20/06/2014 World Business Report

second round. Those are the latest headlines from

BBC World News.Now for the latest financial news with Alice Baxter,

and World Business Report. Oil hits a nine month high as the

battle continues for Iraq's largest refinery.

Plus: Cracking the code for success. The young Americans who hope to

become tomorrow's technology billionaires.

Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Alice Baxter.

In a moment: Troubled waters, tensions rise as another Chinese oil

rig is set to arrive in the South China Sea. But first, we start with

the top story here on BBC World News ` the crisis in Iraq.

Oil prices continued to rise on Thursday amid the escalating

violence in the country, which is the number two producer in the 12

Nation Organisation of Oil Producing Countries ` or OPEC. The battle for

control the largest oil refinery in the country, at Baiji, 200

kilometres north of Baghdad, is now in its fourth day. Iraqi government

forces claim they are in full control despite the facility being

under siege. Islamist extremists have captured large areas of

northern Iraq but they have yet to threaten the main oil producing

areas in the South. However, the conflict is causing increasing

tension on oil markets. In London, Brent Crude for August delivery

jumped 80 cents on Thursday to $115.06, the highest in nine months.

According to an Iraqi oil executive speaking to Reuters, ExxonMobil has

carried out "a major evacuation of staff", and rival BP has evacuated

20% of staff. In a statement, BP told the BBC it had no comment on

staff levels and movements in Iraq. It said some non`essential staff had

been moved but operations had not been affected.

Jonathan Perry is a Middle East analyst at risk consultants

Maplecroft. He's in our studio in Bristol in the West of England.

How serious is the situation for these major foreign energy companies

working inside of Iraq? Clearly, it is a major concern to those

operating in the North. Many viewers are probably aware that most

production in Iraq takes place in the south of the country. That is a

cold comfort to the companies operating in northern Iraq, staying

away from the events of Isis, the main militant group, they are

pushing towards Baghdad. We have seen that Isis have taken fields in

their own area, they have also taken control of Mosul. It is a good

position to move eastwards, and take oilfields which, a number of foreign

gas and oil companies are operating in. It is clearly a concern. Many

companies will be concerned about further Isis gains for sure. The

real danger will come, as you say, if and when Isis moves to the south,

where the major oilfields are. We have seen a spike in oil prices,

they are at a nine`month high. But the key is that the internal supply

is disrupted, we haven't seen a major disruption to foreign output.

What will happen to oil prices if that happens? Clearly, there will be

further gains to the price, as a report indicated moments ago, we

were seeing $115 a barrel. There is speculation about what extent the

oil price will increase by. There is speculation that, we are talking up

to $30, or even more, going up in price, if output is disrupted. Isis

are still very far away from the golf, if there was going to be a

major push towards the south, I think you would like to see some

sort of intervention. `` Gulf. Greater intervention from Iran and

the USA to stop that from happening. It could spook international

markets, and affect the government 's ability to rule.

Thank you very much for joining us. Now ` from Iraq to the South China

Sea where another Chinese oil rig is set to arrive today. It marks

another escalation in the territorial dispute between China

and its neighbours, particularly Vietnam. Talks between China and

Vietnam in Hanoi ended in deadlock on Wednesday. Why is this issue so

contentious? Not only with Vietnam, but many other neighbours of China,

because China is trying to exert its right over these contested areas in

the South China Sea. Many of them are rich in resources, it is an

attempt to try and get those incredibly rich resources. There are

is no progress in those talks between Vietnam and China over the

deployment of the oil rig in the South China Sea. The Chinese

scented, it doesn't help as well. But the Chinese are planning to send

another break to the waters close to Vietnam they announced it on their

website `` Vietnam killed `` rig. `` rig. They are trying to send their

oil rig to claim islands owned by Vietnam and China. That led to

protests in Vietnam against Chinese owned firms. That was in May.

Besides plummeted to their lowest in decades. Riots took place in several

cities. A number of factories, thought by the writers to be owned

by the Chinese, but they were Taiwanese, and for Chinese people

were killed, and China evacuated several thousand workers `` rioters.

Thank you for that update. Over the coming weeks, every Friday,

we'll be taking a look at the next generation of billionaires around

the world. Who they're likely to be ` where they might come from ` and

why many could be from the least expected backgrounds.

Samira Hussain has been meeting some young New Yorkers who are hoping to

make it big, not on Wall Street, but in the world of technology.

It is a hot Sunday afternoon in New York, and instead of enjoying the

sun, these girls are spending their entire weekend by the glare of their

computer screens. This is a competition where students use code

to build a computer programme. We really thought of an application.

This 12`year`old, Mia Johnson, and her team wrote the computer language

that makes this programme work. Coding is very interesting, some

people have a love the different languages. Coding is my different

language. `` love for different languages. Some people love French,

some love Spanish, but I love coding. And I am English. Not many

people get to learn about it, but I do. Often, people come here to Wall

Street to make their fortune. Increasingly, many are making it big

with this. Through applications and other digital tools. Now, some

believe that technology is the best new path to prosperity in America.

This country is about opportunity, not equal outcomes, but so long as

everyone has a chance. Technology is not a code, if you master the art of

programming, you could make a fortune. It is probably your fastest

bridge to wealth. And, . Nurturing her passion isn't easy, it is more

than one hour 's drive to get to any coding events, but it is a sacrifice

her mother is willing to make. At this stage, there were no other

programmes that gave her the opportunity to even learn, unless

she did it alone. It is best, she is in a classroom setting with people

who do this every day. It is their profession and they have a passion

for it. It gives her an advantage, and shortens the gap a bit. It is

that inequality gap that has many worrying about the future of

America. But, not mere. She has a possible billion`dollar ticket in

her back pocket, because she can code. `` Mia.

In other news: The French government will meet with the bosses of General

Electric, Siemens and Mitsubishi later today about their rival

multi`billion dollar bids for Alstom. On Thursday GE revised the

terms of its bid for the power business of the French engineering

giant, after France said it would veto any deal that did not protect

local jobs and interests . Let's have a quick look at how the

markets are going. The Chief Inspector of Schools in

England says too many elite sportsmen and women are educated in

private schools. Sir Michael Wilshaw says there are "unacceptable

discrepancies" between the number of pupils attending state schools and

their representation in competitive sports, like rugby and