:00:00. > :00:13.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:14. > :00:24.Slowing down. Asian markets are up after the US Federal Reserve winds
:00:25. > :00:30.back its bond buying programme. New ads on Facebook. Many users are
:00:31. > :00:36.not happy. We ask if the move could spur a backlash.
:00:37. > :00:46.Welcome to Asia Business Report. We start off with the Asian markets.
:00:47. > :00:49.They are all in positive territory in midday trading, after the US
:00:50. > :00:52.Central Bank announced it will start winding back its bond buying
:00:53. > :00:54.initiative from January. It's a sign of confidence that the US economy
:00:55. > :00:57.has finally strengthened. The decision taken by those inside
:00:58. > :01:00.this building will have consequences around the world. But their actions
:01:01. > :01:05.were driven by what's going on right here in the US. In fact, Ben
:01:06. > :01:08.Bernanke talked about the improvement in the US economy, in
:01:09. > :01:13.particular what's going on in the jobs market. Reflecting progress and
:01:14. > :01:16.an improved outlook for the jobs market, the committee decided to
:01:17. > :01:34.reduce the monthly pace at which it is adding to the long-term
:01:35. > :01:36.securities on its balance sheet. If incoming information supports the
:01:37. > :01:39.expectation of further progress towards objectives, it's likely to
:01:40. > :01:41.reduce the pace of monthly purchases in further measured steps. The
:01:42. > :01:44.Federal Reserve does not believe this is job done. In fact, Ben
:01:45. > :01:47.Bernanke talked about how many Americans had dropped out of the
:01:48. > :01:50.workforce completely. So, they will continue to support the US economy,
:01:51. > :01:56.buying up around $75 billion worth of bonds each month. In exchange,
:01:57. > :02:01.they will keep interest rates lower for longer. If you look at the
:02:02. > :02:04.reaction by the financial market, it seems they have managed this change,
:02:05. > :02:09.this shift in policy, quite successfully.
:02:10. > :02:26.What impact will tapering have on Asia? The impact will be relatively
:02:27. > :02:32.low in some sense because the tapering was taking place very
:02:33. > :02:35.cautiously. They were careful about making sure the forward guidance in
:02:36. > :02:39.short was understood in markets, and would be pulled back in terms of
:02:40. > :02:45.easing policies. So that's number one. There will, over time, be some
:02:46. > :02:50.transition to potential capital flows being impacted. But if the
:02:51. > :02:53.tapering takes place in the sense of the US economy recovering, there
:02:54. > :02:56.will be positive spillovers through trade flows going forward. So I
:02:57. > :03:00.won't expect a significant impact on top of that. Also, the Fed isn't the
:03:01. > :03:13.only game in town. We have the bank of Japan easing monetary policy.
:03:14. > :03:16.They could ease it further. Let's take a look at some of the
:03:17. > :03:24.countries impacted. India and Indonesia. How will this impact
:03:25. > :03:28.than? -- them? What's your outlook for 2014? These are the two
:03:29. > :03:30.economies that are more exposed in the region, but they have high
:03:31. > :03:34.current account deficits. The capital flow is more global. In both
:03:35. > :03:42.cases, they have taken steps on policies, to reduce vulnerabilities.
:03:43. > :03:44.The current account deficit in India, for example, has been reduced
:03:45. > :03:52.quite significantly. Indonesia has tightened policies. I think the
:03:53. > :03:54.impact on that front will be quite insignificant. But in both cases
:03:55. > :03:57.their currencies will find it difficult to make headwinds. The
:03:58. > :04:01.Philippine economy has been a stellar performer this year, despite
:04:02. > :04:05.the major calamities. That's right. It stands out as one of the
:04:06. > :04:14.countries that is more resilient. They have a high current-account
:04:15. > :04:19.surplus. They have resilient growth. I think they would fare relatively
:04:20. > :04:22.well with the tapering process. Now a look at the specific markets
:04:23. > :04:33.in Asia that are in positive territory. Plus signs for Japan,
:04:34. > :04:36.Australia and Hong Kong. Japanese exporters benefiting from the weak
:04:37. > :04:42.yen versus the dollar, its weakest level since 2008. Let's move on to
:04:43. > :04:51.other business news making headlines. The value of the coins
:04:52. > :05:01.has plunged by almost half in China, after new moves to restrict trade.
