under the baltic sea to europe mr further why should the e.u. increase its dependence on gazprom is kidney. we're not talking about russia's dependence we're talking about cooperation between russia on the one side and the european union on the other in the energy sector new stream is viewed as a priority project both by russia and the because it's been part of europe's energy networks since two thousand and six not recognized by the european parliament and the e.u. council of energy minister brussels wants all russian energy companies not just gazprom to be allowed to export gas to europe what are the implications of that for gazprom and europe as. regulator e permission is not the issue but the e.u. germany and the rest of the e.u. nations need gas to sensibly reform their energy policy that people russia on the other hand has to sell gas to keep its budget in order so there's a codependency which is a good thing i would be happy to see european companies invest into russia and european markets open up to russian companies it's a good free market economy this is why i think europe

both by russia and the e.u. because it's been part of europe's energy networks since two thousand and six recognized by the european parliament and the e.u. council of energy ministers brussels wants all russian energy companies not just gazprom to be allowed to export gas to europe what are the implications of that for gas prom and europe is key to any. new regulator a position is not the issue but the e.u. germany and the rest of the nations need gas to sensibly reform their energy policy to get russia on the other hand has to sell gas to keep its budget in order so there's a codependency which is a good thing i would be happy to see european companies invest into russia and european markets open up to russian companies it's a good free market economy and i think europeans need gas or gas has many uses here with the political uncertainty in north africa it's good to have a stable partner that you can rely on and russia is one of the you know better than anyone else for a space that written recently switched from export to imperial europe needs a gas supply to maintain a stable m

. >> i'm andrew. in hong kong the top stories this monday, january the 9th. zbroo europe takes center stage on the markets as we have another big week for the struggling currency. >>> new zealand tries to contain its worst ever environmental disaster after a cargoship marooned for months splits in two. we'll speak to the country's transport minister. >>> and an indefinite nationwide strike is underway in nigeria. after fuel prices double in africa's biggest oil producer. >>> so we're seeing a little bit of cautious optimism creeping into the markets at the start of a new trading week. asian markets were broadly higher. european markets are broadly mixed and it's europe that is likely to once again dominate this week. the germ man trans ler angel la merkel and nicholas sarkozy are holding more talks today on rescuing the eurozone. across the atlantic it's the unofficial start of corporate earning season. nina, it will be europe outweighing the u.s. as far as investor interest is concerned this week. >>> yeah, that's one of the consistent themes that we've seen over the course of the la

>> the conditions are really challenging in europe, and they're going to be so for quite some time. >> susie: standard & poor's knocks down the debt ratings of nine european nations. we'll tell you how the move could affect you. >> tom: and a look at a group facing unemployment three times the national level-- they're married to the military. it's "nightly business report" for friday, january 13. this is "nightly business "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening, everyone. it was a bad luck day for europe and world markets on this friday the 13th. first, it was a rumor and then after the u.s. markets closed, ratings firm standard & poors announced that it is stripping france of its aaa credit rating. it is now at aa-plus with a negative outlook. s&p is also cutting ratings on eight other eurozone countries, including italy, spain and portugal. but tom, there was no rating change on germany, europe's top economy. >> tom: on top of that, susie, crucial debt negotiations in >> today investors were nervous in information so ahea

allow for unnecessary and irreversible damage to be done to our planet. now, europe certainly is a continent that currently needs to debate new methods. we've learned we're interdependent. we are part and parcel of one and the same world and one comm. but we've also learned in europe that the financial and economic crisis that started in america left a deep imprint on europe and we're still working on the fallout of this, trying to address that. so europe is a great and magnificent european political project. and i'm standing here before you firmly convinced that we, and i think i speak on behalf of all my colleagues, wish to further develop this great achievement on the anniversary of the signing of the treaties of rome, we said we are fortunate, indeed, in being united in europe. and it is to our great luck that we are united. and we will not be happy and lucky if we do not show this commitment to unison. this year marks a year where the 7 billionth citizen of the planet was born. if we look at how the world has changed ever since the second world war, europe was a work of peace

