. >> the imf says japan's mounting debt pile is cause for concern. not only sovereign debt but consumer debt, too. debt is also dragging down the u.s. economy, cooling down growth there as well. the imf also sing about the risk of stagnation within the eurozone. companies like this machinery firm in germany depend on foreign markets to sell their products, and they are feeling the squeeze as customers abroad have less money to spend on european goods. according to the imf, the euro crisis and the global debt crisis are the greatest threats to global economic growth. the imf has trimmed its growth outlook for 2013 to 3.5%. it predicts a rebound to 4.1% in 2014. growth forecasts for developed nations have dropped to 1.4% for 2013, and growth is expected to hover near 2.2% for 2013. india and china remain the motors of the globa economy, the imf has also downgraded their growth levels for this year. >> i just a moment, did germany's education minister plagiarize her phd? >> first, the stories. suicide bombing at a shiite mosque in northern iraq has claim

the imf's growth forecast for the united states is 2%. that's as long as the country contains its fiscal crisis including the debt ceiling and fiscal growth. the imf has mained growth outlook for the japanese economy for 1.2% this year. they were warned about the risks of accumulating debt without consolidation measures. >> when the countries start with ray otio of debt to gdp, in bot cases it's much above. we vowed a clear plan for fiscal consolidation over the next five, ten years, it seems to many to be quite dangerous to increase the fiscal deficit. >> the u.s. house of representatives have agreed to raise the debt ceiling until may 18th. the bill will prevent the government from defaulting on its debt. the bill passed the house on wednesday ter t republican majority changed its stance. republicans said they would not approve the bill unless the government made more cuts to social programs. republicans had public criticism that they were not consider the markets on a financial default. john boehner said to show the american people tha

is the imf loan back on track after the delay? >> we heard from the minister of finance before taking the oath, saying the cabinet is ready to return to talks. we are expecting the imf officials back in the country on monday. president morsi is chairing the meeting of the cabinet with the main interest is being economic topics and the resumption of negotiations with the imf. >> the venezuelan national assembly has reelected the ailing hugo chavez. he is due to this one back into office on thursday. complications from his latest round of cancer surgery may prevent him from attending. >> in its first session of the year, the national assembly was surrounded by the color red. the color of the revolution. he was easily reelected as the president of the legislative body. if chavez is unable to return, he would play a crucial role in guiding the country to and new elections. he reaffirmed the government's position other officials have been repeating in recent days. >> the president enjoys a leave of absence under the constitution. we wi

now last week, now last week the chief economist of the imf said this. he said if things look bad and at the beginning of 2013, which they do, he was talking about the uk, then you should be a reassessment of fiscal policy. so prime minister, after two years of no growth, county prime minister tells what he should do anything differently in the next two years? >> first of all i would say that he should listen to the managing director of the imf who said this, she said this, when i think back myself in may 2010 when uk deficit was at 11%, when you were in office, right? and i tried to imagine, and i tried to imagine what the situation would be like to take if no such fiscal consolidation program had been decided, i shiver. that is what the imf says about the plan of the last labour government. now, he raises the issue of growth. >> order. it is not acceptable to shout down either the prime minister or the leader of the opposition, and the public have a very low opinion of that kind of behavior. let's hear the questions and hear the answers. the prime minis

they don't want the imf to participate in the program. can you tell us why two months after the statement that you issued in november, we have no deal yet between cypress? thank you. >> you know, we -- the imf has been engaged, and we have, indeed, sent the mission on the ground, and we have had a dialogue with the cypress authorities. the building blocks of a program have been put together. it is not concluded because there's clearly financing issues that need to be resolved in order for a program to be accepted, and for the debt to be sustainable. >> hi, if i can track you back to the arab world for a moment and ask you about the palestinian authority, do you have a plan at the collapse of the palestinian authority? do you have a plan in the wake of the developments there? >> well, as far as the west bank and gaza are concerned, you know, they are not members -- it is not a member of the imf, and we do not do lending for nonmembers. having said that, we do a lot of capacity building, a lot of technical assistance, and that's our other w

