mitsubishi has offered 900 million euros. stake, soto keep the i asked the mitsubishi ceo yesterday what he would do and whether he was confident that they would accept his offer. >> i do not know. it is up to their decision. we have not received any comments. course, it is not finished ceo will testify on july 10, which is and adjust -- which is just in a few weeks from now, in front of the french lawmakers, in front of the same committee, and he will testify on alstom takeover. >> thank you very much. joining us from paris. still with us for his perspective on global events, james bevan. pboc saying they will start you on-pound direct trading -- uan-pound direct trading. we have had a lot of news surrounding various investments the chinese want to make in the u.k. london is hoping they will be able to craft a bigger role for itself. the financial services thinks it is up for grabs at the moment. >> a clear benefit to china in terms of having a convertible currency and the opportunity to be less dependent on credit within ar

mitsubishi could buy a 10% stake . the french government could also get a steak currently held by greek. this theyond phase of would combine the real business. this could make sense in terms of resolving antitrust issues. at the same time, i'll strum -- toorom says the offer is complex and they were planning to separate this. the issuenot resolve of energy independence because the assets would go to a japanese company. >> what does this mean for ge's offer? om has one moment alst week -- until one week from now to approve. at the moment, ge's offer does not include any deals with the train making business of lastr alstrom. it could be improved. you have the finance minister who said that both sides could improve their bids. the main concern of the french government would be whether siemens mitsubishi deal would create jobs. >> thanks, caroline. ♪ resurgence of the u.k. economy has taken many economists by surprise. according to a new study london's thriving tech hub has helped propel the turnaround. here with more on

they agreed to sell a 10% stake to mitsubishi. the ceo told lawmakers he had been in contact about the 900 million euros offer for 10% stake. the discussions were ongoing. they reiterated that they are not planning to sell their alstom stake in the short term. i put the question to the mitsubishi ceo yesterday. >> i do not know. -- we have not received any comments. ceo will also testify in front of the french lawmakers, in front of the same committee on july 10. about the alstom takeover. >> we are building up to an interesting june and july. it will be a fascinating to see exactly what happens. italian prime minister is juncker foracking european commission president. andrew fry joins us with more from round. it looked like he is going to be the kingmaker because cameron needs renzi on his side to block the nomination. >> he is ready. inis not a done deal, but is -- it is increasingly likely. please by the signs that have been coming out of germany about support for his push for more flexibility. cker todayet with jun and get an

>> the battle for ahlstrom heats up as siemens and mitsubishi launched a counter offer. the companies are in paris to meet with the french president. to see a bidding war with ge? i will tell you in a moment. >> thank you very much. the world cloud for him is the biggest event. you have microsoft, dropbox. all the new players trying to hone in on investments. we are expecting $800 billion over the next four years. still half of americans don't understand what cloud computing is. they worry that a weather will affect your ability to get access to your data. back later.will be european markets just opening up. let's talk to manus cranny. >> equity markets are set to bounce. you have rising equity markets around europe. auto sales a little better than estimated. one thing to bear in mind is emerging markets. you have iraq tensions rising. a small number -- a small number of troops being brought in. is there something bigger at play in emerging markets? you see the cpi. expected to come in around 1.7%. you've got two major stocks on the move in the u.k. sales beating estimat

. >>> mitsubishi launch their takeover proposals for the firm. the french president prepares to meet the ceos of the two firms in a few minutes. >>> and another recall for gm. the troubled automaker takes another 3.5 million cars off the road for faulty ignition switches. >> you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. >> welcome, again, to "worldwide exchange." let's get straight to our top story today. american troops are going back into iraq. the white house announced it's deploying up to 275 million personnel to provide security to the embassy in baghdad and other u.s. interests in the country. the iraqi military has so far managed to curtail the sunni rebelled pushed towards baghdad with continuing to consolidate their strong hold on the northwest of the country. the u.s. says it's open to iran over what measures it can take. john kerry said discussions did not include military operations. >> we're open to discussions, say, if there's something constructive that could be contributed by iran, if iran

>> made question for mitsubishi is whether the french company part agree to sell bid -- for- mitsubishi has offered a 10% stake. they say they want to keep the stake for the long-term. the mitsubishi ceo says he had been in contact. ongoing.ns were still i put this question to the mitsubishi ceo yesterday as well on whether he was confident that they would accept his offer. >> i do not know. his decision. we have not received any comments personally. himselfct, the ceo france in testify in front of french lawmakers on july 10. companya french telecom -- >> thank you. that was caroline connan in paris. as you can expect alongside a photo opportunity was also business opportunity. manus cranny joins us now. >> what i didn't really's is part of the condition -- realized is art of the condition -- talk about public relations. you can imagine how that plays out on social media in terms of reaching out to the west. , the objective put a target on it. $100 billion. the focused was clear on technology. has advanced technology that can be married with china's vast market. together we carry eight

