Transcripts For CNBC Worldwide Exchange 20140107

On samsung are under pressure. And in an exclusive interview, saudi Family Member prince criticizes the u. S. In its dealings with syria. The president is engaged in so many internal issues in america. But i think on syria, definitely. He made mistake. Youre watching worldwide exchange, bringing you Business News from around the globe. We kick off the program with the latest labor market statistics out of germany. Germany sees trouble with the ilo. The employment number has risen in november. The number in work, 41,871. That is november 2013. The change versus the previous month, up 26,000. Unadjusted fully 2,229. Thats the latest bit of data. Just helps the euro firm up against the dollar on the session. If youve got any sort of comments, email us, worldwide cnbc. Com. The u. S. Has had some significant issues with doing the right thing in syria, at least in an exclusive interview with the saudi arabia former head of intelligence. Thats coming up at 10 30 cet. A third of greeks still fear they may lose their homes after the countrys bank successfully negotiated an extension on the foreclosure ban. Well be in athens at 10 45 to get the latest. The 2014 trading year starts, but in the second hour, were going to talk to a guest who says more likely the only way is up for this year. Is a global role reversal under way when it comes to Business Optimism . Optimism in brazil is at an alltime low while g7 countries are feeling more positive. If thats not enough, were going to be at the International Ces show in vegas at 11 45 cet. Well be talking wearable tech, realtime apps and homes that can be controlled by your iphone. But first, an industrial dispute in france turns ugly. At a Goodyear Tire plant are being held captive in a room barricaded in by a tire over a row. Stephane is outside that plant and joins us now. A rather extraordinary turn of events, stephane. What is the history of this plant . And if the boss says, actually, we are going to close it, are they going to release him . Unions have announced they will not release the two bosses until they get positive answers to their requests. Basically, they want a package for the people about to lose their job. 1,250 jobs are at stake and unions are asking more than a 25,000 severance package pay for these people. This is exactly what was proposed by the management of the company two years ago when they wanted to implement a restructuring plan, but at the time it was on a voluntary basis. Last year, the management decided to shut down the factory that was in february. Unions tried to challenge the decision in less than one year they went to court no less than 20 times. And theyve lost all the cases. Then they have trying to negotiate because theres no other issue. They are trying to get the best possible package. But as you see, this example may not give the best image of france and might divert possibly investors away from the country for similar cases in the future. Next step, negotiations this morning, the unions will be there, of course. The management of the companies, but perhaps also a representative of the french state. But its not theyre not trying any more to find a potential buyer. They just want more money. This is what representatives of the trade unions told us this morning. Do the police have any role to play here, stephane . Is this illegal . No, its all very quiet. The main parking of this factory, a few meters away from here, there are still some tires burning. That was yesterday. So a few tires are still burning, but its all very quiet. There are no clashes, no riots here. This back to negotiations and the feeling here for unions is that theyve lost a huge report in italy last year, as i was saying. They were offered at least 85,000 euros for each employee willing to leave on a voluntary basis two years ago. Today, they are trying to get it back but perhaps its too late. Its at least the feeling that was given by the management of the company, ross. Yes. Is it not illegal to lock someone in their office and not allow them to leave . Well, its illegal, but we had in the past a few examples of this in france and since then, the Large Companies operating in france have trained their managers how to react, mostly very quietly in such a situation. And there is no clash according to unions. The two managers are very quiet. Theyre within the building. They cant go out of the room, obviously, but its all very, very quiet. Now, things might become a bit more difficult after the negotiations. If it fails, because unions said they would not release the two managers until they will get a positive response. Its unlikely that they will get exactly what they want. At least 80,000 euros for each employee from the first round of negotiations. So the situation might become a bit more tense after the first round of negotiations which is due now in less than one hour. Okay. Well, its an extraordinary turn of events, stephane. Well come back to you for it later with the latest. Now, a galactic miss from samsung, it will fall 18 in the Fourth Quarter way below expectations. A bonus payout to employees is one reason. But smartphone sales are likely to be under fierce competition from new apple products. Samsung will release more details with full earnings on january 24th. The shares have largely come through unscathed in trade today. Ch chery kang has more for us. Its been reflected so much in recent sessions, ross, now falling 10 over the past weeks or so to actually a fourmonth low last week. Remember that big tumble that we saw for the first trading session, for the first two trading sessions of this new year. Yes, the guidance coming in well below while market expectations. And meeting the street expectations by a mile seems to come from this huge bonus payout, actually, estimated around 800 billion korean won, this past quarter alone. That is a huge issue. But even apart from that, we all knew this was coming, sluggish smartphone sales. Apple is eating up market share, especially in the china market. There are those smaller chinese smartphonemakers out there. Smartphones are being commoditized. Samsung does have cheaper phones, but they actually hurt its margins, as well. Thats the core story. Quite a vicious cycle for Samsung Electronics. Other than that, there is a currency factor, of course, the stronger won hurting many south korean exporters here and samsung, of course, does earn 85 of its sales from overseas. So a huge bonus or not, the question is how the market is going to find new profit drivers out of samsung down this road. Ive been talking to insiders about this. They understand this need. They talk about their its net worth business. Auto application component business. So a lot of these are not open to the public or at a stage not showing numbers just yet. Ross, it looks like samsung really needs to offer the market something that would move the needle down the road up a point. Now back to you. Chery, thanks for that. Thats the latest from chery in south korea. Lets get more from lui in singapore. Good to see you, lui tech. What are your thoughts on why samsung at the moment is underperforming and what can they pull out to improve things . That doesnt have tangible issues. So the mark is stagnant. Samsung is a victim of success with its galaxy. Can they chery talked about they need new profit drivers. Where are those profit drivers going to come from . Currently in the shortterm, we do not see any new innovation. Looking forward to flexible display, but the reality is were probably looking down the road for the technology. In the shortterm, this is a and there is trying to rush out. We have they will be positive, think its safe. Its probably another extension of the s4. But then in 2014, the surplus market will grow to 1 million units. So theres still room for growth on that. Weve got the ces show in vegas and mobile up a little later, as well, in march. Look, going into Wearable Technology, i think were going to see a lot more development in this space. There are two main issues that Wearable Technology has to resolve, meaning User Experience has to be useful, it has to be habit forming, meaning that a consumer must be able to feel comfortable, much like smartphone. If you dont have a smartphone, you feel that something is missing. So they have to resolve this issue before it can take off. Thank you so much indeed for joining us. Game on for nintendo, microsoft and sony. The 14yearold ban on the sale of foreign gaming consoles in china is being temporarily lifted. The Chinese Government said Foreign Investors will be able to manufacture game consoles and sell them after the product has been inspected. Julie woods joins us now, again, from singapore with more. Julia, how much of a boost is this going to be . And how in practice are the console manufacturers going to get their products into the mainland . This ban was put in place to address concerns about the Online Gaming addictions. Pc gaming and Online Gaming in china are huge. According to a major industry body, the total number of video game users in china is 490 million. Thats more than a third of the population there. Video game