27/12/2013 World Business Report

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

with Alice Baxter and World Business Report.

More signs that Abenomics may work. The Japanese economy may be edging

out of deflation after 15 years in the doldrums.

And one of the big issues in 2014 - food. Feeding the world over the

next 30 years or so will require investments of $83 billion a year,

according to the United Nations. Welcome to World Business Report,

I'm Alice Baxter. In a minute we'll also look at what will be the hot

gadgets in the tech world in 2014. But first, Japanese consumer prices

rose last month, showing that the country's economy continues to

recover. Government data show that consumer prices excluding food rose

1.2% in November compared to the same month last year. It is the

largest gain since November, 2008. A sign that Japan may finally break 15

years of deflation. Industrial output increased 0.1%, the third

straight month of a rise. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.0%,

while jobs available rose but by less than the month before. Rupert

Wingfield-Hayes is in our Tokyo bureau. It looks like things are on

the up? I think those figures you just mentioned will be taken by the

government as a sign that their policies are starting to work. The

Japanese government has been pumping huge amounts of money into the

economy, both by printing money and by putting money into infrastructure

projects for the past year or so, in the hope of generating inflation in

the economy and certainly these figures seem to show that inflation

is coming through. However, I think we have to be cautious about the

1.2% because a lot of it comes from the huge rise in the cost of

importing fuel. Energy prices in Japan have gone up more than eight

cent this year and that's really one of the big contributing factor is to

inflation -- 8%. The real inflation in the economy is only about 0.6%.

Still up but not as marked as the headline says. -- not as much. Do

you think this date I will encourage the government to continue with this

economic problem off Abenomics? -- data. I think there's no doubt that

they will keep going out this for at least the next year. They might be

talking about ending quantitative easing but there's no talk of bat in

Japan. They will keep minting money in 2014, just like they were this

year. That's probably going to push the value of the currency down

further, which will be good for exporters. There are some big bombs

coming. In April, there will be a big rise in tax. -- bumps coming.

Attacks rise from eight cent to 10% in 2015. -- a tax rise. There will

therefore be a slowdown in consumer spending, which could hurt the

economy. Thanks. One industry that's set to grow over

the year ahead is food. 2014 will see investors pouring more cash than

ever before into agriculture and food processing. Every penny is

needed. The United Nations food and agriculture organisation says

feeding the world over the next 30 years or so will require investments

of $83 billion a year. Compared to say bonds or currencies, agriculture

can offer attractive returns. But there's now recognition that just

industrialising production by creating vast mechanised farms is

only part of the answer. Investors are being pressed to think more

about sustainability and the 70% of world food still produced on family

farms or smallholdings. Our Europe business correspondent has this

report. For this farmer, it's the season to

finish clearing his fields and planned for next year. We all have

to eat but at the moment investors seem to think the global food market

will offer better returns than the financial market. But even the large

agricultural companies are under pressure to help people to farm more

sustainably. With investment in technology and techniques, produces

emerging markets can rapidly raising yields and sales. -- producing. It

only makes sense if the investor is making the investment because he is

going to own money. The question is, can you make money and also help the

people? Yes, you can. One small project sparks another. In

Indonesia, we financed a company which was producing noodles and

flour. That introduced competition in the market, where, at one point,

up to 90% of the noodle market was controlled by one company. This is a

senior UN food specialist. She said governments have to do their bit. It

doesn't make sense if we produce a lot in one place but there's no

storage, no infrastructure, to transport it from one place to

another. In the end, all stakeholders need to work together.

But its agricultural investors who may also need to change their

mindset. A lot of demand is being created. Where there is an

opportunity for local producers to start reducing for domestic

consumption. There is a misunderstanding that Africa will be

the platform for export. There is an opportunity for imports and for

satisfying the growing needs of those domestic markets. Maybe it's

no wonder that investors are shifting some of their focus from

huge agricultural businesses to be 70% of food still produced on family

farms. New games consoles, smartphones and

watches. The past year has seen no let-up in the pace of technological

development, as companies vie to sell us new gadgets we never knew we

needed. Our technology correspondent looks at some of the best and the

worst of 2013 and what we can look forward to in the year ahead.

It's a technology that has really begun to capture the popular

imagination this year. 3D printing, when you can take a blueprint and

print anything. Where better than a shop that sells 3D-printed is to

talk about what's hot and what's not. -- 3D printers. Off we go.

Wearable tech. We have some fitness bands. Then the autographer. What's

exciting about wearable technology? It adapts to our lives. It fits in

with how we want to live our lives. Sometimes it may look crazy. Greasy?

What's crazy about this? -- crazy? It's really good! In the gaming

world, we have two new consoles. If I can stop you playing for one

moment, which of these will win? It interesting. They both offer very

different perceptions. One is all about games, Sony, whereas Xbox is

an entertainment hub for the lounge. White it's been another year where

we have seen the rise of the mobile device -- it's been. This is the

year that Android finally got its act together. I'm particularly

interested in Tesco making tech. This is cheap, affordable and you

can buy it when you buy your vegetables. It's been a year of

about phablets. They don't stand in either category. Samsung Galaxy told

10 million this year. Tony and others are coming in. -- Sony.

What's the most exciting and what is being the biggest dud? I think

wearable technology. My pebble smarwatch is brilliant. It had

something to my life. The biggest dud. 3D TV has finally left. Do you

take this seriously? I think it's very early to become the main

consumer of things. You won't see this in Tesco any time soon. Still,

they are getting cheaper and can do more. Who knows? Maybe 3D printers

will be the hot new gadget of 2013. Who knows? I'm looking forward to

see what 2014 brings in that market. That's all for now.

It seems like a very long time ago now but last year's hot summer

provided a much needed boost for the UK's wildlife, according to the

National Trust. Even though last winter seemed to go on forever, a

hot July and August helped turn around the fortunes of many plants

and animals. Ben Geoghegan reports.