:00:00. > :00:25.Office on your iPad, Microsoft unveils a new strategy. What will be
:00:26. > :00:31.the financial toll on Malaysia Airlines?
:00:32. > :00:41.Welcome to Asia Business Report. There is a shift in the technology
:00:42. > :00:46.landscape, with Microsoft's Office software now available on your iPad,
:00:47. > :00:55.meaning users can create an Excel spreadsheet on the tablet. Our tech
:00:56. > :01:02.correspondent has more on this strategy.
:01:03. > :01:05.This speech by Satya Nadella was the first time the new Microsoft boss
:01:06. > :01:09.has been able to outline his vision for the company. Remember, a lot of
:01:10. > :01:17.investors were too worried that he was too much of an insider to make a
:01:18. > :01:21.difference if needed. He talked about a mobile first strategy. The
:01:22. > :01:25.new goal for us is to step up and provide the applications and
:01:26. > :01:32.services that empower every user, across all of these devices, and all
:01:33. > :01:36.of these experiences. That is perhaps job number one that we do,
:01:37. > :01:44.which is to empower people to be productive, to do more across all
:01:45. > :01:47.devices. The move of Office to iPad really signifies a shift in
:01:48. > :01:51.Microsoft's thinking. A willingness to embrace rival operating systems
:01:52. > :01:56.after the negative approach of simply holding the productivity
:01:57. > :02:06.suite hostage to Windows. The question is how much of an audience
:02:07. > :02:11.they will find. Apple has filled the office space whole over the past
:02:12. > :02:17.years, which have worked perfectly well. This will provide one less
:02:18. > :02:22.reason for people to buy Microsoft's own hardware, like the
:02:23. > :02:26.Windows tablet and the Windows operating system itself. Microsoft
:02:27. > :02:39.is operating in a post` Windows world, and Satya Nadella has to
:02:40. > :02:50.figure out how best to promote it. A Chinese firm has won a lawsuit, as
:02:51. > :02:55.a search engine was accused of calibrating search engine to block
:02:56. > :02:59.information, advocating greater democracy on the mainland. There
:03:00. > :03:04.were seeking $60 million in damages for violations of their civil and
:03:05. > :03:14.equal protection rights. Walmart has sued credit card giant Visa for
:03:15. > :03:23.conspiring with banks to fix these for accepting visa card payments. It
:03:24. > :03:32.also is easily accessible for thieves. Visa has accepted damages
:03:33. > :03:36.of $5 billion over eight years. For other corporate headlights, please
:03:37. > :03:44.visit our website `` headlines. There has been a shift in consumer
:03:45. > :03:55.preferences in the mobile handset business. Will a new chief executive
:03:56. > :04:01.help turn things around for BlackBerry? We have a preview from
:04:02. > :04:05.New York. BlackBerry still has one fan, the
:04:06. > :04:11.president. While the White House is testing other phones, the user in
:04:12. > :04:14.chief is not switching. A relief for BlackBerry, but also a reminder of
:04:15. > :04:20.how far the company that popularised smart phones has fallen. This is the
:04:21. > :04:26.insider charged with reversing the Canadian firm's fortunes. John
:04:27. > :04:34.Chen, watched carefully by Wall Street. The real issue for investors
:04:35. > :04:38.is going to be what John Chen has in store in terms of maximising value.
:04:39. > :04:44.The one thing I like about him is that he has come in, and he has used
:04:45. > :04:48.like bring not just as a device company, but he is looking at all
:04:49. > :04:56.the assets and what they are worse. `` work. Touted by the former boss,
:04:57. > :05:02.these phones failed to win back market share. Under John Chen,
:05:03. > :05:08.BlackBerry teamed up with a Chinese manufacturer to save money and
:05:09. > :05:13.produce a low`cost phone. Since John Chen took over last November, the
:05:14. > :05:15.share price has risen roughly 40%. Investors want to believe that he
:05:16. > :05:23.will succeed where others have failed. Nobody expects library's the
:05:24. > :05:31.States to be fixed overnight. Investors will want to see that
:05:32. > :05:37.their faith is rewarded. Fresh data from Japan showed a more
:05:38. > :05:43.than 1% increase in consumer prices in February. It is the ninth
:05:44. > :05:45.straight month of rising prices, reaffirming signs that the economy
:05:46. > :05:50.is making steady progress to overcome nearly two decades of
:05:51. > :05:54.deflation or falling prices. Household spending fell by 2.5% over
:05:55. > :06:00.the same month, when compared to levels a year ago. Severe snowstorms
:06:01. > :06:05.limited people from going out of their homes. In a separate
:06:06. > :06:09.government report, it will show that the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%
:06:10. > :06:20.in February, and that is the lowest level in more than six years.