mitsubishi would hold stakes of between 20 and 40% in the firms. he says that alstom will keep operating most of its businesses and mitsubishi and siemens have responded to the french government's concerns about the firm's future by pledging to create 1,000 new jobs. >>> south korean business owners are helping to fuel a global demand for second-hand goods and have found profits in their used products. nhk world's anna jung explains. >> reporter: this is a rental shop for wedding gowns in seoul boasting over 200 dresses. but it's a fickle market. wedding fashions change so often that the dresses have a rental life of only two years. cheaper dresses from china are also hitting the shelf's product life cycle. that means a growing stockpile of used dresses that can't be rented. so the shop owners came up with a solution. export. they posted pictures of dresses on the shop's website, triggering a surge of orders from overseas. the owners now export 500 old dresses a year. most are shipped to vietnam and other southeast asian countries. demand has been

it follows a rival bid from siemens and mitsubishi have a -- mitsubishi heavy industries. the chief executive of mitsubishi spoke to "france 24" earlier, signaling that his side's bid, too, could be raised. >> if there is some chance, we will -- to the -- repose --ectric will propose and we will think about. onthey're expected to meet june 23 to decide which offer to go forward, the general electric or the one from mitsubishi heavy industries and siemens. we are getting closer and closer to a decisive moment. the french government says it wants to make france less reliant on nuclear power. the energy and environment minister has outlined a plan to boost renewable energy sources and also to improve energy efficiency. today, around three quarters of france's lecture city comes from nuclear. the french president campaigned on a plan to cut that reliance to around 50%. your has gone much further than france and it aims to phase out nuclear power altogether by 2022. it is now looking to dismantle its fleet of nuclear reactors. some companies fear it will lead to higher energy b

the mitsubishi circles, pulls over. you see the guy from the mitsubishi and comes back, screwdriver, pops the front tires of this van, and rips the license plate off. all the while these passengers still don't seem so concerned that their driver is fighting somebody on the street. then it looks like taxicab driver has made a friend or somebody from the vehicle jumped out and run up there and the fight continues. there's other just cars on the road, blocking the way here. now later watch this. the weapon gets upgraded again. comes back with a baseball bat. now taxi driver has a crowbar. all the while these people sitting in the car. maybe the back seat passengers have left or decided we'll walk. from one fight to another, this is outside of a nail salon in compton. see the fight is on here. lots of hair pulling, lots of, you know, wild swings. they make their way in. >> now they're wrecking business now. look. they're damaging equipment. this is these people's livelihood and wrecking the whole day. >> wrecking their fres

siemens and mitsubishi sweden their cash offer for alstom. euro next stocks trade. , as london's data tech week draws to a close, we look at how digital information is proving a corporate headache. welcome to "countdown." it is 6:00 you're in london on this friday morning. bloomberg reporters standing by across the world, ready to deliver the stories that will drive your day. manus cranny is gauging the appetite for ipos, plus big data or big mess? caroline hyde has the story. immelt is making his case to french leaders. he sweetened the deal. will france be satisfied? caroline, tell us about ge is improved offer. improved offer. >> they decided to react to the offer by mitsubishi by making his offer more complex. before, it was a simple takeover of alstom's energy assets. now ge is offering to create some joint ventures with alstom in power grids, in renewables, as well as on reliance in nuclear technology. in addition, ge is offering to 's rail signaling business to oust him. alstom is saying that this new goodbye ge could also reduce the c

mitsubishi would hold stakes of between 20 and 40% in the firms. he says that alstom will keep operating most of its businesses and mitsubishi and siemens have responded to the french government's concerns about the firm's future by pledging to create 1,000 new jobs. >>> south korean business owners are breathing new life into old products. they are helping to fuel global demand for second-hand goods and this new line of exports is turning out to be profitable. nhk world's anna jung explains. >> reporter: this is a rental shop for wedding gowns in seoul boasting over 200 dresses. but it's a fickle market. wedding fashions change so often that the dresses have a rental life of only two years. cheaper dresses from china are also hitting the shelf's product life cycle. that means a growing stockpile of used dresses that can't be rented. so the shop owners came up with a solution. export. they posted pictures of dresses on the shop's website, triggering a surge of orders from overseas. the owners now export 500 old dresses a year. most are shipped to v

they established a tactical alliance with mitsubishi. they are interested in alstom's steam turbines. the two firms have promised to create 1,000 new jobs and siemens could split off alstom's railway technology division and sell it to a french company. last year alstom's sales were around 20 billion euros. siemens is more than three times bigger with a turnover of around 76 billion euros and 300,000 employees. mitsubishi heavy industries is roughly the same size as alstom. the biggest rival is general electric. 300,000 employees helped it earn 10 billion euros. general electric is offering $12.4 billion euros for the entire energy division. the french government has the right to veto the bill. they do not want to see alstom broken up or jobs lost. on tuesday the german-japanese alliance will meet with politicians in paris. an all important move when it comes to a state-owned company. >> the bids are on the table now and a new trading week has gotten off to a bumpy start. european shares edged slower as violence from kenya. dorothy sums u

