their crack downon opposition protesters has been going on for nearly five months. the investors know the queasy feeling again as the markets turn down after a rally that was all too brief. the numbers in asia aren't too impressive either making the european stock markets a lonely bright spot. of course, we'll bring you full coverage on "world business today." that's coming up next. two attacks occurred in pakistan on thursday. a police truck passed by killing five people, including four officers. minutes later police say a teenage suicide bomber blew herself up at a police check pointd killing a passerby and woulding three others. those are the top storying. i'm monita rajpal from cnn london. "world business today" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com a very good morning to you from cnn london. i'm nina dos santos. >> good afternoon from cnn hong kong, i'm andruw stevens, you're watching "world business today." here are our top stories this thursday, august 11th traders have little to smile about but the futures do paint a more positive picture as the stock market's wild ride continues. we'll be asking about the damage that has been done to england. and a way to show dirty laund laundry. how they could protect your ipad. i think we all need a silly story like that to lighten the mood at the moment because volatility and wild swings are continues to stalk stock markets across the world today. investors could be given a collective groan of disappointn't after wednesday's dismal day ol' wall street and fluctuations across asia and europe. it comes after a short-lived relief rally if you remember on tuesday and that gave some investors some hope that the markets could actually be bottoming out but there's precious little certainty about just how much further they could fall from here. let's take a look at the markets. nina,s it's just so hard to get a read on these markets at the moment. high-frequently trading and speculation. it makes it impossible to get a clear picture of what's happening. >> it does, indeed, andrew. i was hanging around the hedge fund manager a few days ago. he said for every one trade done by a human being, there are being done by ten computers. stock markets here in europe have been open now. let's look at how they're standing at the moment. yesterday they fell 2% for many, 3% for some. as you can see, they're regaining some of the lost territory. in particular the cac 40 is up by 2%. a company that lost 15% of its value in terms of its stock market value just yesterday is regaining its value up to the tune of 6% after saying that despite speculation there is absolutely nothing wrong with this company's finances. they are sound. now, onto the currency markets, the euro has been gaining about three-quarters of a percent. the pound is also up. almost half a per end higher. the japanese yen is up higher as well. up about one-third of a percent. trading at 76.57. andrew? volatility, front and center. they're getting some support from the u.s. the markets all up by around 1% at the moment and they are increasingly important numbers to watch. let's go to ramy imocencio who's been looking at the market action here. ramy, you've been saying up, down, up, down, volatility plus. >> right now it's not bad for the readers of markets as it could have been yesterday. still the nikkei here, it is nearing its lows, closing five months. it closed down about 0.6%. financials led the fall, japan's largest bake. also the yen is again nearing its post-war high trading at 76.57 as nina mentioned. that hurts exporters. honda and nissan fell about 3.5% each. the hang seng fell down about 1%. banks again, here the same story. they fell 3.5%. and seoul -- and seoul actually eeked out a gain about 0.6 here. the bank of korea actually decided to keep its benchmark interest rate ready at 3.5%. that stability is what investors want to hear. also the asx 200 opened down, rose, then it ended back. miners tinto and rnc were down. the big four banks lent support the other way. they closed up about 1.5%. i also want to take you to the chinese mainland. the shanghai composite. that actually ended higher by 1.25% rallying in one and a quarter hours. i hope the central banks keep rates steady which is helping to calm the markets there. >> ramy, breaking through yet another barrier. what's the latest? >> yeah. sort of getting tired of this over and over, but the gold did touch a new intraday high today, past the $1,800 mark. it's trading right here though at about $1,785. but looking back, it was right here on monday that it hit 1,700, breaking that barrier. that means in just the past week it's gained about 6% in value right here. now, who's pushing the price higher? the gold council says it's bans here. interestingly, adjustment for inflation, gold actually hit its true peak back in 1980. back then it cost only 825.50 dollars. but in today's money this is how much it actually costs. $2,261.33. so we're still about $420 off of that mark, but i have to say for now. >> yeah, absolutely, ramy. i think morgan stanley was saying that $2,500 gold is a distinct possibility. obviously it all depends on whether policy makers can get their act together and try to sort out the u.s. debt crisis, not to mention the u.s. economy. ramy, as always, thanks for that. the stock markets clear cut for a moment around here and seem to be about to do the same thing in europe. same for oil. there's been a big drop in crude inventories. down by more than 2% on wednesday. as you say, they're making up some of that lost ground today. apparently crude trading at $84.05. that's up $1.16 a barrel on the nigh next market. nina. as to what happened on wall street on wednesday, the brief reprieve we saw for investors on thursday, once again they began to drop. with the dow jones industrial average rounding out 520 points. look at these kind of numbers. the dow was off by 4.6% by the close. as you can see, the s&p and the nasdaq for their part weren't far behind either. let's take a look at how things are in term os testify premarket action. right now the market looks set for a healthier open. as you can see, these are the futures for the futures market. nasdaq market pushing up higher at 1.3% in trading. andrew. okay. that 'twas mildly encouraging numbers there, certainly seeing things moving in the right direction, eve though we perhaps didn't see them from a week ago. joining us now from laund for