for a total of $860,000. the brother of the gunman suspected of killing seven people in southern france is facing charges. he was charged with complicit to commit murder. the apparent murderer mohammed mira was killed in the stachbdoff. tiger wins with a 13 under par winning by five strokes. those are the hid lines from cnn, the world's news leader. i'm zain verjee and "world business today" starts now. good morning. from cnn london, i'm nina desantos. good afternoon. from cnn hong kong. i'm andrew stevens. welcome to "world business today." the top stories this monday, march 26th. he's good at making the right calls on the markets. tim rogers will be here to tell us where he's putting his money these days. see why lung becomes hong ko kong's chief executive and inherits the city's economic problems. and a controversial drilling method is p for consideration in south africa. do the economic benefits on the other hand outweigh the environmental costs? we'll investigate. let's begin with the markets. it's a new day and a new trading week starting in asia. most markets closing slightly up but as you see there very, very light trading. it was a bit choppy. they bounced around the flatline level. down amid concerns about the impact on profits of the global economy, any sort of slowdown in the global economy. japan stocks were up as you see, the nikkei just a fraction, coming off its biggest drop in two months. in fact, athe love these markets are posting their biggest weekly falls last week for the year. as you see, no real direction there whatsoever. that's despite the green arrows on wall street saw on friday. certainly waiting for some sort of lead, not seeing it here in asia. some corporate news to tell you about. a big airline tie-up. qantas airline closing up 2% after it signed a $200 million deal for a low-cost hong kong carrier with china, eastern airlines. china eastern finishing down by just over 1%. this new venture will be called jetstar hong kong. jet star is a well-known brand across asia, the low hiv cost carrier arm of qantas. qantas looking for a toehold into the chinese market. getting the toehold will allow jet star to fly into china but not within china where the real growth is. but certainly analysts are seeing it as a solid move for qantas. and saw the increase in the share price. here in hong kong, after a divisive period of campaigning, hong kong has a new chief executive. his name is c.y.leung, a 57-year-old pro-beijing politician who made his millions in hong kong property. but he inherits the leadership mantle as the city faces a series of unenviable challenges. >> it's not just the economic issues. it's also the issue over his own popularity. c.y. leung gave this thumbs-up in sunday's fourth chief executive election but he's getting a thumbs-down in approval. this local newspaper "the standard," he only got a 40% approval rating, relative to the 70% rating of previous chief executives. he said he would address a swath of economic woes after he takes office this july. take a listen. >> on economic and political policies, i will consult widely on issues with deep-rooted problems of uneven distribution of income, education, medical serviced and political reform. >> so leung says hong kong doesn't need major reforms but there are major economic issues that everyone is very nervous about. the first, for example, is hong kong's growth or in this case potential contraction for this quarter we're in right now. in january both imports and exports fell for the first time in two years, thanks in part to europe's debt crisis and slower demand from the continent. mr. leung is at the mercy of weak demand. also the income gap is an issue. a spokeswoman told me it's one of the widest in the developed world. hong kong's genie co-efficient, a measure of wealth disparity is higher than all of thiz countries, japan, united states, mexico, hong kong at the top. in leung's first speech he said he'll focus on the wealth gap. any hong kong resident can tell you home prices are pretty much soaring. leung says he'll try to build more low-income pricing. >> that's been a key, hasn't it? that populist view on building cheaper homes. it would underpin his popularity among the low and middle income earners but how are the big private developers reacting to this? c.y. himself made millions in the property sector. would it impact profits? >> based on the share price reaction today, it doesn't seem so. let me bring it up. the green on this board seems to say the big developers are actually pretty confident in c.y. leung. the three are up. earlier today citibank said leung's strategy isn't that different than the outgoing administration. also one analyst told me that the city's high-end property prices will really depend on mainland china's buyers and not so much on what leung would or even could do. hong kong's new chief executive-elect has his work cut out for him to keep hong kong from falling into recession and pull his own approval numbers up from the get-go. >> interesting to say the major beneficiary there, given the owner was a huge opponent of the rival. the popularity of c.y.leung is really low. the headlines i've been seeing is, will the real c.y. lf eung now stand up? is he the people's champion or a bogey man? this is after weeks and weeks and weeks of campaigning. the people of hong kolon hong k feel