demanding that president hosni mo barack resign. flowers and candles have been placed in moscow in memory of 35 people who were killed on monday by a suicide bombing. russia's president blames bad security for the bombing and promises to hold airport security officials responsible. so far. no one's claimed responsibility for the attack. japanese automaker toyota announced a new recall of almost 1.7 million vehicles worldwide over concerns of possible fuel leaks. most of the recalls are in japan but more than 245,000 are lexus models sold in the u.s. toyota's recalled millions of cars since 2009. those are the headlines. "world business today" starts now. good morning, from the world economic forum. >> good afternoon from cnn hong kong. this is "world business today." the top stories on wednesday, january 26th. shifting focus away from recession and on to regeneration. the u.s. economy is front and center in the u.s. president's state of the union speech. heads of state in austria arriving here for the first day of the world economic forum. and we'll ask the ceo of one of russia's biggest banks how monday's bombing in moscow will affect investment there. first up, a look at the european markets. traders in the uk watching for signs of tighter monetary policy there. the bank of england's committee will release the minutes of the last meeting in about a half an hour and should provide clues of interest rates headed in the near future and here's where the markets stand at the moment. all in positive territory. so looking pretty good. the ftse up by almost 1% there. this is what's happening on the currency markets. we start with the euro to see if it's losing some ground there. the dollar actually is losing some ground against the euro fol the u.s. president brahm back's calling for the policy change. the yen trading at 82 yen to the dollar. pretty flat against the dollar there. but the yen largely unchanged against the greenback from yesterday. but markets here in asia finished mostly higher this session. the nikkei in tokyo was the only exception. a strengthening yen dragged down japanese exporters there, ended down for the first time in three days and you see profit taking by investors there, as well. coal mining companies some of the best performers in shanghai. they got a lift from good economic news and despite a slower growth in the fourth quarter the country's gdp reached 6.1% for 2010. that's the fastest pace in about eight years. markets in australia and india were closed today for public holidays. meanwhile, there's trouble for toyota. shares of the japanese carmaker fell nearly 2% this trade. they announced a voluntary worldwide recall of almost 1.7 million cars over a potential fuel leak problem. u.s. stocks closed flat on tuesday. investors were disappointed with reports on the country's economy and also fourth quarter earnings. trading was cautious in advance of president obama's state of the union message before congress. and also, as a federal reserve panel began a two-day policy meeting. so the dow jones closed the session lower. the nasdaq and s&p stayed just within positive territory but just barely. yahoo! shares fell nearly half a percentage point as the company released a weak first-quarter revenue forecast. u.s. markets are still looking set for a higher open when trading begins later on wednesday and this is where the futures stand. futures look up almost by a third of a percent there on the s&p 500. getting the u.s. economy back on firm footing is a top priority for washington this year. in the annual state of the union address, president obama proposed a series of measures aimed at trimming the nation's massive budget deficit. among them, a freeze on domestic spending which would save $400 billion over 10 years. he proposed lowering the corporate tax rate and he called for cooperation from all parties in government to increase the global competitiveness, encouraging more initiatives for education and innovation. >> half a century ago when the soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite named sputnik we had no idea how to beat them to the moon. the science wasn't even there yet. nasa didn't exist. but after investing in better research and education, we didn't just surpass the soviets, we unleashed a wave of industry that created millions of new jobs. this is our -- >> well, so how exactly is president obama going to help the u.s. match the same level of research and development it had at the height of the space race? well for a closer look now at the president's address, here's jonathan mann joining us from cnn center. help us break down the speech. what did you think? >> well, it was as you say an annual duty of every president and this year in particular short on specifics. but republicans actually are in no mood to add money to anything. they want to spend less money. and the president's remark about that issue speaks volumes. here's what he said. >> so tonight, i am proposing that starting this year we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. now, this would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since eisenhower was president. >> the republicans don't want a freeze. they blame obama for raising spending to unsustainable levels. they don't want to freeze spending at the current levels. even on a topic that republicans really care about, obama's offer is very far short of the mark. and the situation of the united states is in is this. there's three power centers with running the u.s. government. there's the white house, of course. well, the white house, obama, is in