they are refusing to leave the jail until they get permission to hold their fast. i'm zain verjee and "world business today" starts now. good morning from cnn paris, i'm nina dos santos. welcome to "world business today." the top stories this wednesday, august 17th. >> leaders of the eurozone's two top economies meet and investors are not impressed by the outcome. the world's largest economy hasn't been inspiring much confidence either. in an exclusive interview u.s. president barack obama tells us how he wants to turn that around. new evidence emerged in the "news of the world" hacking scandal challenging james murdoch's testimony. first, let's get straight to the markets. if investors were holding their breath in the hope of a break through in europe's sovereign death crisis, they'll still be waiting to exhale. tuesday's much-hyped meeting between the french president nicolas sarkozy and german chancellor angela merkel was a damp squid in the eyes of the market as it failed to come up with a decisive plan to turn things around. let's go to asia where it was more of a mixed picture. japan, though, finishing in the red. the nikkei down by about .5%. also reacting to weaker than expected numbers from dell and a poor outlook on the dell front. so many electronics markets in japan. the shanghai composite down about a third of .1%. the australia market getting a bit of a boost by 1.3%. take a look at europe which is the epicenter of the global economic concerns. as you see there, the ftse down .75%, the xetra dax down by .65%. there has been some buying, a little bit later. quickly to the u.s. now. we'll see what the u.s. markets were doing. they had another down day. the dow down about two-thirds of 1%. still concerns about the state of the u.s. economy. of course, the eurozone problems, nina. that meeting between nicolas sarkozy and angela merkel was seen as a crucial meeting particularly as it was planned at the height of the volatility last week. so people really were looking for answers, weren't they? >> it was billed as krun ch time for the eurozone, andrew. the three proposals that merkel and sarkozy has put forward to try to save the euro currency shared by no less than 70 nations across the european union. let's take a look at exactly what was said at the outcome of that meeting. one thing it did not produce, interesting enough, andrew, is any talk about the so-called euro bonds, in other words secured issued backed by all 17 of those countries that share the euro. that would in turn reduce the enormous discrepancies that countries have to pay to borrow. it did not produce that kind of talk officially only the agenda although it did come up in the press conference. many economists have said the topic of eurozones would have been the magic cure for the euro. angela merkel saying she wasn't buying that. nicolas sarkozy saying it was too herly. let's have a look at the three proposals. what we had was a proposal to have eurozone leaders meeting at least twice a year. those discussions would be designed to coordinate economic policy further to move one step towards a fiscal union. we of course have a monetary union, but we don't have the fiscal rules to back that up. we also have a plan to tax financial transactions, perhaps to curb some of the speculation in the bond markets that has now priced three eurozone countries into bailout territory, portugal, ireland and greece. finally we had a call to force eu member countries to adopt golden standards designed to balance their budget deficits. that last point, though, some economists have been telling me may be wishful thinking. there's a reason for this. we should recall for the moment that the limits for the deficits for these eurozone countries was just 3%. countries like france have a deficit that stands in excess of double that own figure. it's going to be increasingly difficult bringing down those deficits, particularly for the larger countries in the eurozone like france. if growth remains anemic we also have news that german growth almost flat lined for the second quarter of the year. when it came to france, out put was completely flat for the second quarter of the year. let's get a little insight. we bring in alexander law, the chief economist at zurfy here in paris. >> good morning. >> what a day. did we get what we expected? >> not really. we got reassuring words from both merkel and sarkozy. what the markets were really expecting and hoping for were for euro bonds to be higher on the agenda. what really strikes me is nicolas sarkozy saying it's too early in european integration to talk about euro bonds. we've had the euro since 1999 and as currency in our pockets since 2002. the issue with euro bonds, of course, you can either bring those countries with huge difficulties up or it can drag the larger countries such as germany down. that's why merkel is against the proposal. >> if we know that growth in places like germany is shrinking to almost flat line, they're not going to want to bail out anyone else? >> they're not going to want to bail anyone out. you've got to understand that germany depends on the rest of the euro area for its growth. so it's no surprise it only has .1% growth and france is stuck at zero. in a way germany does depend on the rest of the euro area. somewhere along the line they're going to have to come up with something maybe stronger than what was said yesterday. >> their exporters are screaming out for this kind of proposal, aren't they? >> sure they are. germany is an export-driven economy. there's no growth in germany outside exports. we know consumer spending has been flat for the past decade. the population is going to shrink very soon. they desperately need the rest of the world to be stronger than it is at the time being. >> what about this tax on financial transactions? is that just a sort of slap on the wrist for people in the bond markets? >> i'd imagine it comes