it is teaming up with mitsubishi heavy to derail ge's bid for alstom. we will bring you a live news conference. >> the chinese premier kicks off his u.k. visit. >> and boots on the ground. troops toends armed help combat the growing insurgency. ♪ >> good morning, everybody. you are watching "the pulse." we are in london. i am guy johnson. >> and i am olivia sterns. also coming up, a bloomberg exclusive. for the first time in three unveilingoschino is its collection in london and not milan. we are finding out why. brandsporsche is making -- making moves to preserve its racecar past. we will speak to its ceo as well. first, let's return to our top story. seven weeks after general electric made a bid for alstom's energy assets, a story that bloomberg broke, siemens has made a counteroffer. we have the details of the siemens did. -- bid. it is a little confusing. >> good morning. you are right. this idea that we had initially giants,ing two european one in the rail sector and one in the energy sector, is not exactly what is on the tape -- on the table for

siemens this morning also raised its offer on mitsubishi. they raised the catch part of the offer to $8.2 billion, compared to 7 billion for the original bid. mitsubishi is offering to buy a 40% stake in the french company. and last but not least, siemens is looking to create a german venture. it's basically referring to its rail activity in the deal. the french finance minister said it was an improvement. >> thank you very much indeed for that. >>> moving on, u.s. drugmaker abbvie says shire rejected a bid fortover at about $46 million. offers and discussions are no longer ongoing. they made an offer of $67 a share and its latest bid was about $78. abbvie makes primera. shire does most of its business in the u.s., but has executive offices in ireland for tax purposes. so, that's what shire's stock is doing right now. off to the race webs as you can see. up by almost 11%. carolin. >>> breaking news, the russian prime minister is saying according to dow jones says russia is to sue the united states at the world trade organization over sanctio

it may have a new partner in mitsubishi to bolster its bid. let's head over to hans nichols in berlin. just break this down for us. >> mitsubishi and hitachi on one side joining with siemens. we get a good sense of just what siemens wants from alston. that is their gas tur bind the services a-- turbine and the services aspect of it. they would get the grid side and the steam fire plant, mostly coal. they are lobbying the government. there are meets all week. they have two top officials in paris and their argument is basically three-fold. jobs, jobs, jobs. that has always been their argument. they say they will add 1,000 jobs. they do have i 17 billion behind the figure. behind bid. they say their bid is stronger. it will lead to a healthier company. mr. holland certain meeting with his ministers today. mark? >> hans, dow husband siemens fit into all of this? >> well, so here is the interesting thing about what bids and what parts of the energy aspects and energy bids that they want. they are saying that the -- by partnering with mitsubishi, th

companies including mitsubishi and docomo are still climbing. record cash and sheet valuations at ai'm back attractive time in global stocks are trading at unprecedented highs. a private survey on the state of china's economy adds to the picture of a deepening slowdown. the china-based book says capital spending weekend. companies cried -- applied for credit this quarter. the government will make adjustments. the 7.5% growth target. boeing may be partially to blame planest year's fatal crash in san francisco. sources say that his investigators are debating whether the design of the automatic throttle on the triple seven lead to a series of errors. a final decision is expected on tuesday. the plane terri sewell at the end of the runway last july. three chinese teenage girls were killed. all right, singapore. it suffered several high-profile cyberattacks and its ability to fight them is now under threat. was impact their? let's get more from haslinda amin. this is one of asia's biggest financial hubs. >> it is a huge consents. cyber security skill

mitsubishi usually rolls out new products in september ahead of the year-end sales campaign. the firm says it will start selling its new rice cookers in july, two months earlier than usual. mitsubishi official says a higher tax has dampened sales, but he says the company can counter that trend if it launches new products earlier. another electronics maker, toshiba, has already begun selling its new microwave ovens and rice cookers ahead of schedule. >>> the hike in the consumption tax is causing headaches for some owners of smaller japanese businesses. they must pay more for the things they purchase, but nearly 40% say they haven't been able to cover their expenses by raising prices. an association of small business owners last month conducted a nationwide business survey. nearly 4,800 responded. 63% said they've been able to cover the tax by rising prices, but 27% said they could not fully offset their expenses, and 10% say they haven't been able to raise prices at all. japanese leaders are planning to raise the consumption tax again next year to 10%. pollsters ask small bus

