08/07/2013 World Business Report

singles title in 77 years. Time for the latest financial news. Here is

Sally and World Business Report. BP argues that its compensation fund is

being abused. Trade talks begin today between the US and EU. In

contention is the world's largest free-trade agreement. Can all sides

agree on the detail? Welcome to the programme.

Focusing on the Chinese dream. Can the aspirations of the growing

middle class in China be achieved? BP is back in court in the US,

trying to limit pay-outs by a fund that was set up to compensate those

affect dead by the oil spill disaster in 2010. -- affected. BP

says that the system is being abused and many claims are inflated.

It was the biggest oil spill and one of the worst environmental disasters

in US history. An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the

Gulf of Mexico in 2010 killed 11 workers and affected hundreds of

thousands of local fishermen and businesses. BP originally estimated

it would cost $8 billion to pay compensation. Including fines and

cleanup costs, it is expected to spend more than $40 billion because

of this crisis. The total amount may be even more because BP says the

pay-out fund is being misinterpreted. BP came into this

deal to show its good side, that we want to compensate people fairly

because we know they went through a hard time. But they never thought

they would be taking advantage of on this magnitude. BP has been stepping

up its campaign to challenge this compensation system. Ahead of the

court hearing, it placed a full-page advertisement in three of the

country's biggest newspapers to make its case. Many lawyers have been

setting up shop near Louisiana to sign up more claimants for damages,

even those who live far away from where the oil spill was. Faced with

a possible financial crisis, BP's fight to keep some of its money

continues. We have all heard about the American

dream but what about the Chinese one? If Xi Jinping achieves his

goal, it will become just as familiar. He wants to promote

productivity and innovation and the personal aspiration that feeds them.

But there are challenges and for some, the Chinese dream will stay

out of reach. Our correspondent is in a prosperous inland city known

for its love of leisure and the good life. Tell us more about the Chinese

dream. We came here because this is the most populous province in China

and, as you say, it is inland. This is where the aspirations and growth

of the middle class must take hold before China can realise its

potential. One of the main things about the Chinese dream, I have

discovered, is that it is a lot like the American dream. Everybody I have

spoken with, young and old, want a stable job, good home, good

marriage, two children and a dog. There is one specific challenge

particular to China that must be addressed. At the heart of the

American dream is social mobility. That's no matter who you are, you

can become anything you want. In China, deep inequalities are

apparent. Half of China is rural. They do not have the right

registration. They cannot travel freely because of restrictions by

the government. This is affecting the life chances of young Chinese

born in the 1990s. Reforming the system is going to be a huge issue

for the Chinese government if they really want to bring the rest of the

population to join those who are currently in the middle class.

new government does realise the challenges. But it realises it has

to push for turning point. If that's the case? Absolutely. One parallel

with the American dream... I know it is difficult to think of it now, but

in the beginning of the 1960s, America was afraid it would fall

behind the Soviet Union. President Kennedy wanted America to be the

first nation to put a person on the moon. In China, there is that sense.

They had a remarkable growth spurt in the last 30 years since market

reforms started, but growth is slowing and the challenges of

becoming an innovative nation are massive. To do that, they need to

have especially the young people believing that they can become the

next Bill Gates. One of the challenges with a slowing economy is

that China is now graduating 7 million graduate 's per year. If

they cannot all find good jobs, it could be they will find the dream as

hard to reach and the consequences behind that will be fast. Thank you.

When it comes to trade, it seems almost impossible for different

governments to agree on anything, so imagine 29 different countries all

coming together to try to hammer out a free-trade agreement. That is what

is happening in Washington. The US and EU are officially beginning

their negotiations for a transatlantic free-trade agreement.

If successful, it would mean billions of dollars in additional

economic activity for both sides. Despite a strong desire to strike a

deal, there are already many obstacles in the way.

Carefully slicing ham for the customers, this is some of the

highest quality meat available in the US. But there is still something

missing. We do not have those very special baby lambs that are so

succulent and tender. Similar with beef. We have a hard time finding

good, grass fed beef. She spends her time selling gourmet food to shops

and restaurants. She is paying close attention to the trade

negotiations. What I really hope from this is to be able to have

access to the meat that we do not have access to today in the US.

Being able to ship goods freely would benefit both American and

European businesses. But a free-trade deal would also allow

both the US and EU to better compete with the fastest-growing economy,

China. China is an extraordinarily competitive challenge. It is growing

fast and selling a lot of things to both of us. Rapidly growing

standards and regulations benefiting its manufacturers mean we run the

risk of being disadvantaged if we cannot get together with Europe and

agree on joint regulations and joint standards. Agreeing on joint rules

will not be easy. EU member countries still disagree amongst

themselves on many issues. Nothing in this deal by next year appears

ambitious but the appetite is there. The markets in Asia. They are all

flagging today because of the jobs news out of the US on Friday. It

appears that stimulus measures could be scaled back by the Federal