Company. Persimmon posts a 30 rise in the first half pretax profits, while saying the countrys Housing Market is confident despite brexit. U. S. President trump announces a a reverreversal in afghanistan, but declining to give troop levels in a prime time address we are bringing you some numbers coming in from the Norwegian Pension Fund annual report returning 202 norwegian billion norwegian kronena on investments in 2017 fixed Income Investment returned 1. 1 in 2017 Equity Investments returned 3. 4 in 2017. Obviously the fund there looking to reduce risk as it said recently after really putting in some sizable profits over the last year or so. Lets look at the European Markets. We have got across the sectors pretty significant amount of green on the board most of the European Market trading up, looking at the numbers specifically were up 0. 53 across europe. Ftse 100 up 0. 7 nearly three quarters. We have xetra dax up 0. 7 . Cac up a half percent. The ftse mib up 0. 6 in terms of some of the sectors, seeing who is performing well there, basic resources up 1. 3 chemicals 0. 7 banks up 0. 7 . Construction and material looking positive we want to look at some mining companies. Rising copper prices have helped antofagasta post an 80 surge in first half profits the chilean minor more than tripled its interim dividend and said it was on track to meet fullyear targets. Increased Sales Volumes provided a boost to antofagastas numbers. Bhp shares are pushing higher in early trade after a fullyear net profit of around 6 billion pounds bhps earnings did miss analyst expectations on a number of key numbers. Reporter thats one question that is being asked and was asked of management today. Their response to that was that theyre going focus on what they do best. They about spin off erroneous assets into the south 32 vehicle. Spun them offer and relisted that company as an entity in australia and south africa as well they said they want to focus on what they do best, which is iron ore, petroleum, its copper, its also coal as well those are some commodity classes that have been doing particularly well over this 2018 year lets give you a look at how bhp shares closing out the sydney trading session, just 30 minutes before you will get the handover in london and see how the stock trades there in terms of the result, fullyear net profit bouncing to 5. 89 billion that result was characterized by a number of writedowns the underlying profit measure, 6. 7 billion, that was weaker than the Consensus Forecast for a number of 7. Dividend, a tough righter than what the market was looking for. Final dividend 43 cents. The whisper was for 46 cents total year payout 83 cents versus 88. A big improvement from the 30 cents they delivered this time one year ago the interesting portion of the result, which you mentioned already, is the decision to divest these u. S. Onshore shale assets theyre determined these are not core assets. They will forge ahead with plans to look at and focus and cement business on those other core assets they said they will be patient in disposing of this asset either pursue a trade sale their preference is for a small trade sale, an asset swab, demerger or an ipo spinoff similar to other nickel and those assets they spun off into south 32 back to you. That was matt taylor down in sydney breaking down the bhp numbers. Opec will debate on whether to extend or end the opec and nonopec cut at the Cartel Meeting in november. Thats accord together Kuwait Oil Minister he said he was optimistic about finding agreement and said Oil Inventories have fallen more than expected in recent weeks. Looking at gold prices, they logged their highest finish in 11 weeks in u. S. Trade and settled below that key resistance level of 1300. The value of the pressure metal jumped by 12 since the start of the year since were talking so much about commodities, were joined by orgen weve seen that remarkable rally by gold. Do you think it will last . Uns for tfortunately not. Im a great believer of gold longterm. I think the recent rally has short legs its mostly driven by the geopolitics, weakness of u. S. Dollar, by investment inflows into the market. And its not going to last i wouldnt be surprised to see a setback to below 1250, but greater increase in the price going forward. Based on the assumptions that the real interest trades are likely to remain low or even negative what about copper that doesnt trade so much on geopolitics. Thats driven by fundamentals. We have seen that going up and up do you think that price rise has been justified im not going to actually say that its somewhat different to goal its probably worse. Looking at earnings, very healthy margins by the mining companies, which are reporting the earnings now its actually pointing to the largest problem of copper and other industrial metals. The prices are trading much above the current production costs, which means the new projects are likely to get in place soon and while in the first half of the year the price rise was very much supported by an unexpected strong demand, this demand growth is likely to slow down very soon especially in