the outgoing president of the euro group the top a huge job and him the nickname mr euro euro group finance ministers have been meeting behind closed doors since one thousand nine hundred ninety eight the euro group itself is considered one of the most powerful financial bodies in the world their meetings are attended by the president of the european central bank and the european commission for economic and monetary affairs nineteen countries use the single currency meaning one thousand finance ministers are in the group and today they voted on who will take the helm of the single currency bloc on january giving the job to portugal's ninety s. and taina he inherits a more stable euro zone than the one mr dyson blome had to chair. well that's a big job but what does it may let's cross over to brussels correspond marx hoffman who is standing by of course in brussels max what gives some ten of the edge over the other candidates. it doesn't hurt when you have the right countries backing up a bit in this case it seems that the big countries france and germany backed them up although officially a

the euro is actually believe it or not still slightly undervalued long term value to the u.s. dollar is a rug one twenty five we typically gyrate lot around that the car would find i think one or two years from now the euro could actually be slightly stronger ok holger schmieding there a chief economist at bear in the bank thank you so much for being here with us today you are now it's the season to be jolly in many parts of the world and here in germany there's no better way to get into the festive spirit and this is one of the many christmas markets across the country and treat yourself to a mulled wine or two but when it comes to the seasonal drink quality is key and it is somebody's his job to make sure the mulled wine is up to standard. here in the center of cologne locals and visitors are getting into the festive spirit for many that means indulging in a seasonal drink or two food quality tester all of our maya has come here to check they're up to scratch. for the boiling point of alcohol is seventy eight degrees is so mulled wine shouldn't be hotter than ours. and don't

spanish state always wins big as it right up to two hundred million euros in taxes. coming up with a business. with different languages we fight for different things that's fine but we all stick up for freedom freedom of speech and freedom of press. giving freedom of choice.

the outgoing president of the euro group the top a huge job and in the nickname mr euro euro group finance ministers have been meeting behind closed doors since one thousand nine hundred ninety eight the euro group itself is considered one of the most powerful financial bodies in the world their meetings are attended by the president of the european central bank and the european commission for economic and monetary affairs nineteen countries use the single currency meaning one thousand finance ministers are in the group and today they are voting on who will take the helm of the single currency bloc inheriting a more stable euro zone than the one mr di sublime had to check. and we're getting reports that indeed mario centennial is going to make the race that go over to cora who has no standing by end of frankfurt. is going to tell you what are you hearing. well yes i was just on the line with brussels and i was told the. portuguese finance minister is confirmed to become the new president of the euro group of the group of the euro finance ministers. why should we care whose jeev of the euro

it's simple online on euro mile and free. stuff. d w z e learning course goes greek german made easy. for. the t twenty i don't think. tells them to and i make a few of them tell of the famous potato. action .

and in spain the festive season is all about children singing songs and billions of euros in cash el gordo the fact one is here again the world's biggest bang lottery. i'm egypt money thank you for joining us spain's prime minister mariano rajoy has said he's open to dialogue after yesterday's regional elections in catalonia separatist thought his want to slim majority but it remains unclear who will form the next government the horse said he would talk with the new leaders as long as they don't violate the country's constitution. he said he expected a new era based on dialogue but he did not respond to a call to meet with allstate independents need a college sports team on put him on is in self-imposed exile in brussels earlier today he called on to meet him to discuss catalonia future and here's what he had to say. i'm sure i'm ready to meet prime minister hoyer in brussels or in a different place in the e.u. except spain for his reasons are ready to do that because it's time for catalonia for the spanish tutor and for europe to start a new political figures and this phase needs to

know in this city and he has a car that costs sixty thousand dollars ninety thousand euros and can go faster than one hundred fifty kilometers per hour. but in a city we can drive faster than twenty or thirty kilometers per hour. passed built the motor himself replacing combustion engines with batteries that's what the fifty eight year old does all day in his workshop sustainability means that you don't always have to get a new car. it's a big advantage that we have when we use it's already been built transform it into something which can still be used but without a negative effect. most of the population can't afford to buy a new electric car but since it's mostly those residents who are causing the air pollution it might be the smartest idea for the government to subsidize the modifications only three thousand euros for an electric car. distance performance charging the batteries from home pos can customize it all. if that were that. people always wait for someone else to find the solution. you've already had with us but it doesn't have to be that way you have to soften it will be d