they don't know whoo their new leader is. >> yeah. need to mention there's probably a bit of unease there when it comes to the hong kong citizens also the markets. really an interesting story. let's focus in on things in europe and also look at the week that was and the week that's likely to be over the next five trading days. first of all, focusing on what went on last week. friday may have seen modest gains to the european market but certainly not enough to counter a heavy week of losses. as you were saying, andrew, some of the markets had their worst week so far this year, a similar picture where we are. both the dax and the paris cac 40 lost 3% over the last five trading sessions. as we head into a new week, they're still struggling for momentum at the moment. broadly speaking the markets are up with the exception of the cac 40 teetering just under the flatline. what we're watching out for this week is plenty of economic data, much of it coming from the trunnelled you' troubled euro zone economies. the worst of the region's financial crisis could now be over, officials say, investors will keep a keen eye on the figures. thursday's a really big day. we have the release of the euro zone business climate index alongside consumer and economic sentiment results and crucially germany, europe's biggest economy, will publish its unemployment data. that will be interesting to watch. outside of euro zone, we have economic goliath figures from two of the really big economies, the united kings.com and united states, with the latter publishing its annualized growth rate on thursday for 2011. thursday a really big day for the technology industry because on wall street we have the troubled blackberry maker research in motion coming out with its figures on thursday. a whole bunch of date at that. let's get an idea as to what we can expect for the week to come. we talked to chief markets analyst david who joins us from london. good to have you on the show, david. are you going to be looking for the economic data to see if if underpins what mario drag ga has been saying or are we looking at market earnings? >> i think the economic data is probably the priority for this week. as you said, there's the german unemployment numbers, the business conference coming out. we also have here in the uk as you mentioned gdp, which gives us a better feel for how the recovery is going on this side of the atlantic. but i think the problem is we have spanish bond yields creeping up the last three weeks or so. there's yet another euro pin meeting friday talking about raising maybe the ceiling for buildout funds. i think we could well see the european debt crisis come back to bite us again if the bond yields continue to go up for spain. >> it also seems the germans are making a few concessions finally, conceding to allow ministers to beef up this temporary euro zone bailout fund. is that seen as a good think on the markets or perhaps a sign of things being worse than people thought. >> clearly it looks worse than we thought maybe a month ago. but i'd have to say from a markets point of view if you look at the likes of stock nashl markets and the euro against the u.s. dollar we're not seeing much in the way of nerves. we had something of a wobble for most of last week in major stock market but we have started off today in a positive mode. so it doesn't appear just yet that markets are too worried by what's going on in europe, but i think as we've learned over the last couple of years it's seldom the end just when it we think it's over. so i do think we'll keep somewhat when of a wary eye on the spanish yields as the week goes on and we could rue the calmer approach. >> let's head over the atlantic, the united states gdp figures and in particular the annualized rate of growth for the whole of 2011 coming up. this fk is an election year. it seems the u.s. economy has done better than many of its counterparts where we are. do you think the figures will continue to see the momentum is growing? >> it definitely seems to be the expectation. we're expecting a number of 3% on thursday from those figures. if you look at what the stock market is doing, stock markets around the world have been strong so far this year but the stronger performers have been in the u.s., particularly on the technology side. if you look at what the nasdaq has done this year, it's been almost relentless, one or two days it's gone down but it's bounced back strongly. i think for now at least that's where the clever money is i think in u.s. stock markets as they continue to outperform this side of the atlanta r atlantic. >> david jones joining us, many thanks. great to see you. speaking of those u.s. indices that david was saying a lot of the smart money is going on, let's look at them. we're about five hours from the opention bell on wall street, here's how the early indications show the markets may be opening. basically positive but not that much. take a look at the dow jones industrial and also the nasdaq, those two markets stronger and this market is the one that david was just saying has had a real pop of late and done very well. of course investors will keep their eyes on those u.s. gdp figures, also u.s. home sales will being out later on monday so they'll keep an eye on that and consumer confidence numbers will be tomorrow. u.s. gdp figures on thursday. so basically throughout the course of the week we'll get a better idea whether the u.s. economy has really got the economic fundamentals that it seems as though the stock markets think it has. >> yes. we'll be talking to jim rogers later in the show, nina, about his thoughts on the u.s. economy, make sure you keep with us for it that as well. you're watching "world business today" live on cnn. still ahead also on the show, president obama issues a stark warning to iran and north korea. his message and latest ahead of a nuclear security summit in south korea when we come back. i. 