. >> what is the recommendation of the imf for the united states right now? where they should be cutting deficits right now? >> they should be cutting deficits slowly, steadily and then the composition has to be done partly through spending and partly through revenues but not too fast. we think that about 1, 1.5%, that every year for a while is the way to go. if you go too fast, then you'll kill growth. people are going to be depressed. you don't want to get there. if you do it too slowly nothing happens which is also risk. >> you've come out with a paper, a second edition of this paper which was controversial to begin with, and it's controversial again. essentially the way it's within read is that people are saying the imf overstated or understated the effects of austerity on governments and that it really recommended too much austerity? >> well, i think there's two parts to it which is did we understate the effect of fiscal consolidation on activity, and i think the evidence is yes because basically it looks like during the crisis the effect of fiscal conso

all of the annalists in the imf point to the fact that the new haircut is necessary. there are attempts to cover it up until we get to next september, and so in the final analysis, what is most important for us is not the political imagination that are in place in germany, but so that we can save whatever is left to save in greece and stop the tragedy that is being experienced by the greek people. no. in regards to the last part of your question, i know there's a problem of credibility in the greek political world, but, you know, it's not nothing through for us. in greece we have become used to the fact that the -- one thing prior to the election a and one thing after. who promise one thing before they get elected and another thing once they come to power. as you see, we only say things we believe and we're going to try to implement. we're not saying anything that is crazy, we're not saying anything that is too wordy. in many instances we feel like scientists from the middle ages who were trying to tell everybody that reinvolves around the sun and yet we are threatene

. >>> the governors of the banks of italy -- trade in siena. and imf's christine legarde tells us that central bank stimulus is still needed. >> we have the central bank on the one hand which have done quite a lot, which have been the fireman, in a way. and you have the policymakers on the other hand particularly in the eurozone who have made some progress and need to keep the momentum. >> now, any minute now, we're expecting the results from germany's ifo institute. january business climate index survey is expected to rise to a reading of 103 from 102.4 in december. this, of course, follows an increase in expectations in the dew survey earlier this week. we've seen an increase in the pmi surveys for germany over the last couple of months. as the german economy particularly looking to climb out of its contraction in the fourth quarter, we're waiting on the ifo senior va to tell us whether sentiment broadly speaking is picking up in line with that development. now here we're getting the survey. it would thou be ifo expectations index, this on reuters. it'

we are hearing the europeans do not want the imf to participate. can you tell us why two months after the statement that even should the november what you have no deal yet? >> the imf has been engaged with partners immolations to cyprus. we have -- in relation to cyprus. we have had a dialogue with the cyprus authorities. the building blocks with a program have been put together. it has not yet been concluded because there are financing issues that need to be resolved in order for a program to be accepted. and for the debt to be sustainable. >> the lady here, thank you. >> if i can take you back to the arab world for a moment and ask you about the palestinian authority. the you have a plan to avoid the collapse of the palestinian authority? >> as far as the west bank and gaza are concerned, they are not members. it is not a member of the imf. we do not to lending for nonmembers. having said that, we do a lot of capacity building, a technical assistance. that is our other way of helping. as far as nigeria is concerned, we do not have any particular p

we are hearing the europeans do not want the imf to participate. can you tell us why two months after the statement that even should the november what you have no deal yet? >> the imf has been engaged with partners in relation to cyprus. we have had a dialogue with the cyprus authorities. the building blocks with a program have been put together. it has not yet been concluded because there are financing issues that need to be resolved in order for a program to be accepted. and for the debt to be sustainable. >> the lady here, thank you. >> if i can take you back to the arab world for a moment and ask you about the palestinian authority. do you have a plan to avoid the collapse of the palestinian authority? >> as far as the west bank and gaza are concerned, they are not members. it is not a member of the imf. we do not to lending for nonmembers. having said that, we do a lot of capacity building, a technical assistance. that is our other way of helping. as far as nigeria is concerned, we do not have any particular program, plans, technical assistance

>> we just heard from those at the imf yesterday. now we're hearing from the japanese government. officials there project that the country's economy will grow 2.5% in the coming fiscal year. that's due to stimulus measures and a global economic recovery. a large scale economic package will push up the gross domestic product. they forecast a moderate global economic recovery will lift corporate sentiment and boost spending on plant and equipment. the officials expect people will rush toake more purchases including things like houses before a plant consumption tax hike in april 2014. the government has concluded that the economy will expand 5 2.5% in real terms and 2.7% in nominal terms. based on the assumption that prices will pick up modestly the government projects nominal growth will exceed real growth for the first time in 16 years. the dollar is gaining further ground against the yen. earlier it hit a high. now it's changing hands to 39 yen. traders have seen rates drop to a five-year low. that's provided a brighter outlook for the american economy. the consumer price index dr