europe's on finance ministers will pick the replacement for euro group cheap. later today the job is one of europe's top posts and it was especially crucial during the tumultuous years of the eurozone debt crisis for some years it seemed the eurozone was doomed and with it its a currency but recent data shows there is life in the old dog gets. years of recession on three bailouts if there was ever a poster child for europe's economic crisis it was greece but not the country's fortunes appear to be turning around growth is returning and borrowing costs of fall and. southern european nations spain and portugal are also showing signs of recovery that's especially good news for the e.u. single currency. since january of this year the euro has risen to around fifteen percent against the dollar landing most recently iran to dollar nineteen. so is it all rosy not quite says the european central bank while things are improving economic with remain italy's fragile banking sector is a big concern and public debt in the country is high should europe's third largest econom

for the global insights the news out for local euro.

the euro's come up as some pressure today what's the problem there. but really a problem the euro weakness is really a dollar strength after the republicans in the u.s. senate managed to pass this tax bill on saturday markets worldwide have opened this week on a very upbeat tone investors hope that those tax cuts will eventually give the u.s. economy a boost and that drives the u.s. dollar upwards nobody at the moment is concerned about the potential increase of the u.s. budget deficit it's calculated to be about one trillion u.s. dollars over the next decade on models in frankfurt thank you. now if you miss out on the bitcoin boom last week and still have some appetite for risk left in you well you'll soon be able to invest in the petro as venezuela's very own crypto currency the background the venezuelan currency has plummeted by more than ninety five percent against the dollar on the black market over the past year so this is a desperate attempt by president maduro to prevent the country's total economic breakdown different from other currencies th

zone today saying the aim is to strengthen the foundations of the euro common currency now there are three key aspects to watch out for. paris one's a. big eurozone funding package as a show of solidarity in the face of financial shocks opponents to this idea like commission presidential one such a fund to be small and symbolic now secondly what becomes of the euro group president the commission plus political leaders in france and germany want a european finance minister instead but it's not clear what exactly this role would look like go for one once the european finance minister to be an commissioner others want to hold to the idea of e.u. member states electing such a minister now finally a french president. once this finance minister to control all of the european union's finances and not just for the euro area so this is something we'll certainly keep an eye on for you and hopefully later speak to our stock market expert to see how all of this is going down there in frankfurt but first turning to a major success story bitcoin the cryptocurrency is the past twelve thousand dolla

to pay between forty five and fifty five billion euros to the e.u. for its independence from the bloc. there was no official confirmation. for the some but and e.u. commissioner said that there was an offer on the table. for siemens is setting the stage for germany's largest i.p.o. in more than two decades europe's largest industrial conglomerate chose frankfurt over new york for the listing of health and years its medical technology division which sells machines to hospitals and doctors offices siemens largest and most profitable sector is expected to go public in the coming year. black friday which officially kicks off the christmas shopping season was a big day for nintendo the popularity of its switch console pushed shares of the japanese game cell producer to their highest level on tokyo's nikkei exchange in nine years with the company's shares soaring over ninety percent and twenty seventeen. the handheld switch seems set to become a must have this holiday season. with. the schleck their brand is well known across europe at the company's peak e

a small bottle of mineral water cost three euro. a bread roll three euros fifty and even though twenty five people were taken to work on one truck each one had to pay five euros for the journey that aging. a police raid resulted in the arrest of twenty people eleven of them received prison sentences ranging up to eleven years each. they included a farmer and a number of foreman. this man known as giuseppe the tunisian was especially brutal their victims have yet to receive compensation. still lives and nardo but he's never seen any money for his work after he testified in court it's been difficult for him to find work and he's even received threats. do always tell me i should be. i we are there. only ten secretly please be long dead me in other words keep well away from us. so if you have to says you have to understand what is going on you get what i'm talking yeah. away from the public eye illegal slums have mushroom and this ghetto in southern italy is the largest in the country it's not possible to film here openly the nigerian m

he estimates that he spent around one hundred fifty thousand euros on the decorations so far the folks have to pay some three thousand euros just for the extra electricity they use in december a little private christmas market helps to pay for it all that the you need those these you know his and he needs it and i hope this year we'll see even more shining faces that's the whole point of doing this does is in doubt that. i had to give him . they have up to five hundred spectators every week and his wife sells mulled wine and sausages while both checks the lights to make sure they're all working and he keeps coming up with new ideas that come as long as my wife joins in and i just can't stop. their leg and we'll keep doing this as long as we're able we really enjoy it yeah it's not just to make me happy but above all the people who come here on a pretty boy. the couple have been married for forty two years now for seventeen of them they've been lighting up the holiday season. i may they keep shining for many years to come but we continue now with a look at the other lifestyle highlights

