. >> matt regan is the vice president of policy at bay area council. explain to people a little bit about what the council does. >> thank you, cheryl. >> the bay area council is an organization comprised the bay area's leading business figures, ceos from the largest employers and we work on issues of public policy. our objective is to maintain the bay area as the best place in the world to live and work. we work on issues like transportation, health care and the environment. >> i wouldn't expect that childhood development as a priority but this is a great opportunity, right? >> it doesn't seem like a natural fit for a business organization to be focusing so much attention on, but we've studied a lot of research and actually commissioned a research report of our own several years ago that shows that investing in early education is perhaps the best dollar that the state of california make an investment in. the returns on those investments are high as 17 to 1. >> wow. >> depending on the demographic of the child that you make the investment in. the highes

. >> welcome to the most important hour of the section -- of the session -- i'm matt miller in for trish regans grow concerned about japan's surprise recession. we will see what this means for companies doing business there and the fate of japan's pending sales tax. as well as what may vladimir putin they have planned for ukraine. "street smart" starts now.

matt miller. hyman, fashion correspondent. up next, trish regans with a look at what is ahead, including the latest on the tensions in ferguson. we are back after the break. ♪ violent protests, one of the big stories coming up at the top of the hour late last night. live from bloomberg television, we are joined with a look ahead. coming out local there in missouri. >> it is a sensitive decision regardless of the result at night. >> we saw that last night. one of the most startling images to me, when the president was urging everyone to be nonviolent regardless of how you thought about this, to protest in a peaceful way. you look at the split screen here and bloomberg television, and you could see the protests happening. at one point, as he said, you had protesters shaking the itice vehicle back and forth was quite startling and striking to see the president on the one ind and that imagery ferguson and on the other side of the screen. >> i was here last night and i went down to union square to see the protest. they were here in and -- in new york.