02/09/2014 World Business Report

window ` which has now closed ` setting a new record. The transfer

window will reopen in January. Those are the latest headlines from

BBC News. Now for the latest financial news with Ben Thompson and

World Business Report. Detroit goes to court. As bankruptcy

proceedings begin, the city's residents battle to get access to

basic services. Easing the burden: Greece starts

talks in Paris over cutting its debts as its six`year recession

looks set to end. Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Ben Thompson.

Also in the programme, we head live to Singapore and ask if ` as the

latest round of Trans pacific trade talks kick off ` a deal in November

is really likely. But first, after decades of

mismanagement, Detroit has finally hit financial rock bottom. The trial

for the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history is scheduled to start

on Tuesday. The city hopes to cut its current debt bill of $12 billion

to a more manageble $5 billion. But with thousands of creditors and

complex union and pension issues to resolve, Detroit's bankruptcy could

well take over a year to sort out. In the meantime, nearly half of the

city's residents are struggling to maintain even basic services as

Samira Hussain reports from the city.

This is a scene that is beginning to play out on many streets in Detroit.

Workers are turning people 's water back on. This woman is 38 weeks

pregnant. She and her five`year`old daughter have spent days without

water. It was devastating, not having water. It was limited to

taking a bath, cooking, cleaning. It was nerve wracking. Her days without

water are behind her. Yes, the what is on. It is not the

case for many residents of Detroit. `` the water. Many are waiting to

pay bills saw their tabs can be turned on. `` saw their taps. The

water department is owed more than $80 million. For a city that has

tried to dig itself out of crushing debt, it cannot afford that many

unpaid bills. We are standing up and saying mall. No one expects to be

talking about the lack of water in a major American city, especially one

that sits next to a large source of freshwater. Such a beehive times in

Detroit, the once prosperous home to the auto industry in America is now

known to be the largest city to live file for bankruptcy. Abandoned homes

litter many neighbourhoods. At its peak in the 1950s, 1.8 million

people lived there. Now, only around 700,000 men and around 50% of them

live in poverty. Many are struggling for what. Jobs are gone. We are

barely making it as it is. He checks have been cut. Now you take the one

thing that we need to sustain life. This woman is giving away water from

her home saw people without can get some for free. It is a sign that

even as the infrastructure crumbles, the sense of community in Detroit

has not. Now the city is waiting for the courts to do their part and

approve a new financial plan. That will mean Detroit can begin to

rebuild. We will have more and that

throughout the day. Now, let's turn our attention to other stories.

A year ago this month, these were the scenes in cities around Greece.

Thousands of workers hit the streets to protest against further austerity

measures and public sector layoffs. Now, seven years on, and the country

is finally on track to report economic growth. To mark this

turning point, the Greek Finance Minister and other senior figures

will arrive in Paris for talks on Tuesday aimed at restructuring

Greece's debt burden. The meeting with the Troika of creditors ` the

ECB, the EU and the IMF ` will look at how interest rates on the

outstanding debt can be reduced and whether the repayment schedule can

be extended. While many Greek people claim they have suffered enough,

some lenders question whether Greece has really done enough to deserve

such leniency over its debts? Let's speak to a senior fellow at the

European think tank and author of the report, , The Greek debt trap:

an Escape Plan'. What sort of reforms are we looking at? A tax on

incomes and heating oil. It indicates that something may come

from the recession. It is interesting that some want to grant

the tax cuts but savings must be made elsewhere. It is difficult to

see that they could come from. Greece may need a primary balance in

the central budget but it should increase to approximately 4%. The

Greek public in that situation should see significant improvement

in coming years. What does it tell us about the state of the economy

when you touch on things like modest growth being expected? There are

many different features. It suggests that the economy is on the mend but

it is not yet they are, clearly. The Greek economy collapsed by almost

25% in the last six years. It is starting to grow. For this year, a

small growth of 0.6% is forecast. The big question will be, how will

the economy picked up in the medium term? Will they be able to meet this

4.5% nominal growth in coming years, as was the plan by the troika.

Greeks have faced a number of years of severe austerity. Clearly there

is a need for a respite for these people who have been suffering.

Looking at stronger economies like Germany, France, Northern European

economies, they will wonder why they must ease the terms for people who

are paying the price after having it so good for so long. The

unemployment rate increase is more than 27%. People who would like to

work cannot work. The economy collapsed by 25%. It was a dramatic

price that the Greek economy and the Greek people had to pay. I think

that some Europeans have clearly justified this. They need to emerge

from this deep mass that they are currently in. More to follow. Thank

you very much indeed. We will have more on those talks as we get it.

Kidd trade deal finally be signed at the years of negotiations between

the US and Asia? On Tuesday, the 12 nations involved in the Pacific Rim

free trade initiative will meet in Vietnam to resolve the issues that

have ` until now ` blocked progress. And pressure is on for progress

before US President Obama travels to the region in two months time. So

can a deal be done by November? Rico Hizon is following this story for us

from our business news hub in Asia. Good to see you. What is still

holding up progress here? There are issues like international

property rights protection, preferential treatment of

state`owned enterprises and the environment. What intellectual

property, there are issues over the protection period of new medicines.

It could affect the availability of generic medicines. Also, there

competition. Vietnam has opposed to this. Setting up unified rules is

not good for them because the economy is dominated by such

companies. Japan and the US must talk about aligning differences on

automobiles and agricultural products. In the next ten days, a

lot of hard work, feeling and dealing, finding solutions to

differences. A lot of hard work to make sure it

is done. Is it reasonable to expect the deal can be done by November?

There is a lot of pressure right now on the participating countries. At

the moment, it is nine years and counting. There are accounts for

around 40% of global GDP and 1% of world trade. The Americans want a

significant outcome in time for the trip. I spoke to Deborah from the

Asian trade system earlier. It is important. If it is not done, it

gets caught up. It may not be able to be finished. After all these

years of negotiating, it is a very important deal for Asia, I would

argue, to get stuck in electoral politics in the US if they do not

close the deal in November. A blueprint could be achieved, giving

the mid`term elections, that would make it difficult for Washington to

make these tricky political divisions.

Thank you for talking to us, because he's on. You're up`to`date with the

business. I will say you shortly to take a look at the newspapers.

Thank you for that, Ben. The papers are coming up shortly. First, from

Tuesday, every child in their first two years of primary school in

England should receive free school meals. 98% of schools will provide