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[ female announcer ] daily moisturizing lotion. and for healthy hair every day, try new pure renewal hair care, with balancing seaweed extract. only from aveeno. after jumping nearly $2 on friday, the price of brent crude is settling somewhat where it was at the start of the week. however, the sudden movement in the price will probably allay the jitters in the market, do little to do that, we will continue to see the pressure at the gas pump. down 31 cents at the barrel of a price of $124.59 for a barrel of crude. you're watching "world business today" live on cnn. welcome back. u.s. president barack obama has issued a stark warning to north korea and iran over their nuclear agendas. the president was speaking ahead of a nuclear security summit in the south korean capital of seoul. he warned the nations they face tougher sanctions and isolation if they fail to offer more transparency on their nuclear programs. with more now, let's go to brianna keilar join being us live in seoul. brianna, the president obviously talking tough. >> reporter: yes, he is talking tough. and, andrew, as the welcoming ceremony here at the nuclear security summit is set to get under way very soon, we're also getting word that north korea is prepping for that long-range missile launch that is it is moving forward with more mid-app according to a south korean ministry official, there actually has been movement of the rocket to the facility in the northwest, the launching facility. it's being moved to that facility and there was a south korean report that south korea was preparing to shoot down that rocket should it come into south korean territory. we actually have some clarification from the south korean defense ministry official that really they're getting ready to track the trajectory, should any part of the rocket fall into south korean territory. but, yes, very tough language from president obama and really a direct appeal to north korea's leaders. listen. >> here in korea i want to speak directly to the leaders in pyongyang. the united states has no hostile intent toward your country. we are committed to peace. and we are prepared to it take steps to improve relations, which is why we have offered nutritional aid to north korean mothers and children. but by now it should be clear. your provocations and pursuit of nuclear weapons have not achieved the security you seek. they have undermined it. >> reporter: now, president obama has said that that food aid deal struck between north korea and the u.s. late last month is in jeopardy because, during times of tension, it's almost impossible to have monitors to make sure that food goes where it needs to go. but, andrew, president obama really framing this in terms of north korea making a choice, that if it's going to go forward with this, that those actions will not be rewarded and north korea will only be further isolated, andrew. >> brianna, thanks very much for that, live from south korea. between stocks and bonds, currencies and commodities there's so many places where you could put your money. find out after the break where the billionaire investor jim rogers is xrinvesting his. beautiful day here in hong kong. welcome back. we are live from hong kong and london. you're watching "world business today." >> it's a beautiful day here in london as well, andrew, but we want to turn our attention to people who haven't been quite so fortunate when it comes to the weather. it's the worst flooding in recent history. one town in new brunswick, canada, is under water forcing residents to flee with little warning. let's go to our meteorologist who joins us live from the cnn international weather center. hi there, ivan. tell us about it. it sounds nasty. >> it is nasty. it's for the same reason actually we're talking about warm temperatures, too warm too quick, in north america. i know europe we've been talking about that, the temperatures that have been just unseasonably warm. we are talking about may and june numbers here. that's the same thing happening across this part of the world as we fly you into new brunswick. this is the st. john river. what we've had here is a dramatic rise in those river levels as a result of the icejamming that has been ongoing. i'll explain that in a second. i want to show you the pictures and what has been transpiring here along this town in perth n perth-andover. we've had a significant, rapid thaw so this river which at one point you can clearly see was iced over is no longer. that ice is melting, dislodging, coming out in chunks and then it jams up in certain areas of the river and it acts essentially as a barrier here so all of that water begins to flow up and we have significant flooding and also very quick flooding, almost like flash