. >> for the eu, the imf, and the european central bank, which have lone cypress billions of years, it is clear the waste and corruption in the country must end -- which have loaned cypress billions of euros. the troika is also calling for more regulation of credit policies. they say the banks lord separate into taking out dodgy loans. >> one of the factors that contributed to this excess of liquidity in the separate banking sector is the attraction of foreign deposits. at this point in time, the total amount of foreign deposits is more than 21 billion euros, more than gdp. >> most of the money came from russian investors. tens of thousands of them have made cypress their second home. in germany's federal intelligence service, a to says most of their accounts contain laundered money. the cypriot government denies that. now the country is hoping newly discovered gas reserves off the coast will help pay back credit from the eu in a relatively short time. the first contract with energy companies have been signed. while billions are being spent to bail out the banks, many indebted families

. >> protesters say the choice, consisting of the imf, the eu, and the ecb, have impose policies on the country that are crippling and dangerous. protesters are demanding changes. >> dockworkers walked off the job in greece. so did bus drivers. overground trains were not running in athens, either. another strike in greece in protest to deeply unpopular austerity measures. weather it is public transport workers or doctors, people are fed up with falling standards of living and cuts to wages. more than a quarter of the greek work force is now unemployed. >> we oppose planned cutbacks, and we want them canceled. we want collective agreements signed any back pay we are owed. employment conditions must meet the needs of the workers. >> it is unlikely these demands will be met soon. the greek government's hands are tied. public coffers are empty. more protests loom. unions have called a general strike in three weeks time. >> a little bit of sports news for you now -- he is one of the most famous footballers our time and he has played all over the world, but now david beckham is moving to fran

the imf and the eu already pledged money to support the beleaguered economy. i jubilation and towns across northern mali. people here know how fragile of their security is. the militants may have vanished for now and the desert, but any sign of weakness and they could return. few relished the prospect of a long guerrilla war. >> let's get the latest live from timbuktu. tom went into timbuktu with the troops and he joins us live. the islamist rebels out of sight but not out of mind? >> exactly. they are believed to be hiding in surrounding desert. but i can tell you the tension is rising here in timbuktu. there are scenes of looting downtown, with dozens of people out in the streets going one shop after the other, targeting shops that were held by ethnic touraregs. accusing them of collaborating with ms -- islamists and they say they are hiding arms, cash, and weapons. the malian army deployed in town, and is trying to contain the crowd, although it is not clear because there also kind of smiling and waving at the crowd. they have pulled out of boxes of weapons

treasury to support the imf. but he put in reforms, and he told the people of turkey, look, you're going to have to take this austerity for x period of of time, but we will lead you to growth, and he did. look where turkey's come after that. so i just use these three examples; one in the middle east, one in latin america, one in asia where they were able to do this. and this is an example of leadership to do what's necessary. i mean, in korea we got this done in a couple of months, and four months later they were raising -- which is a lot of money in 1998 -- $5 billion in the international markets because they just took a decision and went at it. >> there's a lot of these things that you were talking about, the leadership, political leadership, timing and the banking union, getting the banks back into the lending and the fiscal pac in those components on that part. you know, just as an aside, in talking about another country, russia, you know, russia desperately wants to reintroduce itself to the rest of the world

another interesting point -- it is a fact that the imf has promised to grant egypt a loan worth $4.8 billion. the loan has been put on hold, but today, i have the feeling reading between the lines that president morsi and angela merkel will put in a good word. perhaps a boost their. >> what other words did angela merkel have for? >> she said the egyptian president had committed itself to a two-state solution for israel and palestinians, which i suppose is good news. she did broach a subject of commons that has emerged that he has made in recent times but israel and the jewish state, very controversial comments. he called on the egyptian people to "nurse our children and grandchildren on hatred for jews and scientists." -- hatred for jews and zionists." it was not very clear. the one thing that was clear was he did not retract the statements or withdraw them. >> thanks very much for joining us there. >> the u.s. news agency apa says that israel carried out an air strike in syria close to the border with lebanon. >> the agency said the strike was on a convoy carrying sophisticated weapo