revenues, meantime, were up 38 in 20 11 hitting a 14 billion mark. Interestingly, though, game consoles accounted for a minuscule 15 million of that total. Now, while these numbers make it sound as though theres plenty of room for growth, analysts are skeptical about what this will mean for the industry. There are two main issues. First, anyone who really wants a console can bring it in through the taiwan gaming market. Secondly and probably more importantly, even if sales did take off, sony and microsoft dont actually make much money or any money on the sale of video game consoles. The money is more made on the sale of the game themselves. This hits a wall when we get to china where games are pirated because of the absence of anticopyright legislation. So while there might be a shortterm pop in the share prices of some of these companies, we dont expect to see too much of this news senting profits soaring. Back to you. Yeah. They would have to Start Marketing and getting their Sales Distribution sensors going. Would they actually have to make the games in singapore, sort of repackage them . Not in singapore, in shanghai. Look, as i understand it, there are, of course, some issues with legislation here as far as how much gore you can include in these video games. So that would be another thing that they would have to contend with in the market. But as i was talking about with the analysts, a lot of these games are actually pirated. So theyre already available on the various different systems, the android systems and people are playing these within the pc gaming cafes, ross. Julia, good to see you. Thank you so much for that. Michael bay knows a thing or two about bombing. He took to the stage monday at the Consumer Electronics show to promote samsungs new giant curve television. But when his teleprompter cut off, he tried to wing it and walked off in a bit of a hough. He explained his meltdown saying, wow, i just embarrassed myself at ces. I guess live shows arent my thing. So were asking, what is your favorite speech thats gone bad . Public meltdown or blunder on stage . Email us, or tweet us. And michael, come out and hang out here. Youll learn about prompter failures and youll get comfortable with it so quickly. Lets bring you up to speed with where we stand. Global equities are an hour into the trading day in europe. Now advancers and decliners on the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 even stevens between red and green. So the ftse yesterday did absolutely nothing and it has done nothing for the previous week, either. So today, were about an hour into the trade, we are up 16 points, a substantial move compared to what has been happening. The ftse mib up, as well. Mollermaersk, up 4. 24 . The group sold nearly 90 in its Department Store chain. And basf on the rise. Analysts have raise dollars recommendation on the stock to a buy from neutral, citing expectations for future earnings growth. Keep your eyes on where we stand on treasury yields. Weve come lower today, 2. 95 is the yield there. Gilt yields below 3 , as well. Well talk about the value there versus gilt and treasuries in a few moments. On currency markets, dollar yen yesterday got down to below 104. Were just above it again this morning. 104. 35. Euro dollar, 1. 3624. And sterling at the moment is just below 1. 64, as well. That is where we stand in european trade. Lets recap that asian session. Sixuan. Yeah. For the first time, overall, its a mixed day of trade in asia. The nikkei 225 lost a ground as investors grip appetite. China markets tread water ahead of their first ipo consumption tomorrow. There are concerns that a few shares may further dampen sentiment. Markets are still trying to digest the state councils new guideline to tighten oversight of the Banking System. Miners lost traction in south koreas kospi ended higher by 0. 3 despite Samsung Electronics gloomy forecast. And now for an individual mover, japans retailing, the upgrader of the clothing change ended lower by 1 today. December sales rose near 1. 1 , but fell short of market expectations. Thats a look at asian markets. Back to you, ross. Thank you for that. Joining us with more now is michael beganon. Happy new year. Nice to see you. Treasury yields, just come back with 2. 95 . Whats your outlook . I think the prospects in the next couple of months are probably for steady yields, which is potentially a bit of a surprise to some people. Well explain it in the following way. The fed have delivered tapering and we expect more tapering on january 29th. The data in terms of the u. S. Employment report should confirm the broader trend for the u. S. Economy. But i think the key thing yellen will do is to break the linkage between tapering and tightening. If you look at the market at the moment, i think shell want to play down sort of those concerns of, you know, tightening coming that soon. And i think that will changing the emphasis on lowering unemployment targets or i think its going to be a multiple of things. Well probably see them communicating that theyre going to take some time raising Interest Rates and perhaps what they might do with asset sales on a longer basis. I think this communication will be critical and i think yellen realizes that. She said that, but she hasnt delivered on it and i think that will be the key theme for the First Quarter. That seems fairly comfortable. I had a guest yesterday who talked about we might get to untapering later during the year. What do you think are the chances of that, the data turns bad and the fed feels like it has to pause . I think you would have to have it generally bad. And the big difference for 2014 versus 2013 is more fiscal tightening in the u. S. So the core prospects are that the u. S. Will do better in 2014 than 2013. Okay. Michael, well come back to you in just a second. Angela merkel, meanwhile, may have suffered a fall. Were going to view germanys latest Employment Data after the break and get michaels view on how he sees gilts versus the likes of treasuries. Across the country has brought me to the lovely city of boston. Cheers. And seeing as its such a historic city, im sure theyll appreciate that geicos been saving people money for over 75 years. Oh. Dear, ive dropped my tea into the boston harbor. Huhh. I guess this partys over. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. German employment ticked up a little bit in the latest data. Annette ya can recap it for us out of frankfurt and give us her assessment of what it means for the economy. Annette. Well, the adjustment, i should say, seasonal adjustment Unemployment Rate remains steady in december at 6. 9 , but there are a number of unemployment declined unexpectedly by 15k to 2. 965 million people. So all in all, the numbers are still very strong. Looking at the Labor Participation rate for last year in total, there are record highs. One can argue that at 3 million euro, we have reach the level of natural unemployment here in germany. So the remaining almost 3 million unemployment are more or less not employable. That is one way of reading it. So a day before jack lew will meet the finance minister in berlin, and he as well has a message from the United States to germany. The u. S. Wants germany to boost domestic spending above all, as well Government Spending because Consumer Spend sg going not too bad, as well. Todays retail data is showing consumers are coming back to germany, as well. The Christmas Season was very good, but the state was cutting back on spending. Because one of the goals of that new government is to actually erase deficits, government deficits during the next four years. So well see more convincing work to hike spending in germany. Most likely that idea will not be liked. Thanks for that. Michael is still with us. The German Economy is doing pretty well in contrast to france. You have a view that bunds will still outperform. Do you think the ecb is going to take more action . Absolutely. I think the critical thing is not so much the data at the moment. Because if you look at the eurozone growth as a whole, youve got good spots like germany, youve got weak spots like france and italy. And taken as a whole, weve got a recovery. If its that kind of low, the market will start to get apprehensive again. The core is already at that level, isnt it . Yeah. But the ecb, inflation will be low. Its a question of how low its going to be. Well see refi rate cuts, probably see a 12month rto. The whole question for 2014 will be one of continuous ecb easing. So that is going to be the story that helps bunch where increasingly in treasuries and gilt, the question is going to be what is going to happen in 2015 . Particularly with the uk, the uk is likely to raise rates before the u. S. Which the market has inflation reports revised looking for spreads to go to 150. Very briefly, because what the ecb does, is that going to weaken euro dollar at all . Its very messy in the motorcycles couple of months. Michael, good to see you. In, were going to hear exclusively from the saudi prince to get his take on the middle east Peace Process as the kingdom strikes a more constellatory note. The headlines from around the gloesh globe, two goodyear executives are being held captive at a plant in france over the closure of the plant. The german res spending. Retail sales rise more than expected in november. U. S. Treasury secretary jack lew is due to touch down in europe, ready to test berlin to boost domestic demand. Samsung misses estimates by a mile. Big bonus employees and smartphone sales come under pressure. And the saudi royal Family Member criticizes the u. S. On its dealings with syria. The president is engaged in so many internal issues in america. But i think on syria, definitely, he made mistakes. Turkish finance minister has been speaking on the television. He says it may affect growth adversely this year. Lira will affect inflation. The lira declined. And theres an improvement in the current account deficit due to weakening domestic demand in the First Quarter, now expects 2014 growth of around 4 . That is the latest out on turkey. European equities today with trying to climb modestly higher, up around 0. 