15/04/2016 World Business Report

China tells us its seen the weakest growth

But here's the question, are there signs of life or is there

Plus, America's shale boom bites the dust.

We visit the North Dakota communities left reeling by the

Welcome to World Business Report, I'm Aaron Heslehurst.

It is Friday and we have nine minutes! Give me nine minutes and I

promise you, I will give you a fascinating snapshot of the world of

business and money. Also coming up, the problems are stacking up in

Brazil with the worst financial crisis in decades and now an

impeachment vote on Sunday for president Dilma Rousef.

We start in China where fears about a worsening slowdown

in the world's number two economy have been confirmed

In the last few hours China has told us it's seen

the weakest growth numbers since 2009, since the financial crisis.

Let's show you the numbers and what is behind them.

In the first three months of this year, China's economy

expanded at an annual rate of 6.7% that's down from the 6.8% we saw

This chart shows growth since the 1980s.

From 2000 you can see the boom which boosted the whole world's

economy, followed by a sharp slowdown in recent years.

China's facing an array of challenges.

The one we all know about, weak global demand for Chinese

But at home, it's become too reliant on huge,

inefficient state run firms, often called Zombie Companies,

Some six million jobs will need to be cut over the next few years.

This week the International Monetary Fund called

China one of the biggest threats to global financial stability.

In particular, it's worried more Chinese firms are

That could be a huge ticking time bomb.

The IMF says loans worth almost $1.3 trillion could be at risk

Robin Brant is our correspondent in Shanghai.

Let's start with the debt. House series is $1.3 trillion of debt for

China -- how serious? What kind of a question is that? It involves the

world trillion -- word. They have corporate debt which includes

state-owned enterprises and local government, about 160% of GDP and

rising. So that debt and how to -- it is serviced will determine how it

goes in the future. The market has been flooded with money and credit

has been much cheaper here and this is all because of the effort to keep

companies alive but also to get Chinese shoppers to purchase more

and to move the economy away from investment and industry and towards

consumer industries. Look at the figures. In March, new figures

reached about a quarter of $1 billion. That is up 18%. The total

stock is up 18%. New loans are up a quarter. Credit is easy to get in

this country and cheap money continues to flood the market in

hopes it will insulate the economy against a disastrous landing. They

want the landing to be soft and they hope by continuing this, they can

ensure that the Chinese economy has something of a soft landing and can

get on with that transition in the long-term and that the same time

prevent the world from getting cold when they have -- getting a cold

when they have the sniffles here. Thank you.

We are also in the United States where the slump in crude prices has

It's taken a heavy toll on local economies

and communities that had come to rely on the shale oil industry.

Michelle Fleury reports from North Dakota, in America's midwest.

Flying low above North Dakota's planes. On Jacks dot the landscape,

evidence of the boom here which is helped to power America's energy

renaissance -- pump jacks. On the ground, signs that the downturn.

Used wellhead to sit unsold -- oil heads sit unsold. I am not sure what

you can see behind me but there are only cure for people working here.

He says there is now less business to go around. It is largely a game

of musical chairs where there are so many vendors chasing a very small

amount of work. The environment is considerably more difficult.

So-called man camps were built during the boom years but now much

of that looks deserted. Two years ago, the room at worker would have

been packed. Dining hall was always full and it was hard to find a

parking spot everyday. A big difference. The hallway I am in is

basically vacant. It is pretty quiet. Now occupancy rates have

plummeted. Many workers can't afford to stay and wait for things to pick

up. We drove less than a mile from the camp and we came across this,

what is clearly an abandoned RV Park. You conceal the debris left

behind. Many laid-off workers have been unable to find new jobs -- you

can see. In many cases they have given up and left town. Lifelong

residents haven't been spared by the slump either. This farmland has been

with this family for generations but now the monthly checks are not what

they used to be. I have been around long enough to know that even if you

have an oil well, it could be packed in in a month. Those royalties may

end. The energy companies and workers who remain are betting the

slump will end. The question is when.

In other news: The five largest European economies have agreed to

work together to try to combat tax evasion - urged other countries to

The UK has joined France, Germany, Italy and Spain in agreeing to share

information about the secret owners of businesses and trusts who hide

The deal, announced at the International

Monetary Fund meeting in Washington, comes in the wake of the tax

Microsoft is suing the US government over the right to

tell its users when federal agencies want access to private data.

It says keeping access requests secret is against the US

constitution, which states that individuals should

be made aware if the government searches or seizes their property.

BP shareholders have rejected a pay package

of almost $20 million for chief executive Bob Dudley at the oil

Just over 59% of investors rejected Mr Dudley's 20% pay increase,

which came despite record losses and thousands of job cuts.

It is one of the largest rejections to date

The vote is non-binding on BP, but the company's chairman has promised

A quick look at the markets which are subdued on Friday. They are all

looking ahead to the weekend OPEC meetings.

Don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of