10/12/2015 World Business Report

Now for the latest financial news with World Business Report.

A mountain to climb - Argentina's new president inherits

a country with soaring inflation, absolute zero growth and absolute

Plus, down the chute - shares in a free fall and $30 billion in debt.

Can mining firm Glencore dig itself out of a deepening hole?

We start in Argentina where one of the toughest economic challenges

in the world is about to fall on the shoulders of this man.

Give me nine minutes and I will give you a fascinating snapshot of the

world of business and money. We will talk about two currency is doing

well in Asia. We start in Argentina where one

of the toughest economic challenges in the world is about to fall

on the shoulders of this man. In

a few hours' time former businessman Maurico Macri will be sworn in

as the country's new president. The task ahead -

rebuilding the nation's finances and winning back confidence after

two debt defaults, years of zero growth and total loss of credibility

in the eyes of investors. Argentina has one of the worst

inflation problems in the world. The official rate is 14.5% -

but the previous government of Cristina Fernandez-Kirchner has been

widely accused of massaging the In fact it's estimated consumer

prices in Argentina are rising at twice that rate,

as much as 30% a year, causing huge Exchange rate controls were brought

in several years ago to prop up Officially you get 9.7 pesos to

the US dollar but you'll get nothing like that

changing money on the streets and financial markets put the rate

at well over 15 to the dollar. It's thought the new administration

will remove controls within days - A row over this saw the Central Bank

governor forced out of his job From Buenos Aires Daniel Gallas

reports It is the worst kept secret here,

one of its most iconic shopping streets is now the city's largest

open-air blackmarket for dollars. Every day up to 100 illegal offers

are made. Tourists have been able to get 50% more for their greenbacks.

That is about to go away. Currency controls have been passed, which

will entirely wiped out this blackmarket in coming days. Now the

economic team says any currency controls might take longer because

of the measures intended to tackle inflation are having the opposite

effect in the short time. Everyone knows the peso will soon be

devalued. So shops have begun anticipating that by raising their

prices now. TRANSLATION: 15 days ago I bought a box with eight pieces of

chicken for 400 pesos. Now it costs 540. Meat is getting really

expensive, about 25-30% more. The champagne yesterday was costing 60

pesos. Now it is 98. It is not the only problem for Maurico Macri. He

will begin talks with holders of debt that Argentina defaulted on.

His goal is to settle that and get the country back in international

bond markets. The local business community will be a difficult year,

possibly with recession and more inflation. But they hope sacrifices

now might pay off in the future. TRANSLATION: The government needs to

put Argentina back where it belongs internationally so we can be seen as

a serious country again. We are well developed and rich in resources and

human capital. We need to think about the long time. Argentina is

now a deeply divided country. Sorting out the economy will not be

easy. The party of the outgoing president still commands a vote of

support, not just on the streets but also in Congress. Before the new

president can convince investors that his economic plans will work,

he still has a hard sell here at home.

From the struggles of Argentina now to the collapse

in commodity prices - and the catastrophic impact on some of

Trading and mining giant Glencore is holding its investor day later-

its shares have lost over two thirds of their value this year and it has

been scrambling to reassure nervous shareholders and creditors that it

can cope with its $30 billion of debt. Casting a long shadow over

the event today, the news earlier this week that mining rival Anglo

Alastair Mccaig, Markets Analyst, IG Index

And it joins us here. What went wrong here. It feels like this

company, the bosses would come out and say, this is a company that is

mining and trading, and they can never lose. If commodity prices

fall, we can offset that with a good trades. It has not worked. It has

not quite work. Leveraging has been one of the major issues. If they had

been effective... That is more debt? That is effectively more debt,

overexposure. Coinciding with the downturn in global demand for

commodities. The Chinese economy continues to slow down at a faster

pace than anticipated. The perfect storm when they came together. If

there had been hedging against themselves with the commodity mining

side against the trading side, it would have curtailed profitability,

but it would have reduced risk. That was the complete they went with,

increased profitability and therefore increased risk. That is

part of the reason they find themselves in this situation. We

have this news from Anglo-American. 85,000 jobs. Out of 135,000

globally. What does Glencore do to get out of its problem? Is it the

same sort of medicine? They also decided to suspend their dividends.

That is something Glencore has already done. It will save about

$1.1 billion. With that being the case, they do not have an action

available. Cost cutting tens to be available. They still have a

sizeable headcount available. It still has room to manoeuvre. As far

as the debt is concerned, the company has stated they are on track

to meet their targets. They believe they can get it down to the low

20s. I am being told to wrap it up. There is no light at the end of the

tunnel? Oversupply of commodities and dwindling demand and Europe does

not pick up the slack, it will still be problematic for the major mining

companies. Let us talk about Asia and go to

Singapore. Good to see you. I need more time. We are just eating some

of yours. Asian stocks might have slipped because of the low oil

price, but two currencies in that region are shining brightly.

Absolutely. Australia and New Zealand. The Australian dollar is up

by more than 1% against the US dollar following the surprise cut in

the unemployment numbers of. The economy added more than 71,000 jobs

in November, beginning expectations for a rise in jobs. That put

unemployment at 5.8%. And across the Caspian Sea, the New Zealand dollar

is in positive territory after the central bank cut rates for the

fourth time this year from 2.75% to 2.5%. The reserve bank PC cut rates

in June, July and September. The economy has been struggling to do

falling dairy prices and a slowdown in China. Back to you. Where is your

tie? I do not want to talk about ties. I do not like the Australian

dollar BN hike on the when I go home it is more expensive. -- being

high. Volkswagen is due to publish

the initial findings of an internal investigation into the

emissions rigging scandal later. The company has been looking

at how its diesel vehicles managed So far 11 million cars

around the world have been recalled and VW is facing fines

and lawsuits that could take the The Asian markets fairly muted. But

generally lower. The commodities hitting the market around the world.

Follow me on Twitter.