and this euro, euro for europe, as it is being billed, it is in its final shape. the group pairings have taken place but the additional games leaving brussels are coming to london. derek mcguinness is to remain the manager of aberdeen. rangers request to speak to mcguinness was turned down on tuesday, although mcguinness had been interested in speaking to rangers but he is remaining at pittodrie. graham marty will continue in his role until the end of the year. the fa cup match between brighton and crystal palace is the first competitive game in england to use video match officials, var. it will allow the referee to review footage and perhaps overturn their own decisions and the league cup semi—finals will also use the var technology. and the women's finals, reading to everton, and four times winners arsenal host sunderland on the 16th and the 17th of december. now the quarterfinal the 16th and the 17th of december. now the quarter final line—up at the uk snooker championship. it should be finalised this evening. and there is drama inside the barbican at york,

the un's world food programme give syrian refugees around twenty five euros a month so that cash is not stored in a bank it's on block chain a digital shared record of transactions maintained by a network of computers on the internet. and his team are in charge of coordinating and accounting the blocked train technology was launched from his office in munich it made aid work more transparent and cost effective. give it a fruity how every refugee has a virtual bank account and instead of having that account at a bank we can carry out individual transactions by a blocked chain. on blocked chain each refugee is identified by an individual code . the information is not stored centrally it's managed simultaneously by thousands of servers that's why the blocked chain technology is seen as virtually forgery proof all interactions between participants are stored in an encrypted text file that way organizers can trace who bought what and when. for end is the use of it's extremely attractive for us because before block chain we were using various databases so we had our own databases bank databas

costco has invested a billion euros in the container terminal. the passenger terminal is next on the agenda already the largest in europe it's going to get even bigger along with a massive facelift. old warehouses are also being converted. are that get these to develop four and five star hotels that we did not have maybe you know you can see by the deep end to provide do it he said he said he sees we thought there i'm using areas like restaurant cafeterias costco also wants to attract cruise ship passengers primarily from china and paramus would be more than just a flying visit costco wants it to become home base for the luxury liners big plans but the unions are skeptical they fear costco is farming out contracts to sub contractors and working conditions will be undermined in a few me off the wall it's an important question is that and if necessary we'll go on strike yet we want a collective agreement and long term secure jobs that's what we demand from costco and also from our government. as part of the deal with the greek government costco has

her grand master is on the road in a rolls royce which cost half a million euros you leave used to be a car mechanic. his dramatic rise to riches is perhaps only possible in china with its population of one point four billion. bought myself a rolls royce because i often meet with internet personalities fashionistas trendsetters the others usually by a mercedes s.u.v.s all land rovers i bought these instead there was you know back in the road with them they went with uli now things on a different scale everything has to be big like his new headquarters where one being new and the other live streamers will be based. the architect explains that this is where the accounts department will be because it's a good thing shway and don't forget says uli to plan enough space for my good business buddha. and then it's back to his marble and guild suite it's nearly show time again his hours of flirtation with the lonely in the rich who he must entertain and who are becoming more and more demanding more critical when he repeats himself suddenly it all comes out. it's huge pressure to look at my swo

sounds like a lot doesn't it but it's not it's just three euros a month so for just ten euros per month you can own three decent pairs of shoes. and here are the three essentials you want black caps so off last week of class absolutely timeless for nearly every occasion number two darby broke one out of. a bit more the sporty side anyway by the way do you know the difference between an oxford and a darby the darby has the facing stitched on top of the shoe with an oxford its own underneath number three if you too lazy to lace up one stripes also airlifted. chelsea boots for the winter and loafers for the summer. i hate loafers the question is how do i recognize a good quality shoe but ask for shall we. can just feel it can't you one thing might be balance nothing is what will linger around you can trust this shoe another thing the details like brass eyelets for a gentlemen's core at the heel and a third thing for a business shoe leather sole to hand stitching you can feel it so treat yourself viewed as a sustainable investment because classics like the never go out of style. is somethin

