i'm andrew stevens in hong kong. >> and i'm nina dos santos in london.et's see where the european markets are. take a look at that. steep declines everywhere we seem and a number of indices down by in excess of half a percent. particularly for countries like greece, but it's also seemed to have spread in italy and s&p's decision to cut its outlook earlier this week. when it comes to the uk, they've released their first quarter gdp figures and it remains at up above 0.5%. that follows a contraction of half of one percent in the final quarter of andrew. >>> here in asia, nina, a down day. it's been a trending down week this week. we had a bit of a relapse -- respite, i should say, but certainly not convincing. there you see the markets generally hitting lower. the nikkei down by half of one per sechblt hang seng down. it's had a bad week, shanghai. the story of stagflation, it's a story we've been talking about. the uk economy now also is being directed to china. that's, of course, where you get lower economic growth and higher. stagflation is being seen a

i'm nina dos santos. here are the top stories. >>> europe and the world economy scrambles over its successor as the former imf bails. >>> tepco bows out as the world's largest energy company pays a record price. >>> and they double on their market debut. ceo jeff weiner tells us there's no trouble in the media sector. >>> we begin with the former imf managing director, strauss-kahn, who's expected to walk out of jail in a few hours from now, but he will not be a free man. the judge granted him bail on thursday but with strict conditions and a warning. and even as the judge was approving the bail request, grand jury indicted strauss-kahn on multiple felony charges including attempted rape. he's accused of attacking a maid last saturday at a manhattan hotel. he denies it. >> he has to post a $1 million in cash and a $5 million bond. he also has to agree to a 24-hour confinement and an armed guard at the door. he has to surrender his travel documents and agree to wear a monitoring device. the judge said, quo

i'm nina dos santos. >> good afternoon. i he lan gishs in a new york jail cell. >>> he defends the company for taking a week to tell gamers about a massive data breach. >>> and fashionista sara karen has design on the mensware market now fly on the wall series, "the boss" continue this day. we start the latest on the dominique strauss-kahn story and pressure is mounting on the head to step down or at least on the side as new details emerge about the sexual misconduct allegations against him. he's been accused of seven counts and now the direction more broadly increasingly hinges on what may or may not have happened in his hotel on a saturday afternoon, nina. >> strauss-kahn's alleged attempt of a hotel rape starts a chain of events that threatens to drive a wedge between the finance chiefs in the united states and in europe. washington's treasury secretary timothy geithner here is the high-profile figure to make his feelings clear. >> he's obviously not in a position to run the imf, and i think it's important that the board

. >> and good morning from cnn london, i'm nina dos santos. these are the top stories on thursday, may 19th. >>> a defiant dominique strauss-kahn resigns as imf chief. vowing to fight sexual assault charges with all his energy and strength. >>> natural disasters, economic aftershocks, japan enters recession for a third time in a decade. as industrial output freefalls and consumers hold on to their cash. >>> and the crumbling foundations of a failed property market. we'll look at the wreckage left behind by ireland's housing crisis. >>> facing multiple charges of sexual assault in the united states, the managing director of the international monetary fund has resigned. dominique strauss-kahn tendered his resignation just a few hours ago in a letter to the imf. in it he writes i want to protect this institution which i served with honor and devotion and especially, especially, i want to devote all my strength, all my time and energy to provingmy innocence. in his statement strauss-kahn strenuously denies the allegations against him that alleged

i'm nina dos santos. >>> and good afternoon from cnn hong kong, rhyme andrew stephens. the top stories this thursday, may 2 th. sony's bad run continues. it's now forecasting a profitable year ahead. even that outlook fails to impress. >>> dominique strauss-kahn is now under house arrest at this luxury new york townhouse. >> i'm a leader by temper and attitude and professional experience. i'm also a person that can reach out and reach consensus. >> and business leader, lawyer, minister and mother, christine lagarde tells us why she's got the right resume to head up the imf. >> so plenty to come on today's jam-packed show. let's start out with the european markets and how they're faring, recovering quite a bit of ground after the heavier losses we've seen earlier in the week. the gains we've seen in the first hour or so, ftse 100, void by banking stocks and the hedge fund group, mann group. that company coming out with its results, lifting its stock. we have metals and mining companies lifting it as well. the laggard is the zurich smi at the moment. >>> the pound almost