china. And therefore the prices are also likely to come down the recent price increase for my opinion was in most of the industrial metals, was very much driven by the speculative activity, not only in the u. S. But also very much in xhin thche were looking for price decline. I know you talk about individual stocks. We have heard from antofagasta theyll be investing more than a billion from one of their mine upgrades in chile. Is this indicative of the Big Mining Companies dusting off the capex projects do you think thats a bad idea at the current price its not a bad idea, especially if you can hedge production against price falls while selling it on futures market most minors are not sticking to this but i think its a good idea, the current price. Those prices are unlikely to last i would suggest at least a correction of 10 plus is necessary for most of the metals, probably more n order to get a more fair valuation. Though for time being the overheating speculative overheating might still be on the market, in the longer term im skeptical those prices will last were not seeing a break through with the oil price weve heard this morning from bhp theyre looking to exit shale. Weve heard about this large deal involving total and maersk. Is there likely to be more consolidation in the industry because of that lack of price increase the lack of price increases is also likely to last here thanks to the very, from my opinion, shortsighted vision by opec which only hikes the prices in a shortterm to medium term those prices are not likely to increase towards 60 or 70 per barrel that opec was expecting a year ago prices are likely to stick at around 45, 55 per barrel theres not much growth production, the consolidation is likely to get accelerated over the next month i wouldnt be surprised to see more of such news, not only in mae maersk but elsewhere i think the opec strategy needs to be rewritten. This is only a shortsighted strategy in the longer term it will result in the prices only trading at 50, not 60 orb 70 that opec was expecting. We talked about copper and whats driving the price what about zinc and steel how important is the chinese economy when you talk about trading those particular metals . The chinese economy by far is the most important factor behind the price increases. But also on a demand side. China is responsible for over 50 of the total demand on zinc and other fundamentals are not bad but the price increases we witnessed over the last month where theyre ahead of fundamentals and are unjustified. The fundamentals were good in the First Six Months of the year with demand staying above expectations, supply probably lower than was expected by us and many other experts in the first half of the year what im saying is that right now, if youre judging the money managers, youre looking at volumes which have been traded now in china you must come to the conclusion that a large chunk of the havent price increase was due to pure speculation, not to the real physical underlying demand we leave it there thank you very much for your time dont forget to email the show the address is streetsignseurope cnbc. Com you can reach us on twitter. The twitter address is streetsignseurope cnbc coming up, driving higher. Fiat shares continue their climb amidst all that m a speculation. We have the latest on the story after this break your brain is an amazing thing. But as you get older, it naturally begins to change, causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. Thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. The secret is an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. The name to remember. Thats why at comcast were continuing to make4 7. Our services more reliable than ever. Like technology that can update itself. An advanced fibernetwork infrustructure. New, more Reliable Equipment for your home. And a new culture built around customer service. It all adds up to our most Reliable Network ever. One that keeps you connected to what matters most. Welcome back to street signs. Shares of Provident Financial have plummeted to a record low after the british subprime lender ceo quit. They also issued a new profit warning, the second of two month. Shares in fiat are trading higher after Great Wall Motors announced interest in the carmaker the chinese carmaker is eyeing Fiat Chryslers jeep brand nancy in singapore fiat denying this. Yet we still have seen the stock price climbing thats right. Ever since those initial reports from Automotive News about a potential chinese bidder surfaced, weve seen a double percentage point increase for fiat shares. Investors have been cheered by this news. But Fiat Chrysler saying they have not been in direct talks with great wall motor about interest in jeep or other Business Matters related to the company. Today the news from great wall, youre looking at their own stock behind me, suspended here. Thats because Great Wall Motors said in a filing they were halting shares pending news related to a news article th that cant be anything other than the reported interest in jeep reporters were told yesterday that they were interested in jeep