power. the house of representatives, there, the republicans now have the majority and the power. the senate, well, because of the new diminished democratic majority there, there is no one really in power in the senate. so, democrats have the white house. republican haves the house. no one really has the senate. president obama's plans aren't entirely his to make. the power is so divided, the disagreements so profound, this speech is just the start of the conversation or maybe more likely the battle over what's ahead. >> so jonathan, with this divided congress, how difficult of a challenge will it be for president obama to as to he says outinnovate, outeducate and outcome pete with this divided congress? >> it's going to be enormously difficult. the republicans are making severe demands. many americans feel that the government is spending too much, that president obama has been legislating too much. and so, this state of the union was short on specifics about specific programs, specific spending because there isn't much appetite in the united states for that and there's enormous appetite to see the government restrained a little bit. its budgets cut. its deficits addressed and that's really going to be the immediate battle. beyond that, the president's plans are really maybe far off in the future. >> yeah, it is interesting to hear what the -- the words they used. for example, the democrats say investing. the republicans say it's really spending. we'll see what happens. jonathan mann, thanks so much. >> sure thing. organizers of the 2011 world economic forum have set shared norms of the new reality as the event's theme. the changing landscape of the global economy will, indeed, be a top focus of world business leaders gathered in davos, switzerland, this week. emerging countries such as china, india and brazil are increasingly defining the economic discussion. so, one of the so-called new realities they'll talk about is a shifting of power from the long established economies to the emerging ones. john, it's really a directional shift, as well, isn't it? we are hearing people say it's a move north to south, west to east. >> i think that's a fair comment, the greater tilt to the east right now. china, india, the middle east even and then tilting south to africa and more importantly to latin america with brazil in the driving growth. i think it's quite interesting to look at the state of the union. go back the president obama's comments. he is trying to inspire americans to the next level and to be candid and this is a discussion here at the halls of the world economic forum because the next wave of competition is intense and i think we have seen the tilt to the east and to the south because the economic crisis we have seen over the last two years is so severe so the west almost standing still in recession and the east still growing. let's take a look at what i'm talking about. this is the economy in 2010-1011. if you look at the list, the only emerging market is china. the u.s. at $15 trillion. china at $6 trillion. japan just over five and a half and then france at $2.6 trillion. this is getting the business leaders so excited at davos over the next 20 years. fast forward 20 years to year 2030. we are in a so-called super cycle right now of growth. this is the five top economies in 2030. look at china. the u.s. going from a level of 14 to 38. india at 30 trillion. only 1.6 trillion right now. brazil, i talked about latin america at 12 trillion and indonesia, this is another one of the brick countries, second wave of bricks coming on to the scene at $9 trillion. i talked about a super cycle. this is very historic. we had a super cycle at the end of the 19th century and then a big pause until world war ii and the rebuilding with the marshal plan and the third super cycle started in the year 2000. even though we had a technology crash, the introduction of the internet combined with the lowering of trade barriers unlaunched all the growth. you see the trade barriers coming down in india, southeast asia, latin america. the other interesting point here, i think, is trading amongst each other right now. not all trade with the united states. not all trade with europe and trade in the east that's driving the global economy. >> fascinating. fascinating comparisons there with your graphics. we'll check in with you again, john. there's more to come from the world economic forum in davos and hearing from the ceo of one of russia's biggest banks and how the recent bombing might affect business there. that's next. more than $50 million can be earned by schools just like yours! buy participating products now, to earn your school's share of more than $50 million! let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. welcome back. from cnn hong kong and the world economic forum in davos, switzerland, this is "world business today." the heads of hundreds of companies are in davos this week, including ceos of some of the world's biggest banks and john is there with them. john? >> thanks very much. may not be a household name yet but russia's dvt bank is growing. now a little bit of background before speaking to the ceo. russia's second biggest bank and focuses on corporate lending, established in late 1990 with government support and went public in 2007 with listings in both moscow and london. it raised almost $8 billion in its initial public offering. russia's government the biggest shareholder controlling nearly 90% of the bank. the stock performed well in the past year gaining more than 50% and reported a net profit of $2 billion in the last report of 