flooding. look at the temperatures here behind me. this is what set the stage essentially, temperatures anywhere from 10 to 15 plus above normal through the early part of march in new brunswick. we've been seeing the warm temperatures and that has resulted in upstream thawing, the ice gets dislodged and sometimes the river narrows in some areas or the ice jum gets blocked up here and so you get that buildup, that flow coming in behind. the water has to go somewhere. it can't continue flowing through its natural path so it floods out to the villages here. that is exactly what's been happening there with our good friends in canada. conditions will continue to be the same so we're talking about the potential for this to be ongoing here for the next week or so as this dramatic spring thaw continues not only in europe but also in north america. nina. >> all right, ivan, great to see you again. ivan ka brer ra. still ahead on the show -- investor jim rogers gives us his analysis on the global economic outlook. plus, his predictions for the commodities markets and some tips on where you should be putting your money. right now, right here on cnn. from cnn hong kong, i'm andrew stevens. >> and i'm neen thina desantos london. welcome back. we're about 19 minutes into the european trading day. this is where things are looking, heavy, heavy losses that saw a couple of these markets losing in excess of 3% last week. well, markets as you can see mostly up with the exception of the cac, the european shares regaining some of the losses we saw last week namely after -- saying the worst of the euro zone crisis could be behind this report. but it will be a busy week on the economic front because we'll have key reports on german business confidence, we had one showing it rose slightly for the month of march. we'll have key reports on business sentiment, the economic climate, also confidence. andrew, those are the things that will move the markets in the next few days to come. >> absolutely, nina. and markets on this side of the world as well. speaking of moving, there wasn't much movement here in asia at the start of the trading week. virtually flat, australia down by less than a fifth of 1%. japan holding its head above water, the nikkei recovering from its biggest fall of the year. most of these markets had their biggest weekly fall of the year. despite, we're getting some uptick out of new york on friday, it hasn't really translated through to this part of the world. losses for the banks limiting the gaichbs here gains here in investing your money wisely in the current climate is certainly a complex task. so it's vital to get good advice. one man who's spent his life investing and writing books about it is jim rogers. he's well known for finding the offshore quantum fund as well as george seros and the author of five books on money. jim joins us on the hong kong set to give us his thoughts. jim, welcome to the show. >> delighted to be here, andrew. after that introduction, i should leave. >> leave on a high. jim, let's start with the global picture. the optimist would say at the moment that the worst is behind europe, that china is probably in for a soft landing, and the u.s. growth path will continue. the possess mist would say, it's the eye of the hurricane had in europe, china will have a hard landing and the u.s. won't be able to sustain the growth. globally, what do you think will happen? >> the first thing you need to understand is there's 40 or so elections coming up in the next year, including the united states, france and german election is soon. you'll have a lot of good news coming out of europe and america. is the situation finished? no. we have problems that will hit us in 2013, 2014. but this year there's a lot of good news, krchb krn wicnn will of good things to say. >> does that conform necessarily to a rising stock market? >> probably. at least for a few months. we've had it for a few months. we need a correction somewhere along the line. probably into the fall you'll see a fairly stable and rising stock market. but be very worried about 2013, andrew and be extremely worried about 2014. >> the same story cam coming back to haunt us in 2013 and 14? >> the situation is getting worse. the debt is going through the roof. nobody is solving problems. everybody is making everything sound and look good, but the problems are getting worse and worse. andrew, we had a recession in 2008. it was worse in 2002 because the debt was so much higher. the next time around it's going to be worst still because the debt's going to be higher than i can reach. >> and it's going to be europe and the u.s. what about china? >> china is doing its best to calm things down and they should be. they've got inflation up there as you know. i hope they calm the situation down. i don't expect -- some parts of the chinese economy will suffer. if you're in property, you're probably going to suffer in china because the government is doing its best to make you suffer. but other parts of the chinese economy will be okay. >> i know nina wants to chime in about europe. >> hi there, jim. you know how you're saying be very, very keshed about 2013 and 2014 because essentially a number of these governments particularly in europe are not paying down the debt. if they're trying to inflate their way out of this problem, what does that mean for the average