executives at mitsubishi heavy industries and germany's siemens are hoping to counter the weight of ge. they say they could submit an offer as early as monday. people at mitsubishi are expanding overseas and they have their eyes on alstom's network in europe, the middle east and south america. executives at ge have already made a bid of $17 billion. >>> let's get a check of the markets now. investors across asia appear to be less willing to take risks. most asian boards finished lower today tracking overnight declines in the u.s. and europe. market players took a step back amid the recent stock rallies. tokyo dropped to a level not seen since the beginning of this month. the nikkei average, in fact, down more than .6%. 14,973. a stronger yen dampened overall sentiment. market players avoided making aggressive moves ahead of the outcome of the bank of japan's policy meeting. in sydney the s&p asx200 index also seeing declines of nearly half a percent. 5, 428. the number of people employed in australia fell unexpectedly in may. in seoul the kospi losing more than .1%. the central bank ex

mitsubishi usually rolls out new products in september ahead of the year-end sales campaign. the firm will start selling its new rice cookers in july. that's two months earlier than usual. a mitsubishi official says the higher tax has dampened sales, but he says the company can counter that trend if it launches new products earlier. another electronics manufacturer, toshiba, has already begun selling its new microwave ovens and rice cookers, ahead of schedule. >>> and now, the latest world cup soccer from brazil. the germans have opened their campaign in style, putting four past portugal. thomas miller got a hat trick in the team's 100th appearance at a world cup finals. miller opened the scoring in the 12th minute from the penalty spot. a defender doubled the lead 20 minutes later, heading in from a corner. portugal dug themselves a deeper hole in the 37th minute when defender pepe headbutted miller and got a straight red card. miller made it 3-0 just before halftime, and he finished the rout in the 78th minute. the final score, 4-0. the three-time champions go top of group

>> it's a complex theme, but it is more mitsubishi unveiling the alstom bid. they would offer a joint venture for passion assets into a giant bid for the steve turbine business. and in the third step, there's a vision that the french government and mitsubishi take a giant and equal state in alstom. so essential ly it will remain s the company but it will only be the gas turbine business which will go to siemens and the rest will remain as a joint venture between mitsubishi and alstom and the french government. the whole thing looks to succeed because that is what the french actually wanted to have to keep alstom intact and more something along the lines of that. back to you. >>> we'll get more on this now with the senior france correspondent for deal reporter. emilio, on balance, who has the upper hand now? >> well, it seems that what is being talked about is the new siemens bid and the perfect offer for the french government. that's exactly what the french government wants. french assets staying in french hands. and it will echo a lot, a recent deal that had

mitsubishi usually rolls out new products in september ahead of the year-end sales campaign. the firm says it will start selling its new rice cookers in july, two months earlier than usual. mitsubishi official says a higher tax has dampened sales, but he says the company can counter that trend if it launches new products earlier. another electronics maker, toshiba, has already begun selling its new microwave ovens and rice cookers ahead of schedule. >>> the hike of the consumption tax is causing headaches for some owners of smaller japanese businesses. they must pay more for the things they purchase, but nearly 40% say they haven't been able to cover their expenses by raising prices. an association of small business oub owners last month surveyed businesses nationwide. nearly 4,800 responded. 63% said they've been able to cover the tax by rising prices, but 27% said they could not fully offset their expenses, and 10% say they haven't been able to raise prices at all. japanese leaders are planning to raise the consumption tax again next year to 10%. pollsters ask small busines

loibs for as siemens a deal with mitsubishi. u.k. discount retailinger b&m is seeking a multibillion pound agreement. t is the latest u.k. retail to list in 2014. infosys has named a new chief executive officer. he will take over on august 1. he was previously sap's technology head. he seeks to reverse four straight years of narrowing margins. welcome back to "countdown". i'm anna edwards. >> i'm mark barton. 7:40 here in london. let's bring the focus back to the world cup and the english team's preparations. newer next guest is a former football clubhead. welcome back to show. good to see you. how was it in miami? how were the preparations going? how did they go? of course they are in brazil now. >> well, they seemed to be very relaxed. i went to the honduras game on saturday as you know, with affected. it wasn't the most exciting football match i've ever been to. the general feeling around, i went to the first day and the general feeling is that there is an extremely relaxed atmosphere around the camp and seven contrasting it with

mitsubishi usually rolls out new products in september ahead of the year-end sales campaign. the official will start selling its new rice cookers in july. that's two months earlier than usual. a mitsubishi official says the higher tax has dampened sales, but he says the company can counter that trend if it launches new products earlier. another electronics manufacturer, toshiba, has already begun selling its new microwave obviovens and rice cos ahead of schedule. >>> and now, the latest world cup soccer from brazil. the germans have opened their campaign in style, putting four past portugal. thomas miller got a hat trick in the team's 100th appearance at a world cup finals. miller opened the scoring in the 12th minute from the penalty spot. a defender doubled the lead 20 minutes later heading in from a corner. portugal dug themselves a deeper hole in the 37th minute when defender pepe head butted miller and got a straight red card. miller made it 3-0 just before halftime, and he finished the rout in the 78th minute. the final score 4-0. the three-time champions go top of grou

mitsubishi usually rolls out the new products in september ahead of the year end sales campaigns. the firm says it will start selling its new rice cookers in july. that's two months earlier than usual. a mitsubishi official says the higher tax has dampened sales, but he does say the company can counter that trend if it launches new products earlier. another electronics maker, toshiba, has already begun selling its new microwave ovens and rice cookers ahead of schedule. >>> the hike in the con sumgts tax is causing headaches for owners of some of japan's smaller businesses. they must pay more for the things that they purchase. but nearly 40% of them say they haven't been able to cover their expenses by raising prices. an association of small business owners last month conducted a nationwide survey. people at nearly 4,800 companies responded. 63% said they have been able to cover the tax increase by raising prices. 27%, though, said they could not fully offset their expenses. while 10% said they haven't been able to raise prices at all. japanese leaders are considering to raise the

