09/12/2013 World Business Report

reject a trade deal with the EU. Those are the headlines. Deadline

day in Switzerland as the battle against tax evasion hots up. It is

pushed by the US to share its bank secrets with the world. Diverging

economies in Asia, Japan's economy grows less than predicted, where

China's trade surplus is at a four`year high. Hello and welcome.

Also in the programme, we will look at what is hot and what is not in

the toy market, as children around the world countdown to Christmas.

First of all, it is crunch time for Switzerland's private banks. Today,

the country must decide whether it will operate with US demands and

hand client information. Many claim the movie is a crucial step in try

to clampdown on tax evasion the world. It will also went the long

tradition of banking secrecy in Switzerland.

The pressure from Washington has been immense, and has lasted five

years. For all that time, Switzerland's private banks have

tried hard to hang on to that famous secrecy. Today, they have to decide.

Will they share client information, a move that could lead to fines of

up to 50% of the US assets they hold, will refuse and risk

prosecution. There is nervousness and anger over what looks to some

like US bullying. TRANSLATION: Everyone is afraid. Let's be

completely honest. People are terrified, and that fear is

legitimate. No one is really sure about how they will be treated. We

could be eaten alive by US authorities. The Swiss government

has told the banks they should comply, because not cooperating

really could spell the end. Switzerland's oldest private bank

has already closed its doors because of US pressure. That pressure will

not go away. Because Washington struggles with a multitrillion

dollar budget deficit, it will not let a single cent escape.

Economic performance is split in Asia. Just a few hours ago China

released some bumper export figures. The world's second`biggest economy

saw shipments rise by 12.7%. An impressive number as it sold more of

its assets to other countries. China's inflation rate stays fairly

steady at 3%. The news from Japan not so good. It revealed its economy

failed to grow as fast as had been forecast in the third quarter. So it

actually grew by just 1.1%. Most predicted Japan would see growth of

1.6%. A real divergences, tell us about what China is getting right

that Japan isn't. That's right, as we know, China has been doing plenty

right since it overtook Japan to become China's second largest

economy. It is not so much what Japan is doing wrong, but how hard

it is to spur growth in a mature, developed economy, while China is

still very much on the ascendance. It is still developing at a rapid

rate. China produces most of the product at the world consumes, and

the strong export numbers suggest that the global economy is picking

up. We saw demand, in particular, for important markets like the US

and Europe improving. The flipside is that Chinese imports were

slightly weaker. That China may still have some way to go when it

comes to boosting growth through domestic consumption, which of

course, we know is Key amongst construction reforms that they want

to achieve there. Japan has had to revise down its growth for this

quarter, mainly due to private investment slowing more than

expected, and this despite a series of aggressive measures put in place

by the PM's government. The big worry now is the plan to hike the

sales tax in Japan in April next year. That is something that perhaps

a week at economy `` a weaker economy might not be prepared for.

Thank you very much indeed. In Japan, we are seeing quite a

significant upside today, over % higher. That is despite the news

about the lacklustre growth last quarter. It is mainly because the

Japanese yen is remaining significantly week. Touchy the

currencies right now, I'm clicking like mad, but anyway, the yen has

lost value against the dollar. Now, if you haven't heard, just in case

you are still unaware, Santa Claus is coming to town in less than a

month. With the looming holiday season, toymakers are in full swing

trying to deliver the must have toy this Christmas. Globally, the toy

market is worth a staggering 85 in dollars, and it is during the next

few weeks, when nearly a third of all the sales are made annually. A

all the sales are made annually A key time for the market. We went to

find out what is hot and why this year.

The countdown is on to Christmas. Parents are already rushing to the

shops to buy this year's must have toys, and it looks like 2013 is

going to be the year of the comeback. Furbie returns 15 years

after it was first launched. The robot puppy is in the top ten as

well, 30 years after it was born. But the brand name is where the

similarity ends and the new technology starts. Furbie can now

lay eggs through an app, your puppy can now download is it from an iPad.

I would say there is more now in the top ten. There are more interactive

toys. Kids want more than just the doll that sits on the shelf, they

want it to laugh and cry and interact, and take part in weather

so it is, and react to the weather. Children are increasingly wanting

branded toys that they saw on TV. Children often experience characters

in the digital form before they get the physical toy. Read easily we

have the Barbie doll, which was the basis of the Barbie brand, but now

we have these goals. These are predicted to sell well this

Christmas `` dolls. I think what is important nowadays is the two worlds

of digital and real`life emerging. Children don't see any difference

between playing with something physically and digitally now. The

toy market is not just growing globally, the demographics are also

changing. Not only do adults spend more on average per toy, they are

also buying for themselves. Over the 30 years I have been selling toys,

the toy market has shrunk. We were selling toys in the early 80s from

birth, probably to 12 or 14. We have seen the progression of that age

group to nine or ten. If you are looking at things like Lego, it is

now definitely for a much older age group. Adults have just as much fun

as the children do. One father that did is David Beckham. When he said

he had built the Taj Mahal out of Lego, sales of the $350 architecture

range soared. Retailers could be on the road to a prosperous Christmas.

Now you know, not much time left to get the stopping sorted. Ministers

from 159 countries reached a deal intending to boost global trade at a

meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on Saturday. The World Trade

Organisation's first conference of agreement includes an effort to

signify the procedures for doing business across borders. There will

also be improved duty`free access for the world's poorest countries.

The value of bitcoin has tumbled, following news that China's biggest

search engine is no longer accepting the virtual currency. The currency

lost more than 30% of its value Today, it is training there

evaluation $830, but it broke above a thousand last week. That is World

Business Report, I will see you soon as we review the papers.

Almost half of the state funded schools in England are reinforcing

gender stereotypes when it comes to A`level choices, a study has warned.

The Institute of physics research suggests that not enough is being

done to challenge the idea that certain subjects with the girls and

others for boys. It claims that this prevents young people from

discovering their potential. All the students in this physics

class are absorbed by their experiments. When it comes to

choosing the subject at a level something many girls. There are

gender stereotypes associated with certain subjects. So, for example,