Orders and sales in italy, orders flat on the month, down. 2 on the month for sales and down nearly 5 on the year. So confirming some of the weakness that we know weve seen previously in the italian economy. Meanwhile, another gauge perhaps for the euro as we look to the strength of it lately. Thats the current counselor plus which in october was an adjusted 3. 9 billion euros, up quite a bit from the 2. 5 billion reported for september. Now that also comes after a day after the European Unions report suggesting that in fact the European Union would have to run a surplus, given its poor demographics over the next couple of years. Now lets get a quick preview of the news. For that we head to patricia, awaiting the results. What do we expect to see . Reporter were expecting the second consecutive month to the upside for the Business Sentiment next year in germany. November was a surprise after six months to the downside. We expect december to book in a little increase again, but important is here, not only the expectation part of the index but also that we get a little more oomph as to say from the Current Conditions. And that is going to be the big part of the numbers. We are just starting to see it. Business Climate Index in december is out, and it rises. Here we have business Climate Index 102. 4 in december versus an expectation of 102. Slightly better unanimous expected. Here the Current Conditions, 107. 7. The consensus was 1. 8. That is slightly lower than expectations when it comes with the Current Conditions. Here the expectation side of the index is 97. 9. Reuters was pointing to 96. 2, so better than expected. There is no revisions made to november. So we do have a rise for the second consecutive month for the Business Sentiment index. In germany what you see is a reaction from the euro. Weve been trading actually fairly strong all morning. 1. 30 to 2. 47. It was 1. 32 42 before the numbers hit the wires. We have quite a bit of support for the euro because of the s. A. P. Upgrade on greece and the situation over there. Well see also the way the market is reacting. Lets have a quick look at what the dax is doing. Its been perky, up 0. 15 . Trading toward the 7,665 level. Patricia, this comes at a time when people have been focusing on the strength of the euro. As were over the 1. 32 level you mentioned, certainly member countries would like to see a weaker currency. But as long as the surveys hold consistent with strength in the German Economy, were not likely to see that weakening. No. Absolutely. And the more we get over the entire question will the euro break up or not, as long as that happens we will have some more support in the euro which is not bad if you think about the quantitative easing weve seen in the eurozone and also inflation. That could be the counterpart of the equation, that we still have money being pumped into the economies wheroe ouausterity is going on. We have a little pullback possibly Going Forward when it comes to the euro. Then again, if you look at the year of 2012, we have to put it in perspective. The euro u. S. Dollar didnt move that much whatsoever. From that point of view, i dont think that we just have to look at today or the last two days of development in euro u. S. Dollar. Of course, global trade is really important for the German Economy. It continues to be very important. Even from a private consumption point of view, we did have quite a bit of support as of late. Also because of the wages. And looking at the world bank report, also looking at the asian economies in 2013, 2014, them seeing a little better picture is very good for the German Economy and not to speak about the turnaround in the u. S. Which seems to be stabilizing, looking this also at the housing market. So Business Sentiment better than expected. It is rising. The Current Conditions a little weaker than expected. Add to that the financial analyst numbers we had as of late, also better than expected. Not too bad. Patricia, well see you again next hour. Thank you very much for following all the latest there. Sure. Now, shares in ubs have edged up in early trade after the bank announced a major settlement with u. S. , u. K. , and swiss regulators over its role in the libor fixing scandal. With more well look at the story with carolyn roth with us on set. I guess were expecting a settlement, expecting something big. What have we learned today . Well, first of all, i mean, the Market Reaction ubs up by 1 , can you believe that . What barclays was hit with 450 million fine, i mean, we saw a big hit in barclays share price. This fine is three time the amount that barclays was fined. 1. 5 billion or 1. 4 billion swissfrank francs. This is on the libor manipulation charges. Ubs must pay swiss regulators 59 million in profits because the regulator cant fine ubs. The fine from the fsa is the biggest ever, 160 million pounds, 1. 2 billion will go to the u. S. Regulators. So the second biggest fine that was ever handed to a financial institution. Of course, following that 1. 9 billion fine that was given to hsbc. What we do know is that the company is admitting criminal wrongdoing in its japanese arm because, you know, around 30 traders worldwide had manipulated the yen libor between 2005 and 2010. The ceo speaking this morning says, you know, despite the troubles in the japanese arm, he does not believe that theres the bank is going to be shutting down the operations in that country entirely. Saying that 30 to 40 people have already left the bank. They also gave us a bit more information on what kind of impact this will have on profits. They see a Fourth Quarter net loss of around 2. 5 billion swig franks. A fullyear profit of 2. 