>> reporter: monita, we've just heard from the interior ministry something which you could read in certain ways, i suppose. two gunshots were fired at 2:00 a.m. in the morning. so about seven hours ago now. they don't know why and since then they haven't heard anything. they haven't heard any kind of communication with the suspect holed up inside the house. he had said earlier in discussions with police that he had wanted to die with his weapons in his hand. interior ministry has said consistently that their priority is to get him out alive. we hope that he's alive. there is a possibility on my reading of that information that could be that the gunshots fired, he has -- i mean, it is a possibility that he might have killed himself that there is no contact with him. of course, that is pure conjecture on my part. we really don't know what's going on inside that house and the siege continues, monita. >> very difficult to understand. to actually gauge what's happening when there is in communication. are the interior ministry saying what the plan is moving forward? one would assume that this can't go on for much longer. >> as we're reaching the 30th hour of the seasoniege you woul that -- why not sit it out until the bitter end? you know, we thought last night that they would be -- that they had said we don't want this operation to go into nightfall. it would make it much more difficult for us. it's now daybreak and the operation is still ongoing. so what their tactics are, they seem to be prepared to sit it out, which i imagine is what they're doing at the moment. >> diana, we thank you for that on the scene in toulouse france. we're going into almost the 30th hour of the standoff taking place. we'll of course, continue to update you on the developments there as we get it. as we also want to focus on some of the other stories. we're hearing that renegade soldiers soldiers in mali have -- the mute nears have dissolved the constitution and all state institutions. the soldiers were apparently angry with how the government was handling a rebellion in the country's north. > it was another day of violence in syria. opposition groups say at least 79 people were killed in clashes across the country on wednesday. cnn cannot independently verify that figure or the authenticity of this video. those are the headlines from cnn. i'm monita rajpal. "world business today" starts right now. good morning from cnn london. i'm nina dell santos. >> good afternoon from cnn hong kong. i'm andrew stevens. welcome to "world business today." the top stories this thursday, march 22nd. fears of a slowdown in china. the latest sign of trouble in the world aers second biggest economy. >> a million lives are on the line as a food crisis takes a turn for the worse. >> and the new silk road. a giant port in china you've probably never heard of is the linchpin of a 21st septemberry trade route. for today, we have more proof that china's economy is slowing down. the manufacturing sector is shrinking for a fifth month in a row. that's according to the pmi in china. purchasing manufacturing index survey. let's go to randy inocencio, he's been looking at the numbers. >> it does randy. the policies to slow down the economy are working but premier may now be asking whether they're working a bit too well. china's flash pmi came in at 48.1 points for march. anything under 50 means a contraction. the worrying thing is that the manufacturing index has actually been under that 50-point mark for the last five months and march's reading is actually the lowest in four months. why this continued contraction? for one, domestic demand in china is still weak. companies in the country aren't placing orders fast enough to grow the manufacturing sector. the same goes for demand overseas. some of that blame lies with europe, china's biggest trading partner. the chinese exports to europe are going to con tract 1% this year. they'll still see continued growth despite this pmi. this number is still consistent with growth around 8%. we would have to see much worse numbers to -- for us to believe that this is a crash of some sort. this is, in fact, by most interpretations, this is an intended slowdown by the government which has tightened monetary policy last years deliberately trying to deflate the property sector and these are the kinds of results you then get. but i think it's far too early to talk about a crash in china. >> and it's not just hsbc maintaining the forecast of a soft landing. at least for now, the banks are predicting monetary easing. if not earlier. that could take the form of an interest rate cut or a reduction in the capital reserves that banks are required to hold. china's pmi seems like it didn't have an effect across the region. it had been down earlier but it closed down marginally in the red. asia is manning small gains. australia's asx 200 managed to close up thanks to gains in banking stocks. the nikkei added .4 of a percent after a surprise trade sur plas of $400 million was announced. it seems investors are not too concerned about china's pmi for now. >> interesting, ramy, considering the chinese authorities did move beforehand to ease them back a fraction. it's all pointing towards the directions -- ramy inocencio. thank you. the china numbers are so closely watched here. just to see that reaction in the asia market to sort of take that in stride suggests there's no undue concern among investors about the speefd the slowdown, at least yet in china. >> yeah. we've already seen what's going on in china affecting the markets where i am here in europe. just two days ago, i'll remind that you all those concerned that perhaps china's economy may not be keeping pace with the robust growth has been hurting the automotive stocks because china has a voracious appetite for metals and things like that. that's how we started the week and this is how we finished the week on a down beat note. we had a little bit of optimism yesterday with most of the markets mixed. basically, we're falling to the tune of half of 1% and third of 1%. the eurozone is back to the forefront of minds because in portugal, one of the three countries alongside ireland and greece with a bailout are holding a general strike against the austerity measures. this amid concerns that portugal may have trouble paying off debts and might have to ask for a reprieve or haircut on debts like greece got. in contrast to portugal, we have the head of the ecb, mario draghi, telling a newspaper in germany that according