and perhaps acquiring all of fca as well were awaiting additional details. We got a pop in great wall motor shares before the stock was halted many analysts have said, y this deal makes sense Great Wall Motors is the largest suv producer in china. That market is only growing from here and they want a big global brand like jeep. We know that Fiat Chryslers ceo has been shopping around for a merger partner this deal has advantages when you talk about another brand that can reduce costs and the big r d burden that the innovation and electrification carries. I had a chance to speak to an analyst earlier on, bill russo from galfong advisory company. He was a former chrysler executive in asia. He introduced the great wall chairman to chrysler i asked him about great walls interest in jeep and whether or not Sergio Marchionne would be willing to spin off jeep in a sale given that its considered the crown jewel of the company the question is what is left in the crown when you remove that jewel i dont know what else in the fiat obviously ram pickup trucks are probably valuable within that group. But jeep is certainly the most valuable, the most International Brand of fca currently one that has the most relevancy in china so as bill russo points out, the big question is what is left of fca once you remove jeep if, in fact, that is the only part of the company that great wall motor is interested in we dont know that yet. Thats the assumption. When you talk about the market cap of fca, that stands at 21 billion. Great wall motors market cap is 16 billion. Other analysts have raised questions over whether or not this carmaker can get the financing together to put this deal through as we know, it can make strategic sense, but the price has to be right. Nancy, weve heard the strategic opportunity for great wall motor, the cost opportunity for Fiat Chrysler what about the Political Risk for a deal like this it does come at a politically heated moment, at a time when china has been looking to crack down on overseas investments theres concerns for leverage as well for Companies Making money overseas bill russo seemed to think china would welcome this deal. When you talk about a brand such as jeep, they want to hold names like this. When you talk about the car demand in the country this could be consideredtegic investment as opposed to other investments that get a bad name for bragging rights, like football clubs overseas. He says this deal could be seen as strategic, but when it comes to the u. S. Side of things it could be different u. S. President trump made the auto sector a big part of his push when it comes to manufacturing jobs in the u. S. Even if it gets the regulatory okay from the United States, we would likely be talking about strict conditions on maintaining jobs in the u. S. Thats important because when you talk about the legacy costs that Companies LikeFiat Chrysler in the u. S. Hold with the Union Workers working in the United States, that is a serious cost that a chinese automaker wouldnt face at home. Relatively speaking their history is not as long they dont have the same employer cost burden that will feature into the overall price that is at stake in any potential bid nancy, thank you very much. Lets stick with cars, ford signed a memorandum of understanding to drp dwopevelopw electric vehicle with zotve. It could grow to million vehicles a year by 2025. Ecb president mario draghi set to delivery speech tomorrow in germany. I investors are awves investorso how soon the Investment Bank could begin the draw down program. On friday, the top central bankers descend on jackson hole for the annual Economic Policy symposium. The dollar is making gains ahead of Janet Yellens speech that seems like a good moment to bring in valentin m ashlgsar maf i im interested in this event on friday how important is what janet yellen says versus mario draghi . Our expectation is the yellen speech is more important for the market so jackson hole as a whole will repeat what was said at sintra earlier in the year that policy normal saig is underway. The banks and the fed will continue to withdraw stimulus from here. Given that the markets long risk, short dollar, long euro, we think the dollar would meernl as o could emerge as very important the dollar may be the one to benefit the most, rather than the euro when it comes to draghis speech, there will already indications that he is less likely to discuss the nearterm policy outlook what could be a risk for the market and consistent with the ecb minutes. Last week the bundesbank monthly report would be any indication by the president or any indication of discomfort about the latest rapid euro gains, and the impact on the inflation outlook in the eurozone. Thats a risk, not our central case but given that the market has built sizable loans in the market already, you think cautiousness would prevail so what about euro sterling, it hit an eightyear high against the sterling what is driving that. Market is comfortable buying the euro against the pound its all about brexit. The eu is seen firmly in charge of negotiations. If anything, on the pound side, the