29/11/2011 World Business Report

gave no further details. Those are the latest headlines. We now have

the latest financial news. This is World Businerld Busine The

headlines: The British economy is slowing down, we find out how fast

and what the government plans to do about it. Citigroup Dolder pilates

dealings during the mortgage broom. -- dogged by its dealings. The

unemployment rate surges to 4.9% in Japan in October. Good to have you

with us. The UK may not be part of the eurozone but it is not escaping

the general downturn. The Office for Budget Responsibility will

downgrade the growth forecast for next year down to 1%. The British

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 53 seconds

I hope we do return to some modest GDP growth. One answer says the

government is a $46 billion investment programme in roads, rail

and energy projects. By boosting spending on these, the whole

economy might benefit. As for this CrossRail project, to build a new

railway line under London, the government does not have enough

money of his eye in. It is hoping to attract money from private

sector pension funds and even the Chinese sovereign wealth funds. --

money it of its own. The Chinese may invest if the returns are

favourable. One company that invested in the M6 toll is losing

$40 million a year. Getting the economy back on track and managing

the deficit, the government insists there are very few alternative

plans. It maybe days, perhaps weeks, many commentators are saying time

is short to rescue the euro. There are several potentially significant

events today. European finance ministers are meeting in Brussels

for a summit. They want the bail- out funds to be tough enough to

tackle the debt crisis. There are caused that Europe will have to

come up with more radical proposals than that. -- there are calls.

Italy plans to auction $10 billion worth of government bonds later

today. It will expect to pay extremely high interest rates to

attract investors. Let us speak more about this. Yesterday the

stock markets in Europe were really strong. There is a sense that

European leaders will be acting soon, is that the impression you

get? It is too difficult to be confident. What is clear, time is

running out. People appreciate there is no room for complacency

any more. There is a meeting on denied of December, we are very

close to that. -- 9th December. They want to have something

hammered out before then. Yes, they really do. But there is opposition

in Germany and other countries as well. There is not much evidence to

suggest that will wane over the coming weeks. On the other side of

the fence, there is opposition in France and other countries to

greater scrutiny in their fiscal policies. What do you think will be

the outcome? What will they agree on? There is a lot of dissension in

the ranks, that is why they have not come up with a plan as yet.

What I think might happen, even if they cannot agree the principles of

sharing fiscal responsibility, they would set out a plan to have more

meetings than they have previously. This could build up to a summit

where they hammering out a deal then. In terms of what is going to

happen today... The stability fund? The enlargement of that? That is

the preferred option for everyone. You would get more private --

private investment. That is the preferred options for all countries.

But the reality is, there is no time. Thank you for coming in and

talking us through the expectations. The markets now. City grip is try

to settle legal cases since 2008 and the financial crisis. -- City

group. A judge threw out a $285 million settlement offer,

suggesting it was just pocket change. Citigroup where accused of

selling investors complex financial products and then betting against

the outcome. -- were accused. A judge has struck down a deal made

between the Bank and the consumers. The judge said he was not sure the

deal was fair. He criticised the regulators for shielding the public

from the details. He said when it comes to issues of financial

transparency, it is in the public interest to know the truth. City

grip said the offer was fair and reasonable. -- Citigroup. They sold

Securities which they then went to invest against. The Japanese

economy has bounced back from the shock of the earthquake in March

this year. That bounds could be fading. Data out today shows a

sharp rise in unemployment. It is a very familiar tale in Europe, but

it sounds like Japan is seeing a similar picture? More Japanese

workers are out of jobs. The jobless rate rising for the first

time in three months. Jumping to 4.5%. Manufacturers shed the most

jobs. 210,000 in October. Among the largest firms reducing the

headcount, Panasonic. They alone are -- eliminated 17,000 people.

When firms lay off employees, this impacts household spending and

incomes. The numbers are falling as families tightened their purse

strings. In the face of a strengthening yen and a slowing

global economy, there are some positive news as well. Retail sales