to him. the worst of the eurozone crisis is over. andrew, mixed messages for the market but for the moment, a third day of decline so far in the four days of trading. >> interesting to see that the politicians and key bankers are talking up the eurozone recovery even as the markets have caution. it's jun pinned by the fact that we have had a good run upside. some money will come off the table at some stage. let's quickly see what happens in the u.s. overnight. a bit of a mixed session. the dow finishing the day down by 45 points. hewlett-packard, the pc maker among the biggest losers there. announcing it's combining its printer and personal computer divisions. just a fraction of a gain to the nasdaq. shares of green mountain coffee roasters boosting index. news dealing with starbucks, a little more on that later in the show. the broadest measure, the s&p down by 3 points. wall street opens the trading in about five hours and 20 minutes from now. a quick check of the futures reveals, again, it's a bit of a mixed picture. mixed picture but pretty flat. the s&p the broad index which is for many a vp index down a fraction. we've got jobless claims, more jobless claim numbers coming out later this day. obviously, they'll be pretty closely watched. they certainly will, andrew. now world business news after the break, a food crisis putting millions of lives at risk. charities are calling on governments to beef up their efforts to fund aid. that's next here on cnn. [ male announcer ] this one goes out to all the allergy muddlers. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word. you have yet to master the quiet sneeze. you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts. well, muddlers, muddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. zyrtec®. love the air. welcome back. you're watching "world business today" live from cnn. aid agencies are criticizing the sboernl response to a deadly drought in west africa putting tens of millions of lives at risk. unicef says the government donations are failing to come fast enough and it's raised only a quarter of their $120 million that it originally requested in an emergency appeal. the chronic lack of rainfall affects eight countries in total. in a region that's already crippled by rising food prices, as we explain. >> reporter: windswept and arid, portions of west and central africa have become far too dry to sustain crops. livestock and the millions of people who live here. this is the desert to the north, tropical savannah to the south. it's a climate transition zone prone to cycles of drought. eight countries are seeing the worse from senegal to chad. this family lives in that jury. they look on as her husband march vests one of the world's oldest cultivated crops. it's not nearly enough to feed their family. >> translator: this year's harvest was so bad that it will not even last us three months. when my husband goes to harvest our millet crop, i look to gather up as many of the fallen grains as possible. today i was able to get almost two full bowls of millet, which was enough for one family meal. >> nutrition centers like this one are packed. the united nations, whose camera crews have been documenting the unfolding crisis, believes that more than ten million people are in danger of starving to death. eight workers on the ground say it's fast getting worse. >> it's related to the lack of rains in 2011 and the droughts, lack of food, the fact that people are trying to cope with that by selling their personal belongings, cattle, livestock, they're pulling out of children to adapt to this. >> children in the area are particularly vulnerable. more than one million at risk. >> we have the technology and the knowledge to treat these children who suffer from severe malnutrition effectively. if we identify them, if we get to them quickly enough, we can cure them and prevent them from dying. >> yun search has asked for about $120 million from government to help. right now the agency has about 25% or $30 million on hand. cnn, atlanta. >> the numbers certainly are staggering. 13 million people are at risk now in the region there of severe malnutrition as that drought continues. okay. let's switch gears now. for the business travelers out there who are heading off over the next 24 hours to unknown destinations, meteorologist ivan cabrera joins us with the latest weather. >> hopefully they know their destinations, right, andrew? >> i don't. >> we'd be in trouble otherwise. no big storms here. i think we'll be okay in europe. we have this feature from the south. that's going to bring rain to portions that need it here across western europe. look at this big high, though. you see the lack much cloudiness and the clouds going up and around. that has been the pattern and will continue to be the pattern for the next few days. the exception is here in this area. it is going to be a quiet weather pattern if you're traveling to europe. 19 vienna, temperatures approaching 17 in london and we'll keep it that way into madrid. as we take you into asia, fast pattern. we're continuing to see cold air. still hanging on as we have this low heading to the east. on the backside of it here for the peninsula, we'll be on some snow. even into japan. we'll see snow heading into the next 48 hours as the storm really will begin to get going here. even strong winds are the potential here for airport delays, i think. especially if you're traveling through the latter part of the week here. we'll watch that closely for you in the next 48 hours heading into weekend as the temperatures remain pretty average. rain continues in queens and australia. we can't catch a break here. we've been seeing terrific amounts of rainfall the last 24 hours. i think that patd earn will persist, especially to the north here. for the rest of you, getting towards sydney or melbourne, temperatures in the mid 20s. cooler with a front from the south melbourne at 15 degrees. let's take a look at the potential airport delays if possible. >> that is a look at your world weather. now back to the man who, of course, always knows his destination, andrew stevens. >> i'm glad you had such confidence in me. sometimes i wonder about that. >> absolutely. cheers, ivan, see you later. nina. >> still to come, starbucks has something brewing these days. we'll hear from the ceo, howard schultz, how the company's latest expansion plan could be good for american workers. before we get all of that, let's also take a look at the global currency market and where they stand at the moment of. the u.s. dollar, is lodsing earlier gains against the yen. the yen strengthening against the greenback. on the other hand, up to 83.15. only slightly up. and the euro is slightly down against the u.s. dollar, despite the fact that mario draghi has told a germany paper that the worst is over for the euro. we'll be back after this. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? 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[ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals. welcome back to "world business today" live on cnn. a new coffee collaboration is giving green mountain stock closing 10% higher on wednesday after the coffee company set up plans to partner with starbucks. the competitors are teaming up to sell starbucks single-serve coffee packs compatible with the new coffee maker, the view. the partnership helped restore some much-needed confidence in the vermont-based brewer. shares of green mountain tumbling 20% two weeks ago after starbucks said it was coming out with its own single serve coffee machine. >> it's rather unfair, too early to talk about coffee. two stories follow it without having had one myself. in any case, when we are talking about star buck, this company announced plans to expand in the united states. the new $180 million facility in the state of georgia. the plant will produce the single serve coffee patch under a different brand. ingredients for the frappuccinos will be made in the facility. most importantly, what this move will do is create about 158 american jobs. howard schultz, the ceo, cold piers morgan that american businesses need to do more to keep those jobs at home. >> in the consumer, i believe, will respond in kind because they want to embrace companies and brands whose values are compatible with their own. >> i completely agree with it. this is why i've been targeting maybe unfairly. i've been targeting apple because they're the biggest company. they're making more and more money, selling millions and millions of ipads in the last few days alone. it seems to me utterly absurd in the current financial climate, a company like apple to be making billions and billions of dollars and yet, to be employing way more people in china than they do in america. if they took the leap that you have taken, i think the american public would respond so favorab favorably, they'll make more money than in the first place. >> pierce, i tend to agree with you. i don't know tim cook and i don't want to sit here and criticize apple. i think the point you make is correct. they must have their own business reasons for making their decisions. i would go the other way and say there are companies doing the right thing. a company like whole foods, timber land, target, estee lauder. they're doing the right thing. i think more and more companies are going to find themselves because the consumer is at some point going to vote. >> certainly will. live from hong kong and london, you're watching "world business today." still ahead, all eyes onalaska. energy companies set their sights on natural gas export. one politician is determined to keep u.s. resources at home. stay with us. from cnn hong kong, i'm andrew stevens. i'm and nina dell an toes in cnn london. you're watching "world business today." let's move away from business news to update you on a developing story from france here on cnn. a french government spokesman says that police in the southwestern french city of toulouse haven't heard anything from the suspected gunman for hours now. they're surrounding his home in a siege that is in the second day now. you're watching live pictures of his home. earlier two gunshots were heard and the spokesman said it's unknown what they're connected to. those are live pictures filmed from down the street of the home of the man down there in the southwestern city of toulouse in france. the 23-year-old is suspected of killing seven people over the course of the past ten days. that includes three children. police describe him as a self-starved jihadist. authorities would like to take him into custody alive. for now, the standoff continues and it runs into the second day. back to business news. let's see what's going on in the europe peen financial markets. they've been trading for 31 minutes so march into this fourth trading session of the week. so far, we've seen a third straight day of losses for many of these markets. some it's even a fourth straight day of losses. paris, down more than that. .8 of a percent. this is despite the fact that mario draghi has telling the most read german newspaper that the problems with the eurozone are nearing an end. seems that the markets aren't buying that theory of his. >> the markets stopped believing what the politicians say quite a long time ago. here in asia, shares giving back gains. manufacturing activity in china. losses there are tempered somewhat by an unexpected return of a trade surface in japan. the stock broking house in skrap was down extending previous losses. speculation over an insider trading case. just a quick update on sony. the stock has recovered today. it was down more than 1% in early trading before coming back to close -- essentially unchanged. sony, you'll know, is undergoing a major overhaul as it tries to return to profits. the latest sign came today. sony says it will be selling its chemical operations to the development bank of japan. local reports say the deal is worth up to $480 million. there's possibly a leadership shakeup. that will happen on april 1st, nina. it's interesting, isn't it, when you start looking at these companies more deeply, usually it's because they're facing severe problems. you start uncovering all sorts of things about them. i mean, who knew that sony had a chemicals operation? who knew it had an insurance operation, which it's responsible for most of the company's profits at the moment. >> you take a look at things on the balance sheet. we also see that in europe, don't we? take a look at those companies that sometimes start to lose an awful lot of money, you look at where they're losing the money and it turns out they have a completely different operation that you never thought of. couple of examples in europe, they've escaped me, but have certainly followed stories like that as well myself. let's look at wall street. bad news on the housing markets hits the stock markets during yesterday's session. as alison kosik tells us, the uncertainty on wednesday's trading sessi