. >>> executives from mitsubishi and siemens are setting up for a power play. they have agreed to make a joint bid for parts of french energy giant, alstom. they are hoping to derail a competing bid by general electric. the people at mitsubishi want to acquire a stake of up to a 10% stake in alstom. they propose a cash investment of more than $4 billion. they would use the money to launch three energy-related joint ventures. executives at siemens are ready to bid more than $5 billion. executives at ge have offered nearly $17 billion for alstom's energy business. let's get you a check on the markets now. investors bought tokyo stocks this morning. shares and exporters rose. for details let's go to the market. what can you tell us? >> investors are watching the dollar/yen pair closely as it is trading around the 102 yen levels. let's look at the morning session. nikkei at 15,008 up .5%. and the topix up .5%. the nikkei managed to trade above 15,000 today. some say a shift in the government pension and investment fund to be more weighted in stocks has injected pos

we have mitsubishi and the siemens offer is too complex. we have several bidders. alstom.een siemens and between -- because of siemens activity and so general electric, their offer is more simple and clear. and so him -- and some improvement. notable, creating jobs. created withinbe the next three years and -- [indiscernible] >> let me break in. do you think ge will raise its offer and the french government would prefer to see alstom as one company? >> yes, i think ge can improve its offer. regarding siemens and mitsubishi, the french government asked for the french toister who once to -- wants see siemens offer. ge's offer is better. assets is not -- [indiscernible] >> thank you. we'll be back with more in 2. ♪ >> good morning and welcome back. time for our new energy slot. our guest said we are in a decentralized reality. he produced the inability to react will leave it to the same fate as the big music labels of the 1990's was a digitalization of our world. the first crowd funded website. bruce, good morning. walk us through. a simple business model. we allow

mitsubishi usually rolls out new products in september ahead of the year-end sales campaign. the firm says it will start selling its new rice cookers in july two months earlier than usual. a mitsubishi official says the higher tax has darnened sales but says the company can counter that trend if it launches new products earlier. and another electronicsmaker toshiba has already begun selling its new microwave ovens and rice cookers ahead of schedule. >>> the hike in the consumption tax is causing headaches for owners of some of japan's smaller businesses. they must pay more for the things they purchase but nearly 40% say they haven't been able to cover their expenses by raising prices. an association of small business owners last month conducted a nationwide survey. people at nearly 4800 companies responded. 63% said they have been able to cover the tax increase by raising prices. but 27% said they could not fully offset their expenses and 10% said they haven't been able to raise prices at all. japanese leaders are planning to raise the consumption tax again next year to 10%.

on top of that, mitsubishi could for offer 900 million euros a 10% stake. siemens is saying is that there offer tops ge by one billion euros because it includes more assets. they knew that in order to seduce the french government, they needed to add a little bit more than that, so they also decided to match ge's guarantee on jobs and to also offer to create 1000 jobs in the next three years. >> what about ge's potential reaction here? saying theyge is are not planning to enter in any bidding war with siemens, but of course ge knows that some analysts are starting to say might be moreid attractive, so ge will have to react. they have said in the past that their offer was flexible. they could offer more concessions to the french government. what kind of concessions? we will have to see. it could be more job guarantees, it could be transferring ge's rail business to oust him, but ge for sure will need to keep lobbying in paris with the french government. consider both offers in the coming days. >> china's premier again his three-day visit to britain. here's wh

maygerman company says it team up with mitsubishi of japan to bid for an energy business. see the tube issue say they are working -- siemens and mitsubishi say they are working on a joint deal. provending has politically sensitive. the telecom arm of the french conglomerate is planning to cut more than 1500 jobs. it's part of a wider plan to turn the company's fortunes around. this is france's and it has been struggling due to competition. they have been talking to rivals about to join forces, but .othing has come out of those the spanish clothing retailer beat expectations even as they reported a rare fall in first-quarter profit. profits came in at 400 x million euros during the three-month it wasded in april. stronger than expected for zara. that is business news. back to you. >> think for that business roundup. it's time for a look at web news. >> welcome to the web news, where we take a look at some of the stories making headlines. coming up, peru's problem of harassment of women in public places. ahead ofaking selfies the world cup. we have to end street meant. -- ha