5 to 3 billion. And the most important part, why shares are trading up. They still expect a Fourth Quarter net new money being positive. And again, i mean, its puzzling to some. On the other hand, investors are clearly focusing on the rebound story much more than the lobbyer story because, you know, these are things of the past. And also its the wall street journal reporting rbs may be the next bank. We have two down but probably several more to come. It was comments ive got the report from the fsa, a 40page document. Some of the comments that are getting focus, i think we can show a few. Its extraordinary. And again, coming after some of the things we heard from barclays. Perhaps even more egregious. One trader saying to a broker you can read, you keep 6s unchanged today. I will [ bleep ] do one humongous deal with you like a 50,000 buck deal, whatever. I need you to keep it as low as possible. If you do, that ill pay you, you know, 50,000, 100,000. Whatever you want. Im a man of my word. More commentary that illustrate over time a level this was an institutional practice. It wasnt a one off trade here thats being focused on. No. This was something going on for quite sometime. It was done over a number of years. It wasnt just ubs. I know ubs may have been a central role. You know, they may have been, you know the bank that actually started manipulating even though we dont know that. But thats the thinking. But its an industry matter. Not just specific to ubs. Well have plenty more on this. Dirk becker will join us next hour. Thank you very much. Really appreciate it. Carolyn will be going back to cover the story out of the homeland soon. Mean meantime, news from porsche now. Ill see if i can bring it up correctly, that is. Were still showing german prosecutor has issued charges against former porsche executives. If we get more details on this story, we will bring it to you. Charging them with market manipulation. Plenty of charges to go around this morning, for sure. If you have any thoughts this morning, want to respond to thing youve heard on the program, you know how to reach us. Email worldwide cnbc. Com. Well check markets. First to asia and singapore and the details. Hi. Reporter hey. Prim good session here. Still optimism that a deal will be reached over the ploifiscal f stateside. Domestic factors in place starting with japan. This is the real star of asia. For the last month or so the nikkei 225, shattering the 10,000 level, up 2. 4 . The jen weak against the dollar yen is weak again the dollar which is behind the gains. More than 116 in the last five weeks. All eyes and pressure is on the boj governor. They began their policy meeting today. Expectations are very high for some very aggressive monetary stimulus tomorrow. So if traders dont get what they want, we could see some disappointing action in this market. Already way in overbought territory. Moving to the greater Chinese Markets, a volatile session once again. The shanghai caught changing directions a number of times throughout the session. Ending just on the flat line at 21. 62. The property plays were dragging this index down. Theyve been some of the best performers year to date. However, weve been getting more rhetoric from policymakers saying that the curbs and restrictions that have been in place for more than two years now are going to be there to stay. This is following some signs of a revival in that market. Of course, as you guys know, the government has its eye and wants to cool home prices and really deflate that bubble. The hang seng managed its first winning session so far this week. Up. 6 , bringing it close to a 17month high. And oil plays were big winners. We had the s p asx 200 in australia, gains. The bsc sensex trading half a percent. Back to you. Thank you very much. A key session in japan overnight. As we pivot our focus to europe, you see stocks addi adding. 3 . Consistent with the rally weve seen over the last several trading sessions and apparently having plenty to do with the possible resolution of u. S. Fiscal talks. Well have more in a little bit. The survey also helping to lift sentiment or keep it buoyant. Look at the major borses. Green in the harder hit regions. Ftse mib, spain up better than 1 . Consistent with the rally we saw yesterday. Remarkable. The xetra dax adding. 1 . For its part, up to close to 30 this year. The ftse 100 adding. 3. The bond space, well look at that and talk later about the big trades that have helped some hedge funds, for example, when it comes to greek debt. For the time being, marios comments this summer is have techively kept the bond gleelds a tight range since then six months or so now, this is going. And differentiation across the space where italy price rising, not the case for spain which is seeing its yield up to 5. 3. And i know we havent mentioned this in a while, but i want to draw your attention here. The tenyear gild in the u. K. , 1. 957 . Extraordinary. Were not off the 2 market in the spread, widening significantly. Coming up on the program today, the count is set to get underway in south korea following general elections. Well head to seoul to find out whether the country could elect its first female leader. The bank of england releases minutes from its latest policy meeting. What could the vote on quantitative easing mean for the gild market . And good news and bad for bilibong. Well ask if they can regain the markets trust. Then fedex reports before the bell in the u. S. Will the strong Holiday Season help offset the impact of sluggish growth in the u. S. Economy and Global Economy . Welcome back to the program. Over in south korea the polls have just closed. According to the latest figures, voter turnout was above 70 , far exceeding the numbers in the president ial elections in 2007 and 2002. This result could also see the country get its first female leader. We have more on this report from seoul. Reporter South Koreans went it the polls today with two choices ahead of them. The daughter of a former dictator and the ruling party candidate. And the leftleaning democratic united partys candidate, a protege