latest weakness in the data, weve seen it as the beginning of a more protracted period of economic underperformance at the end of day its all boiled down to valuation according to various metrics we utilize various measures to gauge the fair value of the pound, the pound is starting to look cheap against the dollar it is already cheap. Against the euro we concluded based on that analysis, even if the worst risks in terms of brexit, hard brexit, cliff enl brexdge brexid materialize, the highest it could go is 95 i think some cautiousness may be warranted in chasing the latest rally to the upside. Another trade im interested in is u. S. Dollar versus Canadian Dollar. We had that first round of nafta renegotiation talks and over the course of the weekend in washington where do you sthee trade going f see that trade going this is what explains largely the resilience of the Canadian Dollar, but the pattern is also similar to the one ive just highlighted, going to jackson hole the markets are long. If jackson hole were to reintrarei reiterate the sintra message, that financial easing is so easy, that they may tighten so this may lead the way to underperforming against th dollar more longterm, our outlook is balanced for the Canadian Dollar the outlook will depend on bank of canadas determination to continue with the removal of their Monetary Policy accommodation. Youre expecting no price hike in the u. S. Until december . Thats our view we expect that the Balance Sheet reduction will start in september, followed by a rate hike the thing about that, the Market Expectations are so far away from the dot plot that the fed sticks to, i think there is a look for dollar outperformance as the markets price that in valentin, thank you very much coming up, out of this world. Millions of americans from coast to coast watch the big celestial event. Highlights next. Welcome to street signs. Im willem marx. Theed are your headlines striking gold. Bhp and antofagasta shares jump to the top of the stoxx 600 as both miners report a surge in quarterly profits. Shares in Fiat Chrysler as shares in the italianamerican automaker accelerate after chinas great wall motor confirms its interest in the group as it looks to drive investment into the u. S. Suv market u. S. President trump announces a reverse of strategy in afghanistan, warning against creating a vacuum for terrorists, but declining to give details on troop levels lets start off by taking a quick look at European Markets we can see the ftse 100 is up more than 0. 2 the xetra dax up 0. 2 the cac up in italy the ftse mib up 0. 15 shares in tesco driving that uk number lets look at the sterling number its weakening against the dollar now the dollar also up stronger against the euro also stronger against the yen. Also stronger against the swiss franc. Lets look at the u. S. Futures ahead of the market open over in the states s p 500 implied open almost up 5 dow jones d. 5 points i should say. Dow jones up 60 points the nasdaq up 20 points. Lets talk now about some British Company numbers that weve seen over the course of the morning. Shares in tesco pushing higher after figures from cantor showed the Supermarket Chain notched up a 3 rise in sales the last quarter. Different for sainsburys which lost market share. Aldi and lidl continue to make inroads into the market with both recording double digit sales growth over the course of the period. Persimmon posted a 30 increase in pretax profit in the first half of the year the firm says uncertainty around brexit will weigh on new land investments, however the company said the Housing Market is confident. Conditions were stronger than expected following the referendum it saw an 8 rise in volumes in the period all this week were talking about alternative investments. We have already considered diamonds, whiskey, modern art. Whiskey being my favorite. How about Residential Property in Central London . Adam challas has something to say about that its essentially an asset class in the capital city. For many people thats how it is treated clearly it has different drivers from the mainstream Housing Market in the main youre dealing with people, purchasers that have more wealth than the asset is worth. Interesting as well, there was a time three years ago where we saw annual increase in that highend price maybe 20 , i think it was. Now if we look at the 12year lag indicator, its 1 . Why is that so volatile . Is that the kind of thing people should be aware of. Youre right. The peak was 24 yearonyear growth in 2010 weve seen some deceleration and certainly some negative movements over the more recent past as a result of a range of factors. I think the important point here is that its, of course, the most International Market in the uk as a result, its affected by a whole range of factors that are beyond domestic Economic Performance or domestic demands for housing. For many people around the world they look at it sometimes as a safe haven, as is often referred to but also has longterm outperformance, Something Like 7 , 8 over the last three decades, that attracts many when they look to capital we heard from