the imf loan was originally agreed on in november, but then delayed by cairo as the government rushed to approve a controversial new constitution. >> germany's former president, christian wulff, and his wife have separated less than a year after he resigned in disgrace over corruption allegations. lawyers representing them confirmed the split and said the couple are already living apart. >> it is no doubt the final act in a long drama surrounding wulff, who, more than a year ago was a rising star in the conservative cuddu. he was forced to step down following allegations o. >> it was in february of last year that christian wulff announced he was stepping down from the german presidency. at his side, his wife of three years, bettina. >> i am resigning from the office of president in order to quickly clear the way for a successor. >> the resignation and the face of corruption -- in the face of corruption allegations rattled the establishment. controversy has swirled around them for weeks. christian wulff remains under investigation to this day, although he denies any wrongdoing. the cou

the imf loan was originally agreed on in november, but then delayed by cairo as the government rushed to approve a controversial new constitution. >> germany's former president, christian wulff, and his wife have separated less than a year after he resigned in disgrace over corruption allegations. lawyers representing them confirmed the split and said the couple are already living apart. >> it is no doubt the final act in a long drama surrounding wulff, who, more than a year ago was a rising star in the conservative cuddu. he was forced to step down following allegations o. >> it was in february of last year that christian wulff announced he was stepping down from the german presidency. at his side, his wife of three years, bettina. >> i am resigning from the office of president in order to quickly clear the way for a successor. >> the resignation and the face of corruption -- in the face of corruption allegations rattled the establishment. controversy has swirled around them for weeks. christian wulff remains under investigation to this day, although he denies any wrongdoing. the cou

we're supporting countries through the imf. there is restructuring in greece and portugal. we have a special program in spain. we have closed some situational gaps in the design of the union. we created the bailout fund. they are doing more things about omt. we work together. ecb provides money if needed. these are the four points to explain the strong improvement in sentiment. >> strong improvement in sentiment from you. but this is not generally felt across davos. has been a lot of criticism -- there has been a lot of criticism about the bailout. >> i do not think that is the majority view. the mainstream view is the strategy is working with these elements. most people focus a lot the ecb has promised to do -- most people focus on what the ecb has promised to do. it has to be there as a credible possibility in case of need, but it has not been activated. the countries are able to tap the markets again. spain, portugal, and ireland have been in the markets in the last few days very successfully. non-domestic investors are coming back. they left last year. they're coming bac

. >> reporter: the imf forecasts the global economy will grow about 3.5% this year a good number, lagarde says but not a great one. we've avoided the chance she says. let's beware of a relapse. rebecca? thanks anthony. this lagarde, she's a pretty interesting person and has redefined the role of the imf, hasn't she? >> reporter: it's first time the imf has become kind of a rock star. she's trailed all over the media halls by cameras. she's pretty forthcoming. more ominous than a lot people. following her is a lot like following hillary clinton. in fact before talking with her, she said hillary clinton's dehydration problem was kind of wakeup call for her that maybe she needed to take it a little easier. >> interesting point. thoenlt, go get a hot cocoa, take in a ski or something, look beautiful s beautiful where you are. >> reporter: beautiful it definitely is. >> we'll look forward to seeing you next week. >> reporter: thanks bec. >>> the jet line over the future is grounded why investigators try to figure out why its state-of-the-art batteries keep catching fire. let's get the latest f

now last week, now last week the chief economist of the imf said this. he said if things look bad and at the beginning of 2013, which they do, he was talking about the uk, then you should be a reassessment of fiscal policy. so prime minister, after two years of no growth, county prime minister tells what he should do anything differently in the next two years? >> first of all i would say that he should listen to the managing director of the imf who said this, she said this, when i think back myself in may 2010 when uk deficit was at 11%, when you were in office, right? and i tried to imagine, and i tried to imagine what the situation would be like to take if no such fiscal consolidation program had been decided, i shiver. that is what the imf says about the plan of the last labour government. now, he raises the issue of growth. >> order. it is not acceptable to shout down either the prime minister or the leader of the opposition, and the public have a very low opinion of that kind of behavior. let's hear the questions and hear the answers. the prime minis

much better than the imf. forget the imf report. all you need is stifel nicolaus.chad. >> thank you. >> as one of the most severe flu seasons in recent years hits the u.s., the fda has approved a possible solution, a new one of a kind vaccine. will the ceo of protein sciences -- the ceo of protein sciences the maker of the vaccine joins us. david: also we will have today's speed read. ♪ twins. i didn't see them coming. i have obligations. cute obligations, but obligations. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike m

