19/03/2012 World Business Report

family. Women's groups have said they are concerned by the findings.

Now it is time for Sally and World Business Report. Hello and welcome

to World Business Report. The headlines: What do you do with $100

billion? Later today the electronics giant Apple will tell

us what it intends to do with its fast-growing up cash mountain.

Nominations for the next president of the World Bank end on Friday. We

speak to one unconventional candidate. The head of the IMF

tells Chinese business officials that the global economy is

stabilising but issues a stern warning. Good to have you with us.

Some say it has more cash -- the electronics giant Apple, currently

the world's most valuable company by market cap, will announce today

what it intends to do with its cash mountain. Apple's hoard has grown

rapidly in recent years, reaching $97 billion by the end of 2011. It

is now predicted to be above $100 billion. Analysts expect Apple to

give a dividend to its shareholders or possibly announce a share buy-

back and some have even hinted at a large acquisition but there is a

small problem - a lot of that cash is held at side of the US and

bringing it back would require Apple to pay tax on it. I am joined

by Lawrence Gosling -- Lawrence Gosling, editor in chief of

Investment Week. What you think they will do with that money? They

could bail out a European country that is struggling at the moment!

They are more likely to give this dividend. Why have they not done

that already? So many companies do that. Why have they not already

done that? Apple's argument to date was that they were carrying it back

into the business to develop new products. When you are sitting on

$100 billion of cash, investors, particularly in its --

institutional investors will say, "Do something more productive with

it," that is,"Give it back to us as a dividend." We talk a lot about

chopping the dividend and raising the dividend - it is... A new wave

of shareholders will be looking for dividends from a stock market

investment and specifically at Apple for that. In terms of the

share price, it has done incredibly well. It is very much dependent on

its product's, isn't it? That is an issue. If you are going to be

judged when you launch a new product you are at the mercy of

your own creativity. Going forward, If you fancy the job of running the

World Bank, you have until Friday to get your application in. Robert

Zoellick, the current president, is standing down on 13th June. -- on

30th June. Since its creation the top job has always been handed out

by the US President and usually to an American but there is that some

who want to see this cosy arrangement shaken up, including

the influential head of the Earth Institute, Professor Jeffrey Sachs.

Two supporters, it has lifted millions of people out of poverty.

To detractors, it is a tool for US foreign -- US foreign policy. The

World Bank is looking for a new president to replace Robert

Zoellick. Unusually, one man is making a public bid for the job,

poverty campaigner and economist Jeffrey Sachs. The fact of the

matter is that, ironically, this position has never gone to a

specialist for development before. That, I think, has been one of the

up until now. Despite the growing sale of developing nations, the

head of the bank has already been hand-picked by the US president and

this time is no difference. Rumoured candidates include US

ambassador Susan Rice and ex- Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.

Similar players to past presidents, bankers, defence officials and

politicians. One former insider acknowledges the bank could do

better. It is an institution that could be run better and it will be

run better if the person who is at the top of the institution is

selected Saltley on the basis of merit. -- solely. Critics argue

there needs to be greater transparency and better results in

terms of sustainable agriculture, healthcare and environmentally

aware energy projects. Though Professor Sachs is an outsider for

the job, he denies this is a stunt. For 27 years, day-in, day-out, I

have fought against poverty, hunger and disease. I spend my life doing

that. I walked through the villages of the world and lead a major

academic and scientific institute committed to that. That is my life,

my profession - there is no stunt here. I believe the World Bank, if

allowed to continue to drift, would be aged huge loss for the world. --

would be. The head of the IMF is in China End is on her way to India

but she has given her latest prognosis of the global economy

while in China. Rico Hizon is in Singapore. Nice to see you. What

did Christine Lagarde have to say? She said, basically, that there are

signs the global economy is recovering but she also stressed

that there were risks, such as high debt levels in developed markets

and rising oil prices. In her speech to Chinese politicians and

business leaders in Beijing, she praised the mainland's efforts to

rebalance the economy but urged more effort to keep the world's

biggest growth engine running and play it smart in economic recovery.

We think it is important China can continue to support growth and, on

this score, China is in the enviable position of having the

space to provide modest fiscal support for its economy, as

outlined at the recent National People's Congress. Second, to

continues shifting the drivers of economic growth away from

investment and exports and to awards in -- towards domestic

consumption, tyre would do a great service to its economy and people.

-- China would do. Ms Lagarde will be in India Today and tomorrow when

she will participate on a conference surrounding China and

India sustaining growth in new Delhi. -- New Delhi. It is reported

that Total has reached an agreement with China Sinopec on a joint

venture to search for and produce shale gas. The Wall Street Journal

says the French energy giant reached a packed with Sinopec on a

potentially lucrative market tapping natural gas trapped in rock

formations. -- a pact. Pension funds and private investors could

take control of Britain's main roads under plans to be announced

by David Cameron in his pre-Budget speech later today. Road tolls

could also be introduced to help fund new roads as the government

seeks to repair infrastructure. UBS has reached an agreement to buy TNT

Express, Europe's second largest express delivery company, according

to media reports. The price tag is reportedly $6.9 million, giving

Atalanta-based GPS about the same European footprint as DHL, the

market leader in Europe. The Hang Seng is up a little bit. One of the

interesting stories, Chinese stocks are dropping in Shanghai after the

report of the nation's home prices. The new homes are shown to be, in

27 of 60 cities, falling in price. The conference call at Apple is a