from the french side of the french negotiating table. it's been on the agenda for years and years. they're looking to slap down on speculation. i don't see it's going to be able to be enforced in any realistic way because if europe were to do it, what would the rest of the world do? you wouldn't want to penalize europe compared to the rest of the world. i don't see any real outcome other than words really. >> nicolas sarkozy was quite emphatic when he was deliberately asked if they were going to be raising the bailout fund for struggling countries. he sort of made a joke, didn't he? why not triple it, at the end of the day we're losing count of how many zeros at the end. >> it's true we are losing count of the number of zeros behind it. but what we need is for enough money to bail out the larger countries, weave got enough at the moment to save greece, ireland, even portugal. what happens if spain or italy are dragged down to the myers. i don't think we can brush it away with a back of the hand. we have to discuss it behind the scenes they are discussing. it's going to be last course of action. they can't pre announce it. if they were to pre announce it, they would be saying we are desperately worried about spain and italy and you can't give that signal out to the markets. >> alexander law, chief economist of zerfi here in paris. andrew, even though they had the summit, they talked for two hours, then talked with the press. plenty of questions remain unanswered. >> interesting what your guest was saying about the financial tax. the london exchange which is listed down about 6%, deutsche boss down by about 5%. some real questions about that transaction tax as well-being brought up by investors. anyway, we'll move on. we'll take a short break. when we come back, britain's parliament is drawing up a phone hacking call-back list. we'll tell you why james murdoch is almost certain to be questioned again. stay with us. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. hello and welcome back. live from cnn hong kong and paris, this is "world business today." now, in britain the telephone hacking scandal just won't die down. new developments has raised the pressure once again on the murdoch family, particularly james murdoch. a new document appears to contradict testimony that he gave to britain's parliament just last month. another round of questioning is set for september. details now from dan rivers. >> reporter: he's already faced the ferocity of a parliamentary grilling by british politicians about phone hacking at his company. new documents released by those politicians now cast doubt on james murdoch's testimony. murdoch has always denied knowledge of a damning e nail which included transcription of 35 hacked conversations believed to be intended for the chief "news of the world" reporter, neville. it was brought by gordon taylor, the former uk soccer chief. james murdoch signed a check for almost $1.6 million to settle that case, something he was quizzed about in parliament. >> when you signed off the taylor payment, did you see or were you made aware of the full neville e-mail, the transcript of the hacked voice mail message? >> no, i was not aware of that at the time. >> reporter: now this letter released by parliament contradicts that evidence. in its news international's formal lawyer, tom crone says he was aware of the neville e-mail. i have no doubt that i informed mr. murdoch of its existence, what it was an where it came from. now james murdoch may have to explain himself. >> it's highly likely james plur dock will be invited back to give evidence. before that we want to take a very detailed skt of what the former editor and lawyer knew. >> reporter: this second letter may so more evidence of a coverup. it was sent by former royal correspondent clive good man in 2007 to news international. two copies were sent to parliament, the vergs from news international is missing key details revealed when news international's own lawyers sent a fuller version of the same letter to the committee. in the blacked-out paragraphs, goodman says phone hacking was widely discussed in the "news of the world" daily editorial conference until explicit reference to it was banned by the editor. that's devastating to andy coulson who told politicians in 2009. >> i never condoned the use of phone hacking nor do i have knowledge where phone hacking took place. >> reporter: it's a further blow to david cameron who later employed coulson. the disgraced reporter won promises from the company as he faced jail time. goodman says i was promised i could come back to a job at the newspaper if. i expect the paper to honor the promises to me. form lawyers representing phone hacking victims, that letter may be crucial. >> he pleaded guilty to something on the basis that he didn't implicate others in the "news of the world." it was payback time for him. >> reporter: the more revelations that emerge, the more precarious is james murdoch's position. he has not commented, nor has anyone else implicated in threat terse. in the latest statement from news international, they say they recognize the seriousness of the materials disclosed saying it's committed in acting in a constructive and open way with the authorities. dan rivers, cnn, london. the u.s. president is back on the road pushing his plans to create jobs. and he's also putting pressure on members of congress to now work together. but will all this save his own job? that's the question we'll be asking when "world business today" returns. welcome back. you're watching "world business today" live on cnn. the u.s. president barack obama is on a bus tour of three u.s. states pushing his own plans to boost the economy and also to create jobs. some analysts say he's already making a campaign trip ahead of the 2012 election which is fast approaching. on tuesday he accused some u.s. lawmakers of putting party interests ahead of their