2009. i'm joined by the chairman and chief executive of vtb. good to see you again. >> thank you. >> first things first, the politics if we can of mr. medvedev deciding to come to davos. there was a question whether he would come. it is important to come back with a message, look, we have the security issues but i need to articulate we want people in the market of better than 150 million consumers. >> yes, absolutely. the russian government is now trying to bring home to the national investors that russia is quite serious about -- the russian economy, bringing innovative technologies the all areas including energy sector, including i.t. including telecommunications. but it also as you know probably recently russian government announced a program of privatization and actually vtb will be one of the first to be privatized and so important for russian leadership and medvedev coming to davos and will be very short visit because of the events in russia but first trip of russian president to davos actually. >> this is not easy to understand. every five to six months there's a severe security flare-up and scares off foreign investment. how bad is the fight against the islamic pockets that we see in russia, which is an ongoing battle as you know for the better part of two decades? >> yeah, one thing i'm quite sure mr. medvedev will outline to combat terrorism you really also have to focus on economic development of the regions because with a high unemployment in the regions, with a lack of new jobs, it's really very difficult to resolve the issue and should be tackles from all points of view, from security, by security forces, by political -- >> along with the economic reforms. with the privatization, as well. severe recession. nearly minus 8% 2009. can you sustain better than 4% in this sort of climate? oil prices around $90 a barrel. serves russia well, i would imagine. >> well, i mean, our conservative approach and estimation that probably between 4% and 5% for this year. which i think is reasonably good. and the growth of the banking loan book probably around 15%. >> reasonable, i don't mean to be jumping on top of you but if you look at the growth of india or china or the asean states, people say russia doesn't belong as the brick countries. >> yes. but i think for russia the pace of growth is important, of course. but the structure of the economy probably not less important so i think the focus of making it less dependent on oil and gas i think that's a very important agenda for russia. >> dealing with security at the same time. interested to hear what the president has to say in the opening ceremony speech tonight. good to see you again. >> thank you. >> of course, the chief executive of vtb bank. pauline? >> john, we have an update on most protests in the streets of tunisia's capital and why this one on tuesday was different than the ones before that toppled the government. we'll be right back. welcome back. you're watching "world business today." we're live here in davos with cnn. a dusting of snow. perfect picturesque framework for the opening first day of the sessions. >> beautiful picture there behind you. it's australia day and the nation urged to dig deep into the pockets to raise money for queensland's flood victims. the state's premier says around $170 million has been raised so far and more money is needed. now a tropical cyclone is heading for western australia. meteorologist jennifer delgado joins us now. one punch after another after another for stroil. >> absolutely. the cyclone is actually on the western coastline of australia and it is moving right along the border. if you notice, you can see it on the satellite imagery. still rather unorganized but in the next several hours, we'll see it getter better formed and moving to the west. right now, winds of 102 kilometers. this is tropical sigh loan bianca. by tomorrow, 11:00 a.m., just moving towards the northwest. you can notice the winds up to 184 kilometers and sweeping off and away from parts of australia and good news but the problem is this is still bringing heavy rainfall and strong, gusty winds and the winds picking up heading late in tonight and the model showing you how it's going to be located moving right along the western coastline getting fairly close to oslo. but there's another one. this one is in the pacific. this is wilma. wilma with winds at 213 kilometers. not affecting anyone and moved through the samoa islands and moving towards the south and then by friday morning bringing heavy rainfall to the northern island of new zealand and it is going to continue to weaken and certainly looking at problems, isolated problems with flooding in the region. we have photos here coming out of australia and you mentioned that it's australia day. and the photos are going to show you, hey, everybody's excited about this. the good news is residents are actually going to be using this day to raise money for the flood victims affected over the last several weeks. back over to you. >> so they're having a good time and also doing good, as well. >> absolutely. >> thanks so much. anti-government groups in egypt are calling for a second day of massive street protests. coming up, what the protesters are demanding, how police are responding and the impact on egyptian markets. live from the world economic forum in davos, switzerland. >> and i'm at cnn hong kong. welcome back to "world business today." let's see what's going on in europe right now where the markets are about 90 minutes into the trading day. it's still a bit early to see how the ftse will react to the minutes of the