25 . The ftse was flat, absolutely flat yesterday, absolutely flat last week. It was up 0. 2 at the moment. Similar amounts for the xetra dax. Cac 40 up 0. 10 and the ftse mib up 0. 6 . Treasury yields come down 2. 95 . The yield on the tenyear gilt 2. 96. On the currency markets, in or below the recent ranges that weve hit, dollar yen, 104. 31. We were below 104 monday. Euro dollar, 1. 3517 monday. Just above that at the moment as 1. 36 and sterling just below 1. 64. Jeanclaude francois is joining us. Good to see you. What happened now . Have we got more uncertainty now about valuation of stocks . What do you do with equities . Well, regarding equity, i think 2014 will be less rosy than in 2013. Stocks are known as fair value not to be that expensive, either. I think the big story beyond that is that the global reallocation of assets from bonds to equities is not finished. In a way, you have to follow the trend. Trend is your friend in Financial Markets and the trend is by flows. In a way, probably will be some kind of feelings global stock market and you need to be more doing something between the u. S. And the globally stocks are going to be gainers of the incoming years. As far as fixed income was concerned, once the ecb stepped in months ago, we saw steady flows into peripheral debt in spain and italy. And now that weve got treasury yields back up near 3 , the yield advantages theyve had is disappearing. So are you going to still see sufficient appetite for spanish and italian debt . Well, what we have seen from the last few yield is still there. A lot more to come for a country like spain and italy, but even more so if you look at portugal or even greece. They are not finished yet and by far probably. Its not as much on the ecb as what is going on in the spanish markets. If you look at the economy of spain, clearly we are seeing a recovery in the making there. You see gdp growth, unemployment, more than 100 creation decrease of unemployment. I think of the u. S. In comparison, we expect for this friday, its going to we have from the december figure of the decrease of unemployment in spain. So clearly, something is happening there. So we have to see more convergence. So it means probably yield, core market yield, but on your very hand, the peripheral and spain clearly need to see the yield to go. One wonder wres we might get more divergent politics this year, when we get elections in may and if antiestablishment parties in europe do well. Is that something investors are confident of or will have to tighten . I think now the big risk of the Global Scenario is not any more in europe. We might see some antiestablishment parties rising up, especially in france or in italy there or here. The big issue is france at the end of the day was out of recession as soon as last year. So if you look at the figures, france will probably be 0. 2 . But germany last year was Something Like 2. 5 , 2. 6 . So a big difference there. France is doing not that bad, whatever it takes in terms of politics. Then if france is doing okay, do not forget that the you eurozone is a well integrated economy. Probably the rest of europe is going to follow at some point. We see that spain is doing more than that, is doing better than germany. So i think that trade will be the name of the game. Thanks for joining us from natixis. Credit suisse is stepping up efforts to tear back risky assets in Investment Banking while placing a greater emphasis on its private bank. It will be trading its business arm by more than expected. This coincide wes a previously announced plan to cut spending by the end of next year. U. S. Prosecutors are reportedly examining internal Credit Suisse documents that could show whether a committee that oversaw the quality of mortgage equality ignored red flags. Employees complain the committee let bad loans go through because they were more focused on generating higher volume than improving underwriting practices. In recent months, saudi arabia has criticized president obamas policy decisions in the middle east. I think america has had some significant issues with doing the right thing, for example, in syria. Syria, we see the war continuing. After the from the beginning, saudi arabia called for a diplomatic solution. The chemical weapons issues convinces me that if there was good will on everybodys part, the world can put an end to this tragic and bloody conflict in syria. But there was worldwide agreement to get rid of syrias weapons of chemical weapons. Why couldnt they get a worldwide agreement to stop the fighting . Well, do you think that the u. S. Just dropped the ball when it comes to syria . Dropping the ball, i dont think its a question of dropping the ball in as much as it is the president is engaged in so much internal issues in america. He inherited the economic breakdown practically in america, two wars, one in afghanistan and one in iraq. Other issues of gridlock with congress, no budget, you had that what do you call it . Obamacare. No, not just obamacare, but i mean when the government closes down. The government shutdown. The government shutdown. Who can believe any that washington would shutdown . Washington is the capital of the world. It should not be in a situation where one part of government and another part of government simply cant work with each other and lead to this paralyzing shutdown that happens. So all these things are on the president s plates. But i think on syria, definitely, he made mistakes. But do you think in retrospect that the idea of saudi arabia is not to take up the Security Councils rotating seat . Was that a good idea in retrospect . I am convinced of it personally. Because it made the point that under present circumstances, the Security Council is not doing its job. The people agreement went into place without saudi arabias input. Well, i think that was uncalled for, basically. And ive been calling personally, as an idea, that the p5 plus one should become the p5 plus two with the ecc countries included in the negotiations on the Nuclear Issue between iran and the p5 plus one. So far, it hasnt happened, but it doesnt mean that it shouldnt happen. Ann hadley with us on set, as well. Still criticizing u. S. Stocks, slightly more constellatory than last year. What happens now with how the middle east develops in the saudis view . Well, its interesting. Because we just saw over the weekend the u. S. Secretary of state john kerry was there, trying to garner support for his middle east peace initiative, he knows he needs saudi arabia behind the deal. But you have to remember in saudi arabia, for example, theyve been supporting for the last three years this idea of the opposition in syria, whether that be the Syrian Free Army or other forces within syria and trying to help get out bashar al assad. But the problem now that youre seeing, over the last three years, this place has become a breeding ground for terrorists. They do recognize as this goes forward, theyre basically opening the door for iran to have a much more constellatory relationship to the United States. You were there, as well. I just wonder, any comments or thoughts about as the u. S. Ge gets grows towards oil independence, are they worried about saudi arabia, their number one customer has less need to be involved with them or less need to be so closely alined . It was interesting. The conversation in riyadh was much more about Foreign Policy. But i asked the finance minister about that. He said theres always the idea that this wont be as overwhelming. Also, were banking that into our future estimates. So he didnt seem too worried when i spoke to the finance minister. Hadley, good stuff. As the ban on foreclosures in greece remain in place, almost a third of greeks fear losing their home. Well head to athens for the details, right after this. Now, film director michael bay knows a things or two about bombing. He directed some of the most epic bombing films like transformers. He took the stage monday to promote samsungs new giant curve television. But when its teleprompter cut out, bay panicked. What i try to do as the director, i try to the type is all off. Sorry. But ill just wing this. How do you think its going to impact how viewers experience your movies . Excuse me, im sorry. Im sorry. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, lets thank michael bay for joining us. Feel a bit sorry for the guy. So what is your favorite speech gone bad, public meltdown or blunder on stage . If you want to join the conversation on worldwide exchange, get in touch with us. Worldwide cnbc. Com, cnbcwex or direct to me rosswestgate. Maybe it was just a bad idea to get him in to talk about how the new samsung device would improve watching his films. But anyway, there you go. Japanese retailers started the year with plenty of good news. Lets hope your teleprompter is good, fushiko. Yeah, its good. Happy new year, ross. Japanese retailers are expected to enter a boost of sales through march before the sales tax hike in april thanks to bigger winter bonuses and higher share prices foold fueled by abenomics. Consumers expend more on expensive items such as jewelry and watches. One of the major japanese Department Store operator in Holdings Jumped 6. 6 on the year. Department store sales rose 6 . Sales of Home Appliances were strong and with taxes around 2,000, the company saw a 70 sales jump for items such as airconditioners and refrigerators. The upward trend is expected to drop about 3 after the april sales tax hike. But many retailers are domestic that the post hike downturn will be less severe than the increase. In the meantime, Japanese Convenience store operators reported march and november earnings today. Profit was reported up 1. 2 billion thanks to Strong Demand on high quality goods. Family marts experience rose to 346 million set ago record for the ninemonth period, as well. Beautifully done. No one would know you adlibbed the entire thing. Thank you. Have a good evening in tokyo. Now, whats on the agenda in asia tomorrow . North korean analysts will be looking for any information out of pyongyang. Well get data on australian Job Vacancies and malaysian trade. Elsewhere in greece, the ban on home foreclosures is going to stay in place for more than a year. The survey also found only 31 of those polled are able to make mortgage payments on time and 70 have overdue payments. Joining us on the line, dimitris bimpas. Good morning. Good morning, ross, and thank you very much for the invitation. Happy new year. Yes. Happy new year. Happy new year to you. I would like to stress some major things about the survey we conducted. And these related with the market launch of the ban. That the government wanted to introduce. We have to admit that the greek households and banks were performing relatively well before the crash and this is straightforward. Theres no indication of this. The private debt before crash was not so big as that of the eurozone. What has happened after the austerity package, the program in 2010, 2013 was a conversion of high public debt which was very high to Public Private debt. And this private debt consisted mainly of the tax area, Social Security contribution with regard to the professionals and the Banking Sector, so who had at twofold on the private on the private was a launch and in the state with taxes and so on. Therefore, the real estate bubble has been saving internal valuation. It was the opposite of what has happened in the u. S. Or in spain. Considering the for small enterprises, the real estate prices would not be influenced so much. Can i ask you a question . Yes, of course. The fact that it was the greek banks themselves who asked for an extension of this foreclosure Plan Suggested theyre still in deep trouble, doesnt it . Yes. There are implication that the banks have some issues that they cannot make loans. They recognize there is a loan in the households and enterprises. So they understand the real market cannot perform in its own high standards. So banks recognize the problem, indeed. This is true. Also government and troika should take some steps on this direction. Because apart from the real problem of liquidity drop, there is also problem of liking any kind of social protection in terms of but at some point, we have to get to grips to restructuring bad dead. How long do you think its going to take before were at that point . Im not sure about that. There are some points that say the Banking Sector has to be two or three years more, i think, in order to perform well. This, of course, depends on the real economy, as well. And investment proerts, on the bureaucracy and the government space and performance. Okay. On the issues of supporting business in order to dmitriis, were out of time. Its lovely to talk to you. Thank you so much indeed for joining us. Well take a short break. Still to come, the second hour of worldwide exchange. Well get the latest on the deep freeze in the states. Youre watching worldwide exchange. Im ross westgate. The headlines today, standoff. Good year frances refuse to talk to workers release, two managers being held hostage. A union on representative tells cnbc the capture will go on. Samsungs Fourth Quarter giant misses estimates by a mile thanks to a big bonus payout for employees. Just as smartphone sales also come under pressure. Wearable devices, big tv, theyre all the hot items of this years Consumer Electronics show, but its the high tech blunder by a big time hollywood director thats generating the most buzz. And the deep freeze has gripped much of midwest u. S. Is now moving east and south, forcing schools and businesses to close their doors bringing air travel to a near stand still. Announcer youre watching worldwide exchange, bringing you Business News from around the globe. A very good morning. If youve just joined us stateside, welcome to the start of your Global Trading day here on worldwide exchange. Down from 41 points, the s p off 4. 6 points. The First Time Since 1995 that weve had three Straight Days of losses at the beginning of the year. The dow at the moment is some, what, 55 points above fair value. The nasdaq at the moment is 8 points above fair value and the s p 500 is over 5. 5 points above fair value. The ftse cnbc global 300 has tried to tick higher this morning. The nikkei was down around 0. 6 . But european stocks will try to balance it out by edging higher. The ftse yesterday absolutely flat. It was flat last week. This morning, a little bit more movement for the uk, up about 0. 3 as is the xetra dax, the cac 40 is up, as well, 0. 3 . And 0. 735 higher for the ftse mib. On the bund markets, yields on tenyear trernry treasuries, 2. On the currency markets, we just bounced off some of the lows we saw yesterday. Eu euro dollar, was down to a onemonth low. Were currently back up to 1. 3626. Sterling just below the 1. 64 level, as well. A fairly contained steady day for global asset prices. Sixuan recapped what happened in asia a little earlier for us in singapore. Sixuan. Thank you, ross. Its a mixed day of trade in asia today as the nikkei lost ground for the second day of the weak u. S. Services data tamed investors risk appetite. The first batch of ipo resume trade tomorrow. There are concerns that flow of new shares could hurt market sentiment. Elsewhere, markets are trying to digest the state californias new attempt to overshadow the Banking System. Still the shanghai xotit and the index ended higher by just a tad. Elsewhere, australias asx 200 extended a twoday losing streak. South koreas kospi ended higher by a modest 0. 3 . Now for individual movers, japans retailing, the upgrade Union Clothing chain dropped 1 today in heavy trade after the december samestore sales fell short of market expectations. In south korea, Samsung Electronics expects its q4 operating profit to fall 18 from the previous quarter, so thats well below consensus, but not much reaction from samsung shares with some investors looking to bargain hunt. Thats an update of asian markets. Ross. Thanks for that. Have a good evening in singapore. Thats where we stand right now ahead of the u. S. Open. Joining us for the next hour, matthew beesly. Nice to see you. Happy new year to you. We had a fair wind for 2013. You didnt really have to decide anything, did you . Just put your money on the nose and off you went. Yeah. I think there are those that believe that 2013 was driven by Global Quantitative easing. Of course, the fears are that that tapers away in 2014. If you think markets are being tilted by qe, then theres a good chance which qe is more important than others . Obviously, u. S. Qe is larger than bank of japan qe. And if we look and assume some gradual tapering in the u. S. Throughout this year, if the bank of japan does what it says its going to do, that will leave Balance Sheets 13 larger at the end of 2014 compared to 2013. So still have very meaningful support for equity markets. What kind of support and what are your expectations . Well, i think the real risk is on the corporate earnings side. So there is a view that 2013 is driven by qe. The other much opinion is that its really about multiple expansion in markets rather than Profit Growth. Therefore, the markets to go higher this year, we need the Profit Growth to come through or more importantly to surprise people. This is where i think it gets a bit more nuanced. In the u. S. , you look at profit margins, record highs, and in