the key imf forecast headline numbers, 2% growth for the u.s.rend in the second half of the year. the forecast for europe, that area revised downward. expected to contract by .2 of a percent in 2013, rather than expanding by a modest .1% back in the forecast in october. no downgrade of growth in japan, despite renewed recession there. forecasts still for 1.2% growth in 2013. and finally, the prescription for china, sustaining a rapid growth, progress on market oriented and structural forms there and more emphasis on private consumption inside china. back to you guys. >> hampton pearson, thank you. >>> google shares up sharply this morning after the company beat estimates in the earnings, setting a surge in ad sales profit. both gentlemen this morning have raised price targets on google. you raised your rating to $900 a share. the price target, that is. you've got a buy rating on the stock. in terms of google, the valuations at this point, 16 times forward pe, motorola still in your words a work in progress. why should investors get in the stock

as we know, many women who are postmenopausal can grow up to be secretaries of state and head of the imf. there is a future after this. it really is not an illness, just a transition. you get your brain back. >> thank you very much. >>> there is a wake-up call from the centers for disease control. an alarming number of drivers are falling asleep at the wheel. a cdc survey found that 1 in 24 drivers said they had nodded off while driving recently. men more likely to report drowsy driving than women. and the problem gets worse with age. the recommended solution, well, it's simple, but apparently not easy for many people. at least seven hours of sleep a night. >>> when we come back, what people who live together bicker about more than anything else. don't touch that dial. ♪ [ male announcer ] the distances aren't getting shorter. ♪ the trucks are going farther. the 2013 ram 1500 with best-in-class fuel economy. engineered to move heaven and earth. guts. glory. ram. the new ram 1500. motor trend's 2013 truck of the year. >>> if you build it, they will come. >> remember this? "the field of dr

and where the imf connection help them provide advice and support. will be very happy to support the russian presidency on these three agenda items. >> thank you. >> right here in the center. >> thank you for this opportunity. i wonder about your assessment. we saw very frustrating growth last year. and there's no greater expectation that there will be a better result this year. we also have the inflation raising, a very concerned situation in our physical sector. despite this, brazil is actually one country where we don't have very good economic growth, but we still have job creation. so it is one of those very unusual situations. i wonder your assessment on that. >> in a way, i share your concern about the brazilian economy. it has grown and certainly less than initially expected. but having said that, the real question is to really end stand whether it is growing at capacity or whether there is an output gap that could be filled in by appropriate macroeconomic policy measures. >> ok. >> i will leave it like that. >> gentleman with his hand up. >>

the imf anticipates 5.7% growth. that's pretty good considering the circumstances.n regards to the issues that they are discussing comedy institutions a second letter that is showing that funding is fundamentally important. with relations going in that direction, it's not often that this leaves me disconcerted. there is a juncture between monetary policy that is a lot more accommodating i think that part of what needs to happen now is some signaling of authorities who are assisting in spending so that we are not going to have a lack lot of growth. and in the coming year, the absence of growth. what else can they do? unless there is a different mindset, i think we are going to remain as hopeful as we can for the future and we need to check the growth opportunities. >> i am so grateful to you for having said that. if you were me, and i will now get to the questions on fiscal monetary mix. because it is a pretty big issue and none of you discussed it, so i will discuss it. but the thrust of policy clearly in the major developed world is towards this fiscal tightening a

right now we have international institutions like the u.n., the imf, the world bank, but they were all designed to be weak. they were all designed to play a secondary role to nations whose sovereignty we saw as inviolable. and, you know, i don't think that's sustainable because so many of the interests you or i have as individual citizens of wherever we.com from are really affected by decisions that happen on the global stage. >> host: dade rothkopf is our guest. the numbers are up on the screen if you'd like to participate. 202 is the area code, 585-3885 in the east and central time zones, 585-3886 if you live in the mountain and pacific time zones. mr. rothkopf, former managing editor -- managing director of kissinger associates and current ceo of foreign policy. what is foreign policy? >> guest: well, it's -- the fp group is a division of washington post that publishes foreign policy magazine. the foreign policy web site which is now much bigger than the magazine, we have almost three-and-a-half million visitor a month to the web site and run a series of events and other programs on

