29/07/2011 World Business Report

This is BBC News. A summary of the news: Still no resolution in the US

debt problem. A boat was due on Thursday night that the Republican

leadership could not persuade enough of their members to back

their plan. AE Libyan rebel military commander has been shot

dead, Abdel Fattah Younes were shot dead by a gang while travelling to

appear before a military committee. French officials will announce the

exact causes of the crash of a checked in the Atlantic. Memorials

to take place today in Oslo one week after the bombing and

shootings which killed 76 people. Police will question the only

suspect Anders Behring Breivik for a second time. Now it is time for

World Business Report. Could the DEC stand-off begin to weigh on the

world's largest economy? Markets await second quarter growth the

gaze amid fears that the recovery is losing steam.

Markets are nervous over America's debt crisis.

International airlines look for their next merger partner. Business

the US Congress over the debt ceiling has been delayed again.

With no end in sight, fears are raised about the long-term impact.

GDP figures are expected to show that the US is struggling with Paul

Gray's and default will make the future even more uncertain. -- poor

growth. Our correspondent reports. Sales are up 25%, but the debt

issue in Washington has left the owner at a loss about what to do

next. Our bankers are scarce to give projections for next year. I

say: I don't know. I do not know what will happen for some if

America's credit rating is downgraded, interest payments will

go arm, making loans to companies like these more expensive. It means

tough choices. They tell me how hard it is to pay their bills. We

find it difficult to give people the races they deserve. Even before

the row over the debt ceiling, recovery was already faltering.

significant slowdown in the jobs engine of the US, the service

sector. That tells you there is something Bega going on than and

little bit of worry over their debt or the Japanese earthquake. It is a

cyclical slowdown which will persist until the end of the year.

American consumers account for 70% of all economic activity. They are

struggling and growth is slowing. There is concern that be. Issue in

Washington could make a bad situation even worse. BBC News.

Market nerves over the debt crisis they have continued in Asia.

Worrying comments about the broader economy from some technology giants.

We crossed to Rico Hizon in New York. People on the edge of their

seats. Yes, or Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Sydney. Markets are very

jittery. No resolution insight on the US debt ceiling. Doubt that a

deal will be done by next Tuesday to it avert a ratings downgrade. A

serious crisis in America or Europe would heat Asian markets just as

hard as during the sub-prime crisis three years ago. The region remains

deeply reliant on the US and Europe not only for exports but capital

inflows. The yen is that a four- month high vs the US dollar. The

Singapore dollar is at record highs and this does not help the costs of

Asia's technology giants who rely on export receipts from the USA and

Europe. Sony, Panasonic, Nintendo, reported weak numbers and are

forecasting a tough road ahead due to reduced consumer demands. There

is still a lot of uncertainty in the markets and the Asian economies

going forward. British Airways and Iberia are expected to be in a

bullish mood. Passenger numbers have risen. First class numbers are

up 25% after the resolution of the dispute with cabin crew. It has a

list of 12 other airlines it will consider buying. I am joined by a

representative from an airline consultancy. An endorsement of the

strategy focusing on business passengers. Yes, it is certainly

the long-haul business passengers bringing through the stronger

results. They are exposed to growth markets, notably Latin America. We

are seeing a divide in what is happening to traffic. Long-haul

business traffic is growing. Short- haul is declining. We heard from a

share that some corporates are expressing concerns about the

economic outlook. Is there a disconnect between demand for

business-class seats and what is happening to the underlying

economy? Up to this point it has been in line with the global

economy. The concern about the US could have caused a change. While

the long haul demand is strong in business price it would be a double

whammy if it fell away as well. They are looking around to see what

else they might buy. They have talked about waiving of chequebooks

by i AG. That will not happen in the short-term. As a holding group

they are meant to be there to absorb new airlines into the group,

but they do not want worse just for the sake of growth. The strategy is

to grow in key markets - Asia, Latin America. Strengthening the

position of British Airways home market at Heathrow. Why are these

mergers are essential to pick up momentum? It is a trained we have

seen the industry goes through in recent years. In the past we have

seen airlines led by governments. There needs to be a greater focus

on cost. They have a threadbare margin. To deal with challenging

fuel prices you need to be a more efficient operator. Less capacity

where competition cannot be sustained.

Also this Friday the scandal surrounding News Corporation may

overshadow results from BSkyB. Barry expected to have made

operating profits of one. $6 billion to June. James Murdoch was

confirmed as chairman of the company. News Corporation, which

owns 39% of BSkyB, was forced to drop its takeover bid amid the

spreading scandal over phone hacking at News of the World. South

African mine workers are due to meet gold producers on Friday for

wage talks in a bid to end a strike which could cost $25 million a day.

100,000 workers stopped work on Thursday demanding wage rises of

14% against offers of 7% amid record prices for gold bullion. The

growth figures from the US will provide an enormous focus for

markets during Friday's trade. The markets are very nervous about the

US debt at stand-off at the moment. Debt markets are looking calm at

the moment. We are seeing nervousness on Wall Street. The

tone is also set by worries about the US economy and the outlook for

the third quarter, looking weaker than one would have hoped. Growth

figures out later are expected at 1.8%, rather than the to dissent

which is needed to fuel job growth. That will be a concern, given that

jobs are needed to propel the economy forward. The European

markets. The FTSE is up. Disappointing growth figures for

the UK economy which raised questions as to whether the impetus

provided by the government will be enough to propel the economy

forward for the remainder of 2011. Zara Payne, whose daughter was

murdered in revenues ago, has been told she may have been targeted by

the private investigated at the centre of the phone hacking scandal.

News International says it is taking the matter very seriously.

Some NHS trusts in England are delaying operations in the hope

that patients will disappear from waiting lists either by opting for

private treatment or dying. Some managers are setting minimum

waiting times of 15 weeks to save money. Our correspondent reports.

Group that is a well-known maximum waiting time for routine NHS

operations in England. Some primary care trusts are also imposing

minimum waiting times, 15 weeks being one example. Since 2008

patients needing routine treatment could choose between being treated

by the NHS or going to an approved private health centre, with the PTC

footing the bill. Some trusts add any trying to save money by

imposing time delays in the hope that patients will remove

themselves from the waiting lists either by dying of paying for their

own treatment. Apart from extending the suffering the panel says that

delaying operations may be false economy if the patient is left

needing more extensive and expensive care. The panel stop

short of banning minimum waiting times outright but said trusts

should only use them if their finances are in a critical

condition. BBC News. Coming up at 6am, Breakfast. All the day's use,

business and sport. The headlines: The political

wrangling over the US debt crisis is continuing. A key vote was

postponed when it became clear that the Republican leadership could not

persuade enough of their supporters to back a plan for a short-term

solution. If agreement is not reached by next Tuesday the US

government could run out of cash. Our correspondent explains why the

issue has become so difficult. You have to look at what happened at

the mid-term elections last November. A lot of the people

elected on that at Fern were conservative, part of the Tea Party.

A Libyan rebel military commander has been shot dead. Abdel Fattah

Younes was Colonel Gaddafi's Interior Minister until the

uprising in said grief. Air crash investigators will reveal exactly

why an Air France plane crashed into the Atlantic two years ago.

Findings are based on analysis of information from the recently