Irish budget set to phase out multinationals' favourable tax arrangement. CMC Markets Chief Market Analyst Michael Hewson says closing the double tax loophole may affect the presence of Apple and Google in Ireland.

SHOWS: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (OCTOBER 14, 2014) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. CMC MARKETS, CHIEF MARKET ANALYST, MICHAEL HEWSON, SAYING:

JOURNALIST ASKING MICHAEL HEWSON: 'I guess we've got to kick off with the -3.6% on that ZEW in Germany, Michael, really confirming people's worst fears?'

HEWSON: 'Yeah, absolutely. I mean this looks like a perfect storm really for stock valuations. You're seeing concerns about European growth, you're seeing concerns about a Chinese slowdown. The Fed is looking to step back its quantitative easing program and really, it's about what is going to support stock market valuations. Given the declines that we saw in the DAX last week, it's no surprise to me that we come in negative. That's the worst reading since November 2012. And given the fact that we've seen a significant break below 9,000, I think there's potential for further DAX losses towards 8,000 and even lower.'

JOURNALIST: 'I mean off at this stage in the cycle, you and I will be talking about buying the dips. Is this really different this time?'

HEWSON: 'Yeah I think it is. I mean I've seen topping patterns in the Russell 2000. I've seen topping patterns in the S&P 500 and I've seen a significant topping pattern in the DAX. So for me, I think there's certainly potential. Unless we get back above 9,000 very, very quickly in the DAX, then I think we could well see 7,900.'

JOURNALIST: 'Alright. Market giving a raspberry to Burberry and Mullbery was your tweet this morning, I like that one. Now Mulberry - okay, profit warning. Burberry, outlook is iffy given sterling's strength. Is sterling really an excuse for this, do you think?'

HEWSON: 'I don't think so, no, Axel. I mean sterling is still one to trade weighted basis a lot lower than it was in 2007. I think what you're seeing with respect to Burberry is they're tempering expectations because of a slowdown in China, a slowdown in Japan and those are our particular markets that they're particularly exposed to. And let's not forget the Burberry stock price is still significantly up from where it was in 2012 when it was £10.'

JOURNALIST: 'Quick reaction on Ireland's budget for 2015 today, of course, looks like it's going to meet the deficit targets without pushing more austerity. 4.7% is the growth they're predicting, really the poster child, right?'

HEWSON: 'Absolutely, but Ireland still has significant problems. Unemployment is still 11.5%. Michael Noonan, I think, could well orchestrate a tax cut from 41% to 40%. But I think the main focus of today's budget will be the double Irish tax loophole. Will he announce that he's phasing that out? And if he does, does that have repercussions for the presence of companies like Apple and Google who've done significant business with Ireland over the past 10 to 15 years?'