japan, theyre still a good 200 base points below peaks. For us, as Global Investors, this is why europe and japan become very interesting, they spurt out ground for bottom up Company Specific investment ideas. Okay on. In japan in particular, you have to hedge out the yen presumably out of that. Yeah. And thats the real challenge as a Global Investors is if you are unhedged, theres a risk that a lot of your gains get wiped out by a yen which is fact that if they are successful in doing what they want to do in japan, the yen is going to weaken significantly and perhaps temper those returns that you might expect as an unhedged investors. So when youre looking at sort of bottom up, youre looking at europe, what sort of things are you looking at . The sectors did really well last year. I think its the best performing sector followed by telecom and media. Do you run the same winners or do you have to look at something difference . I think the Sector Allocation might be different. But whats important here is in europe and japan, we had five years of aggressive cost cutting by corporate management. We spent a lot of time talking to investors globally. Youve had 15 to 20 years of aggressive cost cutting. Theres a great chance this top line surprises, if the demand outlook is better, theres significant surprise perhaps on the bottom line. And its not just surprise to us as investors, but as a surprise to corporates. How much leverage they have in their business models. The interesting thing is, and i was wondering about this today, everybody should try it. Ive read about your major corporates have benefited from a number of things. Theyve done a huge amount of restructuring. But theyve had an exceptionally low cost of funds and very low increment in wages. And one must think the last two things, you know, weve seen the best of. Wages, you know, they cant take a greater share any more Company Profits over wages surely and borrowing costs have bottomed out. I think the wage point is a very important one been the one thats not written about that much. This is a year where wages might start to trickle up a little bit, which of course is good for the inflation side of the equation. Which, of course, offset some of the nay sayers about deflationary pressures. So this year is undoubtedly going to by different. But theres lots of Common Threads in 2013 that will run through 2014, too. Stay there. Well get more comments from you. Still to come, two bosses at a Goodyear Tire factory in northern france have essentially been taken hostage. Theyve been barricaded in the room as a row continues over plans to close that plant. Goodyear is saying they wont negotiate until a release has been made. Well have the latest when we come back. [ children yelling ] [ telephone rings ] [ shirley ] edward jones. This is shirley speaking. How may i help you . Oh hey, neill, how are you . How was the trip . [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors. [ shirley ] hes right here. Hold on one sec. [ male announcer ]. Youd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. Kevin, neill holleys on line one. Ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. Its how edward jones makes sense of investing. Its how edward jones makes sense of investing. Righyou did a great job. Ing 4 times it looks good ints. No wonder hes fueling up. Enjoy our free hot breakfast options and up to 4 times the hhonors points on your next stay. Feel the hamptonality. Lets recap the headlines today. Goodyears tire workers say theyll continue to hold two bosses hostage in northern france as an industrial dispute rolls on. A message for the old world to boost domestic demand and the atrocious weather in the United States continues. A deep freeze now moves in east and south. Well be getting out to stephane in a few moments time outside a Goodyear Tire factory in northern france where two bosses are being held captive over a row to close the plant. Stephane will have the latest in auto few moments. Meantime, Matthew Beesley is still with us from hinderson Global Investors. You were just talking earlier about how you think companies are going to perform and wages are going to get understand. We did have some surveys out, had the cfo survey from deloyts that there is a willingness for companies to spend more and to invest more. Did you think that we are closer to something that is more fulfilling . This is still a part of this debate here, since the earnings surprising people is we need a selffeeding cycle to get going. The reaction from this Market Recovery as this economic recovery develops, the lack of willingness for corporates to invest. And you can look at many capital goods cycles and see just how extended they are, the u. S. Truck cycle, typically trucks replaced after six or seven years. And so we do need this cap ex cycle to take root and that, then, feeds through the economy in a multiplier effects. And there is by now with a robust economy in place without some of the excuses that dogged 2013 with concerns over the eurozone Banking System with all these excuses now falling apart, we get the sense that corporates are willing to invest, even if it is more incrementally than perhaps investors would like. Stay there now. A galactic miss for Samsung Electronics. The korean giant says operating profits will fall 18 on the Fourth Quarter, way below analyst expectations. Theyve got a big one off bonus payout to employees. Analysts say smartphone sales likely took a hit in competition with new apple products. Samsung will release more details when they release their full earnings on january 4th. Samsung shares are largely unscathed in trades. They have seen some big losses already at the beginning of the year. Now, hollywood film director michael bay knows a thing of two about bombings. Over the top action films such as transformers and pearl harbor. But in his own bombing when he took the stage monday at the Consumer Electronics show in las vegas to promote samsungs new giant curved tv. When his teleprompter cut out, bay panicked. And what i try to do is i as the director, i try to the type is all off. Sorry. But ill just wing this. How do you think its going to impact how viewers experience your movies . Excuse me, im sorry. Im sorry. Okay on. Ladies and gentlemen, lets thank michael bay for joining us. Okay. I feel sorry for the guy. Bay tried to explain his meltdown on his blog saying, wow, i just embarrassed myself at ces. I guess live shows arent my thing. The teleprompter cut out and he completely lost his way. So we have been asking, in light of that, what is your favorite speeches gone bad, public meltdown or blunder on stage . Let us know. Email us, worldwide cnbc. Com, tweet cnbcwex or direct to me wme rosswestgate. Fortunately my teleprompter never goes down. Who cares if it does, anyway, because i have you to speak to. And youre not working off a teleprompter. What would your script say, then, for u. S. Equities . Yeah. I think markets will go higher this year. I think its going to be a little by more nuance. I think thats important because i think there are lots of on puts and takes. The bottom line, to me, and to us is bottom of investors are there are plenty of outlets where its better. You have already said that europe and ya pan would be a favorite focus. Whats wrong with the u. S. . Theyve just gone higher than everybody else. Exactly. We have the great luxury of being able to choose where we invest our clients in precious capital. And theres nothing wrong with it. I might say with the u. S. Stokt market. We had over half our portfolio in the u. S. Market. How we observe a u. S. Market where in aggregate margin res higher and valuations are higher than they are in europe and japan. So for us, when we try to find missed value companies, we tend to find most of our time and most of our clients capital is being deployed in u. S. Capital markets. What about em . Theres a consensus. And talking about europe and japan, the developed world is a place you want to be. Can em provide an upside surprise . In short, no. Our bet would be emerging markets are a tough place to be invested. We have very little exposure to emerging markets and have been for the last year. I think the credit seasoning cycle in emerging market that will come about because of the implications of whats happen with qe, need to raise Interest Rates to attract capital to fill investments in their current accounts, that will be bad for emerging market economies in the next year to two years. All right. Well see what happens. Good to see you, matthew. Thanks very much indeed for that. Talking about hostages, two bosses at a Goodyear Tire factory in northern france, believe it or not, are being held captive in a room in a row over plans to close the plant. Union representatives have told cnbc theyll not be released until an answer is given on its future. And goodyear says they wont negotiate anything until the managers are released. It seems like a standoff. Stephane pedrazzi is our man there. Hes just north of where this factory is. It seems rather extraordinary, this boss napping situation. Is this not illegal . Are the police not going to get involved . Theres no police at the