:06:21. > :06:27.Plans to export free Sim cards to people travelling overseas for
:06:28. > :06:40.safety reasons. In the ongoing saga of Malaysia
:06:41. > :06:48.Airlines flight MH370, apart from being a human tragedy, the airline
:06:49. > :06:51.is likely to be entangled in a web of compensation claims and legal
:06:52. > :06:54.battles. It is in talks with insurers about compensation
:06:55. > :07:02.packages. One US law firm has already begun court action against
:07:03. > :07:09.Boeing. He was responsible for compensating families of victims?
:07:10. > :07:13.And make `` how maybe tragedy effect the industry as a whole?
:07:14. > :07:20.Finding the flight recorders were just start giving passengers'
:07:21. > :07:24.families some answers, but it will help an industry with a good record
:07:25. > :07:28.of learning lessons from their tragedies. It took Air France three
:07:29. > :07:34.years to realise why it an autopilot is connected before it a bus crash
:07:35. > :07:40.in 2009. America's Pan Am never recovered from the bombing of its
:07:41. > :07:46.747 over Lockerbie 26 years ago. The final hours of flight MH370 are
:07:47. > :07:50.shrouded in mystery, and the question of liability is a long way
:07:51. > :07:54.from being resolved. The families will be compensated under the
:07:55. > :08:05.Montreal Convention, the costs borne by the airline's insurers. Once
:08:06. > :08:13.causes for the planesplane's demise can be worked out, other
:08:14. > :08:15.compensation can be made. Safety changes could follow for all
:08:16. > :08:27.airlines, around beaming out far more data from aircraft's cockpits.
:08:28. > :08:32.The estimates have been around $8 million per passenger, which is half
:08:33. > :08:37.$1 billion in all. They will have to find a court that allows them to sue
:08:38. > :08:42.for things like compensatory damages, or punitive damages. The
:08:43. > :08:47.most obvious one of those is the US, which is why Boeing is being named
:08:48. > :08:55.already. Even then, they will have to prove fault. It is a heavy cloud
:08:56. > :09:00.over a large and financially weak carrier, one that has already lost
:09:01. > :09:03.over $1 billion in the last three years. Some commentators think it
:09:04. > :09:08.might survive, but will see lower passenger growth. In particular, in
:09:09. > :09:11.countries like China, which is one of the fastest`growing countries in
:09:12. > :09:21.terms of tourism, or export of tourism, however, having said that,
:09:22. > :09:28.Malaysia Airlines is in part of the world that has great fundamentals.
:09:29. > :09:35.It partly right on whether Malaysia Airlines can be open and sensitive
:09:36. > :09:40.as it unfolds. Some say the airline should align itself as closely as
:09:41. > :09:44.possible with the families. They are a victim as well. To stand alongside
:09:45. > :09:47.the families and the empathetic, to make it clear that they have lost
:09:48. > :09:51.people, that it affects them as much as the families. I think that is a
:09:52. > :09:57.very sensible and credible position for the airline to take. An entire
:09:58. > :10:01.industry is waiting, with the ultimate cost of compensation and
:10:02. > :10:05.any new industry safety or security measures depending on some firm
:10:06. > :10:11.evidence of exactly what brought down flight MH370.
:10:12. > :10:17.As you have heard on our earlier bulletins, search operations have
:10:18. > :10:20.resumed this Friday, after a suspension yesterday due to bad
:10:21. > :10:25.weather conditions. We will bring updates on the search when the
:10:26. > :10:41.information becomes available, right here on BBC World News.
:10:42. > :10:42.Our top stories: The search for debris from the