person? where do you put your money these days, before 2013, 2014? >> nina, you put it extremely well. they are going to try to inflate their way out. that's all they know to do. it's the wrong thing. but the only way to protect yourself, nina, in a time like that is to own real assets, whether it's silver or rice or whatever it happens to be. you've got to own real assets when they're printing money. i don't like that they're printing money. it's not it good for any of us, but that's what they do. they're not smart people. that's why they work for the government. >> now, somebody here supposedly is a smart person, the head of the ecb, mario. he says we're halfway along the road and the problems that euro zone is facing is almost behind us. he even perhaps is let's say courting people more hawkish on the ecb who are scared of inflation. what do you make of these recent comments he's made? is the worst behind us? should we be worried about inflation now? can we afford to be? >> of course the worst is not behind us. can you name any government that's lowered its debt, even greece which wrote off billions of dollars, debt is still the same as it was before. no, nina. this is all balderdash. they're trying to make us all feel better for the elections. you've got to be worried and you've got to learn not to listen to the government because if you listen to the government you're going to go broke. don't get your advice from governments. >> indeed, wise words. watch what the politicians say with bucket loads of salt. so how do you broadly pay this. you talk about commodities, real assets. what is it jim rogers investing in? >> what i'm most positive in is agriculture. it's been a horrible business for 30 years, prices are very low and prices have to go higher, andrew, or we're not going to have any food at any price. we have serious shortages of food around the world. we have shortages of farmers. the average age of a farmer in america and australia is 58. in japan it's 66. >> you've been saying this for a long time, haven't you? >> yes. and it's hatching. >> buy farmland and commodities. >> yes. and now it's working. it's not over yet. i told you should 0 stop being in tv and become a farmer. >> that's where the farmers are going to be driving ferraris in the next ten years. that was your quote. >> yes, it is. >> agriculture. what about things like traditional safe havens, of course gold. it's come down a little, but do you think it will be the safe haven if, as you say, 2013 and 2014 is going to be really rough? >> yes, gold needs a correction. gold has been up 11 years in a row, andrew. that's very unusual for any asset any whether in the world. if it continues its correction, which i hope it does, i'll buy more gold because gold is going much higher over the decade. silver, most real assets. >> so you'd be, as you say, coming back to this hard assets, real things with inherent value -- keep away from equities? keep away from treasuries? >> i sold you some equities -- bonds short, some treasury bonds short just on friday. i'm not very good with my timing on anything, especially with treasuries, so i wouldn't be buying them. i sold them short on friday. i'm not buying equities. i buy a few every once in a while. >> because you're so worried about the situation. >> i'm very worried about the world. i bought a few shares in japan this year and last year. a few -- if china goes down, i'll buy more in china. for the -- >> but the bulk of your portfolio is going to be in real assets. >> and currencies. >> which currencies? >> you'll see a lot of currency turmoil. swiss frank is something you could consider today. >> as a safe haven? >> there's no safe haven in the investment business, andrew. you must know that by thousand. >> but we cling to these -- >> don't use the word "safe" with me when you're talking about investments. please. >> but with swiss frank, any other currencies you like out there? >> the euro. i'm not selling my euros. i might even buy some more. i even own the u.s. dollar at the moment because there's going to be more turmoil and believe it or not, people put their money in u.s. dollars when there's turmoil. they think it's safe. it's not safe. but they go there anyway so i've gone there, too. >> you've identified, last question, the debt ceiling -- the debt as one of the big issues. what about oil prices? we've got $125 per barrel brent crude now. how big an impact is that going to have on global growth? >> people who buy oil it will affect them. but it helps a lot of people, canada, the middle east. it helps a lot of countries benefitting when the price of oil goes up. yes, but other people are going to suffer. >> the global economy will be hit, though, it has to be, do you think? >> what you have to do is watch cnn and figure out who's going to benefit and who's going to suffer. that's how you invest. watch you. >> we'll keep getting you back on the show to watch you, jim. always great to have you. >> thank you. >> jim rogers, legendary investor, always good to it get his words of warning and advice. >> it certainly is. i've got a memory like an elephant as well. he certainly told me about the farmers driving the ferraris about four years ago. haven't seen any yet. i'm glad you addressed the issue of oil because we're going to be talking about oil and a controversial process to get it out std ground when we return. south africa is the latest focus of a global debate here. we'll bring you the full story as energy companies will begin start the controversial process of fracking in an area known for its natural beauty. i think i'm goin-... shhh! we find that we don't need to sleep that much. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. welcome back. you're watching "world business today" live on cnn. well, the temperature is rising alongside fuel prices. in indonesia, this tuesday thousands are expected to protest government proipzales to add 33% to the country's heavily subsidized gasoline. those moves will be coming in as of sunday. these are the scenes on wednesday last week when demonstrators took to the streets of the capital jakarta, rejecting government claims that price hike is just necessary to balance the national budget. electricity raitds are also expected to rise by 10%, but andrew the real contentious issue is of course increasing the price of fuel by a third. >> you see it more and more around asia, governments being force to lift subsidies on fuel prices which obviously does not really help the politicians in their cause. not all emerging markets have had bad news yet, but if uncertainty in the oil markets isn't lifted, fuel hikes are possible almost everywhere. cnn correspondent in two of the world's fastest growing economies say the consumers are now fearing the worst. chester darlington is in sao paulo brazil where the government has no far been fairly self-reliant on the oil front. but first let's hear from new delhi where affordable prices at the pump are being threatened by events in iran. >> reporter: i'm in new delhi. filling up a gas tank costs roughly $4.70 per gallon. it's been the same price since december 2011 so the global surge in oil prices hasn't really affected the indian consumer yet. the reason for that? well, even though the government deregulated petrol prices, some companies can't raise prices until they get government approval. but there is growing fear here that a rise in pet ral prices is imminent. india imports 70% of its crude oil, the majority from saudi arabia. but 11% of it comes from iran. u.s. pressure is of course mounting on india to decrease those imports of iranian oil. but india is saying it cannot do that and that the u.s. must consider india's enormous need for energy. >> i'm shasta darlington in sow ball low. despite the global hike in gas prices, here they're holding steady. basically because brazil can afford to. the country is eye net oil exporter. they get most their gas from the state-run oil company. which means when the government wants to put a lid on prices it can. that's exactly what it's doing. they really don't want gas taking another bite out of people's pocketbooks at a time when the economy is sluggish. the downside is gas is already incredibly expensive, i'm talking more than $6 a gallon or almost $1.70 a liter, which means you have to shell out more than $70 just to fill your tank. >> shasta darlington there in brazil, just goes to show, nina, it's not the developing, the developed economies, it's everyone getting hit by high oil prices. >> it is, absolutely, andrew. speaking of those high oil prices, they hit 1.40 pounds in the uk on average. that's another record. we're contending it here as well. it's an issue that's causing controversy around the world. fracking, a process of extracting natural gas from deep under the earth's surface is splitting opinion these days in south africa. energy companies plan to begin drilling in a desert area known as the ka rue. they say it will bring valuable benefits to the country. however, some locals are still convinced that fracking is just a threat to the ecosystem and would spoil the area for future generations. >> reporter: it's caused controversy and protests around the globe. and in some countries fracking has been banned altogether. but here in south africa's barren wilderness, plans are under way to begin drilling for natural gas contained in a rock called shale deep within the earth. several large energy companies have leased rights to begin fracking here, and they're waiting for fiebl of final approval from the government to begin drilling. >> translator: we have an amazing opportunity here as a company to create a brand new industry that can give the people of the karu but also the 50 million south africans energy, environment and economic benefits. >> if fracking were to be licensed in this country and if they proved to be a shale gas deposit here under this landscape, there's no reason at all why you wouldn't see the drilling happening right here. >> reporter: jonathan has written a book on the karu and is leading the campaign against fracking in this area. >> yes, it is a very special place. it's irreplaceable. my concern is that we could make decisions chasing fossil fuels in this country where this generation is making a decision that is going to affect unborn generally raigss who may not be too happy about it. where we should perhaps have been pursuing renewable energies. >> reporter: controversy surrounds the way the drilling is done. down and sideways into the shale rock, large quantities of water and other chemicals are injected. this fractures the rock, releasing natural gas trapped inside the shale. the karoo has a unique and delicate biodiversity that