bank of england. here's the markets at the moment. all in positive territory following mostly the gains in the asian markets so looking good right there. meanwhile, asian markets finished mostly higher this session except for the nikkei in tokyo. a strengthening, slightly, yen there. coal mining companies were the best performing. the kospi got a lift despite slower growth in the fourth quarter the gdp reached 6.1% for 2010. that's its fastest pace in about eight years. meanwhile, the markets in australia and india were closed for public holidays today. shares in asia's biggest casino operator opened 8.7% lower in hong kong this morning. sjm controlled by aging billionaire stanley ho at the center of a bitter dispute between him and his family members. on tuesday, ho said that the third wife and some of his children had duped him out of his 32% stake in sjm's parent company but local media reports are now quoting ho saying there's no dispute after all and agreed to give him the stake in the business. shares in sjm recovered slightly during the day to close just short of 5% lower. now, for the dow jones industrial average, that elusive 12,000 remains elusive. wall street stocks finished flat on tuesday. investors were disappointed with reports on the u.s. economy and fourth-quarter reports. trading was cautious ahead of the president obama's state of the union speech. so the dow closed lower. the nasdaq and the s&p stayed just within positive territory barely. all three are in the positive range for today's open. johnson & johnson among blue chip companies dragging on the dow with disappointing earnings. the shares fell nearly 2% there. back to the world economic forum in davos now where the unrest in tunisia pushed the economic and political affects of rising food prices toward the top of the international agenda. john has a little bit more on that from davos. john? >> thanks. in fact, there's sessions this afternoon starting at about 1:30 local time. the interim government of tunis is an is facing a reshuffle. hundreds supporting the coalition took to the street on tuesday calling for people to back the government. they were met by angry rival protests demanding the government purged of members of the former regime led by the deposed president. more violent protests in egypt where people's anger against the government boiled over right on to the streets. three people killed. security source says the country's interior minister will clamp down on further protests. demonstrators are frustrated with the rising cost of living, failed economic ol sys and corruption. most of all they had an enough of president mubarak. the wave of anti-government protests sweeping north african countries hit the capital markets, as well. the benchmark egx 30 index lost about 6%. as egypt's protests rise, the cost of living -- another global food crisis could be on the way. sugar doubled in price in less than a year and the past couple of months 30-year high soaring to 34 cents a pound. on tuesday, the price of wheat hit the highest level since the last food crisis in 2008 at $8.35 a bushel and the price of cotton doubled in a year to $1.62 and that, too, is an all-time high. >> john, i want to get back to the issues going on in tunisia and egypt. markets don't like uncertainty. and is security going to be a big focus there at davos because of the affects it's having on markets? >> well, there's no question about it. in fact, we have two sessions. one at 1:30 and one at 1:00 with leaders of the middle east, both from the government side and the economic side and this food crisis is really bitten very close to home in north africa. india is an economy with 15% food inflation. in north africa we see food inflation of 8% to 9%. unemployment, for example, in tunisia, 14%. nearly 10% in egypt. it's about the same in jordan but the rule of thumb, this is the most important thing is that the rule of thumb is unemployment amongst the youth double that. looking at the streets of the protests, it's mainly the youth and many times the educated youth with college degrees that don't have opportunities. earlier in the program we were talking about this shift to the east. well, one company trying to use information technology to position itself as an architect of the emerging global economy is ban galore information services. it's been quite successful. infosys says quarter ending december 31st, $397 million representing a quarter on quarter growth of 6.1%. on revenues of more than $1.5 million. of this total, two thirds is coming from the u.s. market. i asked their ceo whether u.s. growth is really sustainable. >> of u.s. recovered faster than all of us would have thought, and because of that, we have started growing. last year, we grew 3%. this year growing 26% projected growth so that's based on the recovery in the u.s. europe is taking longer to recover but we hope through investment we can grow euro and the reason is simple is europe as a region as large as the u.s. in terms of technology spending so we have to make sure that we take advantage of that. >> we're looking at an indian government of $1.6 trillion going to $30 trillion by 2030. this is substantial growth. predictions of growth of 8% to 12% in that time frame. is that realistic? >> so right now india's growing at 8%, 9%. if we are able to stimulate the infrastructure, able to invest in education so that we act with the work force, i believe that we can get double-digit, maybe 10%, 11% growth and then sustain it through proper governance it is achievable. >> a vulnerability for emphasis i would say is not