after. but the role of europe, what sort of role can europe play in a globally interdependent world. and so what we cannot say because for 50 years we've been at the very top, we are confident that we will remain there for the next 50 years. no, quite the contrary. we have to work for this every di. we have to have competitive products in our product range that people like to buy all over the world. we have to be innovative. and if we are not able to do this, then for many, many years to come, we will certainly be an interesting place to take a vacation in, but we will not be able to maintain or even increase in prosperity for our people. so what is important is not who is stricter, who is less strict. what is important is creating and maintaining prosperity for europe of the future. and i think we ought to be ambitious in bringing this about. which is why i'm firmly convinced that we need to continue to work on this. obviously there are certain first steps that we have already made and that will bring us closer to a fiscal compact and a fiscal union. but if i look at the discussion

tests. but first, events in europe have always helped shape american history. during the american revolution france's hatred of britain prompted king louis 16 to the colonies. throughout the cold war europe and a divided germany were at the heart of the a nato alliance between between nato and the soviet union. washington struggles with budget cuts and shifts its focus to asia. what is next for the atlantic alliance? our next guest is fred kemp, president and ceo of the atlantic do council, an organization born in 1961 to foster close relations between the united states and europe. fred is an editor and the author of berlin 1961, kennedy, kruschev. >> i am a member of the atlantic counsel. >> and we are proud of it. >> the administration is in the midst of a strategic pivot from afghanistan and iraq over to asia. at the same time, there are growing calls from the political sphere and congress especially, let's pull american troops outside of europe. you think that that's a mistake. why? >> the term strategic pivot is a mistake. perhaps one moves troops outside of europe, but one h

asking one of europe's most prominent economists former advisor to the russian government anders often. on january thirteenth standard and poor's downgraded nine european countries including the stronger ones like france and austria both received a negative outlook considering the european leaders inability to cope with the debt crisis the weaker spain and italy were downgraded to an economist say they are one step closer to the greeks an aureole being part of europe russia has to come up against the global challenges but as for now it's managed to cope and recon in me is still growing. oh mr austin they're walking to the show thank you very much for coming my pleasure well on the eve of this year's davus i want to comment form the organizers warned that. i quote the world is facing significant and urgent challenges that we have only on prospects for future growth and the cohesion of societies and quote while it struck me that exactly the same words we used last year during the forum well it is just a repetition of the same very good phrase but does that mean that the world polit

>> susie: concern and hope about europe dominate u.s. trading again. european countries hold back on spending, but no agreement on greece. >> tom: from europe to a battle unfolding in stores across america-- beer versus liquor. we look at who's winning and how it could benefit your portfolio. it's "nightly business report" for monday, january 30. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. progress in fits and starts at a european summit meeting in brussels today, and that led to losses and a late comeback on wall street. tom, european leaders met to work on three key items: an agreement not to overspend, a permanent bailout fund to deal with the spreading financial crisis. between with still don't have a deal between greece and its lenders. a more optimistic message that europe is get on top its did debt crisis that lead to the blue chips losing 6 and 3/4 points. on the bell after dropping in the first hour of trading, the naz was down 4, the s&p do

administration's new national security strategy that will deeply cut the 80,000 u.s. troops in europe isn't necessarily hot button issue in the united states but it's worrying u.s. allies eastern european countries that join nato as an insurance policy against their historic bully russia. obama strategic pivot to put greater focus on asia and a call for europe to do more for its own security comes as defense cut deepen. there are bills cut and france is in the midst of a major reform initiative to trim by 60,000 troops all this has major implications for nato, one of america's most important strategic alliances what do the cuts mean for the transatlantic alliance? what can europe and america do to ensure the mutual security and how will lessons from nato's experience in afghanistan and libya shape the alliance's future capabilities. today we have a special guest. highest ranking officer on the continent. the french general. general is in charge of the multinational headquarters of 700 in norfolk, virginia who are focused on deploying to afghanistan, new technologies to counter-explosive dev

