28/11/2013 World Business Report

stargazers and astronomical sight. Now we have World Business Report.

The rising tide of corporate spying. Europe wants more protection

for companies and their trade secrets. Plus, happy holidays.

Investors give thanks as the towel and S 500 hit yet another high.

And NASDAQ has its best close in 13 years. Welcome to World Business

Report. Also in the programme, how cash`strapped French workers are

skipping the restaurant lunch in favour of fast food. First of all,

industrial espionage is on the rise. That is the warning from the

European Commission it will be giving today as it imposes new rules

to help companies protect their trade secrets. Today's

knowledge`based economy makes companies increasingly vulnerable to

cyber snooping by rivals. The laws vary hugely across EU member states,

and some have none at all. According to research, quoted by Brussels,

last year 18% of companies reported a theft of confidential information.

This year that has gone up to 25%. I am joined by the managing director

of an international think tank, to talk to the issues. Tell us what you

believe Brussels will propose today. More than anything else, I think

this is going to be about imposing minimum standard and putting all the

European companies on an even keel. While some countries have explicit

legislation project protecting trade secrets `` protecting trade secrets,

many don't even have normal contract law. It is generally believed that

the US and Japan have tighter protection standards on commercial

snooping or theft of trade secrets, etc, and EU does. I think both in

the context of the trade negotiation with the US, as well as a general

perceived threat that commercial spying and theft of commercial

secrets is becoming worse, the EU is putting forward this protection

which is going to put it on the same level now as Japan and the US. How

you think this process will take? Because, you know, when Europe tries

to come up with a proposal to cross the region, it takes notoriously a

long time, doesn't it? Yes and no. But this, I think, is one of those

small pieces of sensible legislation which the EU does relatively well.

And it is hard to see any one country coming out in opposition

against this, so I think it should be relatively smooth sailing,

particularly because the negotiations also give it additional

time limitations. I think this is really not a controversial piece of

legislation, so perhaps by next year, we should have it on the

statute books of countries. To what extent you think this move will

eliminate cyber snooping and the theft of company secrets? I think

that this is not a particularly effective will walk against cyber

snooping `` bulwark, because when it is happening you don't even know

often. A company in China could hack into your company and steal secrets

and you wouldn't know. This could be more effective with outsourcing, or

having relationships with other companies, like software algorithms

or formula you may have. So, this is going to offer a lot of protection

and some redress to, let's say, small and medium enterprises, plus

companies in the service sector and others that don't quite get covered

by bigger protection. I think this will offer limited protection

against cyber snooping, that is a whole different discussion. It will,

however, if cyber snooping is detected, of a court based civil

remedies. Thank you very much your thoughts. As and when we get the

details from Brussels on their proposals, we will update you. As

you can see, there are some serious celebrations going on behind me.

This was the scene on Wall Street yesterday as it closed for the

Thanksgiving holiday. Not just at the prospect of a long weekend full

of eating, drinking and shopping, but there was a lot of celebration

because the stock market rally seems to be going from strength to

strength. The Dow Jones industrial average, and the S 500 both closed

at record highs. The NASDAQ had its best close for 15 years, closing at

4000. That is the first time since the peak of the technology boom back

in 2000. Sharanjit Leyl is there to find out how it is going in Asia.

Similar scenes in Asia? Similar scenes, not the Thanksgiving

turkey, though, I should add. Similar on the market, certainly.

Asian shares higher, with Japan's Nikkei near a six`month high.

Positive US economic data is helping to lift sentiment. Also the stronger

US dollar against the Japanese yen. Consumer sentiment was better.

Business investment in Australia unexpectedly climbed last quarter,

and China's industrial profits grew 15% in October. All of that is

helping boost sentiment. I also mentioned the strong dollar, which

went past 102 yen for the first time in six months. That essentially

means there will be currency related gains when profits come home to the

US. The bank of Japan has essentially committed to keep its

loose monetary policy to boost growth, which is a contrast, to some

extent, to the Fed, which is beginning to move to wait turned on

its policy. We will pull them more about that story when we review

today's papers. Let's move on, because French firms and families

are paying an extra $32 billion of tax this year, nearly half of

everything they produce will be handed over to the government. It is

part of a promise made by President Francois Hollande to bring down

debt. The high taxes are taking their toll on French life,

continuing our series that looks at the squeeze on the money in your

pocket. We look at why local fast food is replacing restaurant food.

No country has a greater affinity with food and France, but last year

54% of total restaurant turnover in this country went to sandwich and

fast food shops. It is the first time convenience food has

outstripped the business of the traditional grocery. People are very

scared of the future, we don't know where we are going, so I can feel

that. They are very careful about money. On the back of that, fast

food sales have increased 74% in ten years. When I first started working

here about eight years ago, the street was full of small boutiques

and bistros, today the restaurants are sandwich between fast food

shops. It effects the new realities of the modern working lunch, or

perhaps concerns over purchasing power. The amount of disposable

income in the average Frenchman's rocket. This man is a typical French

businessmen. Most days he takes 20 minutes for his lunch, and normally

he eats at his desk. But it is not all about the money. I think people

are more stressed about their work, they don't want to lose their job.

If you want to keep your job you need to work more to choose that you

are the right person `` prove that you are the right person to be in

the job. The French are also worried about taxes, with total income tax

bill in 2009 being 240 million euros, this year it is more like 70

billion. They offer quite good food, but not that good. In that case,

French people do not encounter... The food is still extremely good,

but foremost, the two`hour lunch is an rare event. These days it is more

often the bargain they get. `` baguette.

In July, a disabled man living in Bristol was wrongly identified as a