08/01/2013 World Business Report

This is BBC News. The headlines: The Australian via services New

South Wales is facing one of the most dangerous days in its history

-- Australian Rural Fire Service. Conditions are described in the

most populous state of Australia as catastrophic. The Afghan president

is expected in Washington later today for a meeting with the future

of his country will be discussed. The man accused of carrying out a

mass shooting in a cinema in the US state of Colorado has appeared in

court for his pre-trial hearing. James Holmes is accused of killing

12 people in the attack. The Venezuelan government has released

more information about the condition of President Hugo Chavez.

He is said to be in a stable condition in a hospital in Havana.

He went to Cuba for an operation for his cancer -- for cancer

treatment. Time for World Business Report.

For the headlines: Technology lovers gather in Las Vegas for the

annual Consumer Electronics Show. Smartphones and tap let's --

tablets take Samsung to record profits in the 4th quarter of 2012.

Anglo American is expected to name a new chief executive. He will take

on one of the toughest jobs in the industry.

The international Consumer Electronics Show, the largest trade

show of its kind, begins in Las Vegas today. Recently, mobile

devices have dominated. This year, half of the revenues from consumer

electronics will come from mobile connected devices, smartphones,

tablets, mobile computers and so on. But not everyone is there. Apple

and Microsoft will not be at the event, hosting their own gatherings

at a time that suits them better. Our correspondent, on the other

hand, is definitely there. Everything looks very glamourous.

What is happening this year? It is a glamourous place, yes. Welcome to

Las Vegas. Pretty lively at the moment. Livelier than ever this

week, when this huge trade show descends on the time. Hotels will

all be full. There will be all sorts of new products unveiled. The

show begins in a few hours' time but there have been some preview

events where I have been able to look at some things and identify

some of the main themes of this year.

It is the freshest, most colourful place on earth, the place where

America comes to party. But for one week in January, it is also the

world's technology hot spot. The Consumer Electronics Show is coming

to town. From sat nav two parking sensors, all sorts of new

technology has entered cars in recent years. Now, the basic

driving experience could be about to change. Toyota has been testing

this vehicle that can effectively drive itself. Unlike Google, which

has been testing its own vehicle, we will still be behind the wheel.

You cannot see a day when I will be able to let the car to the work?

would prefer you did not do that. I would prefer if you drove and the

car made you a better driver. ideas fighting for attention. This

could be the future of television - ultra-high definition. Amazing

pictures at an equally amazing price. Wearable technology is a

popular thing like these new glasses. I can watch a video or

anything from my phone. They also have a camera looking out at the

World and giving the information. As I Walker, I can ask which way to

my hotel. It will give me directions. This is one way to get

the phone to measure your polls and other vital signs. -- heart rate.

This sense that tells you when to water your plants. And a smart

spoon to help you eat slowly. Some of these will be successful and

others will not. Technology continues to invade every area of

our lives. Just in the last couple of hours, two of the main players

in this industry, Sony and Samsung, have held huge press conferences.

There are thousands of journalists here. Samsung is doing well and

Sony is struggling, but both are unveiling a large television sets,

promising that they will be hugely influential in the coming year. We

will have to wait and see if those products will be of interest to

consumers. One thing we have heard is that the electronics industry is

still experiencing difficult times as a whole. Thank you. We look

forward to hearing more from the event. And if you want more details

about what is happening, you can follow our correspondent on Twitter.

And you can go to our website as Samsung is also in the news for

different reasons today. It says it is expecting to make a record

profit for the three months to the end of last year, powered by

growing sales of its smartphones. It has estimated $8.3 billion - 90%

more when compared to the same time the year before. It will be the 5th

quarter in a row of record profits for Samsung. Great to see you. Good

news for Samsung and yet, their share prices are falling in South

Korea today! It seems even these great results are not enough for

investors. Well, they are basically looking at a not particularly

brilliant year for Samsung. But looking at the numbers in 2012,

particularly from October to December, the projected earnings

are phenomenal. They say they sold more than 500 handsets per minute.

60 million smartphones in one quarter. Those sales numbers

continue to outpace their rivals Apple and HTC. Demand also

increased for the flat screens they manufacture for mobile devices. The

handset division doubled compared to one year ago. But despite those

numbers, industry watchers are forecasting that is a run of record

profits may end between January and March, 2013. This is what has

affected the stock price on the Seoul market today. Investors are

concerned that Samsung's momentum May's low in the first half of the

year. -- may get smeller. The smartphone market is nearing

saturation point. Some analysts disagree, saying it will be another

record year for the technology guides -- giant. Smartphone sales

may yet to double to 32 million units. And these are just the

figures from October to December. The full 20 told figures will be

unveiled on 25th January. -- 2012 figures. Anglo American is expected

to name a new chief executive. Some members of the financial press say

they may confirm this as soon as today but the Australian man will

take on one of the toughest jobs in the industry. He began his career

as a trainee mine worker and was a prominent figure in South Africa's

mining industry. He is expected to use his experience to help smooth

Anglo-American's half in South Africa. -- path. This is a very

important deal. Some have been looking for Anglo American to

change leadership for quite a while. That is correct. Unfortunately, the

company failed to focus. Anglo American fell behind the curve with

BHP and Rio Tinto. It has 40% of the world's plan and production.

Even though this man is Australian, he has suffocate in his blood. He

will do -- South Africa. He will do an excellent job. There were two

other contenders and people talked about them but I think this is

perfect casting and the market will approve. Very quickly, I will tell

you why. Unfortunately, Anglo American did not focus. Tarmac,

they sold that. They put it out of the portfolio, which was

desperately important. Some hope that if he takes on the job, he

well-diversified Anglo American away from South Africa to a degree

because there is too much focus on that arm of the business. -- he

will diversify. It is only a few months ago that... They are very

committed there. If they can spread their wings and try to get a

toehold in Australia, so be it. But it will take time. Thank you. We

will be backing a few minutes to talk about the morning papers. But

first, looking at the markets in Asia. Continued profit-taking today.

We had a strong rally last week. It was a volatile week with the new

year break but generally speaking, there is some profit taking. Shares

have had a large rise in the last week will say. I will be back

Ministers will vote later on plans to reintroduce -- introduce real

turn cuts to benefits and tax credits. The proposed 1% annual

increase for the next three years will be below inflation. The

government says benefits should not increase faster than wages. The

Labour Party and some Liberal Democrats will vote against the

idea. The government says welfare spending has to be cut. It hopes to

save �4 billion by halving the increase in most benefits to 1%

over the next three years. That means a cut in the value of

benefits such as jobseeker's allowance to be low inflation. Tax

credits will go to people who are in employment but in modest incomes.

Labour says that 60% of those affected are not employed and are

struggling to get by and so will vote against these plans. At a time

when we are cutting taxes for the richest in society, we are

punishing the most vulnerable in society and those who are doing the

right thing, these drivers and stragglers who David Cameron says

he is fighting for. -- strivers and strugglers. The prime minister is

challenging Labour to say why benefits should raise at a faster

rate than wages. What would you cut? Schools, health, defence,

social care? That is what we have to ask. It is time for the Labour

Party to stop constantly indulging in opposition for opposition's sake.

The government will win the vote but the argument over welfare

spending will continue into the You are watching BBC News. The

headlines: The Australian fire service says that NSW is facing one