a look at where we go from next is cbc mark's european analyst michael houston. there's been so much volatility and speculation. what's your take on the french economy, on its strength, on bank stocks, how we should as investors be playing the french story at the moment. >> well, obviously there is a lot of concern about france and a lot of it has to do with the aaa trading. we saw in the uk in the u.s. can get downgraded, it could happen to the other countries. we've seen the focus turn to france, to germany, and obviously we've seen the focus turn to the uk. what it really ties into is not only the high debt levels but also the exposure of the fwren. banking sector to peripheral europe, and their debt problems there. and there is a lot of concern about french bank exposure. there is certainly a lot more scrutiny with respect to the aaa rating and the rumors that were abounding in the market yesterday really do not help sentiment with it being already very gray now. >> i mean this is a problem, isn't it. like anything, one of the british newspapers had to put a big retraction it was saying over the weekend about the french banks, stock market in particular. can you get a clear picture of the picture of the french bank at the moment, someone like yourself, or is it pretty much guesswork at the moment? >> i think it pretty much is guesswork in terms of the outlook and the french economy. you've got to factor that in. that will mean that france's debt burden will go up because they'll have to tribet to that. now, they're talking about increasing the efforts by about 2 trillion euros to make it viable. but obviously france is going to have to contribute toward that that means it will have to take much more austerity measures. if it can't do that, then the burden then falls on germany and as such because investors are nervous about that and the uncertainty in europe, they're staying clear of the next domino. it's moved from italy. now it's on to france which is obviously what president sar koci is looking to make really severe deficit reductions. >> i just want to ask you your view on the political will in europe at the moment. everybody seems to be uk taing about the lack of leadership on on both sides of the atlantic. do you have hopes that these generations we're seeing in the markets, the huge selloff, is going to force policy makers to actually come up with a rational code here and strategy for dealing with the euro-zone crisis or are we looking at piecemeal stuff or nothing at all? >> i think we're looking at more piecemeal stuff. i think it's been fragmented at best. it boils down to one thing, andrew. and that one thing is germany's political will to step up to the plate and backstop europe. generally germany is the only country in the surface to nip the problem in the butt. the ma jorlt are not in favor of it. i think if this kobltss to spiral out of control we could well see the euro break up. i think it's as serious as that. >> wow. okay. we'll have to leave it on that somewhat negative note. thanks so much for joining us. >> sorry about that. >> yeah, well, i mean, you know, you have to call it like it is. >> i'm afraid so. well, thanks very much then, michael. >> thanks. >> nina, pretty grim stuff, nina. >> yeah, mind you we do enjoy a strong opinion here on the show, don't we, aen drew. let's look at the problems that france is currently facing and why they're so worried. france currently enjoyed a top-notch aaa credit rating from the three credit rating agencies like standard & poor's, moody's and fitch. other places include united kingdom, germany, and switszerland and the u.s. canada is aaa. of course, the united states lost its top score from one of the ratings agencies. nevertheless ratings agencies fitch caution that among this group, of the aaa countries, france is the weakest. let eeks look at why. they worry that france has high debts into the last recession in 2008, 2009 with such high debts that amount to no less than 82% of the gdp's country last year. when you look at the deficit it becomes clear. it stands at a lofty 82ch. on friday investors will watching france with a very keen eye. this is because the country's second quarter growth figures have yet to come out. let me show you where growth was. it was at 9.9%. the issue is it may well fall to 9.2%. and, andrew, if that is the case and falls to 9.1%, it prevejtss france from reining in its deficit by just the year 2013. if growth doesn't stack up, it's going to be difficult some say for france to balance its debts just as other euro-zone nations are having the same problem. >> absolutely. the cold front and austerity measures, more austerity, more austerity. so you've just got to wonder, this is not squaring up, is it? such a difficult time for the policy maker at the moment. anyway, we're going to be talking much more about that during the show. you're watching "world business today." we're going to take a short break and from the uncertainty of the markets to bedlam in the streets, when we come back, we'll be taking a look at the true cost of the riots in the united kingdom. stay with us. then my eye doctor told me about acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink so now, i'm seeing more clearly. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. who need so now, i'm seeing more clearly. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobility and your life. one medicare benefit that, with private insurance, may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. hi i'm doug harrison. we're experts at getting you the power chair or scooter you need. i didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my power chair. with help from the scooter store, medicare and my insurance covered it all. call the scooter store for free information today. announcer: when life's this hard, it's no wonder 7,000 students drop out every school day. visit boostup.org and help kids in your community stay in school. welcome back. you're watching "world business today" on cnn. let's take a look at the other top business stories from the financial meltdown at the moment or certainly the financial gyrations starting with news corp. chase mourdocou. he says if somebody happens to him there's someone to take over. the succession chances can of murdoch's son james has been damaged by the phone-hacking scandal. speaking of that british police have made another arrest, their 12. some are