several million euros a year on bank charges that's money that can be spent on food aid. alexandra benefits across the humanitarian aid sector she says it could help build a digital identity for refugees who have lost everything. the capability of the block changes you could record a lot of different types of information on the so for example like a lot of refugees are displaced they lose their papers they basically have to start from square one they don't have education records etc if you begin putting those things on the block that it becomes an immutable record it's also transferred across borders aid without boundaries and banks in this project it's already a reality. shift says an effective use of technology. time now for the shift ranking this time the country's most lacking in internet freedom. in fifth place cuba u.s. ngo freedom house studied restrictions on internet access content and data protection in sixty five countries despite modest steps to increase internet access cuba it says remains one of the world's least connected and most repressive environments fo

the euro crisis may be over but it's still a tough job we'll tell you why. it's time for business on the w m how you got to get us welcome to the show venezuelan president nicolas maduro introduced the petro on sunday the country's very own crypto currency it's supposed to counter the disastrous performance of the real currency that will leave out which has plummeted by more than ninety five percent against the dollar on the black market over the past year but few believe this will make any difference ask corruption political turmoil add mismanaged finances are bringing venice well us economy to its knees. in the fight against his country's economic crisis president is running out of options the state is on the verge of bankruptcy. unlike bitcoin the petro will be backed by a physical asset only oil venezuela's reserves are the largest in the world but the needs to squeeze more money out of them has led to the surprising idea. but says the cryptocurrency will help the nation. but i want to understand this monetary sovereignty to make financial transactions.

tickets have been sold as there are residence everyone dreams of winning big el gordo the four million euro top prize this is the day when supposedly losers can become winners two years ago for example gordo went to a region suffering from mass unemployment and the second prize more than one million euros went to a betting syndicate in an old people's home and the spanish state always wins big as it rakes in up to two hundred million euros in taxes merry christmas spain. ok danny winter has your business headlines coming right up. every journey begins with the first step and every language what the first word published in the book. rico is in germany to learn german why not learn english at simple online on your mobile and free. d w z learning course because fish german made easy. images from an isolated country. images from north korea or any telling photographer captured fascinating shots of everyday life in a regimented society. an exclusive peek behind one of the last iron curtain. on north korea and starting december twenty eighth on w. thank you. roy in there as first of a pilot strik

john claude younker the two sides are said to have agreed that britain will pay around fifty billion euros to leave the bloc but they still haven't hammered out conditions for the irish border and the rights of citizens living in each other's nations the e.u. has refused to move on to future trade talks until those issues are settled. for more now let's bring in our correspondent garrick mattis who is standing by with the very latest from brussels hi to you georg what are the most controversial sticking points would you say between britain and the e.u. at this point i mean when we boil it down is it all about the money well given the latest concept come concessions that at least the appear to be the latest concessions on the brakes a bill that has shifted a bit into the background and given more room for citizen rights and the question of a hard border in northern ireland the key sticking points appear to be now in that field particularly northern ireland because for the irish government it seems it is now the time to come forward and to make demands because it will depend on them if they

is bad for euro. i'm a money thank you for joining us south africa's ruling african national congress is fighting for its future. those were the words of party leader and south african president jacob zuma in a speech to a conference that will elect his successor the contest to replace the scandal plagued zuma has caused deep divisions in the a.n.c. observers say it's in danger of splitting the party into the n.c. led the battle against apartheid and has governed south africa since the country's first democratic elections in one thousand nine hundred ninety four. power to the people south africa's president jacob zuma trying to conjure up some of the former spirit of his party the african national congress led the fight against apartheid demanding justice and equality for all. for some it almost sounds like mockery president zuma faces dozens of allegations of corruption blackmail fraud and money laundering for years he's used his presidential immunity to remain in power. though the mood at this party

line in blue, against the euro it has risen and become more expensive to shop the euro than in the u.k.. well this trend be sustained? deborah: i believe so. ae companies are expecting difficult time in europe the first half of 2018 and when we look at the u.k. side of things, quarter three was against a difficult base because we had year on year weakening of sterling because of brexit. as we go through quarter for with 5% sales growth against a difficult base out of the u.k. and we expect that to better in the first half of 2018. nejra: going back to the heritage brands, i find this interesting, do you expect the outperformance to continue and in which brands in particular? what about burberry? that ties the u.k., sterling together. deborah: they had a difficult time to the first half of the year in 2017, coming into quarter three, just a 5% same-store sales rise. the persont perhaps leaving after 10 years could be heading to burberry. there is a lot going on for the brand. redefining their outerwear. new collaborations with good celebrities. there is a lot happening across the spectr