. >>> a bad situation just got worse. there are red faces in europe after a ratings downgrade but greece is the country that's the real epicenter of the debt crisis this week. >>> as search and rescue attempts continue, the focus moves 0en to who is to blame for the sinking of a giant ocean liner off the italian coast. >>> and we'll tell you which production houses is big at the golden globes and what these awards tell us about the upcoming oscar ceremonies. >>> first up, though, if the new year promised a new europe, well, some people could be disappointed. standard & poors last week had other ideas completely. to nobody's great surprise, this particular influential company decided to downgrade the credit scores of nine countries across the euro zone on friday. these particular downgrades apply to a large swath of central and southern europe. it is this country in the center here, france, that is commanding all the headlines today. this after france lost its treasured aaa rating. that in turn, some economists say could undermine the a aa rating of the total esfs. one country as well tha

signals a long road towards recovery. >> in europe angelo merkel says there's only so much germany can do to save the single currency. >> and online sharing isn't always caring for the google users upset about that company's courtesy policies. >>> start on tuesday barack obama pro krams that america it seemed was on amend but on wednesday, the federal reserve, the company's central bank, claimed that it was all but not on amend. the u.s. central bank vowed to keep the interest rates the same through 2014. for the first time it set a cause for the inflation market at 2%. that's good news poor borrowers. the feds long-term plan is unusual but chairman ben bernanke says that it's a move designed to avoid destabilizing surprises. he says that while unemployment should continue to fall, wide economic growth will be slower than expected. >> stronger economic recovery, to help ensure that inflation over time is at levels consistent with our statutory mandate, the committee will keep the same highly accommodatetive stance. we continued to keep it at 0 to .25%. we think it will warrant exepgsly lo

it is that this europe will not be able to form such a political union there is too much heterogeneity the country's two different. countries are too attached to their own self until they have different styles they have a hard time working together on international issues think of iraq. and so it will be very hard to to have one address that foreigners can coal have and emerged is there. that they will speak with one voice that are willing to give up their very seats in the united nations and the i.m.f. and they will speak voice it is at the moment inconceivable that britain will give up their rights but also france is not even thinking of giving that up. germany will become too powerful there's simply too much that prevents europe from becoming one political union if you want german chancellor angela merkel she said that political union is already taking shape is it though and what is she basic that statement on well from where we are we are making progress in the stand in the sense of suggestions of because these are suggestions or plans to have stricter rules and to en

head lines out of davos in europe the talks of on sl going in greece, and so far markets a pullback coming back today. the ftse down in london. the dax off 0.2%. and initially the market's up about 1% so the worst performer there, the spanish down about half of a percent so markets in retreat after what we've seen which was a fairly strong session. so it is a weaker day out there. we are watching the banking sector today, in particular two of the french banks, bnp paribas under pressure after ratings were downgraded. on bnp it based it on valuations so moved to neutral. credit agricole because of its exposure to greece. the bank completes its 7.5 billion euro rise after such a rocky road. it's unlikely to prompt share sells. christine, what are you watching in asia today? >>> we're watching, of course, the greek talks you mentioned, karen, and gdp data coming up in the u.s. trade was cautious. some markets posting modest gains but other markets like the nikkei 225 in japan sliding once again on earnings disappointments. nec and nintendo sliding as a result because both companies for

i don't think anybody wants these things to happen really because europe right now is very weak financially economically and the last thing that europe really wants is a confrontation because that would be even more disruptive for the economy here the oil that was supposed to come to europe from iran will go to asia and oil that was going to asia from oil locations like west africa or even russia will now go to europe so europe can always one place the oil that's not the issue the issue is the level of pain. right to some stuff. and russia fell at the end of last year the jobless rate dropped twenty basis points from november to six point one percent in december according to a survey by bloomberg analysts had expected the rate to be significantly higher rising to six point six percent. led to the markets now we start with europe band the stocks are down as greece and as private creditors continue to negotiate over the terms the terms of the hoped for debts one deal and the brits in the forty's down one point nine percent survive miners and banks for more it's banking group among

europe here. i would like to apologize i am lake. i am sorry for this delay. i just had a meeting with timothy geithner. it was very intensive. it was constructive. the markets, it is fine. the famous line in mark twain's memories is also true for europe. the music is better than it sounds. [laughter] i say this as a great fan of both. there are many questions and concerns about europe these days. i follow the internal discussions about europe and it is an important time in the united states of america. the question is about the current crisis and what this means the european americans and others around the globe. questions also about germany's approach to the crisis. the role it sees for itself in europe. i have come here to answer four fundamental questions as openly and directly as possible. what is the nature of the crisis we are facing? what are we trying to achieve? what is germany's role in all of this? and, what is in it for the united states? first, the nature of the crisis. the term bureau crisis is convenient but misleading. in its first 10 years, the common currency ha