mitsubishi heavy has brought hitachi onboard. with mitsubishi owning a 55%. and the aim is to buy the steam engine turbine segment for around $5 billion. and siemens would pay more for the gas division. and if the deal goes through, sales of siemens and the turbine businesses combined will come closer to that of ge's of $49 billion. and that's all from nikkei. back to you. >> thank you so much. >>> we'll get more clues on how the chinese economy is doing. industrial output, retail sales and fixed income asset details due. japan is expected to stand pat yet again with no change to the current policy of expanding the monetary base of 60 to 70 trillion yen each year. >>> markets and banks bracing for an impact. copper has dipped over 2% this month as chinese authorities look into whether companies use copper, aluminum and iron ore stocks as collateral for obtaining multiple loans. at least six lenders including standard chattered provided loans to trading firms that were backed by metals stored. >>> signed trade deals with china as the italian prime minister con

. >>> the head of japan's mitsubishi heavy industries says he is confident his firm and german partner, siemens will tie up with alstom. he says that joining forces with alstom will create synergy in the global energy market. they have offered the french company $9.5 billion for a capital partnership. general electric has submitted a rival bid. the japanese firm wants to turn three of alstom's energy related units into independent joint ventures. he says that alstom will keep operating most of its businesses and mitsubishi and siemens have pledged to create 1,000 new jobs. >>> that's all for now in business. i'll leave you now with the markets. >>> some vietnamese business owners are feeling the affects of a territorial dispute with their biggest trading partner. last month a chinese oil rig was deployed in the south china sea and they have seen the impact spill into their economy. >> reporter: the already tense situation between the two countries worsened last month when anti- chinese demonstrations in vietnam turned violent. the protesters attacked foreign factories, mainly those own

mitsubishi heavy industries is raising its bid. it says mitsubishi is offering 2.9 million euros -- 3.9 billion ands for its power hydroelectric business. they have teamed up with germany combine, valued at about 14 billion euros. we will move on now. top military tech is on display at the world's biggest defense fair on the outskirts of paris this week. this year's show has become a battlefield for makers of drones , or unmanned aerial vehicles. the drone market has grown widely in the past few years with several drone makers eyeing a particular lucrative contract with the french ministry. here is more. >> this is france's technical drone. it is eyes in the sky for troops on the ground. first developed a quarter century ago, it is now obsolete. its successor, the watch keeper, devote for the british military by an anglo israeli joint venture. it is the french ministries first choice. they have extensively tested the british version. it is already operational. only onekeeper is the in service for a first-rate army, the british army

the fight for french company -- the french company is heating up as siemens, mitsubishi, and general electric each bump up their bids to win over the government. >> upping the stakes in the stretch. general electric is improving its offer for the energy branch of the french group. ge is ready to create two point -- joint ventures in the parable -- power sector and a noble injured --renewable energy. the american giant is also signaling interests. boss insists it is a tantalizing offer. france andes jobs in ensures the name wonder. -- will endure. >> these moves are to appeal jobs -- concerns over jobs and the sensitive nuclear industry. the chief executives of both companies are set to meet the french president friday afternoon. ahead of the meeting, the prime minister triumphed the government contributions. >> if it were not for the companynt actions, the today would be unconditionally in the hands of general electric. theave strengthened independent capacities of our country through this to create -- decree i signed with economy minister. from thees a rival bid german-japanese part

mitsubishi is expanding overseas. now, general electric in the united states has already submitted a $17 billion bid. >>> government leaders want japan to be more business friendly. so they've agreed to lower the corporate tax rate. the cabinet will approve the policy outline and strategies for economic growth later this month. economic revitalization minister discussed the matter on wednesday with the tax council chief. the corporate tax rate is currently 35%. the plan is to lower it gradually over the next several years to below 30%. the finance matter taro aso says alternative revenue sources should be put in place to make up for any shortfall. i'll have more headlines next hour. for now i'll leave you with a check on markets. >>> every morning, investors turn their attention to asia. the tokyo market leads the way. and markets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that could change the course of an economy. >> to the companies at the forefront of change. >> up to the minute market reports. >> and analysis

. >>> executives from mitsubishi and siemens are setting up for a power play to make a joint bid for parts of alstom. they are hoping to derail a competing bid by general electric. the people at mitsubishi want to acquire up to a 10% stake in alstom and a cash investment of $4 billion to launch three energy related joint ventures. executives at siemens are ready to bid more than $5 billion. executives at ge have offered $17 billion for alstom's energy business. >>> that's all for now in business i'll leave you with the latest in markets. >>> every morning investors turn their attention to asia, the tokyo market leads the way and markets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that could change the course of an economy. >> to the companies at the forefront of change. >> up to the minute market reports. >> and analysis from specialists around the world. >> get all the business news and insight every day here on "newsline.." >>> ukraine's energy minister says that the country's natural gas supply from russia has been cut off. prodan ganted that it would continue. the state owned