facing east yourself. you would change that strategy to harness growth in china and in asean and southeast asia? >> we are investing in china, japan, of course the indian market and looking at indonesia, malaysia, japan, australia. practically, that's where we are investing. >> you don't feel like you're behind the curve on this tilting west? >> we took advantage of where the markets were. now the markets are moving, we are investing and taking advantage of that. i don't believe, you know, you are ever late. what you have to do is if you're late you have to make sure you come up with new, innovative products to sell into the market and which we believe we have. >> the ceo of infosys. indian company facing west looking to china, india, looking for the next wave of technology. >> lots of corporations realigning the market strategies these day. the world economic forum all about building business relationships and what the ceos are doing we're following in our special series "the boss." just ahead, how this boss is a team player. welcome back to "world business today." the world economic forum is all about fostering responsibility and leadership, ask any boss at davos and they'll tell you these are key components to a successful business. in our special series "the boss" two ceo s show us why it's so important to listen and to give something back. >> previously on "the boss," michael wu checked in on his latest project to see if the renovation was paying off. >> we feel that we need to give it rejuvenation. >> and in london, sarah curran faced her profile by facing the camera lens for marie claire magazi magazine. >> it is not just a faceless site. ♪ >> it's early on saturday morning in hong kong but some of the biggest companies are already doing their bit for charity. leaving his company is michael wu. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> hi. good morning. >> the chairman of maxim's group is getting together with some of his employees and their families. >> hello. nice to meet you. >> nice to see you. >> thank you for coming. >> thank you for having us. jessica and hannah. >> hi, jessica. >> reporter: they're all meeting at hong kong stadium for a charity walk they believe wl help serve their local community. >> annual event and we always participate in this event and it's a great way for our us and our staff to come out and do something meaningful and same time have a fun day. >> reporter: for michael, this is an opportunity to raise his company's profile and to show that it, too, can be socially responsible. >> before we were actually quite discrete about charity events or doing things to serve the community but i think in the past few years we've become much more public about it and the reason is we're a visible organization and what we do the public sees and our staff see it. >> we are going to start now! >> oh, i'm excited. ready to go. >> reporter: but michael doesn't force his employees to participate. it's their decision whether or not to be part of the cause. >> as a company, we -- part of our mission is that not only do we want to make good profits but we also want to contribute back to society. and by participating in this event, it's a way of demonstrating that commitment. >> reporter: as the boss, michael also wants to send a positive message to his employees. he wants them to know that they work for a meaningful company. >> it's great when the staff see that the company shares a same values which they do and for them to participate in this event with me is a great cause. >> there have been some changes internally. >> reporter: sarah kurran is not used to standing if front of a crowd. >> put the cards down. >> no. >> reporter: today, she doesn't have a choice. in just a few minutes she is giving a speech to executives. first, though, she needs to repair. >> okay. >> in april i asked john mark -- better? this is really an opportunity for us to speak to the investors directly, update them on what's happened and the plans for the next sort of six months. >> reporter: this isn't the first time sarah has faced her executive board. >> where do you want us? >> maybe the back. back? yeah. >> reporter: still she wants to make an impression. after all, they're the cash fueling the business. as the moment closes in, nerves and excitement begin to show. >> ready? you ready? >> not only grown as a brand, as a team and as a business, there have been some changes internally. in april i asked jean marc to step up. >> reporter: sarah doesn't have to memorize her lines. she knows them inside out. after all, it is her business. >> change is really happened in the last few months really sort of been in place to help drive the business forward. >> reporter: for sarah, this presentation isn't about convincing her board. as the boss she wants to inspire them. she wants them to share her vision for my wardrobe. >> the investors are pretty sort of powerful group of people. so, you know, you have to sort of stand up in front of people who may not necessarily understand the sector so you need to sell the business, sell the story, get them excited and get them to see the passion and feel it and want to be part of it. ♪ >> reporter: sarah backed first round of investment for her company in 2007. that, too, was nerve wracking. >> i remember my throat sort of -- i started to speak, scratchy, closing, closing, closing up. at one point i had to shout out, water. because i couldn't talk. >> reporter: not only does she have to face potential investors she had to beat the competition. one investor was convinced right from the start. >> to me it seemed like a credible investor. i was a very early adopters and got it and they didn't have much of a job to persuade me to invest. i don't think they knew that but i was desperate to put my money in at that point. >> i think the presentations have been a massive learning experience. every part helped us to get us to where we are today and business to flow. >> reporter: next week on "the boss" michael wu tells us where he finds inspiration for new ventures and we catch up with richard braddock as he takes to the stage in manhattan. uh-oh. 