unicredit bank russia ben heiress he is the editor in chief of business new europe we also have david kranz feel he is a partner in c.m.s. and simon sent him fletcher he is a portfolio manager with renaissance asset managers ok out of time i want to go to you first in china it's the year of the dragon will this be the year of the bull for russian equities we think so we expect quite a significant growth rate of the russian equities for this year at the bar you had to put twenty five percent or something like that of. things of these here it can be quite strong in terms of its on the members as well ok even when even the. i agree i think the market is extremely cheap and why cheap well because it was going to december ok right a cheap it's cheap i mean for a number of reasons i mean of course we were doing our outlook and never has the been so confusing i mean you've got a potential meltdown in europe and at the same time domestically this sort of resurgence of political risk such as it is consequently the investors have all stepped back and waiting to see how it plays out and ag

signed around europe french i mean quit calling the uk to deal us rate in poland thousands marched in protest and even m.p. is the only anonymous hacker groups mask to show their contempt like there's have to get reports from warsaw. joan with censorship the end sorry country if you trade agreement known as act which poland signed on thursday has upset many internet users across the country in the small town of lu but in a low several thousand people hit the streets fearing the treaty would allow corporations to crack down on the freedom of speech online the idea of funding. for publishing the droid marriage material. is somehow illogical to me it's like punishing the corporation that produces knifes for. being used to kill somebody like that will be used to our internet activity i believe talking through the internet email forums. so if expression this was yet another rally in a whole string of protests held in poland since tuesday large crowds in several cities voiced their anger at the government for signing the document most of the country's government websites were hijacked by. a

nationwide predominant. for it's not just the economy that's in trouble in europe but signs as well as we reveal in our interview show spotlight that's coming up next. hello again a walk into spotlight big interview show on our stage time now we are going to play my guest on the program felix unger european science is facing hard times as the recession goes on the unemployment rises and europe's qualified population scapes to the new world several hundred thousand scientists engineers and graduate students fled to the united states during the last decade or so is america really the future of european science while the brain drain can and will be stopped we're asking the president of the european academy of sciences and hard the prominent cardiac surgeon and a man who treats science as an art felix unger. alex winder is considered one of the world's most competent cardiac surgeons pioneered an artificial heart design in europe and was the first european to land planted in tokyo much more than two decades ago dr created the european academy of sciences and arts it has developed into a

beginning of the year since 2006, mostly on easing worries in europe. the markets fell on friday. retail sales barely rose in deps up 1/10th of a% and less than expected. the disappointing december number was due to heavy discounting in the holiday season. the federal reserve says if the economy continueses to improve the beige book, the study of regional economies showed moderate growth which has been improvingable isly in the manufacturing sector. don't worry you will be able to buy twinkies and wonder bread. hostess brands is declaring bankruptcy. they will continue to operate normally during chapter 11 proceedings. roger ferguson is the former vice chairman of the federal reserve and current ceo of tiaa-cref, leading retire temperature services provider. he says america is facing a retirement crisis and he is passionate advocate for retirement education. always wonderful to have you on the program. >> thank you for inviting me back. >> let me get your take on the broad economy. it feels like we have been seeing improvement. what's your take on the u.s. and global story right

decision to adopt an embargo against iran over its nuclear program over imports from iran to europe should stop as a first of july as a response to the sanctions tehran is threatening to close the strait of hormuz through which twenty percent of the world's oil exports pass however jorge along the path from plants believes that warning the embargo a more of a negotiating point. the wording also says that they'll be a review in may so that almost means that i am ready to do something in july but i can change my mind in may i don't think anybody wants these things to happen because europe right now is very weak. financially economically the last thing that you're really wants is a confrontation because that would be even more disruptive for the economy here the oil that was supposed to come to europe from iran will go to a shell oil that was going to look like west africa or even russia will now go to europe so europe can always replace the oil that's not the issue the issue is the level of pain. that's look at the numbers now fluctuating below one hundred dollars a barrel in new york