they say toshiba, funai electricity and mitsubishi electric infringed on patents of their lcd panels. hon hai officials say the move is part of their global strategy to protect their display technology. they didn't give any further details on this, though. representatives from toshiba, funai and mitsubishi declined to comment, saying they had not seen the complaint. >>> officials at google have unveiled their first smart watches. the devices run on a wearable version of the company's android operating system. managers introduced the watches at an annual conference in san francisco. this meeting was for software developers. and they used the occasion to put the first two models on sale. those watches are made by the south korean company samsung electronics and lg electronics. there is a third model on the way later on this summer. u.s. electronics company motorola will release a version with a circular face. a group of officials says smartphone users check their devices on average 125 times a day. he says smart watches will make that process easier and less intrusive. that is going to

mitsubishi is joining with mitsui and company. the plant will use natural gas. it is cheaper due to rising output of shale gas in the u.s. the two firms will invest $490 million in the factory when it goes on-line in four years the plant will have an annual output of 250,000 tons. and researchers at asahi chemicals developed a new technology to turn natural gas in a material for car tires. the company plans to build a factory in western japan as early as next year to test the method. >>> policy makers in portugal hauled their economy back from the brink. government bonds are in demand again and the current account is back in the black. now they are starting to reap the rewards of an immigration policy designed to attract high rolling real estate investors. nhk world reports. >>> a coastal town has sunny beaches and a hasher which made it a popular destination. but portugal wants international visitors to put down stronger roots. two years ago they introduce what is known as golden visa. they are issuing resident permits to anyone spending more than 500,000 euros

in the opposite direction mitsubishi heavy industries are up on the news. and also currencies the dollar a big focus. it's been trading around 102 yen levels most the morning. not giving stock traders any incentive to buy a weaker dollar. and the euro weaker right now at 138.28. having a look at asian indexes. a down trend there as well. investors in the region will be waiting for industrial production and cpi data from india later today. that's all for me. back to you. >> thank you for the update. >>> the people working on the transpacific partnership have agreed to meet again in their push for a free trade deal. they will gather next month in vancouver. they met last month in singapore. they agreed to try to build momentum. the chief negotiators are planning to meet in vancouver over10 days. they'll discuss over issues such as intelligent yule property and competition between state-owned and private firm. u.s. trade officials are leading the negotiation. they're under pressure to complete a deal before americans go to the polls in midterm elections in nov

. >>> executives from mitsubishi and siemens are setting up for a power play. they have agreed to make a joint bid for parts of french energy giant, alstom. they are hoping to derail a competing bid by general electric. the people at mitsubishi want to asquare a stake of up to a 10% stake in alstom. they propose a cash investment of more than $4 billion. they was use the money to launch three energy related joint ventures. executives at siemens are ready to bid more than $5 billion. executives at ge have offered nearly $17 billion for alstom's energy business. >>> the u.s. trade representative says he won't give in to american farmer's demands regarding a free trade deal. michael froman has no intentions on excludeing japan from the transpacific partnership. >> our goal is to complete this round of tpp with the 12 countries around the table. >> lobbyists say that japan needs to remove agricultural tar riches or be shut out of a trade deal. froman will try to win the support and press the japanese to achieve the best results. tpp negotiators have made progress o

the ceo and his counterpart from mitsubishi heavy industries put their case to the french government. they are offering 7 billion euros to the energy business. they promise of technological cooperation, and up to 2000 jobs. they say that out bids general electric costs offer. -- general electric's offer. >> this is all about integrating alstom to a stronger, more powerful investor. >> but that is no guarantee of success. paris insiders say the government still thinks the bids are not high enough. >> our frankfurt correspondent has more on the alstom story for us, and how it went down on the trading for -- trading floor. >> siemens got some praise in the stock market for its combined offer with mitsubishi for french giant alstom. it was a clever move, lowering the risks for siemens. but what traders do not want -- siemens putting more money on the table to please the french government. this could be too much for the company. the german dax managed to recover from recent losses. the mood was not so bad. the dax lost momentum after disappointing economic data. investor sentiment fell sur

mitsubishi will launch a new line of refrigerators this month. the firm says it will start selling its new rice cookers in july, two months earlier than usual. mitsubishi official says a higher tax has dampened sales, but the company can counter that trend if it launches new products earlier. toshiba has already begun selling its new microwave ovens and rice cookers ahead of schedule. >>> the hike of the consumption tax is causing headaches for some owners of smaller japanese businesses. the higher tax means they must pay more for things they buy, but nearly 40% say they haven't been able to cover their expenses by raising prices. an association of small business entrepreneurs last month surveyed businesses nationwide. nearly 4,800 responded. 63% said they've been able to cover the tax by rising prices, but 27% said they could not fully offset their expenses, and 10% say they haven't been able to raise prices at all. japanese leaders are planning to raise the consumption tax again next year to 10%. pollsters ask small business owners what they th