persimmon, they said brexit has not been as bad as they thought in terms of the numbers. Clearly theyre not building highend homes what are the other factors besides brexit that are potentially causing the slowdown in highend sure. There is a range predating brexit, we saw two changes to stamps, one that impacted investors stamp cuduty is a transactio levee on properties. Yes prior to that, we saw a way that stamp duty worked in terms of rebasing, so we lost the slab tax. So Properties Worth a Million Pounds and more became more expensive to buy that was important, of course, in terms of changing some of the buy behaviors. But in addition to that, of course, we saw off the back of that strong growth coming out of the downturn, some deceleration related to a range of International Issues as well, whether its geopolitical, thinking about petro dollars, their impact on prime london as well as the capital outflows from areas, in plarticular asia as a result of desell rag celer that region. One quick question, tdo you think brexit will have an eff t effect we think it will have an effect on an ongoing basis certainly the first half of this year in commercial real estate, we have seen a better than expected performance if that continues, that should reaffirm londons position in the globe adam, thank you very much for your time. Lets talk about cryptocurrencies ethereum, it is near a twomonth high and is up 4,000 over the course of this year. This as bitcoin weighed on investors minds. Those tracking bitcoin have expressed concern over the proposed split to take place in november this after the split in bitcoin cash earlier this month. Investor are awaiting a Network Upgrade from ethereum. Fujitsu is looking to sell off its mobile phone business becoming the latest player to exit the field were joined by makiko utsuda. Good morning yes fujitsu used to be a major player in the mobile phone business, but it currently stands fifth in the japanese market, and it was finding it difficult to keep up with rivals in japan and overseas. Fujitsus mobile phone operations have drawn interests in several investment funds, as well as lenovo and foxconn first round bidding could start as soon as september the unit expected to fetch hundreds of millions of dollars. Fujitsu spun off its mobile phone operations into a separate company in february of last year saying it would look for a partner for the noncore operations the smartphone sales in the year ending next march will clock in at 3. 1 Million Units, less than half the peak of roughly 8 Million Units in fiscal 2011 if the deal goes through, f fujitsu would cease manufacturing mobile phones but keep the brand alive apple iphones have more than a 40 share of the market. If fujitsu leaves the market, only three japanesemakers will be left in the market, sony, sharp and kyocera. Thats all from the nikkei, back to you thank you very much makiko utsuda reporting there from tokyo. Forgive the puns here, but the sun has set, so to speak, on the Great American eclipse 95 of the u. S. Experienced at least a partial view of the phenomen phenomenon the first total Solar Eclipse in a century to be visible from coast to coast jane wells reports from a small oregon town one of the top viewing spots. Reporter they came, they saw, they wondered. This is so awesome. So cool. Reporter the Great American eclipse for a few hours united a fragmented country in awe. Some had been planning to be here for years. Its a once in a lifetime opportunity. Reporter a once in a lifetime opportunity which towns in the path of the total eclipse hoped would put revenues over the moon including the tiny town of madras, oregon. This is huge just for everybody thats here. Reporter corey miller brought in hot air balloon operators from around the country to make extra bucks. Our portion, alone, we will end up bringing in close to 75,000. This is the one we have the special on, the train wreck. Reporter Marijuana Stores cashed in on out of towners discovering state legalized pot. I say wednesday was one of our highest grossing days in history and then as of about 2 00 this afternoon, weve doubled that reporter she spent over 5,000 on portapotties, charging up to 150 a spot on her dads farm for campers too much ive had to work through that however, i think thats one of the beautiful things about america is that you can do things like this reporter madras population of 6,200 grew more than tenfold as tourists came from all over the world. How much money have you spent to be here . I dont really know i dont really want to know, to be fair. Reporter but nobody complained. Certain things in life, it doesnt matter what you do, whatever money youve got, its all about experiences in life and friends you make on the way. So, thats one of the reasons why im here. Reporter and as soon as it ended, they all started heading home but america wont have to wait so long for another total eclipse of the sun the next one will travel from texas to maine in april 2024 now, you have to give another pun here during that eclipse the ceo of Goldman Sachs threw some shade at President TrumpLloyd Blankfein tweeted