22/04/2014 World Business Report

President Bashar al`Assad is expected to win. Now for the latest

financial news and World Business Report.

Streaming profits, after a strong earnings report from the world's

biggest internet video service, Netflix says it plans to hike

prices. And Russia stares at recession as the Ukraine crisis

scars the economy. Welcome to World Business Report.

I'm Sally Bundock, also in the programme Rico Hizon will join us

from Singapore with more on the impact the hike in sales tax has had

on Japan.... But first are you sitting comfortably watching the TV?

Because I will tell you the story of the hugely successful Netflix. The

internet video streaming firm has just reported record profits of $53

million dollars during the first quarter of this year and revealed

its plans to push harder for more business in Europe and increase

prices. Good news for shareholders not quite so good for subscribers.

The internet video streaming firm said it added two point 25 million

new customers during the first three months of 2014, bringing its total

global membership to 48 million. Netflix also announced a potential

"one or two dollar increase" in monthly rates for new members later

this year. Which was music to the ears of shareholders with the firm's

shares soaring more than 6% in after hours trading on Wall Street. From

New York here's Samira Hussain. Netflix has been an industry

disruptor altering the way that people watch television and movies.

More recently, some of their original programming have been real

game changers for the company. For the first time they have surpassed

YouTube as the place where people go to watch online videos. It's now has

48 millions of drivers, they made gains both here in the United States

and internationally. New subscribers have pushed the company's revenue

and earnings up higher for this last quarter. For those who have yet to

sign on, they can expect to pay a little bit more. They will be

charging new subscribers a dollar or two more in the upcoming months and

looking forward in the next year or so, they are planning a big push in

Europe to increase international subscriptions. Are you a Netflix

member? What do you think about this decision? Do send us your thoughts

on twitter. Let us know what you are thinking about this move as some

analysts are arguing that this may prove to be a poor decision on the

part of Netflix. How will it stay ahead of the game? Is it really

about the content? Is that why it has been such a success? Let us know

what your thoughts are. There's been a warning Russia could tip into

recession after the economy contracted by around half a percent

in the first three months of this year. Russia's already seen heavy

capital flight since the start of the Ukraine crisis, as worried

investors pull their money out of the country and that is taking its

toll on the economy. If sanctions from the West get tougher, Russia's

Finance Minister is warning the economy may not see any growth in

2014. Jeannie Joye reports. The government of Russia may now be

regretting the money they spent on the Sochi Olympics. When it was

being planned, money seemed no object. The economy was forecast to

grow at 2.5% this year. Now it is increasingly likely that it will

enter recession instead. The government revealed that the economy

shrank in the first quarter of 2014 by half a percent and that the

billions of dollars of funds are now flooding out of Russia. The most

worrying thing is capital flight. It was $50 billion according to our

data it was actually more than that at 63 billion. A number of Russian

firms have raised money in London but because of the political crisis

in Ukraine many investors have been scared off and loans are hard to

come by. The Russian government spent more than a decade making

Russia an attractive investment destination and it only took three

months to lose this. It will take years of effort to convince

investors that they are a safe investment destination. Further

evidence of a deteriorating economy has emerged in their car market.

This month, for it cut many jobs in St. Petersburg `` Ford. The

president's annexation of Crimea have pushed his approval ratings to

80% but economists now say that Russia faces its hardest time since

the financial crisis of 2008. Without foreign investment to stoke

the economy there is little chance of it recovering quickly. To Asia

now and the Japanese market, where for the year, the benchmark Nikkei

index is down by more than 10%. It's hurt by concerns over the country's

consumption tax which jumped to 8% from 5% at the start of April. We're

just at the start of the earnings season for corporate Japan, and

investors will be looking at how exporters are faring. Rico Hizon is

in Singapore for us. Tell us more about this trend in Japan. They had

such a stellar year in 2013. Absolutely. We are looking at the

earnings report for the full year which ended on the 31st of March and

according to analysts it could be a decent earnings season. It was

strong consumer demand ahead of the implication of a sales tax hike

which was implemented on the 1st of April. It started on a disappointing

note, and that is the first Japanese firm to report earnings has reported

an 80% drop in its net income for the year. One analyst I spoke with

told me that he is optimistic about the earnings season, saying that is

one poor results will not set the tone for the earnings season. There

are strong sales in other sectors and although some are more

cautious, and the disappointment regarding the ink of Japan not

offering fresh stimulus, it would still recover. Thank you very much

indeed. It's being reported that American car giant Ford will name

chief operating office Mark Fields as successor to its chief executive

Alan Mulally. That's been the buzz in the auto industry overnight,

according to sources. The auto maker has declined to comment. Mr Mulally

is said to be stepping down at the end of this year. He has been

credited with reviving Ford's fortunes since taking the helm in

2006. India's Supreme Court has ruled that iron ore mining can

resume in the state of Goa, ending a previous ban imposed to stop

environmental damage. But there are conditions attached. The country's

highest court said a maximum of 20 million tonnes can now be mined

every year. Goa, a scenic coastal state, is a top tourist destination.

India was once the world's third biggest exporter of iron one,

shipping around 100 million tonnes of the raw material annually. Thai

Airways has warned it will post a net loss for the first quarter, as

fewer travellers headed to Thailand due to a prolonged political unrest

in the country. The carrier said passenger numbers in March alone

dropped by more than 20% from the same period one year ago. In

addition to the political unrest, the airline also cited fierce

competition from low`cost carriers. The airline is scheduled to announce

its first quarter results next month. Markets today, nearly all of

them are open today although some were closed over the long weekend.

The pan as you can see, it is up slightly. This is how the US ended

their day. The dollar is gaining ground versus many currencies. I

will see you soon. Advertisements have appeared in some of the day's

papers regarding how to apply for compensation if one was sexually

assaulted by Jimmy Savile. Amounts are