moment because the french government is trying to find a peaceful solution. Actually, the local representative of the government here in this region in the north of france wanted to start some negotiations. But as you say, the management of goodyear france decided not to take part in this negotiations as long as the two managers are being taken hostage by the angry workers of this factory. So for the time being, we wont have any further developments for now, ross. Now, regarding this bus napping situation, its the first major one in france since 2009. But you probably remember that at the beginning of the financial crisis, we had a similar case in france at sony, at 3m, but probably because unions realize that it was not producing the results that they were expecting. The fashion, if we can say it that way, sdapd disappears so we didnt have so much cases of bus napping. But for the time being, this stand by situation, no negotiations as we were expecting. A few minutes ago, a representative of the main union explained to reporters that they would not release the two managers as long as they would not have a positive answer to their request. But as the management of goodyear refuses to negotiate, we wont see any Major Development for the time being, rots. Extraordinary situation. Well see what happens. Thanks for giving us the update. Still to come on the program, john kerry is playing his role in the middle east Peace Process. This according to saudi arabias former head of intelligence outside of the state general get more from hadleys exclusive interview. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open. Open to innovation. Open to ambition. Open to bold ideas. Thats why new york has a new plan dozens of tax free zones all across the state. Move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years. Were new york. If theres something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses. Were open to it. Start a taxfree business at startupny. Com. Amazon started in a garage. Hewlett packard, and disney both started in garages. Mattel started in a garage. The ramones started in a garage. My point . You never know what kind of greatness can come out of an american garage. Introducing the 2014 motor trend car of the year. The all new cadillac cts. Aint garages great . So you can see like right here i can just. You know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim. You know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. Oh, thats so cool. Well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. No dude, youre on the jumbotron whoa. Ah. Yeah, pretty much walked into that one. Geico anywhere anytime. Just a tap away on the geico app. Now, in recent months, an important u. S. Ally has outwardly criticized president obamas Foreign Policy in the middle east. Hadley sat down with prince turki to talk about a solution. Its the more central issue in the region. And thats why the kingdom, from the time of its foundation, first of all, took interest in trying to prevent a conflict. The king, who has been in the forefront of peace making in the area and i hope that mr. Kerrys activities are bringing the palestinians and the israelis now to an agreement will be successful. You mentioned the u. S. Secretary of state john kerry. And he has made the middle east Peace Process a focus of the agenda. A brave man. Into the region many, many times in the last few months of his tenure. Do you feel that this is something that is moving in the right direction . Well, i hope so. Im not prove very to the details of this. Im a retired government servant. And so i dont know. Thats up to the diplomates and the government officials to make a judgment on. But what i hear in the press is he is pressing and pressing both sides. So both sides will have to come along. Because ive always maintained that in order for this issue to move along, that there has to be the big bear behind both parties backs pushing them. And this presence of a big bear behind someone Like Netanyahu on one side and Mahmoud Abbas on the other gives them a chance when they meet resistance in their own communities to whatever theyre asked to do by this big bear, they point to the big bear and say to these people who are resisting them, look, this big bear and if we dont do what he wants, hes going to be very angry. And are you ready to face an angry bear . So mr. Kerry, i think, now is skillfully playing this role. These talks have been extended now for more than 60 years. Everybody knows what the solution is. Its a quid pro quo territorial compromise along the lines of the 67 borders between israel and palestine and then, of course, the heights and these leb kneed niece territories which are still under israeli occupation. So i hope that mr. Kerry keeps pushing. All right. Hadley now joins us on set, as well. You spent your new year in riyadh, as well, and he did the interview about that time. How do they feel about security generally . Do they feel the region is going to be more secure . I think what youre seeing is coming out of riyadh is a need to gain some transaction. They need to gain back some ground they lost. We saw u. S. Policy move very, very quickly. Suddenly there was the part of the foreign agreement and it was taking place in aman quietly. And i think saudi arabia wants to get back in the game, so to speak. So youre seeing a more constellatory tone in riyadh this past weekend, meeting with king abdullah, meeting with the foreign minister. The talks are around what they can do to get behind the Peace Process and to find some middle east peace agreement. Also, what is the view there about growing independence on u. S. Soil . The u. S. Has been the Major Customer for saudi arabia and here they are producing greater shale oil and a share of gat gas, as well. Which means they reliance on saudi arabia reduces significantly. It is. The game is changing. And i think youve seen this over the last couple of years, a pivot to asia. You saw some fear in the gulf states. At this point, 85 of the energy is going to china or going to india. So i think youre seeing that as a major game changer. But at the same time, when i spoke to the finance minister, he said he had banked projections. Shale oil couldnt be as big as the u. S. Thought it was going to be. Not quite as big of a game changer. Hadley, thanks indeed for joining us. More to come from you. All right. Had some news out of gm in china to bring you. And they say that the auto sales are up 11. 4 versus 2012. The gm, 2012, china sales up 11. 4 versus 2012. Still to come, the amiding continuing market fears, well get more about the outlook for brics straight after this. [ male announcer ] start the engine. And shift through all eight speeds of a transmission connected to more standard horsepower than its german competitors. And that is the moment that driving the lexus gs will shift your perception. This is the pursuit of perfection. Theres nothing like being your own boss and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. Fedex one rate. Really makes my life easier. Maybe a promotion is in order. Good news. I got a new title. And a raise . Management couldnt make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. Simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. Righyou did a great job. Ing 4 times it looks good ints. No wonder hes fueling up. Enjoy our free hot breakfast options and up to 4 times the hhonors points on your next stay. Feel the hamptonality. This is worldwide exchange. Im ross westgate. Here are the headlines. Standoff, a goodyear firm says they refuse to talk until tire workers release two managers being held hostage. A Union Representative tells cnbc it will go on. Samsungs Fourth Quarter guidance misses estimates by a mile thanks to a big bonus payout for employees. Just as smartphone sales are under pressure. Wearable devices, big tvs, theyre all hot devices at this years Consumer Electronics show in vegas. But its a high tech mrunt blunder by a big hollywood director that is generating the most buzz today. And a deep freeze has gripped much of the u. S. Is now moving east and south forcing schools and business toes shut their doors bringing air travel to a near stand still. Announcer youre watching worldwide exchange, bringing you Business News from around the globe. Welcome to worldwide exchange. If youve just joined us stateside yesterday on equity markets is are down 411 points. Dont forget, of course, the First Time Since 2005 weve had the first three trading days of the year with losses. Futures at the moment are pointing up. The s p 500 currently 8 points above fair value. The nasdaq is some 13 points above fair value and the dow at the moment is around 80 points above fair value. European equities have moved higher, as well, during the session today. The ftse was absolutely flat yesterday. Flat in last weeks trade. 0. 5 higher for the ftse. The xetra dax and the cac 40 up around 0. 6 higher. Weve just had the latest print of inflation out in the last half hour. Came in weaker than expected, 0. 8 . There was consensus for it to be 0. 9 . The core was around 0. 