the imf says the economy will grow by 2% and the u.s.eeds to work on entitlement reform. >>> our fourth story, women on the front line. a ground breaking decision from the pentagon. cnn has learned that defense secretary leon panetta will announce a lift on the ban against women serving in combat positions. this is pretty incredible. this move could open up 230,000 front line jobs to women in the military. "outfront" tonight, rosa brooks, a columnist for foreign policy and has worked in the pentagon under the obama administration and david frum, former speech writer for george w. bush and critter for us. right now, 40% of active duty are women. this could be hundreds of thousand of jobs suddenly would be open to women. am i right in saying this is hublgly significant? >> it's absolutely enormous. the one thing i would say though, the it's not that we don't have women in combat positions. we have women who are ineligible under the former policy, but there really isn't any front line in today's wars. fighting heroically in combat, women wh

i think if you look at the situation in terms of the imf loan, the discussions and the imf loan have been postponed since december last year, that is hitting confidence, i think, and the way in which egypt is still stumbling on the bottom, if you like, and seems unable to tie up, you know, long-term loans to help bail out the economy is clearly feeling the political insecurity. >> over the weekend, cumberland put out this client note, talking about events from north korea to north africa, saying the world is a dangerous place and worried that perhaps some of these events are being overlooked in terms of the significance. generally speaking, i'm creating more waves of unrest. do you read anything more from the situation in egypt as to what's happening in nearby north africa should investors be concerned generally about these events continuing to cause uncertainties? >> i think historically the links between egypt and what goes on in sort of north africa, particularly events in mali and south africa in the last couple of weeks, there hasn't been much cross historically. and that probabl

the economy is being kept afloat by international eurozone members in the imf. ou thought that credit card debt was for young adults, think again. older americans applied for more credit cards but pay down their debt easier. half of the older generation are seeking help from credit counseling services. we continue our countdown to the closing bell with list placement liz: 20 minutes away from the fourth quarter earnings release. what should investors be expecting? let's bring in our very own shibani joshi. >> and the investors the light of the last year, up 70%. the stock moving marginally higher, and earnings shows the strong finish to a transformational year. what's going on is that up until now, the growth has been fueled by paypal. this marketplace business that has taken place thanks to the mobile application. about 2 million listeners are uploaded using the mobile platform every single week. there you go, you can find whatever you need on ebay. the one we will have those numbers on "after the bell." let's head to the new york stock exchange and bring in nic

for instance, the imf forecasts last week. they revised lower for the world. at the end of last year, the ocd -- >> is there a sense that the worse the data gets, the closer spain gets to a bailout so it's going to win/win? >> i don't know. it depends on whether you're asking economists or -- >> i'm asking the currency markets. why they're back to youi in-- they're buying euro. >> the dollar is part of this, and the dollar isn't -- >> not the dollar against the yen. >> the yen is the weakest performing currency now. it was the weakest last year and the second weakest of the u.s. dollar. part of this is because people are buying risk, getting out of low-risk currencies. >> the ecb's -- we're paying it back, they're not cutting rates at the european central bank, because germany's pulling out of a deep contraction in the fourth quarter. this is feeding the short-term lending rates and the dollar and euro. it's coming at the detriment of peripheral economies. >> economists will say we'd be better off if spain has or does ask ask for the bailout and move on toward

that is a vote for the imf to come to italy before too long. >> i can't imagine -- how is that being italy at the moment? because the idea would be if you maintain the monti reforms, which are not very popular, clearly, you may not get the imf. are people having to choose to something they don't like and something that could be a much worse direction? >> i think they're trying to choose, politicians in europe don't have much room to maneuver, so they include a populist phrase on either side, the left or the right. what you see in italy is the tensions between the north and the south. this is going to come down to local and regional politics. we have three bellwether states or reasons to watch in italy. they are all in the richer north. sis lynn and the campangna in the south. these are going to be very south. one of the big questions i have in trying to think about what italians will do is if they'll follow the trend in the other peripheral countries. it's too risky to experiment with political alternatives. >> we've seen yields come down primarily as a response to mario draghi in the

he's been at the imf, the treasury and then back at the treasury so he's done a lot of that stuff, mariamy guess is that's where his heart is. >> steve, first of all, love the beard. second of all. >> beard? >> could he -- >> shave three times a day. >> you're so bad. >> come on, it's friday. geithner is not exactly the most popular guy on capitol hill, and heied have to be confirmed by the senate which that could be contentious to say the least. >> right. >> oh, absolutely. i'm not saying it would be easy. i think he didn't -- he was confirmed with 34 nay votes i believe for treasury secretary. i think geithner could get through as fed chairman. again, the question is does he want it, and the question is given that it's a next-year event, scott, is there enough time for him to spend a little time in the private sector? my guess is to say no, but the question is whether or not the president would be in the same situation where he'd have to call up and say, tim, i need you again on this one. >> all right, steve, we'll be watching. >> only kidding, steve, right? >> that's fine. >> having a