. >> and i'm nina dos santos at cnn london. these are the top stories on tuesday, may 17th. >>> from a $3,000 a night suite to a notorious new york jail, imf boss dominique strauss-kahn is denied bail, the spotlight turns to his successor. >>> finance ministers in brussels are giving portugal cash in a crisis and turning the screws on greece. ♪ real estate was booming homes were on the rise ♪ ♪ that ain't right >>> and don't just blame the bankers for the mortgage mess. the wall street rappers hoping their lyrics will hit home. just before dawn in new york where imf chief dominique strauss-kahn will be waking up after a second night in custody. strauss-kahn is facing criminal charges including attempted rape of a maid at this new york hotel on saturday. further allegations of past sexual misconduct are emerging. including an attack on a young female. the woman at the center of the claim is apparently considering filing an official complaint. cnn is seeking comment from strauss-kahn's lawyers about these allegations. we'll bring

. >> and i'm nina dos santos in london. welcome back.the international monetary fund is in hot water. he was marched off a plane minutes before takeoff and arrested. he's been charged with sexually assaulting a chamber maid at a new york city hotel over the weekend. he's expected to appear in a courtroom to face charges of acemented rape, sexual assault and false imprisonment. >> we're hearing about his colorful past. let's look at his track record. in the 1990s, he served as two years as france's finance director. and he had the backing of the man of the man he was tipped to challenge. he played a major role in coordinating the global response to the financial crisis of 2008-2009. and he's been a key proponent of global financial reform since then. >> strauss-khan's professional achievement seemed to blunt a series of sexual misdeeds. but this latest scandal has brought new light to the skeletons in the imf chief's closet. >> he was looked at after he had an affair with a member of his staff in 2008. there was an enquirery. after all th

nina dos santos, cnn, london. >> nina has been following closely how the strauss-kahn scandal, if it suppose we have to say it's an alleged scandal. it's been affecting the international monetary fund. more details on the imf and the strauss-kahn case, check out nina's blog at our cnn website, that and lots and lots and lots more at cnn.com. andrew? >>> charles, one person who is standing firmly behind dominique strauss-kahn is his wife, the american ann sinclair. reports say she's using her family's fortune to try to clear his name. when he was release from rikers island last friday, it was sinclair who posted her husband's $5 million insurance bond. reports say she's temporarily rented a $4,400 a month apartment near wall street and will pay for strauss-kahn's expensive round the clock security. charles? >>> just ahead on "world business today," we'll show you how the markets are responding after monday's global sell-off and more. >>> and new information implicates air france's pilots in causing the crash of flight 44 in the south atlantic two years ago. we still have details just

. >>> and a very good morning to you from cnn london, i'm nina dos santos and this is "world business today." >>> from sink ronrow nized swim, the imf hangs out the hiring sign. >>> and a "world business today" today exclusive, the mwe have t internal e-mail. >>> another huge plume of volcanic ash shuts down iceland's air space is spreading towards the united kingdom. >>> before all that we have a sell-off going on in the markets. asian shares down heavily. we'll have those numbers in just a moment's time. let's begin with the picture in europe. one hour into the trading session so far and indeed the trading week. as you can see, we have a number of the indices down by in excess of 1%. the heaviest fall is coming from the cac 40 and the dax. this sell-off follows the downgrade of the greek debt on friday as well as standard & poors decision to cut its lookout. putting the euro zone debt issues to the forefront of investors' minds for another year in a row. let's take a look at how this is impacting the market. as you can see, the euro trading at 1.4014 against the u.s. dollar and 1.61

. >> i'm nina dos santos. welcome back to "world business today." >> the u.s. has suffered terrible weather and it has taken a toll on the wheat crop. the wheat trade group said in the u.s., which is the world's top wheat exporter, winter crops are suffering from drought and farmers planting this spring have been delayed by water-logged fields. ivan has more on this it's extraordinary that the winter crop is suffering from drought and in spring there's too much water. >> i'll show you what's going on in north dakota, the top wheat grower. it's raining there, and that's a problem for growers, but it's happening all across the planet. the top world wheat exporters, the uk, he germany, france, all suffering from drought. we've been talking about the lack of rain over the last several weeks and months across the region here. now, to make things worse, we have had significant temperatures there, temperatures above average which is not helping the situation there at all. in the u.s., we were having drought, now an issue of rainfall here. that's not looking good for o