President obama said in a cbs interview that russia must move its troops that on the ukrainian border. The president also warned russia not to revert at to cold war practices. Inwe have no interest circling russia. We have no interest in ukraine beyond a leading the ukrainian people make their own decisions about their own lives. And it is true that we reject the notion that there is a along theinfluence russian border that then justifies russia invading other countries. At this afternoon, the Un Security Council is planning to hold a secret meeting to discuss the crisis. Russia has rejected a yuan resolution affirming the territorial integrity of ukraine. Mood among a strong the vast majority of russians that the United States is very happy to facilitate russia declined, Energy Diversification away from russia and even Shock Therapy which i do not necessarily agree with. But that is their perception. And they are sitting on red line which they take much seriously than we do, on ukraine. What is next, and are we doing enough to contain Vladimir Putin . I am joined by berkeleys head of north american commodities. I will start with you. As you listen to president obama in that interview on cbs news, did you feel as though he is step up the rhetoric . Choicetually think the of the word in circling, we are not trying to encircle russia rush is key. The perception on the u. S. Side putinbout who vladimir feels pretty 12 former soviet bloc countries are now members of nato and they are literally right along the edge of the russian border, including poland, lithuania, and the former baltic states. I think what the president is trying to do is signal that we it is not about circling you are not about an eastwest cold war standoff but we are trying to protect democratic ukraine and the desires of those people. More of an appeasement strategy . More, dont worry no, i think hes trying to say while russia sees this as an existential crisis it is not how be you or the u. S. Sees it. He is trying to give reasons why the u. S. Does not have an interest in ukraine goes beyond that. It is not a geopolitical thing. But in terms of stepping up the pressure, lets not forget that just yesterday we had an interesting report from some of my colleagues in the Washington Bureau about new limits on Defense Export control. Dual use materials that the u. S. Will no longer be best allowed to be sold to russia. It affects not only the Defense Industry in russia but also energy. That is a key way they are cranking up the pressure. Congress approved a whopping 150 million ai plan inde to ukraine. In aid to the concern is it is just a drop in the bucket and they need a whole lot more. Is it just the symbolic at this point . Between limited sanctions and limitedaid, are we just trying to say, we are here . What for example, no one is talking about restrictions on the Russian Central Bank and no one is talking about Banning Russian Energy exports. It would be horrible for europe economically. The sanctions are a big step up but not enough pain really to change. If they are not enough to change his calculus, what should we be assuming his ultimate calculus is . There is a lot of talk about his eurasia dream, in economic block from russia to china, bringing in some of the former ussr countries. Is that ultimately what you think he wants . Intelligence reports witnessing indicates western intelligence believes there is even a chance putin will go into Eastern Ukraine, that he will not stop with crimea and we have to put on the table that there is a possibility. In terms of what we are going to do to respond, i think the u. S. And eu will be calibrated to what two does. What putin does. Is actual invasion completely different thing. There are in place possibilities to step up sanctions as far as you are talking about. No one is talking about iran level sanctions but the idea of cutting off the russian Credit Card Networks and bank access to the financial system, they are incredibly painful and extreme things the u. S. And the eu could do that we know can ricochet back. Anin some ways it feels like oldfashioned territorial land grab. We have not really seen warfare played out in this kind of way. Going in and seizing a territory which, by the way lets face it, we know he likes the warm water port, but it has economic things of its own. This is more of a political move than say an economic move . A lot of russian experts said he would never do this. They said coming off the sochi olympics, he will not send troops into crimea. Some even said if you want to influence a broader ukrainian politics you need crimea and solid voting bloc for russia going into election. I think the worry is he confounded conventional wisdom as to what he would do that do there. We dont know if he will go with the Eastern Ukraine because we will step of the sanctions, it could be economic armageddon. But we dont know if he is going to take the step and that is the most economically important region of Eastern Ukraine. You know what is amazing, the people of russia really are very supportive of him. His approval rating, upwards of 80 . Russians right now feel the coverage as far as the media goes is spot on, it is accurate, it is up ejected. Reporters without borders would is a great. In fact, russia is really down at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to freedom of the press. But clearly, hes got the peoples support. You hit on an interesting point, which is the russian which youa led by rt, can see in this country, but many other outlets, are presenting a picture of ukraine as falling apart, fascists running the government, the russian speaking minority being under threat. They are creating a certain picture which really has whipped up the support for putin. It is not at all the picture the acting Ukrainian Government agrees with or the