10/05/2013 World Business Report

latest headlines from BBC News. Now, the latest financial news with

Alice Baxter and World Business Resource wealth, but human poverty?

A report warns Africa it's in danger of wasting the opportunities

offered by the commodity boom. Tough times for the tour operators

as holiday makers do it themselves online. But, Europe's biggest

travel firm is fighting back. How low can the Japanese yen go as the

US dollar rises to the highest level in four years. In Africa,

over 1,000 and political leaders are gathered in Cape Town for the

World Economic Forum. They are being warned this morning that the

continent is in danger of wasting the opportunity offered by its

natural resources. Last year, African countries saw some of the

fastest economic growth in the world. The fastest was Sierra Leone

with growth of 20%. Niger at 11%. Cote d'Ivoire and Angola both grew

at over 8% last year. All of those were faster rates of growth than

China in 2012. What was driving this growth? Booming demand for

resources, oil, gas, coal and minerals. But, according to the

report by the Africa Progress Panel, this economic growth is often

failing to benefit the wider society and lift people out of

poverty. The report will make uncomfortable reading for many of

the delegates at the Cape Town forum today. It points out that

many of Africa's resource-rich nations are seeing rising

inequality and rank among the world's worst for things like

infant mortality, access to education and life expectancy. Our

correspondent is in Cape Town and she spoke to Kofi Annan and he said

that Africa is not getting a fair deal. We're not getting their fair

share of the resources. We are not getting the revenue we reserve and

deserve. It's because of corruption, the transfer price, tax evasion and

also activities that are depriving us of our revenue. African

governments need to improve. They need to insist upon the value added

for the Roar commodities. They should insist upon local content,

local companies need to be involved. They should manage it so it creates

more employment. Africa cannot do this alone. Tax-evasion, secret

bank accounts, it's a problem for the hall world. Also for Europe. We

all need to rectify that. The G7 will meet next month. We need

multilateral solutions to these problems. We due respect, these are

not new ideas. What is it about the report that will create a new

consciousness? It's important in the report because we will tell

African leaders and Africans such as you and I am the society that

they should put transparency at the centre of the issue. We also

challenge the leaders abroad, the G8, the G20, to team up and step up

to insure her that we will block any loopholes that allow these

things to continue. You may be shocked to know that in Africa, we

lose as much money through these loopholes, twice as much money as

it gets from development and from the donors. One can be done?

Presently, we have seen good development. The US government has

passed an act which obliges companies to report to the project

level any payments over $100,000. The European Union came up with

similar legislation. The figures must be made public. I will

challenge the African governments to be equally transparent, telling

their people what agreements they have signed, with all those

companies, how much money they expect and how much money they have

received and how they will use the money. Transparency is a powerful

tool. To Asia now, where the US dollar has risen above 100 Japanese

Yen for the first time in more than four years. Sharanjit Leyl is in

our Singapore bureau. What more do you have on this? It's interesting.

It's the first time since April 2009. The yen has strengthened a

its boosted the Nikkei to a five- year high. It has also showed

strong data from the US with applications for unemployment

insurance falling to the lowest level in more than five years. That

says that the data due is hoped for a sustainable recovery in the US,

investors will start to put assets such as the yen ahead of the US

dollar. The yen has dit 25% from the dollar since November. Japan

has engaged upon an aggressive strategy. That has boosted profits

for Japanese exporters triggering a huge rally on the Japanese stock

market. Japanese policy makers have taken many measures to look to

revive the sluggish economy. Part of those images is injecting

liquidity into that market meaning a weakening yen. A large variety of

factors there. Let's hope the reforms take hold. In a few hours'

time, TUI Travel, Europe's biggest tour operator, will release results

for the winter season. TUI, which owns travel companies like Thomson

and First Choice Holidays, is expected to announce smaller losses

for what's traditionally a lean time of the year. Analysts predict

that summer bookings will help TUI to a full-year profit of half a

billion dollars plus. But, it's not all blue skies, as Jeremy Howell

reports. With more people organising holidays and hotels

online, traditional holiday packaging has responded in two ways.

Thomas Court slashed the prices to try to stay in the game but has

huge losses. On the other hand, they have concentrated on offering

customers holiday experiences they find hard to organise themselves.

Profits have mounted and it has raced into the lead position in the

industry. If products that they sell, those are different to others.

They have differentiated products. You can only buy these from this

company. Online. They have invested in the product. You can only buy

these products from t y. How much demand remains in Europe for these

exclusive holidays? In the winter, bookings in Britain were flatlining.

Those in France were no less than 30% lower. The group manager looks

forward with consternation to what this summer may bring. It is a

downturn with the late bookings in springtime, that will transform the

financial outlook for the whole year. Some of the indications from

France irate worry. In Germany, consumer confidence is weakening.

Hope is that neither factors developed to such an extent that it

makes a problem with the season. Tough economic conditions forced to

operators to think hard about what they can offer. Thomas Cook, they

say it's planning to go beyond the beach into more profitable areas

such as eco-tourism and adventure. With a variety of packages designed

now to change the shape of the industry entirely from what it was