7 of inflation. If inflation keeps dipping, there will be an expectation the ecb will have to do more in the course of the year to make sure it doesnt get too low. At the moment, 0. 8 is where we stand on the headline number. And on the currency markets, euro dollar, 1. 3628. Just bouncing off the onemonth low at 1. 3570 we hit yesterday. Dollar yen yesterday was down below 104. Just above it at the moment, not far away from the 105. 40 level which is the fiveyear high we hit on dollar yen last week. Thats where we stand right now with asset prices. What are investors to do as we get through this week . Weve got bank of england, ecb meetings and a jobs report. Here is a recap of some of the thoughts weve had. Cable for me, youve got the dollar there. I think for me, the kospi is much better. Starting with the euro sterling, and both is going to give you a little bit of a move back yesterday. But u. S. sterling for me, currently around 83. We could very much in the First Quarter touch 80 and another move in starting off, as well. The crux is whether the bank of england can maintain this very loss monetary stance in the context of a growing recovery is whether there are any inflation impressions. I think we would agree with you that they are pretty benign and therefore theyll stick to this and that raises the possibility of asset bubbles. But if we look late last year, the bank of england is already changing the terms of the funding for lending schemes to try and take some of the heat out of the Housing Market early on. And find other ways than just raising borrowing costs and Interest Rates to cam down the risk of asset price inflation. But its clearly something we need to keep an eye on. If there is a big pick up in asset prices, theyll have to change course in the monetary policy. The ecbs problem that theyve got is inflation is going to be low. Current inflation is how low its going to be. I think the ecb will ease by the spring, well see the refi rate cuts. Well probably see a 12month rto. The whole question in 2014 is one of continuous easing. So more, ltro, is three years once we get past the summer. That is going to be the story that has support funds and bunch from treasuries and guilds. Meanwhile, a global role reversal between the g7 and nations is underly under way when it comes to Business Optimism. This is the latest. 3,500 Senior Executives were quizzed from around the globe and found a 44 annual improvement in the optimism of those hailing from g7 economies. The jump driven by individual rises in japan, the u. S. And the uk in stark contrast to the bric nations. Joining us for more, ned. Thanks so much indeed for joining us. This time last year, you say Business Optimism in the g7 economies stood at net minus 16 compared to plus 39 in the bric economies. What is it now . Well, its much more positive in the g7 today. What weve seen is a vast increase because of strength in the uk, the u. S. , and japan. And specifically japan. Japan is at record high for its optimism. Really . Do they believe abenomics is going to work, do you think . They absolutely do. And weve seen a huge shift from a hugely negative view on the economy a year ago to for the First Time Since i can remember a positive view about where their economy is going. Do you think this is going to lead, therefore, into the phase that weve never got, which is now investment led, you know, companies actually, the cfos dip in their pockets, we know are going to make investors that we have previously not done . Are we going to stop restructuring and expand . Thats the big question. What our survey shows, we asked people to predict the next 12 months. Theyre predicting higher revenue, higher profits, but only slight increases in investment. So its still unclear whether theyre going to open on their pocketbooks. The other issue is why is the confidence returned to the g7. What happens to the brics . Brazil is way down, china is still down and even india is slightly down and theres concern about the elections there coming up. Is there greater optimism in the g7 compared to the bric countries . As a whole, there is, yes. What is behind this momentum shift, do you think . Well, i think whats happening is were seeing a resurgence of manufacturing in the g7 countries. Were seeing countries focused on their own economies and how they can improve. Were seeing energy getting stronger, health care. The automotive industry, when we talk to clients around the world, all the parts manufacture, theyre seeing a rebound in their economies and theyre locating their factories not just in china any more but all around the world. Its not being close to the markets, is that what it wants to do . Yes. How has sort of the Federal Reserve tapering been perceived, as well, do you think . Its positive but its not a complete cutoff. Its a gradual move. Its seen as a result of the u. S. Economy rebounding and its not happening all at once. So i think the Business Leaders are pretty confident that its going in the right direction. Has it dented confidence in the likes of brazil, do you think . I dont think it has. Brazil is down, but i dont think its because of the issues in the u. S. I think its their own economy. Theyre concerned about their own future. And when i talk to our business clients in brazil, theres a level of concern, some optimism, and a level of concern. Theyve got a big year with the world olympics in a couple of years. Thank you so much for joining us. Some of the other stories were following today, the u. S. Senate has confirmed Janet Yellen Yellen as being the next fed chairman. Yellen now will become the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve in its 1100year history. Shell be sworn in on february 1st and lead they are first fomc meeting in march. The senate holds a procedural vote today at 10 00 eastern on whether to consider a bill to extend longterm Unemployment Benefits for 1. 3 million americans. The vote was originally set for monday, but with several lawmakers unable to return to washington because of the weather it was put off. The measure would extend benefits that expired last month while the senate seeks a way to offset the monies. Up next, another employee is expected to go on trial for Insider Trading. Details on this case next. Ley ]. [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors. Oh hey, neill, how are you . [ male announcer ]. Youd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. Kevin, neill holleys on line one. Ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. Its how edward jones makes sense of investing. U. S. Prosecutors are examining internet Credit Suisse documents that could show whether a committee that oversaw the qualities of securities ignored red flags. There were emails that complained authorities let bad loans go through because they were more focused on generating higher volume than improving underwriting practices. Taimpt, sac capital, jpmorgan are in the spotlight as they continue to face legal scrutiny. Joining us for more, courtney reagan. Morning, court. Good morning to you, ross. Its a bill big legal roundup today. The trial of former sac capital Portfolio Manager Matthew Martoma gets under way today. Hes accused of Insider Trading information about clinical trials. Martoma, arrested in november 2012, has pleaded not guilty and is not cooperating with prosecutors. The trial comes less than a month after another sac trader, michael steinberg, was convicted of Insider Trading. In november, sac pleaded guilty to fraud charges. Steve cohen has denied wrongdown and hasnt been criminally charged. Former ubs executive raul wyle is expected to plead not guilty today to tax fraud conspearssy in a florida court. He was charged five years ago with allegedly helping 17,000 americans avoid paying taxes on monies hidden in swiss bank accounts. In 2009, ubs paid a record 780 million fine and agreed to hand over names of u. S. Clients, breaking switzerlands tradition of banking secretly. U. S. Authorities and regulators are expected to announced the jpmorgan will pay more than 2 billion in fines for failing to warn about Bernie Madoffs ponzi schemes. But no Bank Executives will be charged. The bank is expected to sign an agreement in which it admits it didnt have the proper systems in place to catch madoff. Jpmorgan today is up 0. 