of the former president who is still remembered as a symbol of democratic reforms. But rather than a choice for the future, many say this battle is shaping up to be a thing of the past. This ad paid for by her party depict a scar on her face which they say shows her determination to overcome adversity. Others say it shows shes scarred by her fathers legacy. He rose to power in the 60s and was credited with kick starting koreas economy. Hes also blamed for committing human rights abuse during his time in office. In the eyes of koreans, a mixed legacy. Economic low very, very positive. In terms of democracy, the developments of korean democracy quite negative. So he does have this theres this sort of love him more hate him thing. Reporter standing in contrast is the opposition leader. Last weeks abrupt departure of rival candidate and software mogul has given moons popularity a boost among young voters. He also has an impressive political pedigree, serving as chief of staff under the former president. Like his exboss, portrays himself as a man of the people. Its a delicate issue that the south korean president bak has tried to bridge but with little luck. Hes been more successful in handling the economic response to Global Financial crisis. The challenges remain. Translator in the short term, the incoming government has to recover growth which has been sluggish lately. Also, debt is a problem, but more importantly, facility investments by Companies Must be reunited in order to lift the domestic economy and create jobs. Reporter south koreas neighbor to the north are going to require a great deal of skill for whichever candidate wins the election. But to most its still a battle of legacies, not policies, where ironically swing voters and the Younger Generation are likely to dictate the outcome. And speaking of the outcome, were getting a few exit polls reported by dow jones and reuters out of south korea. Polls did just close. Reuters citing south korean tv says the exit polls show park, the female conservative candidate, winning with a vote of 50. 1 . No surprise. Dow jones, meanwhile, saying the exit polls are divided. The polling at least now would suggest an extremely narrow win. As we get more update on the figures, well bring them to you and keep an eye on the broader Market Reaction but more likely it will be focused on what happens when markets reopen tomorrow. South korea was closed for trading today. Now the u. S. Has slapped duties on wind turbine towers on china on price its says were unfairly cheap. This comes as washington welcomes a highlevel chinese delegation led by the vice premier. His team is in the u. S. To talk trade and economy. Hes expected to meet with u. S. Treasury secretary tim geithner tomorrow. Wang is the First Official from the new Leadership Team to visit with the u. S. For more on the impact and implications of this, lets speak with frank ching, adjunct associate professor at the Chinese University of hong kong. Frank, hi. The first news that were getting out of this appears to be more import duties s. This going to be the theme of u. S. china relations, or do you expect these meetings to be more of a thaw . Well, i think that these are the first meetings since the new leadership in china was installed. And since president obama saw well, won second term. I think both sides want to make use of this occasion to improve their relationship. So this joint annual meeting is a platform, and i think that they will probably be able to achieve some progress on issues of concern to both sides. But i dont see any sweeping changes. Whats interesting, frank, and you point this out, are comments we got out of chinas commerce minister or commerce secretary suggesting concern about quantitative easing because it was lowering the value of the foreign reserves, the dollar reserves that china holds. So chinas apparently looking to sort of diversify away from those reserves into more generating assets. But its having difficulty doing so because the u. S. , because a lot of nations have been reluctant to let them in. Any sign that attitudes there may be starting to change, particularly in light of the candidate deal . Yeah. I think the nexen deal was good for china. The Prime Minister made in t clear this is not the beginning of a new trend. He said this is the end of a trend. And that the canadian government has been withdrawing from ownership of resources and different parts of economy, and its not about to hand thing over to foreign governments. The thing is most of these Chinese Companies trying to invest are stateowned corporations. Therefore, they represent the chinese government. And do not necessarily operate on purely market principles. This is something that not only canada is wary of, but the United States also. The there is concern that the National Security might be involved. You might remember that back in 205, the same Commission Company tried to buy unical in the United States and encountered extensive opposition from the u. S. Congress. And they had to withdraw. And then after that, china tried to buy something in australia. And encountered opposition. I think that there is a suspicion of chinese intentions whenever they try to buy into areas that are sensitive. And the chinese minister of commerce yesterday showed a statement saying that this is protectionism, and its discriminatory. And frank, how should we read the statement . Is it a stepping up of the kind of rhetoric weve seen in the past . Is it any kind of readthrough to how the next administration is going to handle the u. S. china relationship . Well, i think that its a little too early to tell that this is symptomatic of the new administration. But i do expect that there will be progress in certain areas. China has been asking the u. S. To lift restrictions on hightech exports. And i gather that the Obama Administration is consider something kind of overh