:00:00. > 3:59:59amount to bribes. Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live
:00:00. > :00:19.from Singapore. Drumming up business. The Japanese
:00:20. > :00:27.Prime Minister rounds up his African tour with a stop in Ethiopian. And
:00:28. > :00:31.Malaysia bands the hiring of foreigners in the fast food
:00:32. > :00:36.industry. -- bans. Welcome to the programme. Japan's
:00:37. > :00:39.Prime Minister is in Ethiopia for the final stages of an African tour,
:00:40. > :00:46.where he has visited Mozambique and Ivory Coast. It is the first time a
:00:47. > :00:53.Japanese leader has visited the region since 2006. Later, he'll
:00:54. > :00:55.deliver a speech at the headquarters, emphasising Japan's
:00:56. > :01:01.relationship with the continent. Our correspondent has more.
:01:02. > :01:14.It has been eight years since a last official visit by a Japanese leader
:01:15. > :01:17.to Africa. Now, the continent is home to some of the world's fast
:01:18. > :01:19.growing economies. It is rich with minimal resources and have
:01:20. > :01:22.attractive consumer markets. So, Japan's Prime Minister is keen to
:01:23. > :01:30.promote trade ties. He's brought a large business delegation. At a
:01:31. > :01:33.brief stop in Oman, Shinzo Abe travelled to the Ivory Coast, where
:01:34. > :01:42.the economy is bouncing back after emerging from after a decade of
:01:43. > :01:45.violence and instability. Then, in Mozambique, Mr Abe signed a raft of
:01:46. > :01:51.agreements, including at credit of almost $670 million of loans to help
:01:52. > :01:59.develop infrastructure. -- including a pledge. This comes fresh off the
:02:00. > :02:08.back of an African tour by China's Prime Minister. The comparisons are
:02:09. > :02:13.unavoidable. Japan has been engaged with Africa for decades but has
:02:14. > :02:16.slipped in importance behind China. In fact, its trade with the region
:02:17. > :02:23.accounts for more than five times that of Japan. Some have interpreted
:02:24. > :02:25.Shinzo Abe's visit as an attempt to counter China's efforts in the
:02:26. > :02:29.region. It is ironic that when Shinzo Abe addresses his keynote
:02:30. > :02:30.address, it will be held in African union headquarters, built and
:02:31. > :02:48.financed by the Chinese. The Detroit Auto Show takes place
:02:49. > :02:51.this week. It's a different picture, this time, where in the past US
:02:52. > :02:55.automakers have survived tough times. There are optimistic
:02:56. > :03:00.prospects. Our sales went up 52% in China last year alone. Going
:03:01. > :03:12.forward, the economy is expanding. Around China, 7.5%. The automobile
:03:13. > :03:16.industry will be around 22.5 million vehicles. We have the number one
:03:17. > :03:26.vehicle in the world and China. We will bring all of our new vehicles
:03:27. > :03:28.to China. They love the Ford brand. We will have more on that later.
:03:29. > :03:36.That's coming up in World Business Report.
:03:37. > :03:39.Shares of Japanese spirits maker Suntory are trading higher this
:03:40. > :03:43.morning. Suntory is acquiring Jim Beam. As part of the deal, the
:03:44. > :03:48.Japanese company will take on the debt. It will bring the value of the
:03:49. > :03:51.acquisition to $16 billion. It will make the Japanese company the
:03:52. > :04:00.world's third-largest spirits maker. For more details, visit the website.
:04:01. > :04:10.Malaysia has banned fast food outlets from hiring foreigners. At
:04:11. > :04:21.least one in six workers from Malaysia are from poorer countries
:04:22. > :04:24.like Indonesia or Nepal. The government is keen for businesses to
:04:25. > :04:30.employ locals instead. Our correspondent has more.
:04:31. > :04:40.Most of the staff who work here are locals. But the government says more
:04:41. > :04:43.Malaysians would work here if they didn't have to compete with
:04:44. > :04:51.foreigners. From now on, fast food outlets have to make sure their
:04:52. > :04:57.staff are 100% Malaysians. We will survive but it will affect our
:04:58. > :05:01.service. It will be slow. It might affect our sales. Malaysians are
:05:02. > :05:06.frustrated with foreigners, who they blame for causing crime, working
:05:07. > :05:09.longer hours for low pay. This customer is tired of slow service
:05:10. > :05:14.from foreigners who do not speak the local language. The government says
:05:15. > :05:21.a lot of Malaysians want to work here. Is that your experience? Yes.
:05:22. > :05:24.They want to work. But after they work for a few days, sometimes they
:05:25. > :05:34.are tired or not interested anymore. They resign. This food outlet has
:05:35. > :05:42.had trouble finding new staff. That hiring sign has been out for more
:05:43. > :05:48.than one year. Not a lot of Malaysians want to do these job.