he wished the moon wasnt the only thing casting a shadow across the country. We got through one well get through the other. A new way forward in afghanistan. Well bring you the details of his announcement on afghanistan after this break welcome back to street signs. Spanish police so the and killed the man they say drove the van that killed 13 people last week. Police tracked him to a rural area outside the city and shot him after he raised what appeared to ab explosive sgle. T in finland two suspects are being held with terrorist intent the main suspect is a moroccan international. Divers have begun searching the flooded compartments of the uss john s. Mccain for ten sailors still missing. There was no indication of intent in the collision. They say investigators into the cause of the crash will examine every possibility. In a blow to Warren Buffetts burke slir hathaway, Sempra Energy announced it will buy oncor. Paul singers Elliott Management sought to derail buffetts bid the manager of the worlds Biggest Hedge Fund says he is cutting his risk comparing the current u. S. Climate to that of the Great Depression ray dalio wrote that the country was as economically and socially divided as it had been in 1937. And he said he is not optimistic about the outcome writing conflicts have now intensified to the point that fighting to the death is probably more likely than reconciliation theres zero chance the u. S. Will fail to raise the federal debt ceiling, thats according to Mitch Mcconnell speaking in kentucky with steve mnuchin, the pair sought to play down fears of a u. S. Default mnuchin said it is critical to get the issue off the table. As it relates to the debt limit this is not about spending money this is about paying for what we have spent we cannot put the credit of the United States on the line. We are the reserve currency of the world. We are the major economy of the world. And i look forward to working with congress to have this done promptly President Trump has promised a new way forward in afghanistan as he laid out a revised strategy for the conflict will he touted more troops but did not give specific details about numbers and timing blayne alexander has more from washington, d. C. Reporter a new path forward in the nations longest war. The American People are weary of war without victory. Reporter President Trump promising that victory in afghanistan will have a more clear definition we are not nation building again. We are killing terrorists. Reporter the president refusing to disclose a strategy. I will not say when we are going to attack. But attack we will promising to crack down on afghanistans neighbor in the fight against terror we have been paying pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting. But that will have to change on afghanistan, President Trump warning americas patience could run out. Our commitment is not unlimited. Our support is not a blank check. President trump now owning a war he once feeriercely opposed, blaming his predecessors for handing him a mess im a problem solver, in the end we will win. Reporter a war spanning nearly 16 years, now playing out under its third commander in chief. Tonight President Trump began his speech by addressing race once again in the wake of that deadly violence in charlottesville saying that when soldiers return home from fighting overseas, they deserve to return to a country thats not divided. Blayne alexander, nbc news, washington the nato secretarygeneral has welcomed President Trumps decision to send more troops to afghanistan. In a statement he said the military alliance remained committed to the country and would work to destroy sanctuaries for extremist groups in the region. The after again presideghan pres grateful by President Trump helping to fight the taliban lets talk about afghanistan the uk has an Important Role here always has done since 2001 since that initial invasion. The role of pack ston, President Trump brought that up. The u. S. Has been funding them for a long time. Does the uk have an Important Role to play both with the relationship to pakistan and also the relationship to the u. S. When it comes to making decisions, not necessarily about troop numbers but strategy can the uk influence the u. S. Administration about this. I think it can. When dave cameron was prime minister, he made a difference in trying to get pakistanis and afghan poll tings iticians comin together, trying to do triangulation and the political at mros fear for reconciliation in the region. I think the brits have been able to help with that. We were there after 9 11 we had senior roles in isaf, in the commanding function. There we had important generals in the uk army who have been there with the u. S. Counter parts. The British Military presence is down to a few hundred. Its not large theres ban m theres been a modest interest lately on the critical point of trying to bring the different players including the taliban into a political process in afghanistan, that ought to be something which the brits can help with. Diplomacy is often about per per sem sh perception given President Trumps relationship with