3 . Ross, back to you. Court, thanks for that. Good to see you. Meanwhile, a recap of the headlines today, Goodyear Tire workers say they will continue to hold two bosses hostage in northern france as an industrial dispute rolls on. U. S. Treasury secretary jack lew touched down in europe with a message for the old world to boost domestic demand. And the atrocious weather continues in the u. S. With the deep freeze now moving east and south. And well get more on that now. A deep freeze caused bay polar front in the arc sick continues to grip much of the u. S. With some of the coldest temperatures in two decades. More than 4,500 flights were canceled monday because of the weather and at least 2,000 are canceled today. Jet blue has grounded flights from new york to boston and wont be fully operational until this afternoon. Lets get more from the weather channels julie martin joining us from a very frigid atlanta. Julie, the cold has been the thing. I hope youre wrapped up. What is going to happen next . Well, it will get better, ross, in the next couple of days. But we wont get above freezing here in atlanta until thursday. By the weekend, though, in the 60s. So it is a brief but bitter cold snap here in the deep south. Temperatures this morning here in atlanta are in the single digits. Were at 8 degrees. The feels like temperature is minus 7. So its not every day you have to dress like this to come out the door in atlanta, georgia, thats for sure. For that reason, schools are canceled here. A number of businesses have canceled, as well. Folks being asked to just stay indoors and hunker down today until this cold snap passes. Keep in mind, temperatures here in the deep south have dropped anywhere from 20 to 40 degrees, all in a matter of 24 hours. And this cold freeze working its way all the way into tampa, florida, of all places. And in the east, we are also seeing some bitterly cold temperatures now, in fact, up to a 50 degree drop in the past 24 hours in the big cities. And we are looking at some major issues as a result of that. You mentioned jet blue canceling flights today in and out of new york and boston. Pretty unprecedented, ross. The whole thing is unprecedented. Julie, thanks for that. Good to see you. Stay warm. Now, from 3d tvs to wearable tech that helps you lose weight, we break down the latest damages making their debut as the Consumers Electronics show. Well have more from vegas right after this. Mine was earned orbiting the moon in 1971. Afghanistan, in 2009. On the u. S. S. Saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once its earned, usaa Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. Because it offers a superior level of protection. And because usaas commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy. Get an Auto Insurance quote. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. Of the dusty basement at 1406 35th street the old dining table at 25th and hoffman. And the little room above the strip mall off roble avenue. This magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. And of those who believed they had the power to do more. Dell is honored to be part of some of the worlds great stories. That began much the same way ours did. In a little dorm room 2713. This magic moment a little bit on the agenda in the United States today, weve got november trade deficit figures out at 8 30 eastern. A pair of fed officials, boston fed president Eric Rosengren and John Williams will be speaking about the economy. After the earnings, look after the close for numbers from micron, apollo group and the container store. U. S. Futures are indicating a positive start today, an upward start. Were currently trading some 35 points above fair value for the dow, the nasdaq is about 17 points above fair value and the s p is about 8 points above fair value. Its the strongest of the session so far and its helping european equities up after seeing three days of losses so far in the first three trading days. That hasnt happened since 2005. Meanwhile, the global tech market is set to shrink this year according to the forecast from the Consumers Electronics administration. The slowdown in emerging markets and the lack of new innovations to rival smartphones and tablets are behind the trend. Jon fortt has been taking a look at some of those electronics. Hes filed this report. Tvs, high def video, Wearable Technologies and a smarthome all on the agenda here at the Consumers Electronics show. Lets take a look at whats been announced over the last few hours. Lots of video partnerships. Samsung with a 4k video partnership. Samsung announced a couple of tablets, galaxy note pro and the galaxy tab pro extending their tablet. A lineup. Also pebble, the smartwatchmaker, they came out with the pebble, a higher end watch. Expect to see that later on this year as the smartwatch business keeps up. Lots of data. At t announcing a sponsored data plan. Now companies will be able to subsidize data. If you want to vow a movie trailer, they can decide to pay for that on the backend. We could see that accelerating mobile data use, mobile data. A lot of what this is about at ces when theyre not talking about high def video. It will be an exciting show. Back to you. That was jon fort joining us from las vegas. We just heard jon there talking about noble data. Technology is on the move that is going to tell but the people around you. What is going to happen . Have you launched it yet . Were here at ces showcasing some of our technology. The technology weve developed gives you realtime information on all of the people around you. What this means is when you walk into a room, youll know who is around you, how youre connected and what theyve been up to. Its really incredible break through technology and were very excited to be at ces this year showcasing it. Is that because your phones will be talking to each other and youll be linking, youll find out whether theyre on facebook or twitter or any other kind of media . Well, what our technology does is it monitors the social feeds across all the various networks. Facebook, foursquare, instagram, twitter, linkedin and overlays that with your phones location to let you know who is around you and how youre connected to them. Okay. I may want to be in cog nieto, mike. It may not want people to know where i am. Well see how that goes. Are wearable devices going to take off or is it the wearable devices measuring what youre up to that will be first here . Probably the number one trend everybody is talking about here at ces is Wearable Technologies. Whether its devices for your wrist or your feet, whether its to monitor your movement when youre exercising or whether its to monitor your vital signs, theres an array of Companies Showcasing new technologies that interact with your smartphones that you wear on your body. Theres a number of companies here showcasining google glass that creates displays that float right in front of you, so you can read your email or get your news as you go throughout the day. Theres a number of Companies Showcasing new smartwatch technology. Now they may be making these announcements in anticipation that apple is rumored to be announcing maybe an iwatch later this year. But either way, across the board, everybody is talking about new types of technology that naturally extend the smartphone, that just interface and you can wear on your body in different ways. Look, have you seen anything that youve gone, hey, thats really cool or youve gone, wow. And if there is, what is it . Well, in addition to the Wearable Technologies, theyre showcasing a lot of state of the art new types of tv displays, whether its ultra High Definition thed or tvs that watch you. I can tell you not only is the picture quality unbelievable, but youll be interacting with your tv without a remote, maybe using your hand to change the channel. So just the enhancements in Tv Technology is being showcased across the ces trade floor. Really, i think weve taken a next step forward in video distribution and the quality of the tv experience. Michael, very quickly, did you see michael bay yesterday . You unfortunately lost his prompt there on stage and had to quit. What are being saying about that . Well, i do understand that he got on stage and got a little flustered because his teleprompter wasnt working. But, you know, these type of events can be overwhelming when you look at all the lights and the technology. So its understandable that that can happen. Not a lot of people are talking about that here. Everyone understands that that happens occasionally when you go up on stage. So not big news. We feel sorry for him. Thanks for that, michael. Good to see you. Thank you for that and plenty more from vegas coming up. Also coming up, its squawk box, the countdown to the opening markets stateside. Thats it for worldwide exchange. Have a profitable day. The s p 500 having its worst start for the new year in almost a decade. And while you were sleeping, Florida State wins the National Title with a touchdown in the final seconds. Its tuesday, january 7th, 2013 and squawk box begins right now. We are the champions, my friend paragraph prf and well keep on fighting until the end so good morning. Im becky quick along with joe kernen and andrew ross sorkin. Among our top stories this morning, it is official. Janet yellen has been confirmed as the next chair of the Federal Reserve. The Senate Voting 5626 last night to approve her. Democrats were joined by to sit in between them. We continue to watch the markets and various historical indicators. Right now, we are down three for three for the first three trading days of 2013. The s p 500 closing lower every session, making it the worst start to the year in almost a deca decade. The futures this morning, after all of that, at least at this point look like they are up sharply. Dow futures up by about 78 points above fair value. The s p 500 futures up by better than 7. 5 points and the nasdaq up by just over 13 points. Then, whether on wall street or main street, there is the story that everybody is talking about this morning, and that is the weather. Meteorologists are calling