i think it makes sense because we have to see the euro is kind of the equalizers or the countries has to be more comparable and you do need a current over convergence the economic terms in monetary terms and inflation terms in competitive news and so forth or for that monetary economic union can make make much sense in the euro area ok i take that as a yes or professor of economics other from the school of finance and management thank you so much for this. bitcoin has taken another step towards the mainstream it started trading on the huge chicago mercantile exchange futures market on sunday but it received a lukewarm reception on its first trading day the price of a knee a month contract was down about five percent on sin volumes the listing comes a week after bitcoin began trading on the rival c.p.o. eat its first appearance on a major exchange has soared in recent weeks rising twenty fold in value since the beginning of the year critics warn off a possible bubble burst. all right all of this apart from those exchanges isn't really news let's find out what's so exciting about this n

this abstract work sold for forty one million euros in london. does works are among the most expensive by any living artist fetching almost forty one million euros this allegorical work birds help by deceased german artist max beckmann was also sold in london. and beckman are indicative of a wider trend. german art is big business in places like the us britain and china compared to these giants the german art market is only a small player. in the art is created in germany but it's sold in london and new york why is that let's find some answers from stuff i'm trying to from one of germany's most prestigious auction houses thinkers and lobby there's no one for it it's not like the twenty's when you have patrons and collect benefits from the museums. today art is often bound up with an educational mandate funded by the public with big museums with events. events on it a middle class collector disadvantage. is that. there is another new phenomenon contemporary art is often incredibly expensive while paintings from the eighteenth or nineteenth centuri

a small bottle of mineral water cost three euros. a bread roll three euros fifty. and even though 25 people were taken to work on one truck, each one had to pay five euros for the journey. >> a police raid resulted in the arrest of twenty people. eleven of them received prison sentences, ranging up to eleven years each. they included a farmer and a number of foremen. this man, known as guiseppe the tunisian, was especially brutal. their victims have yet to receive compensation. cudjoe still lives in nardo but he's never seen any money for his work. after he testified in court, it's been difficult for him to find work - and he's even received threats. >> they only told me i should be far away from them. they only tell me secretly, please. >> in other words, keep well away from us. >> so if you have resistance, you have to understand what is going on. you get what i'm talking? yeah, that's how it is. >> away from the public eye, illegal slums have mushroomed. this ghetto in southern italy is the largest in the country. it's not possible to film here openly, the niger

the total prize payout is more than two billion euros many spaniards believe that being present at the drawing improves their chances of winning. hello merry christmas we came here tonight all the way from. three generations. if i win i'll quit working was that it was. me and my win i'll leave here really slowly. so that people won't notice it maybe you know but even if. all you need is twenty euros to play and spaniards are crazy for the lottery in madrid alone more than three times as many tickets have been sold as there are residence everyone dreams of winning big el gordo the four million euro top prize this is the day when supposedly losers can become winners two years ago for example gordo went to a region suffering from massive unemployment and the second prize more than one million euros went to a betting syndicate in an old people's home and the spanish state always wins big as it rakes in up to two hundred million euros in taxes merry christmas spain. ok daniel winter has your business headlines coming right up. every journey begins with the first step and every language with

cheering his campaign essentially what they include is a euro zone finance minister for the nineteen member states which would probably be the head of the euro group wearing two hats a little bit confusing there and also a european monetary fund currently the stability mechanism exists that countries must agree through a unanimous vote to release funds in the case of financial crisis in a member state this would be through a majority vote and then there's also the idea of a euro zone budget essentially raising the question of who would have a final say over an individual country's financial budgets you could see it as a lot to be talked about that today in brussels but let's take a closer look sara now at those euro zone reform proposals and some of the concerns . greek protesters calling for an end two years of a sterile sea thursday's twenty four hour strike was the laces show of opposition to cuts imposed largely as a condition of the country receiving loans from its european creditors the latest protests come at a time when the e.u. is contemplating its future especially with bri

euro in the drop in stock price would have netted him hof a million euros ok briefly if you could what about the attack and its effect on security at dortmund games and generally for a german football we've seen attacks on football stadiums in the past don't forget in november twenty fifth game there was the explosions outside the stop the fronts before the fronts and during the france and germany match but attacks on team bus is quite rest there i think what it did do was highlight how unprepared football clubs were for this and how unprepared they want to deal with something like this happening and that is obviously something that has really been looked at now in the aftermath of this attack jobs and train for us thanks so very much for that job as well dortmund were in action on the field wednesday in a blockbuster german cup clash against but mostly the leaders byron munich the last sixteen encounter came with both sides in good form but of course it could only be one winner. dortmund beat by a long route to winning the cup last season ended when two in a row and