nato, do you think President Trump can bring his nato allies on board with the new afghanistan strategy easily the president was reluctant to go down this path he kept saying this is terrible. Get out. One of the results of the departure of steve bannon, the way the grownups and the senior generals in the administration have begun to have an impact on the president s thinking is this decision its going to be very difficult for this to be a win as the president says there were no easy options not doing something would be making things worse and increase the insecurity, the risk to america from terrorist organizations running around afghanistan. Theres a certain logic to it, but its a decision he has gone into reluctantly yes, he will want nato partners to be there. To be honest, the numbers people are putting n even the united kingdom, a steadfast ally in this venture, are modest the United States is down from 100,000 to 8,000 were told the president s decision means another 4,000 though he has not specifically said that himself. Thats what the jeenls ne jeen d and want that got the president over the line and got the jbls over the lin gem generals over the line if the United States would like allies to do more to pitch in, i dont think we should hold our breath for a large additional commitment from nato members you were britains top representative in the u. S. , i believe until january of last year you saw the beginning of the trump campaign, im sure you followed the politics there closely. I wonder what the British Public and british leaders be thinking when they see whats been going on in washington the last six months since Trump Took Office theres been concern here people in britain understand ie been reading aghast at times some things said and done. When you have the editor of the new yorker writing the United States of america elected an inept, immoral, incompetent person as president , this is slightly ajarring. So i think people in britain have been watching with just the same concern that a lot of people in america have does this mean now as a result of a number of changes in the white house that you have got some of the more radical people who were tugging the president in a populist direction, the direction will change . We dont know. But this looks like a pretty president ial statement taking a position on one of the most important Foreign Policy issues for the United States so perhaps perception will change i think people in britain have been pretty alarmed by a lot of what weve seen from the trump aisl administrations behavior. You can speak more openly than in the past, youve written about british leaders and their approach to brexit, not being particularly grown up. Have i seen any change we heard policy papers coming out this week. Weve seen positions being put forward. Do you think there is a change in the tide and the approach im one of those who thinks a lot of time was wasted after the result of the referendum i think its good now that the british ministers are putting out policy papers. The reactions from europeans are more wait and see. The problem is that the europeans are determined to have sufficient progress on their early priorities which is the size of the divorce bill, the irish border, and the issue of the status of the citizens in britain before they move on to the trade issues which are big priorities for the British Government im pleased to see a degree of engagement, im glad we can get on with proper negotiation this is existential for the country. We have to make a success of it. Sir peter westcott, thank you very much. Lets look at the u. S. Futures before we go currently the s p 500 up 5 points dow jones up 60 points coming up, wex in the u. S. Thanks for joining us on street signs. Im willem marx. I founded lendingtree 20 years ago, and ive never seen a better time to refinance your home, than this summer. Why . Because right now were seeing our average customer save 20,000. But with the fed already talking about raising rates, this window will not last for long. Lendingtree is the only place to compare up to 5 real refinance offers against your current mortgage for free. Are you sure you have the best rate . Take 3 minutes and find out right now. Because at lendingtree, when banks compete, you win. Thats why at comcast were continuing to make4 7. Our services more reliable than ever. Like technology that can update itself. An advanced fibernetwork infrustructure. New, more Reliable Equipment for your home. And a new culture built around customer service. It all adds up to our most Reliable Network ever. One that keeps you connected to what matters most. President trump addressing the nation and pledging to defeat terrorism in afghanistan. His plan straight ahead. Markets now, green arrows around the world and u. S. Equity futures pointing to a positive start on wall street. And gone shopping. Macys hires an executive from ebay as part of a management shakeup. Its tuesday, august 22, 2017. Worldwide exchange begins right now. Good morning. Very warm welcome to Worldwide Exchange on cnbc. Im wilfred frost. Im Courtney Reagan in for sara