:00:00. > :00:00.Health says it's confident it will find the necessary savings. Now on
:00:00. > :00:15.BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:16. > :00:23.Asian stocks are rising after the Federal Reserve announced record low
:00:24. > :00:27.interest rates. And we take a look at why Korean
:00:28. > :00:30.food is enjoying a revival in the West.
:00:31. > :00:41.Thanks for joining us. I'm Rico Hizon. The US central bank has cut
:00:42. > :00:45.another $10 billion from its monthly bond purchases after its meeting.
:00:46. > :00:50.The Fed has been gradually reducing the size of its stimulus programme
:00:51. > :00:55.and is on track to end it by late this year. It also committed to keep
:00:56. > :01:00.interest rates at a record low until the economy right `` recovers
:01:01. > :01:06.further. Asian markets are sharing that position, with Japan, Australia
:01:07. > :01:10.and Hong Kong in positive territory. This follows a rally in Wall Street
:01:11. > :01:18.overnight that saw the S 500 finish at a wreck at high. Earlier I
:01:19. > :01:28.asked how Asia's central tankers are likely to react. `` bankers. The
:01:29. > :01:34.next step is, how will the Federal Reserve going to shrink its balance
:01:35. > :01:41.sheet? It about $4 trillion, US, at the moment. The huge amount of
:01:42. > :01:46.money. Looking at inflation, we have high interest rates, high inflation
:01:47. > :01:51.in Indonesia and India. Are some of these Asian emerging economies
:01:52. > :01:59.exporting inflation to the US economy? Janet Yellen says we are
:02:00. > :02:02.seeing creeping inflation. As a result of the amount of money
:02:03. > :02:07.created, people expect inflation to be pretty rampant across the globe.
:02:08. > :02:13.But we are seeing low inflation in Europe. Very low inflation in
:02:14. > :02:18.America. But we see high inflation, in terms of say property. Top of the
:02:19. > :02:30.bubbles are all over the place. House price inflation is a big
:02:31. > :02:33.rubble. Amazon Instant is going to take on `` is going to take on
:02:34. > :02:35.smartphone giants Apple and Samsung Electronics, right on their own
:02:36. > :02:39.turf. The online retailer has unveiled a new handset which will
:02:40. > :02:41.give users direct access to its web store, services and other devices.
:02:42. > :02:46.Alcoa is one and was at the launch event. `` our correspondent. Jeff
:02:47. > :02:50.Bezos had promised us something different ahead of this event and
:02:51. > :02:52.here it is, the new Amazon Fire Phone. It looks like a standard
:02:53. > :02:55.smartphone. It has a decent camera. But what's interesting about it are
:02:56. > :02:58.these four front cameras that operate in infrared, meaning it can
:02:59. > :03:13.track my facial movements and my eyes. That means it can give dynamic
:03:14. > :03:16.perspective to the screen. For example, if I try to unlock the
:03:17. > :03:20.phone, you will see my lock screen looks like it's moving, like I can
:03:21. > :03:23.see through the image, much more than is possible on an iPhone, that
:03:24. > :03:26.tries to achieve a similar effect. The other unique feature on the
:03:27. > :03:29.handset is a dedicated button that means when you point the camera at
:03:30. > :03:34.any one of 100 million different objects in the database, it will
:03:35. > :03:38.recognise those objects. For Amazon, it's a seamless way for users to be
:03:39. > :03:47.able to order some and they want from the Amazon retail store. ``
:03:48. > :03:50.something they need from. This is a very crowded smartphone space but
:03:51. > :03:55.Amazon seem to have brought a very unique perspective to it. Success is
:03:56. > :03:57.by no means guaranteed but, given Jeff Bezos's past record for
:03:58. > :04:08.disruption, you would not bet against him. What to industry
:04:09. > :04:12.players think of this move? `` what do. It's certainly significant. They
:04:13. > :04:23.are looking to extend their brand, from what I can see. Amazon as an
:04:24. > :04:26.online retailer, with their Fire reader, now going into the
:04:27. > :04:29.smartphone. It looks like a natural extension. Will Asian consumers take
:04:30. > :04:32.up this new smartphone brand? There are many different brand names in
:04:33. > :04:44.the market today. Apple and Samsung and now Amazon. It looks like a very
:04:45. > :04:47.interesting phone and it also depends on whom they tie up with in
:04:48. > :04:53.the 12`year`olds and 15`year`olds like this device. They are the big
:04:54. > :05:01.users of the smartphones and the apps. Plans for a new shipping line
:05:02. > :05:03.has been rejected by China, already approved by the US and European
:05:04. > :05:09.Union. The alliance was meant to operate in a similar way to co`
:05:10. > :05:13.sharing deals between airlines and would have allowed the world's top
:05:14. > :05:18.three container shipping operators to shared vessels and port
:05:19. > :05:21.facilities, with plans for about 250 ships to participate. One of the
:05:22. > :05:30.companies behind the plan is from Denmark. Earlier I asked its
:05:31. > :05:35.Asia`Pacific CEO for details. The Chinese authorities told us they
:05:36. > :05:41.felt the concentration of 47% of the Asia Europe market amongst three
:05:42. > :05:46.carriers was a concern for them in terms of restricting competition.
