migrants are feared to o have died in thehe mediterranean sea

markus karlsson. we will take a short break. 06/16/16 06/16/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> fundamental disconnect with the american people when these tragedies continue to occur and we just move forward with business as usual. remain onm going to this floor until we get some signal, some sign t that we c cn come together on these two measures, that we can get a path forward.

markus karlsson is with me in the studio. esh market turmoil, it seems, as the polls point towards a possible exit for britain from the european union. markus: it seems as if investors are waking up to the possibility of a bracelet -- brexit in that vote on june 23. we are seeing investors growing increasingly nervous not only about the brexit, but the general state of the global economy as well. shares are dropping alongside the pound and investors are turning to save haven assets. i have brought along a graph that tells you that story of investors turning to save haven assets. the yield for the two straight on the german 10-year bonds over the past year. this tuesday that has dropped below zero for the first time. it means there is such a strong demand from investors for german bonds that they're willing to pay to park their money in this asset and a turning away from stocks, turning to savor bonds instead it for more on this rush to safety, i spoke earlier to chris at ig and i put the question to him, i asked him to describ

markus karlsson is here. first, turning to vienna and the oil markets. rkus: this as opec oil ministers have wrapped up a meeting in the austrian capital without an agreement to regulate supplies. some members were pressing for action to cut or at least freeze production in a bid to boost oil prices. the energy minister of saudi arabia, overhead -- opec's biggest and arguably most important member, says oil markets are rebounding by themselves. the meeting sparked fresh questions over the unity of the 13-member organization and whether it actually matters. reporter: is opec's ability to shape oil markets over question mark that is the question market opec's abilityis to shape oil markets over? that is the question market analysts are asking. producers have upped their output. one energy minister says the cartel is alive and well. >> throughout its life, it has been a dynamic, living organ, responding to changes. the world has changed. the market has changed. so many things are -- have changed and it is changing and it will change. reporter: opec is weighe

markus karlsson is here, keeping a close eye ahead of the british referendum on the eu tomorrow. markus: well, the countdown is a fresh round of business leaders have been trying to persuade the public to vote remain. course, has said that the economy would fare better under their vision but most of it is on the ftse have backed -- but companies on the ftse have backed remain. kate moody has the story. kate: it is a hot topic in british boardrooms. business leaders have backed the u.k. remaining in the european union in a letter to "the times" ahead of the vote. the companies together employ 1.7 million people and said their businesses would be stronger in europe. kate: the heads of barclays and anglo american mining are among those with hsbc and easyjet supporting the remain campaign. groups have warned of the dangers the brexit might pose industry at large. although none ofritain's biggest counties have come in favor of leaving the eu, the debate is far from one-sided. the heads of a pub chain are in the leave camp, as our small businesses like family run hovercraft company who

markus karlsson is back with us in the studio. hi there. ll start with saudi arabia because the regime is trying to figure out ways to make the economy less dependent on oil. markus: indeed, saudi arabia is one of those countries that has taken a hard hit in the past couple years. we have seen oil prices come down for more than $100 a barrel to around $50 a barrel, where they are sitting at the moment. saudi arabia has high ambitions with a new plant to basically revive its economy. 400 50,000 create new jobs outside the public sector between now and 2020. that is a bit to prepare for the millions of new people who stopped jobhunting and possibly years. -- in the past couple years. reporter: this is saudi arabia's that for the future, a vast industrial complex dedicated to transforming this pink rock into aluminum bars. the country since on a vast untapped reservoir of boxed set, which means it could keep production costs low. we are already approaching it now. wasrter: for decades mining neglected in the country but now it is part of a broa

markus karlsson is with me in the studio. we're going to start with the ride-sharing company, uber. y have had problems in france before. markus: they are in a spot of bother in this country once again. a french court has found the american firm and -- has find the american firm and two managers some 800,000 euros in total. 0ber self was fined 800,00 euros. half of the fines were suspended when -- suspended. this was the first trial in france involving uber managers. the case revolved around uber pop, which connected on professional drivers with customers. suspended that service in france last july and now only operates with professional drivers in the country. prosecutors were calling for a maximum fine of 1.5 million euros. mario draghi is throwing down to eurotlet politicians. the president of the european central bank is calling them -- on them to be bolder. he spoke in brussels, saying fieldhe ecb alone cannot the economy. he said national leaders are not doing enough, and that their action is needed. the ecb president warned of a democratic timebomb as the eurozone is getting o

markus karlsson is with me in the studio. you've been keeping a close eye on the markets. they could provide some clues as to which way britain's eu referendum might go. markus: it's all about brexit in the markets. much of the focus when it comes to the brexit debate is on the british pound or sterling. it's been trading higher against the u.s. dollar. $1.48 thisuys you hour. we've seen the pound reach the year i against -- reach a year high against the greenback. gains or theed end of the trading day, but they still ended in positive -- toward the end of the trading day, but they still ended positive. u.s. markets -- the latest figures from wall street. nasdaq up 1.25%. the dow jones up by about 8%. financial shares are gaining ground. opinion polls have suggested that the remain camp will win. laura: does that mean investors are betting on a win? markus: when we have seen opinion polls point in the direction of a remain victory, we have seen stocks, shares, and the sterling heading higher, and vice versa. voting is still underway. we have an hour and 35 minutes to go bef

i have been speaking to my colleague, markus karlsson. >> our message to the french government is to stay the course, stay the course, stay the course. there is not a single country in which there has been a labor reform which is popular. there are always moments. >> what do you say to people who are legitimately concerned? way in this best country is going to be able to create more jobs. one of the reasons why it is so anemic in terms of job creation is precisely because of the rigidity of the labor laws. so the flexibility -- we are sorry to see some of the original proposals move by the wayside of the legislative dentists, but it is a very important package. it is a very important beginning, and frankly, i think it is indispensable if france wants to keep its productivity and its competitiveness. stephen: you can view the full interview with angel gurria tomorrow at 16:45 paris time, and on our website. genie: take us through what is happening on the markets. stephen: european shares trading down at this midpoint of the trading day, and on top of that news from the ocd -- of the o

markus karlsson joins me here in the studio. good evening to you. of course, the strikes very much on the cards in france and we have had several of them. a meeting has been taking place between the government and key unions. markus: strikes, fuel shortages, protests in the streets, those have been the headlines for some weeks, maybe for some months. the cep union has been at the center of all the controversy. it has been at the forefront of the protests against the french government labor reform package. the french labor minister held the sox earlier with the leader of the cgt in a bid to essentially stop this standoff. but there was no sign of the two sites seeing eye to eye. will hildebrandt has more. it was the first meeting between the government and the cgt union since the protests began three months ago, but he was unable to break the impasse. the cgt and the government disagree over some fundamental points. these disagreements were merely confirmed today. will: the cgt leader says there is no reason to call a protest slated for the 23rd and