energy companies say they will protect, but campaigners believe fracking could kill wildlife and this area's limited water supply could become contaminated. >> anywhere you go you're drilling holes in the earth, the chances of damaging aquifers is very high. africa is a water-scarce country and the karoo is the driest part of our country. to threaten our water supplies with a system that's comingled with toxic chemicals sounds like insanity of the first order. >> reporter: the town of sutherland is on the edge of the area that could be affected by fracking. the town is has a big reputation built on its astronomical observatory, but it's a small place. you can see from one side to the other, and the streets are largely empty. this man runs a guesthouse in sutherland. he acknowledges that the town needs jobs, but he's concerned about the long-term impact of fracking on his community. >> in the short term for sure, there is a great need for jobs. if we look at it over the long term, i'm a bit concerned because it's got to be sustainable and what will be the result over a very, very long peri period? >> reporter: according to a recent report by a south african think tank funded by shell, towns like this aand the country as a withhold could get an economic boost if fracking goes ahead. >> the successful development of the shale gas reserves would result in approximately $11 billion to $30 billion contribution to the south african gdp. by the same token, there would be a significant impact on employment. >> reporter: but others believe the employment case for fracking has been exaggerated. >> report cites a number of 700,000 jobs, which is more jobs than the entire mining sector combined. it's -- i can understand the motivation to cite such a high number, but i don't think it's realistic. >> reporter: in america, the debate is just as fractured. in ohio there are accusations that fracking has cause earthquakes and the water was so contaminated it could be ignited. in france, after widespread protests, the drilling technique has been banned altogether. campaigners in south africa believe that the lack of international and scientific consensus on the benefits and the environmental impact of fracking means it should not be allowed to happen in the karoo. >> in 110 places around the world, at least 110 places, fracking is either completely banned or under some form of moratorium or restriction. and whilst that's happening in the international community, as far as we're concerned there's a very big question. south africa is a place at the moment where we still have an opportunity to decide whether we're going to allow it into this country or not. >> reporter: the south african government has stopped licensing while it studies all the arguments. the fate of this fragile landscape could be decided by the end of march. >> meanwhile, as robin concerner was mentioning in had her report, one region is way ahead of the pack when it comes to engaging in fracking, that is north america. last year around 87% of the world's fracking was carried out he there. still ahead -- since the book was published more than three years ago, it's been a case of constant craving for fans of "the hunger games." well, they've whetted their appetite in a big way this weekend. we'll tell you about a record haul for the u.s. box office in just a moment. so what do you think? basic. at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. well i'm andrew from hong kong. >> the movie came and saw and conquered, "the hunger games," the best seller by the american author suzanne collins. the hunger was very much in evidence this weekend with fans giving this science fiction thriller the third highest grossing north american weekend ever in history. let's take a look at the big number in question. here it is, "the hunger games" took in an estimated $155 million in the u.s. and canada, making it the best performing non-sequel in history. it also took more cash than any other movie outside the peak summer season. well, the weeks ahead and of course the sequels to come will probably tell us whether viewers will have had their fill or whether one will be watching these "hunger games" and leave them salivating for more. let's look at how the european markets are faring. we're about two hours into the opening session. this is where we stand, bit of a mixed picture with some slight gains in the london ftse, to the tune of two-tenths of 1%. really, the stock markets seem to have gone south, the cac 40 started out in more or less negative territory and even the dax has now joined it below the flat line. those two markets, what they did is lost about 3% on the week last week, really a turbulent week for stock markets worldwide. what we're seeing is a key report showing that german business confidence rose slightly more than expected for the month of march. hasn't been enough to counter the fears. we've also had spanish stocks falling, under pressure from an inconclusive election over the weekend. that's it for this edition of "world business today." thanks for joining us this morning. iemg nina desantos in london. >> i'm andrew stevens in hong kong. nina and i will be back in a few hourz. maggie lake will join us. we'll have the opening bell on wall street and all the business news. news. we'll see you then. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com