executives at mitsubishi and siemens are hoping they could counter the weight of ge. they could submit an offer as early as monday. the people at mitsubishi are expanding overseas and they have their eyes on middle east, and south america. they have already made a bid of $17 billion. >>> japanese leaders are flerning out their plans to make japan a friendlier place to do business. officials from the government and the ruling party have agreed to lower their corporate tax rate to make firms more competitive, but they're still working on the numbers. members of the cabinet are on track to approve their strategy later this month. economic revitalization minister discussed it. they plan to cut it from 35% to below 30%. they need other sources of revenue to make up for the lower rate. but amari said companies will be more profitable and will end up paying more taxes overall. >>> people walking into japanese businesses are seeing more and more signs of something missing in the economy. the signs read help wanted. managers can't find enough workers to fill open positions. so

executives at mitsubishi and germany's siemens are hoping to counter the weight of ge. they could submit an offer as early as monday. the people at mitsubishi are expanding overseas and have their eyes on alstom in europe, middle east, and south america. executives at ge have made a bid of $17 billion. >>> japanese leaders are fleshing out plans to make japan a friendlier place to do business. official from the government and the ruling party have agreed to lower their corporate tax rate to make firms more competitive. but they're still working on the numbers. members of the cabinet are on track to approve their growth strategy later this month. economic revitalization ministers discussed the cut with the head of the liberal democratic party's tax committee. they plan to cut the rate gradually over the next several years from 35% to below 30%. noda and others say they will need other sources of revenue to make up for the lower rate. he said companies will be more profitable and will end up paying more taxes overall. >>> people walking into japanese busy are seeing more

mitsubishi will launch the new line of refrigerators this month. mitsubishi usually rolls out new products in september ahead of the year-end sales campaign. the first says it will start selling its new rice cookers in july two months earlier than usual. the higher tax has dampened sales but can counter that if it launches products earlier. toshiba has started selling rice cookers and microwave ovens ahead of schedule. >>> they must pay more for the things they purchase but nearly 40% say they haven't been able to cover their expenses by raising prices. an association of small business owners last month conducted a nationwide survey. people at nearly 4800 companies responded. 63% said they have been able to cover the tax increase by raising prices. but 27% said they could not fully offset their expenses and 10% said they haven't been able to raise prices at all. japanese leaders are planning to raise the consumption tax again next year to 10%. pollsters asked small business owners what they think. a quarter of responded said the plan should proceed

they say toshiba, funai electricity and mitsubishi electric infringed on their lcd panels. hon hai officials say the move is part of their global strategy to protect their display technology. they didn't give any further details on this, though. representatives from toshiba, funai and mitsubishi declined to comment, saying they had not seen the complaint. >>> time to check the markets now. most asian stocks rose today following the positive sentiment we saw on wall street. and this was despite weak u.s. gdp data. the u.s. economy contracted 2.9% in the first quarter this year. many investors now think the u.s. fed will not raise interest rates anytime soon. they're hoping that will lead to more money flowing into asian stocks. the nikkei with a bounceback after closing at a one week low the previous day. the index finished off the session at 15,308, a gain of just over a quarter of a percent. some market heavyweights like softbank and toyota pushed up the overall market. in seoul, shares rose more than .6%, 1995, strong gains with kia motors supporting market sentiment. med

mitsubishi assumed that the government would get involved. whichosed to a ge deal, is relatively straightforward and simple, $17 billion for the energy assets of alstom. the question is will ge improve? the definition of "improve" is in the eye of the beholder. typically they say i want another nickel or dime per share. but here, ge is playing as much as anything to the french government and population and improvement would be more jobs or guarantees of jobs. >> why does the french government get sa? -- get a say? this is a publicly listed company. why is it that just a multi-is going before the french national isembly and -- jeff immelt going before the french nationalism and begging for the still to go through? >> the energy products and the rail products, the french government is your largest buyer and you have a defective veto -- de facto veto. typically in mna it is buyer and seller. now it is buyer, seller, regular, and oh, here comes the government. >> ad hoc industrial policy. >> is like we have not recovered from 2008-2009. if you lo

representatives from toshiba, funai and mitsubishi declined to comment. they said they had not seen the complaint. >>> shareholders in the firm that owns japan's crippled plant have voted on the country's future. some want tokyo electric power company to get out of the nuclear power business after the accident in fukushima but a majority voted to stick with it. more than 2,000 shareholders of tepco held their annual meeting and discuss,000 respond to the accident three years ago. the facility is still posing threats hundreds of tons of radioactive water is thought to flow into the ocean every day. and engineers try to plug leaking tanks have run into one snag after another. >> translator: i would like to apologize to the people of fukushima and to the wider community for causing so much trouble and anxiety with the contaminated water and the tank problems. >> executives plan to restart other nuclear facilities run by the firm. some shareholders said that's outrageous. they proposed scrapping them. executives said nuclear power is a vital part of the natio