he has to take the financial community, the g-8, the imf, the world bank, if he can't do that, then hee will be watching this and talking about that lot. good to see you, brother. richard quest, the host of cnn international's "quest means business." president obama gave big props to the man jack lew is replacing. >> when history books are written, timothy geithner will go down as one of our finest secretaries of the treasury. >> matt taibbi of "rolling stone" joins us after the break to tell us why he thinks the president is dead wrong on geithner, why he argues that the bailouts may have rescued wall street but didn't come anywhere near fixing the budget. officeyour business needs...k... at prices that keep you...out of the red. this week get a bonus $15 itunes gift card with any qualifying $75 ink purchase. find thousands of big deals now... at officemax. because for every 2 pounds you lose through diet and exercise, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪ let's fight fat with alli. excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to

unfortunately the head of the imf told us we need confidence in our currency, we need confidence in legislation coming out of washington, dc. you know from fox business, the balance sheets look very good in corporate america right now. if they had some stability from a government and people had money to spend, we'd grow our way right out of this. >> more money to spend, more things to buy, more economic activity. today we found out that the president has disbanned his jobs council after a couple of years. in 2011 it met three times in 2012, it met all of once. so is it that the economy is getting better, the job market is get can better, but now that he doesn't face another re-election he is not worried about it? >> i think your last choice. how do you keep the jobs council when the head of it is sending jobs to china. it gets to be rather embarrassing. mr. obama may be a wonderful man. i don't know. i've never met him personally. but he doesn't understand the first thing of economics. he is going to go down in history as the worst economics president we have ever had. the people around him hav

he has to take the financial community, the g 8s, the g-20, the imf, the world bank.'t do that, he is sunk. >> all right. we will be watching this and talking about it a lot. good to see you, brother. richard quest, the host of "quest meets business." coming up, president obama gave big props to the man jack lew is replacing. >> when the history books are written, tim geithner's going to go down as one of our finest secretaries of the treasury. >> mike taibbi of rolling stone joins me after the break to tell me why he thinks the president is dead wrong on geithner. why the bailouts may have rescued wall street but didn't fix the economy. d, she can't always move the way she wants. now you can with new stayfree ultra thins. flexible layers move with your body, while thermocontrol wicks moisture away. keep moving. new stayfree. diarrhea, gas, bloating? yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. live the regular life. phillips'. live the regular life. ...so as you can see, geico'

john lipinski, formerly of the imf. and hamish tyrwhitt, construction group out of australia. we saw rates dip a little today. suggesting there's room to cut rates. and the executive dean of peking university. we're more relaxed about china, more relaxed than three or four months ago. we'll get the inside there. all of that is coming up on today's "worldwide exchange." how are the markets looking? >> perfect. we'll check the markets in a second. i want to bring news out of the bank upon spain saying fourth quarter gdp was down 1.not -- 1.7% drop, it was .6 drop. pretty large. and 2012 gdp down 1.3%, down from a contraction of 0.4% in 2011. more difficult news for the spanish economy. >>> now in a long-anticipated speech on the future of britain in the european union, prime minister cameron has warned that democratic consent from a u.k. membership is "wafer thin." speaking in london, he said he's in favor of having e.u. referendum but not at the moment and urged e.u. leaders to address the challenges currently alienating the electorate. >> there's a gap between the e.u. and citi

role of treasury secretary, a big part of this, is also dealing with other finance ministers, with the imf, with the world bank issues, and most importantly now, with the euro zone and the crisis there. >> excellent point, andrea. that was always part of the job, but it never mattered as much as it has since the financial crisis. look, there is a club of central bankers, there's a club of finance ministers. there's sort of overlapping circles within that club. jack lew is not known to come part of that club. for one central banker to call another in the middle of a crisis and say, hey, we're going to do this and be able to talk on the phone and to really address global financial issues in a hurry, i'm not saying jack lew can't be part of that. i know he also has spoken with a lot of these people in the past. he has talked to business executives on a pretty regular basis. as for his priors, he is not a member of that club. >> now, if he does have the chops to come up with a budget deal and real entitlement reform, and coming from a liberal to progressive background, having worked for tip o'