own country's interests. he's also called on them to try to back his economic plans. these would include all sorts of proposals such as extending a payroll tax as well as a new road construction bill. in an exclusive interview with cnn's own wolf blitt zephyr, mr. obama laid out his economic goals for the united states. >> there's some things we've been talking about on this trip that will already pending before congress. we know what we did in december by cutting the payroll tax so the average family gets an extra thousand dollars in their pocket makes a huge difference not only for their purchasing power but for businesses having more customers and being able to hire. we've continued to renew tax breaks for businesses that are willing to move up investments they're planning into 2011. we'd like to renew some of those for 2012. trade deals with korea and panama and columbia, we know can create tens of thousands of jobs here in the united states. there are a number of things we've already got pending before congress. and what i've been saying to crowds all across the country and it's been getting a good reception is what they want to see is democrats and republicans putting country before party and going ahead and taking action in order to move the economy forward as quickly as possible. >> you have something much more ambitious in mind for september. there's reports you want to create a new department of jobs, something along those lines. is that true? >> that is not true. what is true is i think we missed an opportunity a month ago when we could have dealt with our debt and deficit in a serious, balanced way, that would have avoided these huge ji rations in testimony markets, given businesses a lot of confidence that washington had its fiscal house in order and included in that because of the savings that we'd be getting over the next 10, 20 years, more efforts on the front end to spur job creation. and given that congress failed to act, the grand bargain i was trying to cut with john boehner didn't happen, we're going to take one more run at congress and say to them, look, here is a comprehensive approach that gets our debt and deficits under control and also accelerates job growth right now. >> is this an initiative you'll give to the so-called super committee or is this something separate from that? >> i hope the soup ever committee takes its job seriously. obviously there's an added sense of urgency given how anxious businesses and i think consumers are after the debacle surrounding the debt ceiling. my attitude is i'm going to make my best case for where we need to go. we've made progress since the start of this recession back in 2008. it hasn't been fast enough. we've got to accelerate it and there are two things that need to happen. number one, we've got to make sure people have confidence we have our fiscal house in order and living within our means, limiting programs that don't work. number two, there's immediate things we can do around infrastructure, tax policy, that would make a difference in terms of people requiring right now. >> also in the next few hours, the u.s. vice president joe biden will be arriving in china where he hopes to ease friction between the world's two biggest economies. while he's there, he'll meet his counterpart the chinese vice president, he is the man widely tipped to be china's next president. beijing is concerned that the u.s. is not doing enough to handle its debt and its economy could stall. china cares partly because it's the largest foreign holder of u.s. bonds. in one recent article china's xinh xinhua news agency wrote that the u.s. has to come to the terms that it can't borrow its way out of messes of its own making. despite all the debt troubles, u.s. economy continues to benefit from a resilient retail sector. over the years, american consumers complained that the shelves are stacked with products made outside the country mainly from china. economists in fran have found when it comes to the bottom line for business, there are benefits of its made in china. mary snow reports. >> reporter: walk through a toy store like this one and just about everything here seems to be made in china, even captain america. how many of the products you sell are made in china? >> i would probably say about 90%. everything is made in china. it's cheaper to produce and manufacture stuff in china. i guess that's where everybody goes. >> reporter: while everything from toys to electronics are being made in china, not as much money as you might expect goes abroad. that's according to economists at the federal reserve bank of san francisco. they found that chinese goods ranging from furniture to clothes and shoes only make up 2.7% of u.s. personal consumption expenditures. economists say most of the money goes to the u.s. because of the services tied to those goods. >> when the good arrives, it needs to be transported, needs to be insured, it needs to be shelved, stored. people who do it need to be paid and retail space needs to be paid for. >> reporter: this economist says for every dollar spent on a product made in china, 55 cents goes towards services produced in the u.s., while 45 cents goes to china. not everyone is buying including michelman dell of the progressive policy institute who calls the data misleading. >> the data that they're using seems to show that the import -- impact of imports on the economy is not as big as people think. but the fact is, all you have to do is look at the lost jobs, and you understand that the impact is quite large. >> jobs lost to china are not part of this study. san francisco fed economists say they only focused on consumer spending and they stand by their numbers. they say they want to provide calculations on how consumer spending is distributed. mary snow, cnn, new york. >> now, england's manchester united football club is one of the richest soccer clubs in the entire world, but it still ha