u. S. Or the eu agrees with, but it is creating an image credit to your earlier question as to why putin is doing this, if you look at a map of crimea it is not hard to see how he was worried with a new western government might find an agreement that might mightally join me eu and join nato, he doesnt want the little piece of crimea right on the edge of russia under nato. Thats not forget the energy equation. Who the reasons bob Vladimir Putin has support of the people in russia is that Energy Prices have been high and that has benefited the economy extraordinarily. In other words, he has enabled to draw a lot of strengths on the energy boom for russia. And ukraine is important to that. Gas pipelines that go through the rest of europe. It makes it, doesnt not, therefore more important to europe and more and pour into us in that this is a conduit for Getting Energy to europe . I think it also in the stores even if we talk up underscores, even if we talk about stepping up sanctions it will be hard for europe to do it economically because they get their gas from russia. 30 of the supplies. Aroundpelines are built ukraine but it still goes through the pipelines. All this talk about increasing lng exports from the u. S. Is not really a possibility. It is not an overnight a lot of people say one of the best things going here in u. S. Is we have an energy renaissance, which means he could not only be helpful from an economic standpoint but National Security because theoretically you could export this and really start to drive Energy Prices down. Helene isoing to say, right that the infrastructure is not there yet. We dont have the infrastructure to do it. But it is fascinating that Georges Soros said loosen up some of the petroleum reserves, export some of and push prices down. Bethe president will traveling to saudi arabia. What do you think the message on the energy front is going to be . I think of the energy front it will be to maintain stable prices him a stable supplier. This is what we always say to saudi arabia. Your role as the central banker of oil is to keep prices stable, keep pumping keep pumping and make up for supply shocks. But they look at what the u. S. Did with red lines over syria and they said with a lack of u. S. Resolve to protect their interest. They are afraid we will cut a deal they will cut a deal with the iranians. The north American Energy revolution may fear a facilitation of u. S. Withdrawal. Why are we there if we dont get our oil from the gulf . They are intimidated by this, fearful of this. The ability of the United States to produce so much oil, even though we are still working on the infrastructure. That weare concerned have huge u. S. Bases in the region. Why spend so much on the air base in qatar to protect sea legs for crude oil increasingly going to asia . Facilitates fear it the u. S. Pivoting toward asia and essentially retreating from the region. What would that mean for saudi arabia if we were to not be there to back them up, to give them that support so that they could maintain price stability . What does it mean for them . I dont think it will happen in the short term. Be based ont may the oil but there is so much that goes beyond that. Remember, we were looking to the saudis as the head of this peace plan, this Arab Peace Initiative that would bring peace to israel and the palestinians. We need the saudis on so many levels. Lets not forget, that sallys were ready to punish the russians. If they can, they will be ready to because of the policy on syria. Depressing oil prices would hurt to russia but it would also hurt the saudis and a lot of people. One thing i would say, postarab spring, what you have to keep in mind is saudi spending commitments have risen enormously. Of the way they kept the population from going into the streets was to double down on the bargain that we will take care of you from cradle to grave. Dont ask for democratic change. So they really stepped up their domestic standing. They stepped up financial support. Interest i do versioning in certain countries. They are actively supporting the syrian opposition. Groups we are not comfortable with. But these are expensive new spending commitments. It is not easy for saudi arabia to lower the price to punish countries like russia because of where they are and their own spending levels. What do you think transpires in russia over the next three to six months . How do you think the u. S. Would deal with it if in fact Vladimir Putin decides to take on more territory in ukraine . We need to watch what happens the next three to six days or weeks. We dont know from day to day. I think it is fascinating that the former u. S. Head of nato was just talking yesterday about how maybe we made some mistakes in trying to pull back our forces this pivot to do to asia, and we need to reevaluate all of that. We have president obama in europe underscoring the u. S. Commitment to nato but also calling on the nato partners to do their part and to up their spending, which is something that a lot of nato partners, including the u. K. , have not been keen to increase their military support the region. In the case of a crisis like this, we had all thought europe was so stable. Looming debt crisis to talk of another cold war come a which brings me to last word to you. Is this may be a minor version of history repeating itself in terms of cold war tendencies . I think what is interesting is it is really the reassertion of russian nationalism. I think it is something where, again, we have been so focused on pivoting to asia i think it has caught people by surprise. I think we dont have the sort of detailed thoughtout policy response right now. We are reacting as events change. Definitely caught by surprise. A few so much. Wonderful to have you guys here today. Terrific discussion, really appreciate it. On the topic of russia and crimea, that brings us to our twitter question, something we will talk about later in the show. Now that russia has annexed crimea, one of the plans being floated for the region is to turn it into a gambling haven with casinos and hotels. I am asking, with the world gamblers shun crimean casinos . In other words, do they not like what is happening so much in russia that they just wouldnt go and gamble there . And it is aeet, subject we will discuss a little bit later. Moving and shaking this morning. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in an exclusive interview with abc newss a day and sawyer, christie speaks about the George Washington bridge scandal where his former aides allegedly shut down lanes of the busy bridge in order to punish the democratic mayor of fort lee. Take a listen to what he said. When things were first reported that said, it can possibly be true, because who would do Something Like that . Sometimes people think do inexplicably stupid things. That is what makes it so hard, as the guy in charge, none of it made any sense to me. And to some extent, still does not. And law firm retained by christies administration released a report exonerating him from any knowledge or involvement in the scandal. Next come the strategic sense that microsoft. Allowing Microsoft Office on apples ipad. What is next on his mobile agenda. Late billionaire s estimated 34 million collection. We will show you how you can bid on one of his picassos or monets. I will see you back here in two. Microsoft Ceo Satya Nadella says he will hold nothing back in his effort to get microsoft programs across all devices. The Company BelievesOffice Software the for the ipad, the first time they are putting the program on the tablet. We have a guest whos latest post is entitled the enemy of my enemy is my friend why ms office is coming toios. To ais an admission certain extent that life has changed, business has changed, and you need to be competitor competitive on all platforms . He realizes pc sales are flat and mobile is next. They need their Productivity Software on mobile. Apple is where it is at. See that, they microsoft is not their competitor anymore, it is really google. It makes sense. Doesnt mean people will start the work on the ipads . Use to youryou got ipad as being more of an entertainment device as opposed to a work device. But that, you think, could and would change . A i see tablet as more of consumption thing. But you never know how it will shake out with the enterprise of what people will end up doing on tablets and how it can transform. But i think right now the tablet is mostly still analysts are talking about this is a massive revenue opportunity. Could this be the thing that really starts to Bemis Company around . Lets face it. This has effectively been this ge of the tech space . Staid, maybe cap laggard. Microsoft is treated as such in the market with a multiple it gets and i dont think it will change much because of this. But microsoft earnings has been rising significantly and resident revenue has been rising at a pretty good clip. Stick with me. Declinetalk about the in bitcoin prices and what it means. Ok, you are watching in the loop live on Bloomberg Television streaming on your phone and bloomberg. Com. Im just reagan and for betty liu. At the futures set to open higher after two consecutive days of losses. We are awaiting personal spending numbers out in just a minute. We will be back on the market again in 30 minutes. Cap at a spirit of search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 is focusing on a new area in the indian ocean. Miles northeast. Radar indicates the airplane was traveling faster than officials originally thought, which means it use more fuel and did not travel as far. Turkey blocks youtube after a leaked recording of officials military incursion into syria appeared on the site. , the foreignent ministry called the leak it despicable attack on National Security. Christies auction house will be selling the Art Collection that are collection of the late fman and itist bron is estimated to bring in more than 134 million. Drogan. O bring on leigh bitcoin, interesting developments with the irs coming out and saying bitcoin, this is property, it is not a currency. I know you have written about this and you talk about how bitcoin is a little like the internet in early 1990s. Explain your thesis. I might want to poke some holes in that one. Think of bitcoin as a put a call just as the internet. Up until netscape, we did not really have a way for people to get around the internet. You do not see why the adoption of the internet until then. Bitcoin is the same way. I think because people focus on the price of bitcoin so much as an asset, they dont really get the prowler of the underlying protocol. What we are going to see coming up in the next several years, and it is starting, you will see top of theon protocol that allows people to interact with bitcoin better and you will see the view of the coin moving away from asset that people want to hold as an appreciating thing and more of a tool to transfer value amongst people. What i would say, i agree with you is it could be an amazing tool to transfer value. The Technology Behind this is pretty incredible. But i also question whether the coin is really the vehicle that ultimately survives. I think back to the days of example, what people wanted to share downloaded music. Napster what hit with a whole slew of legal hurdles. The Music Industry coming out and saying, no, you just cant do this. But it always felt pretty innocent, just a bunch of kids trying to share music files. They were filling a need in the marketplace. On the other hand, you got bitcoin, which also is running into a lot of legal troubles, if you would. There is more incentive before federal authorities to come down hard.