:00:00. > :00:00.Prime Minister unveiled financial incentives for councils in England
:00:00. > :00:00.which approve new shale projects. Critics say the incentives amount to
:00:00. > :00:00.bribes. Now on BBC News, all the latest
:00:00. > :00:21.business news live from Singapore. The Japanese Prime Minister rounds
:00:22. > :00:27.up his African tour with a stop in Ethiopian.
:00:28. > :00:38.Malaysia, hiring foreigners in the fast food industry.
:00:39. > :00:41.Welcome to the programme. Japan's Prime Minister is in Ethiopia for
:00:42. > :00:47.the final stages of an African tour, where he has visited
:00:48. > :00:51.Mozambique and Ivory Coast. It is the first time a Japanese leader has
:00:52. > :00:57.visited the region since 2006. He will deliver a speech at the
:00:58. > :01:02.headquarters, emphasising Japan's relationship with the continent. Our
:01:03. > :01:07.correspondent has more. It has been eight years since a last
:01:08. > :01:13.official visit by a Japanese leader to Africa. The continent is home to
:01:14. > :01:16.one of the fast growing economies. It is rich with minimal resources
:01:17. > :01:22.and have attractive consumer markets. Japan's Prime Minister is
:01:23. > :01:27.keen to promote trade ties. This brought a large business delegation.
:01:28. > :01:34.At a brief stop, Shinzo Abe troubled to the Ivory Coast where the economy
:01:35. > :01:41.is bouncing back after emerging from after a decade of violence and
:01:42. > :01:46.instability. Next, Mozambique. Shinzo Abe signed a raft of
:01:47. > :01:52.agreements, including at credit of almost $670 million of loans to help
:01:53. > :01:58.develop infrastructure. He comes fresh off the back of an African
:01:59. > :02:03.tour by China's Prime Minister. The comparisons are unavoidable. Japan
:02:04. > :02:09.has been engaged with Africa for decades but has slipped behind China
:02:10. > :02:10.in importance. Its trade with the region accounts for more than five
:02:11. > :02:16.times that of Japan. region accounts for more than five
:02:17. > :02:22.interpreted Shinzo Abe's visit as an effort to counter China's Athers in
:02:23. > :02:26.the region. It is ironic that when Shinzo Abe addresses his keynote
:02:27. > :02:37.address, it will be held in African union headquarters, built and
:02:38. > :02:42.financed by the Chinese. The Detroit show takes place this
:02:43. > :02:46.week. A different show full US automakers have survived tough times
:02:47. > :02:57.in previous years of debt and bailouts. There are optimistic
:02:58. > :03:03.prospects. Our sales are up 52% in China last year alone. Moving
:03:04. > :03:13.forward, the economy is expanding. Around China, 7.5%. There will be
:03:14. > :03:18.millions of vehicles. We have the number one vehicle in the world and
:03:19. > :03:22.China. We will bring all of our new vehicles to China. They love the
:03:23. > :03:33.Ford brand. Stay with us. More details later.
:03:34. > :03:44.Shares of Japanese spirits maker are high this morning. There are
:03:45. > :03:52.acquiring Jim Beam. As part of the deal, the Japanese company will take
:03:53. > :03:56.on the debt. It will make the Japanese company the world's
:03:57. > :04:05.third-largest spirits maker. For more details, visit the website.
:04:06. > :04:09.Malaysia has banned fast food outlets from hiring foreigners.
:04:10. > :04:14.At least one in six workers from Malaysia are from poorer countries
:04:15. > :04:21.like Indonesia. The government is in the businesses to employ locals
:04:22. > :04:31.instead. -- keen for businesses. Our correspondent has more.
:04:32. > :04:37.Most of the staff who work here are locals. The government says more
:04:38. > :04:41.Malaysians would work is they didn't have to compete with foreigners.
:04:42. > :04:48.From now on, fast food outlets have to make sure their staff are 100%
:04:49. > :04:58.Malaysians. It will affect our service. Editor but slow. It might
:04:59. > :05:00.affect our sales. Malaysians are frustrated with foreigners, who they
:05:01. > :05:06.blame for causing crime, working longer hours for low pay. This
:05:07. > :05:10.customer is tired of slow servers from foreigners who do not speak the
:05:11. > :05:15.local language. The government said a lot of Malaysians want to work
:05:16. > :05:23.here. Is that your experience? Yes. They want to work. But after they
:05:24. > :05:29.work for a few days, sometimes they are tired or not interested anymore.