reporting it. he's another former editor of the now closed murdoch tabloid ""news of the world."" some are also accuse odd f bribing the police and a positive outlook from cisco sent its stock up by nearly 10% in after-hours trading in new york on wednesday. cn john chambers said the cost-cutting initiatives obtained big dividends. earnings per share excluding one-time charges beat analysts' forecasts by two cents. >> well here in london and across the rest of the united kingdom police may have restored order but the calm comes after four costly days worth of writing. recovering from the financial damage will of okay take time and money and lots of both. the center for retail research says that retailers lost more than $36 million in sales, $28 million was lost just in looted goods alone, and they face more than $70 million in repair bills. the human toll, four people are dead, including three men trying to protect their businesses from looters. police say that they arrested at least 1,300 people across the uk in connection to the riots. the chaos was brought under control after the government employed an army of 16,000 police to discuss the riots. parliament will be holding a special session today called by the prime minister david cameron. many members may not take kindly to cameron's plans to slash the police budget. we take a report on this in the face of violence on the streets. >> reporter: pauline pearce became the voice of london when she faced down looters with this defiant speech that went viral on youtube to thousands of hits. >> get it real, black people. get it real. >> reporter: london is fighting back as this video from the guardian knapp shows, the turkish community managed to scare off dozens of would-be looters before the police showed up in their neighborhood. young people stood outside their temple and in the northern city angry residents chased after any suspected looter. riots faced off not with looters but with local residents. >> my offices need to face off with rioters and residents, not the vigilantes. th not people who threaten violence on anyone coming into their community. >> reporter: londoners may want to get rid of them but police warn them to not go vigilante. police say locals can help by going online. they set up a flickr page. that has inspired nettisons to set up their own packages like cash a lotter and using hash tags to out those who have admitted to looting. others are using social media to get the city back on its feet. riot clean-up is organizing neighbors and equipping them with brooms in the hope that solidarity will speed recovery and keep the violence at bay. >> we're going to be talking to grimm haels. we'll talk how it could be hurting rioter, especially with olympics coming next year. that's still to come on the show. >> absolutely. but before that, your business traveler's forecast with jen delgado is still ahead squoo and talk about dirty laundry, we'll tell you how trousers once worn by the ponzi scammer bernie madoff could end up protecting your ipod. we couldn't make it up. and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers. your ipod. coffee doesn't have vitamins... unless you want it to. new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. a few hours ago. you see a little bit of blue sky. welcome back to cnn in hong kong and london. you're watching "world business today." let's get you up to date with your business traveler's advisory. find out how heavy flooding in the uk and raining in europe is having its effect today. jen delgado is standing by. what do you want to go to first? i guess europe? >> we'll go to europe. but i want to point out to you. you saw the live shot in hong kong. for some areas toward the east we'll still see chances of showers popping up for parts of china, but looking at the radar once again we're dealing with wed conditions moving through central parts of england. you can see down toward parts of the southwest. you can see waves of heavier rainfall moving from the west to the east. and this means that the rain is going to be sticking around because we're tapping into that jet stream moisture and that means anywhere along this path you'll be dealing with the potential for standing water as well as flooding. this will last as we go all the way through the end of the week. it's going to affect parts of scandal navy ya in addition to the rain and clouds. of course, it's going to keep temperatures cool out there. people have been reporting that conditions have been cool for parts of austria and gentlemany. look at today. 16 for berlin. 20s for you. 30s down south. that includes parts of spain and portugal as well as greece as well. through areas including india, they're still dealing with the monsoonal moisture. keep in mind, all the rainfall, 80% comes in this three-month period and this is so essential to the economy and the farmers there. but i want to point out heavy rain has been coming down. we go to some of those images to give you an idea what it looks like. really sad when you see the kids walking through the flooded streets. the boy holding on to his parent s in a cage. this causes problems all through parts of india. find i want to take you back over. look at what i have in my hand. this is an ipad with a not so attractive case. this is one of our producers. andrew, what would you think about using bernie madoff's old clothes as an ipad protector. apparently an investor bought a bunch of his own clothes and used them to design ipad covers. you can see some are pants, different ba na ta republic, christian dior. of course, he had the best clothing around. they used these clothes, they were washed, cleaning to become ipad covers. guess what. he says it's not going to protect your ipad if you drop it. it's still going to break. so another bad investment, right? >> i wonder if you put it on will it make different calculations? jen, i've been told we're going to break. thanks, jen. you're watching "world business today." we'll be back in a moment. [ man ] i got this new citi thankyou card and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪ ♪ there it is. [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. ♪ [ male announcer ] the new citi thankyou premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it. from cnn london, i'm nina dos santos. i'm andrew stevens at cn hong kong. welcome back. you're watching "world business today." well, investors may have tho