:05:02. > :05:03.-- bitcoins. Deposits were banned following new restrictions imposed
:05:04. > :05:09.by the central bank. The dollar price of a bitcoin surged from $5 at
:05:10. > :05:17.the beginning of 2012 to 1200 in early December. Yesterday, it was
:05:18. > :05:20.trading just above $500. India's reserve bank has frozen the
:05:21. > :05:26.cost of borrowing, despite rising inflation. Food prices have been
:05:27. > :05:34.going up sharply. Asia's there is biggest economy is slowing. -- third
:05:35. > :05:36.biggest. Some fear companies will be discouraged from investing and
:05:37. > :05:41.generating much-needed wealth. In a view -- in aviation, Air Asia's
:05:42. > :05:48.long-haul division has sealed a record-breaking $6 billion deal with
:05:49. > :05:56.Airbus to buy 25 A380 planes. -- A330. It's the largest single order
:05:57. > :06:02.for the planes and it's part of its long-term goal to eventually fly to
:06:03. > :06:04.Europe. The carrier will start taking deliveries of its new fleet
:06:05. > :06:08.in 2015. The two Koreas are to hold a fourth
:06:09. > :06:12.round of talks to develop their industrial park in the North's
:06:13. > :06:16.border city. Negotiations have been stalled since September. The meeting
:06:17. > :06:19.coincides with an unprecedented visit to the complex by dozens of
:06:20. > :06:21.foreign officials and financial experts from institutions, including
:06:22. > :06:27.the IMF and the Asian development bank.
:06:28. > :06:30.New Zealand's booming dairy industry has helped boost the economy, with a
:06:31. > :06:37.1.4% increase in growth for the September quarter. It is the biggest
:06:38. > :06:40.quarterly rise in four years and beats forecasts by the central bank.
:06:41. > :06:41.Good weather is the main factor behind improvement in the
:06:42. > :06:57.agricultural sector. Moving to social media.
:06:58. > :07:06.How far will Facebook go to grow its advertising revenues? Many are
:07:07. > :07:09.asking that, as it tests its first video advertisements. But will it
:07:10. > :07:12.turn users away? We found out the views of some people from Singapore.
:07:13. > :07:24.I wouldn't mind. Facebook has to earn money. It depends on what kind
:07:25. > :07:28.of video. If it is about fashion tips or maybe sales, I don't mind.
:07:29. > :07:35.But if it's something that's not relevant to me, I won't like it.
:07:36. > :07:39.Probably I will just close the browser or I will move on to the
:07:40. > :07:43.next page. Irritated. I do feel a lot of these advertisements can
:07:44. > :07:52.distract. There is a fine line between presenting a product and
:07:53. > :07:59.overdoing it. It won't make me want to buy a car or shampoo. We have TV
:08:00. > :08:06.for ads. Don't put it on Facebook. It's annoying. I have someone from a
:08:07. > :08:12.digital marketing company. I ask whether the social media site is
:08:13. > :08:15.facing a backlash. Everytime Facebook does something different,
:08:16. > :08:24.there is a reaction from users. The thing about video ads is that
:08:25. > :08:29.Facebook has thought about it. It is auto-play but the sound isn't
:08:30. > :08:33.enabled. It doesn't have pop-ups, flashing banners, that a lot of
:08:34. > :08:36.websites and online ads use. I think users are going to respond in a
:08:37. > :08:41.difficult way initially perhaps but I think it will be all right. It
:08:42. > :08:48.will be an adjustment period between the user using and looking at the
:08:49. > :08:51.service on Facebook. But do you think Asian companies and users will
:08:52. > :08:54.use this new service of Facebook? I hope so. I hope people make use of
:08:55. > :09:02.this opportunity. From a consumer brand's perspective, it's a new way
:09:03. > :09:06.to advertise. It's not like a TV ad. We have a chance to interact with
:09:07. > :09:10.users. Create video ads which bring that interactivity alive. I hope
:09:11. > :09:13.consumer brands will use this effectively. How important is Asia
:09:14. > :09:18.to Facebook? Facebook is incredibly popular here in Asia. A lot of users
:09:19. > :09:28.are accessing Facebook through their mobile platforms. It's fantastic to
:09:29. > :09:31.know Facebook has thought of this before launching the video ad
:09:32. > :09:34.service. If you are accessing Facebook from a mobile platform, the
:09:35. > :09:44.video ads won't display until you have a Wi-Fi connection.
:09:45. > :09:46.As you say, this will be an advantage for Asian consumer brands.
:09:47. > :09:52.What about individual users? Will they use the service? I think they
:09:53. > :09:56.will. We have had lots of sponsored stories, which the individuals are
:09:57. > :10:01.now accessing and using, outside of brands. So, Facebook has been in
:10:02. > :10:09.incredible intelligent in moving this forward.
:10:10. > :10:13.Let's have a quick look at the currency markets. The Japanese yen
:10:14. > :10:23.is weaker against the dollar. The US central bank surprised
:10:24. > :10:26.markets by trimming its bond buying programme and said it expects to
:10:27. > :10:28.keep reducing it if the economy continues to improve.
:10:29. > :10:40.Thanks for investing your time with us. Goodbye for now.
:10:41. > :10:46.The main stories: A panel set up a President Obama has recommended
:10:47. > :10:47.significant curbs