it says the eu has funded millions of euros for the trainini of f the libyan cot because. and provided ships in exchange. it makes you being here is to cheer and to set migrants at sea b bring them back to you juliet yeah whether they and hundndred o of often directlyly to to detetention centnters where they're bei. tortured. a and requiuired to pay ram fofor for their for their release it as a directt chan between european union governments mononey. actorsn libya that all arebusing migrants. i thought we'd just the conclusion that european governments are pututting n. about easy y pieces but out there activivy contributing to that commission. libya is the main case way who migrants trying to cross into europe i see. with italy being the main landing point two votes. numbers have dropped significantly since july as libya factions hundred sources have begun to block to colleges one hundred asia pacific insular. it's estimated that more than six hundred thousand people have made the journe. fossil years. france's far right national front party has been charged with giving me

this assessment is broadly reflected in december 2017 euro staff microeconomic projections for the euro area. projections foresee annual rate 2017,ncreasing by 2.4 in 2000 18, 1, 1.9% in .7% into the 20. -- in 2020. the outlook for real gdp growth has been revised up substantially. surrounding remain broadly balanced. strong cyclical momentum underpinned by continue positive developments and sentiment indicators could lead to further positive growth surprises in the near term. relayde risk continue to primarily to global factors and developers -- developments in exchange markets. according to an estimate, euro area annual inflation was 1.5% in november, up from 1.4% in october. measures of underlying inflation have moderated somewhat recently a part owing to special factors. looking ahead on current futures prices for oil and annual rates of headline inflation are likely to moderate in the coming months , mainly reflecting these effects in energy prices before an increase in the game. underlying inflation is expected to rise gradually over the supported by monetary policy measures and t

expects savings of over a billion euros with a downsizing. the european union has blacklisted seventeen countries worldwide for being tax havens this is part of attempts to crack down on jurisdictions that deprive the e.u. of billions in tax revenues by shaming them publicly the e.u. hopes to persuade these countries to make reforms included on the list are south korea tunisia barbados and panama. aid organizations like oxfam have complained that european tax havens like malta luxembourg and ireland aren't on the list. the irish government says it expects apple to begin paying back up to thirteen billion euros and unpaid taxes. the european commission had ruled last year that the i phone maker must reimburse the irish state for the money ireland initially didn't want to break its agreement with apple by taking the taxes but the e.u. said that tax benefits received by the tech company were illegal under e.u. rules. says not planning to sell its new germany world cup twenty eighteen jerseys through other stores in two thousand and sixteen the s

weaker euro. we, and we're outside two standard deviations and may be ready to spring higher in 2018 to a stronger euro. has spent a career judging the many currencies of europe versus the one currency of europe. what is your call on euro next year? kit: stronger euro. 1.27 eurodollar. next year. higher against the pound at that point. significantly higher against the yen, as well. tom: we know that when guy johnson goes into harrods, he is overcome because it is the magic kingdom. bemario draghi going to overcome by events with a strong euro? what level of euro-dollar does this mess up the mario draghi calculus? kit: it is much more about the speed of movement. so the speed of the move, after theentioned tapering at conference in june, the euro went up too fast and it has been peddling back to get it under control because the change in the euro affects inflation and the lack of inflation is what is bothering him. if you think the average euro rate for the last decade was 1.28-1 .29, going up to t

should europe's third largest economy find itself on shaky ground the euro would be likely to suffer it too. and for the latest development let's cross over to come in and frankfurt chronological me how is the euro starting into the new week then well it's falling this morning monica at the moment the euro dollar exchange rate is at one dollar eighteen forty six but that's not really a euro weakness it's a rather a dollar strength after the u.s. senate managed to pass its bill on tax cuts on saturday morning this morning all over the world financial markets people are pretty upbeat about the future of the u.s. economy they hope that those tax cuts will give the u.s. economy a boost also equity prices up at least here in frankfurt the german dax our stock in the eggs here which lost about one percent a bit more than that last week gains one and a half percent in the first minutes of trading here now the trading day is still quite young here in europe what are the key topics that we should watch out for. it's going to be a very political day here in europe you already mentioned that th