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[ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kao. welcome back. live from cnn hong kong and the world economic forum in davos, switzerland, this is "world business today." davos is where john is catching up with the movers and shakers. john, how's day one going? >> not bad. it is just warming up to be candid, pauline. not very important policy speeches in particular this morning about the security situation in the middle east and then the financial system and this rising unemployment you still see in the g-7 countries, as well. there is a question that people ask every year including somebody like me poking around the hallways here for 20 years. beyond all the glitz, does the world economic forum serve a purpose to try to answer that very difficult question, richard quest looked at davos breaking down the essential components. ♪ >> reporter: decision makers, destination davos. each year with the end of january, the elite from government, business and finance take their limos through this tunnel. they've been making the same journey for 40 years. all in a bid to find some common ground. "a" is for the alps high up in the swiss mountains they come to create lofty goals. "v" is for value. at davos, there's always a lot of talk. does anything actually come of it or is it just hot air? when you talk about values, it is all too easy to take cheap shots at the annual meeting as a gab fest for the global elite. but the fact is there is value. in people who have the power to change things coming together. "o" is for organization. this is where everything will take place. in the new enlarged congress hall where improving the state of the world seems to have taken on industrial proportions. the congress center has had a revamp. there are new lounges, nooks and crannies with suitable 21st century themes. "s" is for skis. whether it's downhill or cross country. there's plenty of them here in davos. just don't think of ever using them if you're here for the economic forum. for me, it's more suits than skis. i think this is yours. skiing may be off the agenda but we can learn an economic lesson or two. >> slow but always forward. >> reporter: classical, slow, but always forward. heaven forbid you move backwards. come back here! >> no. we should always come back. you called men an i came back ward. >> reporter: life a. moral we can all do well to learn. richard quest, cnn, davos. >> all this week richard and i reporting live from davos as cnn focuses on the event's theme this year. the new reality. we're asking what this means for business, social and political leaders. special coverage all this week on cnn. >> i know that richard quest in the past has snuck out for an hour or two for skiing in denim jeans. you have been to davos many, many years. you meet the executives and go to the panels. what does it mean for you? what do you get out of it? >> i mean, first and foremost, the chance to meet people you don't normally see on the street, of course. and then to have a serious, off the record conversation of what's happening in the regions we cover. for example, right now with the protests in the middle east and what we saw in tunisia and egypt. another thing is in the last couple of years we have been talking about the impact of social media. the conversations around the impact social media is having on government in the middle east, asia, the government is fascinating. it's moving like wildfire. i haven't skied in the 21 years i've been to davos. i won't say i work hard but i haven't had a chance to bring the ski boots, as well. >> oh, do say you work very hard. the bosses are listening. all right, thanks so much. let's take a last look at the stock markets this hour before we go and take a look at how things are going in europe. looking pretty good following a strong lead from the asian markets. most of which ended on the upside. looking pretty good there as a couple of hours of trading under way. also here in asia, most of the indices fared well in positive territory except for the nikkei. the nikkei down by about .6 of 1%. it was dealing with a slightly stronger yen. and there was also some profit taking there, as well. the markets in india and in australia were closed for a holiday. an you're watching "world business today." thank you for joining us. >> world one starts now. here's zain verjee. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com but actually, it's easier than you think, because general mills big g line of cereals is america's number one source of whole grain at breakfast. there's whole grain in every box... ♪ ...from chex... to cheerios... to lucky charms. so you can get the whole grain you want with the taste you love. get started on the whole grain you're missing with your favorite big g cereals. make sure to look for the white check. host: could switching to geico really save you 15% more on car insurance?. host: does it take two to tango? ♪ ♪ anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% omore on car insuranc