19/04/2013 World Business Report

It is time for World Business Currency wars on for the agenda as

a T20 finance ministers gather in Washington. Japan's Finance

Minister says they are not trying to weaken the yen.

Three years on from America's worst environmental disaster, we assess

the long-term impact of the Welcome to World Business Report.

In a moment, we will have more in the aftermath of the BP spill three

years on. In Washington, the IMF and were old bank are holding their

annual spring meetings. Fineness ministers and central

bankers in the G20 group of nations have been meeting over dinner in

the last few hours. The issue of currency wars is high on their

agenda. The latest row has been over Japan and its 1.4 trillion

dollars stimulus programme. The vast quantities of money to kick-

start the economy. That is in the value of the yen, plunging. It is a

huge bonus to Japan's exporters who saw a job in sale in the as

particular. -- the US. The weakening yen was a bigger threat

to South Korea the North Korea. Earlier this week, some strong

words from the US Treasury Secretary. He said it was important

the G20 nations avoid a downward Problems over exchange rates has

been a recurrent theme in the G20. At the bottom of it, it comes to my

interest rates and pumping money into the financial system. It

drives currency down. In the process, it gives others a

competitive disadvantage. The two - - G20 discussed this about

refraining devaluations. The policies are OK if they intended to

stimulate weak domestic economies. When they are not getting traction,

it raises concern about what is really going on. It is one attempt

to gain a competitive advantage through the currency. They have

been difficult episodes on this issue. It is no surprise it is

being a difficult thing to bury We begin with Japan. It has been

singled out for special attention on this issue of currency wars. The

Finance Minister stated that its policies of printing faster amounts

of money is not weakening and but is combating deflation. But the

objective to that at the meeting. You need to disentangle the Rooster

concepts. They want to and deflation. How do they do that?

They need to import prices. But allows the currency to weaken. It

is implicit. That is the issue they are trying to grapple with. A

stronger Japan is good news for the global economy. But with me the

currency is not advantageous. -- weakening. It raises tensions with

the export rivals in the region. That wonderful or interesting quote

from the South Korean finance minister. The weakening yen is more

dangerous than North Korea. It is interesting. Japan has a number of

competitors in of these markets, were the automotive and electronics.

South Korea is the ritual one. -- regional. There are tensions been

raised because of this dramatic weakening of the yen since last

autumn. Those competitors are finding it difficult to be against

Japan. That is the balancing we are seeing. We would like to knock see

Japan singled out explicitly for that reason. The pressure is being

exerted on them to refrain from excessive weakening of the yen.

That is the issue. Eg 20 are prepared to go far. What do you

make of those comments about people warning about beggar thy neighbour

in terms of currency devaluation? He seems to be picking up China

with that. There has been tension between China and the US about the

devaluation of the Chinese currency. If you go back to the G20 meetings

in London in Ali 2009, one of the key ideas there was about global

trade and how that was diminishing. We need to see the global trade

expand. That is good news for everybody in terms of a global

economic recovery. Beggar my neighbour policies go against that.

It is more protectionist. It is turning out to be a lively meeting.

Yes, it is. Three years ago, this Saturday,

BP's Deepwater Horizon brick exploded in the Gulf of Mexico,

killing 11 workers and caused the worst environmental disaster in US

history. Millions of gallons of oil spilled into the sea, washing off

on to the coastlines of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and

Texas. Three years on, the costs have been immense. Our

correspondent has more. Team grew up fishing the waters

around you weevil, Louisiana. After America's worst old disaster, there

Winifred to catch. BP hired him to help with the clean-up. He is

trying to get rid of the chemicals that he says poisoned his boat and

his body. These might be contaminated. I threw everything

away. Nothing left. I got rid of everything. In the last three years,

he's health deteriorated from briefing the fumes from the clean-

up. It is all over. I have pictures. My shoulder. Even right here. Look.

Then they told you that it is skin Where did it come from? On all the

coast, the impact of the Gulf oil spill continues to unfold. We

travel to a place on the Mississippi Delta. One of the

hardest-hit areas and where dolphins are still dying. They

ended up piling up on these marshy shorelines. It killed the marsh.

Although the environmental damage feared, research into the long-term

effects are being carried out. mortality of them, where things

like pelicans were just killed out, that is over. But there is still a

tremendous amount of oil and oil by proxy the system. We do not know

what those effects are. On the water, there are a few traces left

of where the oil covered the area. A lot of the damage three years on

from this bill is less visible, like the marshlands eroding more

rapidly because of the disaster. -- oil spill. BP has spent a fortune

on fuel could advertisements like this one, with some success.

Tourism in the region has bounced back, as have the seafood industry.

The hit to its own bottom line has been huge. It is an extraordinary

place. You spend more than could $5 billion on the response and clean

up assets as well as the claims paid this far. More than $14

billion of that have been spent on the response and clean up. $9

billion... Sorry, $11 billion of that have been spent on claims.

the oil industry, the cost may be high. So are the rewards. Drilling

is wrapping up in the Gulf of Mexico. For others who depend on