:05:47. > :05:50.Our view was that this was purely an operational collaboration and there
:05:51. > :05:53.was no commercial engagement. But obviously the ministry of commerce
:05:54. > :05:59.didn't agree. With this alliance falling through, what does this
:06:00. > :06:05.setback mean for the company? Short term for this year it doesn't impact
:06:06. > :06:08.us. In the long`term, there will be `` there would have been cost
:06:09. > :06:12.savings for us and we are disappointed because it not only
:06:13. > :06:15.addresses some of the problems we have an industry in terms of cost
:06:16. > :06:21.but it also gives our better products. You quantified the savings
:06:22. > :06:26.of this? We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars for
:06:27. > :06:33.the alliances. Is it possible that this could be revisited? Reviewed?
:06:34. > :06:37.No. This was the final decision. There is no appeal and we aren't
:06:38. > :06:42.planning to argue this. We respect the decision that was taken and what
:06:43. > :06:46.we will do now is we will go back to focusing on doing what we need to do
:06:47. > :06:51.to make profit. Is there a way around not having this alliance? We
:06:52. > :06:58.didn't have a plan B. There was no plan B for this. What we will do is
:06:59. > :07:01.by taking up costs. We do co`operate by taking up costs. We do co`operate
:07:02. > :07:12.with other shipping lines in specific areas and we will continue
:07:13. > :07:15.to do that in the future. New Zealand's economy grew at its
:07:16. > :07:18.fastest annual pace in 6.5 years due to the construction boom. GDP
:07:19. > :07:25.expanded by 3.8% from levels one year ago in the first quarter, which
:07:26. > :07:28.was higher than estimates. In terms of popularity, Korean
:07:29. > :07:31.cuisine has been somewhat left behind when it comes to competition
:07:32. > :07:35.from its Chinese and Japanese make `` Japanese neighbours. But of late,
:07:36. > :07:41.there has been renewed interest in Korean delicacies. Lucy Williamson
:07:42. > :07:49.went to a farm that produces fermented bean paste.
:07:50. > :07:53.If it is fast food you are after, this is not it. South Korea's
:07:54. > :08:03.traditional fermented sauces are the original slow food. They are left to
:08:04. > :08:11.ferment, sometimes for decades. OK, it won't win beauty awards. But this
:08:12. > :08:13.humble paste is what gives South Korean food its unique flavour.
:08:14. > :08:21.South Korean food is about tradition, not fashion. The
:08:22. > :08:24.restaurants are simple, service brusque and its flavour is not for
:08:25. > :08:27.the fainthearted. This one is a paste made from fermented beans and
:08:28. > :08:33.some soup to match. There is some raw garlic and some whole pickled
:08:34. > :08:42.chillies here. It's what one Korean friend has described as the culinary
:08:43. > :08:45.equivalent of tough love. But tough love, it seems, is exactly what New
:08:46. > :08:48.Yorkers want these days, as well as those in London and Tokyo. South
:08:49. > :08:50.Korean restaurants overseas are beginning to collect coveted
:08:51. > :08:55.Michelin stars, including this one in New York. Its owner says Korean
:08:56. > :09:02.food used to be seen as cheap and cheerful, but the attitudes of chefs
:09:03. > :09:09.abroad are changing. We don't have famous chefs in South Korea. We have
:09:10. > :09:14.and generations have cooked for and generations have cooked for
:09:15. > :09:18.their family and only their family. And these people are the best chefs
:09:19. > :09:23.in this country. The rise of Korean food has not come as a complete
:09:24. > :09:27.surprise here. The South Korean government has been trying to raise
:09:28. > :09:29.the profile and the image of the nation's cooking for years, inviting
:09:30. > :09:34.top international chefs to Seoul for inspiration. The distinctiveness of
:09:35. > :09:44.South Korean food comes from locality. And locality can be
:09:45. > :09:54.developed into sophisticated cuisine and refined recipes and manners.
:09:55. > :09:59.Combined with that, we can compete in the world market. South Korean
:10:00. > :10:03.farmers are exporting twice as much produce as they wear a few years ago
:10:04. > :10:05.and the trend has returned back home, with upscale Korean
:10:06. > :10:15.restaurants starting to appear in the capital. This late entry into
:10:16. > :10:17.the gastronomic world has left some Koreans wondering ` how can
:10:18. > :10:21.something their grandmother makes suddenly be so cool?
:10:22. > :10:28.For more news and analysis, log onto the website. For the latest World
:10:29. > :10:37.Cup news, the sport is up next. Bye for now.
:10:38. > :10:42.The top stories this hour: Iraq has formally asked the United States to
:10:43. > :10:44.launch air strikes to halt a lightning advance by extremist Sunni
:10:45. > :10:50.Muslim militants who have seized major towns and cities.
:10:51. > :10:51.The defending World Cup champions, Spain, have