:05:30. > :05:33.They resign. This food outlet has had trouble finding the staff. The
:05:34. > :05:37.hiring son has been out for more than one year. Not a lot of
:05:38. > :05:42.Malaysians what to do this job. Foreigners who add up working here
:05:43. > :05:48.do the cleaning. The labour here is cheap. Customers do not have to
:05:49. > :05:57.clean up after themselves fast food outlets. Thank you. This person
:05:58. > :06:03.earns $300 a month. That is enough to take off his wife's family and
:06:04. > :06:08.his family. But that is barely enough to survive in Malaysia. Even
:06:09. > :06:13.if employers increase the salaries, it is not conquerors of a wider
:06:14. > :06:17.problem. Foreigners are mainly working in construction, plantations
:06:18. > :06:22.as domestic helpers. If the government is serious about moving
:06:23. > :06:28.away from cheap labour pool, have to start with those sectors first.
:06:29. > :06:42.Affection of Australia once more of those foreigners. They want to boost
:06:43. > :06:48.the skilled immigrant intake of the middle of next year. There is a
:06:49. > :06:52.skill -- need for skilled workers in the mining sectors. Few Australians
:06:53. > :06:59.are putting their hands up for those jobs. Our correspondent has more.
:07:00. > :07:05.Our population is not at the moment supporting the numbers of skilled
:07:06. > :07:11.workers we need. Objections are going through to 2025. We will be
:07:12. > :07:15.2.8 million skilled workers short. Between now and then, we have to
:07:16. > :07:22.train up our workforce but we cannot avoid the fact we need large numbers
:07:23. > :07:28.of skilled migrants. You know how much of a hot topic immigration is
:07:29. > :07:32.in Australia. How do you explain the proposals the Australian workers
:07:33. > :07:41.looking for jobs? In Australia, we had a mining boom. That has sucked
:07:42. > :07:44.out from the east over to the west. Large numbers of highly skilled
:07:45. > :07:47.workers are leaving the commercial construction and residential
:07:48. > :07:58.construction and manufacturing sectors. That is why they resorted
:07:59. > :08:02.to programmes that are short-term and three-year these programmes
:08:03. > :08:08.skilled workers. We are not training people in these jobs that we need
:08:09. > :08:15.and to be in the places that we need in time, so we need to look at these
:08:16. > :08:21.alternatives. The earnings season is under way for
:08:22. > :08:26.corporate America. JPMorgan Chase the first two of America's largest
:08:27. > :08:32.banks to report the result. The US economy is on the mend. Corporate
:08:33. > :08:37.earnings are not improving at the same pace as stock market. Our
:08:38. > :08:45.correspondent has more. JPMorgan, Bank of America, CitiBank,
:08:46. > :08:50.Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley. Some of America's largest banks,
:08:51. > :08:55.combined, they make almost $75 billion in profits. Many banks have
:08:56. > :09:00.been cutting expenses and releasing money set aside for bad loans. The
:09:01. > :09:06.profits big banks made last year has not been seen since the peak of the
:09:07. > :09:11.US housing bubble in 2006. In the last 12 months, the share price for
:09:12. > :09:18.some of America's largest banks have gone up anywhere from 25 to 35%. It
:09:19. > :09:24.was a big driver for some of the record highs seen on US markets in
:09:25. > :09:31.2013. This year, that might not continue for financial institutions.
:09:32. > :09:36.Banks no longer have to rely on the low interest breaks. And lots of
:09:37. > :09:42.home owners were reminded -- refinancing mortgages. There were no
:09:43. > :09:50.longer be finances. Banks are not getting that sort of profit anymore.
:09:51. > :09:53.Also, regulators are finally going after financial institutions that
:09:54. > :09:57.sort of mortgage-backed securities. As for the loans led to the collapse
:09:58. > :10:03.of the US housing market and the financial crisis. JPMorgan is paying
:10:04. > :10:07.$13 billion to settle charges and others will soon follow including
:10:08. > :10:12.Bank of America, which is expected to pay the steepest fine.
:10:13. > :10:17.Mortgage-backed securities, the instrument that great banks to
:10:18. > :10:26.record highs, maybe the same ones that temper profits this season.
:10:27. > :10:37.That is it for Asia Business Report. Thank you for watching.
:10:38. > :10:46.These are the headlines: Francois Hollande will make his first public
:10:47. > :10:51.appearance since allegations surface about his affair with an actress.
:10:52. > :10:54.A spate of arson attacks in Brazil where 12 have been shot and killed.
:10:55. > :10:57.The police might be behind the deaths.