:05:49. > :05:55.Foreigners who end up working here do the cleaning. The labour here is
:05:56. > :06:07.cheap. Customers don't have to clean up after themselves. This person
:06:08. > :06:10.earns $300 a month. That is enough to take care of his wife's family
:06:11. > :06:17.and his family in Nepal. But that is barely enough to survive in
:06:18. > :06:20.Malaysia. Even if employers increase the salaries, it doesn't conquer a
:06:21. > :06:22.wider problem. Foreigners are mainly working in construction, plantations
:06:23. > :06:25.as domestic helpers. If the government is serious about moving
:06:26. > :06:29.away from cheap labour pool, they'll have to start with those sectors
:06:30. > :06:31.first. While Malaysia is clamping down on
:06:32. > :06:42.foreign workers, Australia wants more. Australia wants to boost its
:06:43. > :06:46.skilled immigrant intake by more than 15% by the middle of next year.
:06:47. > :06:49.It says there is a need for skilled workers in the mining and
:06:50. > :07:00.construction workers, as few Australians are putting their hands
:07:01. > :07:05.up those jobs. Our population is not at the moment supporting the numbers
:07:06. > :07:10.of skilled workers we need. Projections go through until 2025.
:07:11. > :07:15.We will be 2.8 million skilled workers short. Between now and then,
:07:16. > :07:20.we have to train up our workforce but we cannot avoid the fact we need
:07:21. > :07:28.large numbers of skilled migrants. You know how much of a hot topic
:07:29. > :07:34.immigration is in Australia. How do you explain the proposals to
:07:35. > :07:53.Australian workers looking for jobs? In Australia, we have had this
:07:54. > :07:56.mining boom. That has sucked out from the east over to the west very
:07:57. > :07:58.large numbers of highly skilled workers, leaving the commercial
:07:59. > :08:01.construction and residential construction sectors having to pay
:08:02. > :08:08.higher wages or not find the workers. That is why they resorted
:08:09. > :08:10.to programmes that are short-term, three-year programmes for skilled
:08:11. > :08:14.workers. We are not training people in these jobs that we need and to be
:08:15. > :08:16.in the places that we need in time, so we need to look at these
:08:17. > :08:28.alternatives. The earnings season is under way for
:08:29. > :08:32.corporate America. JPMorgan is the first of two American banks to
:08:33. > :08:37.report the result. JPMorgan, Bank of America, CitiBank, Goldman Sachs,
:08:38. > :08:40.Morgan Stanley. Six of America's largest banks.
:08:41. > :08:44.Combined, they make almost $75 billion in profits. Many banks have
:08:45. > :08:52.been cutting expenses and releasing money set aside for bad loans. But
:08:53. > :09:01.the profits big banks made last year has not been seen since the peak of
:09:02. > :09:04.the US housing bubble in 2006. In the last 12 months, the share price
:09:05. > :09:08.for some of America's largest banks have gone up anywhere from 25% to
:09:09. > :09:16.35%. It was a big driver for some of the record highs seen on US markets
:09:17. > :09:20.in 2013. But this year, that good cheer may not continue for financial
:09:21. > :09:28.institutions. Banks no longer have to rely on the low interest breaks.
:09:29. > :09:38.-- rates. It meant many home owners were refinancing mortgages. There
:09:39. > :09:41.were no longer refinances. So, banks are not getting that sort of profit
:09:42. > :09:43.anymore. Also, regulators are finally going after financial
:09:44. > :09:48.institutions that sort of mortgage-backed securities. Those
:09:49. > :09:55.faulty loans led to the collapse of the US housing market and the
:09:56. > :09:57.financial crisis. JPMorgan is paying $13 billion to settle charges and
:09:58. > :10:02.others will soon follow, including Bank of America, which is expected
:10:03. > :10:04.to pay the steepest fine. Mortgage-backed securities, the
:10:05. > :10:06.instrument that great banks to record highs, maybe the same ones
:10:07. > :10:19.that temper profits this season. Lets take a look at the Asian
:10:20. > :10:26.markets. A pretty gloomy start. Asian shares came under pressure.
:10:27. > :10:37.The Japanese yen was at a four-week high. Thanks for watching.
:10:38. > :10:42.The top stories this hour: French President Francois Hollande is set
:10:43. > :10:46.to make his first public appearance since allegations surfaced about an
:10:47. > :10:49.affair with an actress. There've been a spate of arson
:10:50. > :10:52.attacks in Brazil after 12 people were shot and killed. Investigators
:10:53. > :10:53.are examining claims the police were behind