Kohl's Plans Share Buyback After Q4 Earnings Beat; Russia to Germany Pipeline Nears Completion; Trump Lashes Out at Germany Over Pipeline Project; European Stocks Close Higher.
ASHER: OK, so it's essentially been a relatively quiet day in terms of trading on Wall Street, not much going on, let's take a look here, the Dow, the S&P and the Nasdaq all relatively flat, we are up about 30 points which pretty reminds me -- we've been bouncing basically between positive and negative territory all day. But effectively, as Paul La Monica is here to tell me nothing much has been going on. So Paul, what we do have to report on is earnings. Let's start with Target, they actually did relatively well, they've been investing heavily in delivery services, you know, making their stores sort of nice and fancier, that sort of thing and it appears to have paid off.</s>PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: It is, I think digital is really what is paying off --</s>ASHER: But they -- Target has actually done a pretty good job of trying to pick up customers from Babies "R" Us, Toys "R" Us down for the thing --</s>LA MONICA: Yes --</s>ASHER: And so the retailers have been sort of left behind, Target sort of stock -- thought ten steps ahead and thought, OK, well, we can take their old customers.</s>LA MONICA: Yes, Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon, those are three retailers that obviously have a very big presence with toys and they are definitely thriving and profiting from the sad demise of Toys R Us.</s>ASHER: And Kohl's, Kohl's did -- I mean, this is just incredible because you have two retailers, we always have sort of dismal news to report when it comes to retailers, not today.</s>LA MONICA: Especially the department store chain --</s>ASHER: Exactly, so how has Kohl's managed to do well when you think about why J.C. Penney and Macy's are suffering.</s>LA MONICA: Yes, Kohl's has been very smart, Zain, they've had that kind of if you can't beat them, join them sort of strategy. So they've partnered with Amazon, they're increasing this partnership to 200 stores where you'll be able to buy Echos and other Amazon devices in Kohl's stores. Kohl's also doing a new deal with Planet Fitness where Planet Fitness, the gym owner is going to open up a couple of its gyms nearby Kohl's locations. So that's an interesting thing. Kohl's is dealing with weight watchers in Chicago as well. So Kohl's really seems to be recognizing that partnerships with big brand names are a way to get people to come into the stores. And again, with Amazon, you're not going to beat them, let's be honest.</s>ASHER: Yes, you've got to be --</s>LA MONICA: So, partner with them.</s>ASHER: You can't lie to yourself. So just in terms of the future, why do I look at this as being, oh, this is just a sort of short term bright spot, this isn't necessarily -- I mean, long-term in 2030 years from now, can any of these retailers rival Amazon?</s>LA MONICA: Yes, that is a fantastic question. Obviously, I think that there are many concerns that unless you are a specialty retailer, if you're a big box company selling things that Amazon is going to sell, then it's really going to be about price and convenience. And I think that's why Wal-Mart and Target, we shouldn't rule them out as long-term winners, obviously, they're huge companies and they really are doing a good job of getting people to buy online at home or on their phones, then go and pick up. Because a lot of people still are OK with driving to a store to get something that they just ordered on their phone because then they get it immediately. I mean, for all the virtues of Amazon, you're very rarely getting same day delivery from a lot of these places --</s>ASHER: Exactly, you know, it is so funny because for me, when I have the choice of either ordering on Amazon and waiting two days to get it or literally putting on my coat and walking across the street, I still choose Amazon, I still choose to shop online. That's just me --</s>LA MONICA: No, I think a lot of people --</s>ASHER: Most people are not as lazy as I am.</s>LA MONICA: That's beyond -- I'm in the same --</s>ASHER: You're in the same -- that God, OK, Paul La Monica live for us, thank you so much. OK, so let's take a look and see how European markets faired. They actually closed some mostly higher actually, green all across the board, FTSE 100 up about more than half of a percent, DAX up about a quarter of a percent as well. The FTSE is actually the best performer on what was a quiet session, investors still await concrete news on a U.S.-China deal. That will certainly move the markets. One of Europe's recent headaches is sustainable and affordable energy. Nord Stream 2 was supposed to be the solution, it's the longest offshore pipeline in the world and will transport natural gas from Russia to Germany. Its route runs more than a 1,000 kilometers and will supply enough energy to meet 13 percent of Europe's energy needs. But critics of the project, the most high profile of which is U.S. President Donald Trump say that collaboration with an unpredictable Russia could create more problems than it solves. Here's our Atika Shubert with more.</s>ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nord Stream 2 is vast, at a 1,200 kilometers, it is longest sub-sea gas pipeline in the world with an $8 billion price tag. Together with the already completed Nord Stream 1, the project promises to bring 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to German shores for a distribution across Europe. (on camera): This is the building site where the gas will make the first landfall in Germany before it is distributed across the EU. And as you can see, building is well underway, there's more than 300 kilometers of this pipeline already laid down. And in fact, they are expecting the first delivery of gas from Russia by the end of 2019. Karl Housemann(ph) is the site manager and he is happy that the project is on schedule.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know what to do, and so we are very optimistic all will be finished and the gas will be -- next European gas pipeline systems.</s>SHUBERT (voice-over): But as the pipeline nears completion, it is sparking opposition from the U.S. government.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. has made very clear that we think the project should be delayed, that there is no reason to go forward with this. It does not increase the diversity of gas supplies for Europe, it does not increase the diversity of the routes of supply or the means of supply. It does however circumvent Ukraine and other countries in Eastern Europe, increases Russia's due political leverage on those countries.</s>SHUBERT: The Trump administration argues that Nord Stream 2 ignores Russian aggression. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. The U.S. also says that it rewards Russia's government majority-owned gas pump, which controls 100 percent of Nord Stream's shares. But Germany and Nord Stream officials maintain the project is necessary to meet a shortfall in Europe's growing energy demands especially as Germany is now ditching coal and nuclear energy, but doesn't have enough green energy yet.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are safeguarding European energy needs. We are safeguarding the needs of the private consumers, we are safeguarding the needs of industry. We have an import gap, and we have to safeguard the change in the European energy system from coal and nuclear to renewables. And the perfect bridge is gas, the air of the gas is coming from.</s>SHUBERT: For now, that real politic means Nord Stream 2 is going full steam ahead. Atika Shubert, CNN, Lubeck(ph), Germany.</s>ASHER: I'm coming to you live from the make-up room here at CNN. This is my make-up guru, Mitch Elli(ph), he's responsible for all of my looks, hair and make-up here at CNN. After the break, we'll tell you how make-up made Kylie Jenner the world's youngest self-made billionaire or so they say. Mitch, can I have another quick curl right here, please? Thank you.