:00:00. > :00:18.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:19. > :00:24.Propping it up. South Korea unveils a stimulus package to help its
:00:25. > :00:26.struggling economy. The deadline passes for Malaysian Airlines
:00:27. > :00:34.passengers to cancel their tickets and get a refund.
:00:35. > :00:39.Welcome to Asia Business Report. $40 billion. Will that be enough to
:00:40. > :00:44.bolster South Korea's economy? The government is hoping the answer is
:00:45. > :00:48.yes. The announcement of a massive stimulus package to try and increase
:00:49. > :00:50.activity. With fragile domestic demand and weaker exports, the
:00:51. > :01:02.economy expanded 0.6% in the past three months. That is the slowest
:01:03. > :01:15.pace in over a year. The government has cut its growth forecast for
:01:16. > :01:19.2014. It is now down to three `` 3.7%. The stimulus money will be
:01:20. > :01:22.used to offer financial support to small and medium`sized companies.
:01:23. > :01:25.Earlier I spoke to an economist from IHS and started by asking him about
:01:26. > :01:35.the ferry accident and the effect it has had on the economy. That was an
:01:36. > :01:37.important factor. The weak consumption in the second quarter
:01:38. > :01:40.indicated that. Private consumption contracted in the second quarter.
:01:41. > :01:43.That is very unusual. That was mainly because of the impact of the
:01:44. > :01:45.ferry disaster which triggered a period of national mourning. People
:01:46. > :01:49.cancelled festivals. Any kind of ostentatious spending was cancelled.
:01:50. > :01:55.That is why consumption was very badly hit. Also we are seeing signs
:01:56. > :02:04.that Korea is also struggling from headwinds of a strong currency. That
:02:05. > :02:07.is affecting exports and corporate profits. How right is the government
:02:08. > :02:12.to be throwing money at the problem? We know this is not the first
:02:13. > :02:20.stimulus package. They have had others before but they continue to
:02:21. > :02:23.miss their growth targets. I think the stimulus package will help to
:02:24. > :02:26.some extent with recovery in the second half of the year. But the
:02:27. > :02:29.headwinds from strong currency are likely to continue to affect growth.
:02:30. > :02:32.There is a somewhat better global environment with the US and Eurozone
:02:33. > :02:36.picking up. We will also see some recovery in private consumption as
:02:37. > :02:40.well. The impact of the disaster should wear off on consumers.
:02:41. > :02:43.Fundamentally, this stimulus will provide something of an offset to
:02:44. > :02:53.the contractions in spending that we have seen. In other news making
:02:54. > :02:57.headlines, Amazon has reportedly lost over $126 million in the second
:02:58. > :03:02.quarter. It has also warned that sales could slow in this quarter. It
:03:03. > :03:08.has survived on thin profit margins, with investors being reassured by
:03:09. > :03:16.strong sales growth. The news did not help the company's shares. They
:03:17. > :03:19.slumped 6% in after`hours trade. Meanwhile, General Motors earnings
:03:20. > :03:22.have slumped on the back of costs related to the vehicle recalls. Net
:03:23. > :03:27.profits fell 85% from a year ago to $119 million. The carmaking giant
:03:28. > :03:33.has had to recall nearly 29 million vehicles this year mostly due to
:03:34. > :03:35.faulty ignition switches. The deadline has passed for Malaysia
:03:36. > :03:38.Airlines customers to cancel tickets without penalty and get a full
:03:39. > :03:50.refund if they have decided not to fly. The airline is not saying how
:03:51. > :03:53.many tickets have been cancelled. But there are still questions about
:03:54. > :03:56.its future. It was struggling financially before the tragic
:03:57. > :04:02.disasters of the next 370 and MH17. I spoke to an airline safety expert.
:04:03. > :04:07.I started by asking if Malaysia airlines could survive the damage
:04:08. > :04:09.caused by these tragedies. Ultimately, that is going to be
:04:10. > :04:19.determined by the Malaysian government. The Malaysian government
:04:20. > :04:23.has about 7% holding in the airline. `` 70%. It is related to the
:04:24. > :04:30.appetite for how much money they are prepared to lose. What are they
:04:31. > :04:33.likely to do next? The government owns a majority of Malaysia
:04:34. > :04:44.Airlines. Will they look at privatising it? Could there be a
:04:45. > :04:50.potential restructuring? It could be all of those possibilities. A merger
:04:51. > :05:03.is less likely. That is because of the cost structures in the airline.
:05:04. > :05:06.They have a very high cost base. It is unlikely that any other airline
:05:07. > :05:09.would be racing to join it. It basically means that if the airline,
:05:10. > :05:12.if the government was to continue to back it, I suspect what they are
:05:13. > :05:16.going to do is an absolute radical restructuring of the airline. That
:05:17. > :05:20.includes a change in the profile and the culture of the airline. The
:05:21. > :05:33.perception of safety is not going to be an issue. That is likely to be
:05:34. > :05:38.enduring. Tell us, are the historical precedents to this? Have
:05:39. > :05:42.airlines managed to survive these circumstances? There has been
:05:43. > :05:47.instances both ways. One example was in America, there was an accident
:05:48. > :05:59.back in 1995 with one company. But they rebranded it and became very
:06:00. > :06:10.profitable within about a year. The year after it got the best low`cost
:06:11. > :06:15.carrier award for domestic carriers. In other news... The IMF is lowering
:06:16. > :06:19.its forecasts for global economic growth this year from 3.7% to 3.4%.
:06:20. > :06:22.It reflects a weak start to the year, particularly in the US, as
:06:23. > :06:30.will as a number of downgrades the outlook for some of the countries.
:06:31. > :06:34.The global forecast remains unchanged. Growth is predicted to
:06:35. > :06:36.come at 4%. Google has met with data regulators from across the European
:06:37. > :06:40.Union to discuss the implications of the recent right to be forgotten
:06:41. > :06:42.ruling. An EU court ruled that links to the relevant and updated data
:06:43. > :06:46.should be erased from searches on request. The BBC understands that
:06:47. > :06:51.Google has informed the watchdogs that it has received more than
:06:52. > :07:00.91,000 requests. The EU ruling has led to censorship concerns.
:07:01. > :07:05.In India, Mumbai's cafes have long been a symbol of the city's diverse
:07:06. > :07:10.cuisine and culture. The cafes were open on the 19th century with
:07:11. > :07:19.communities that have roots in Iran. But they are slowly dying out.
:07:20. > :07:23.For more than 90 years, this has been the perfect place to take
:07:24. > :07:26.shelter from the Mumbai monsoon. And from the looks of the walls and
:07:27. > :07:34.furniture, the restaurant has not changed much since it first opened.
:07:35. > :07:36.The 91`year`old proprietor, the second`generation owner, took over
:07:37. > :07:44.the business in 1944 after his father died. Immediately, he changed
:07:45. > :08:23.strategy. Until a few decades ago, cafes were
:08:24. > :08:29.all the rage in Mumbai. Most of them were family businesses. Over the
:08:30. > :08:39.past few years, most of them have shut down. Now less than 20 remain.
:08:40. > :08:43.His son, who runs the restaurant now, says so many cafes are closing
:08:44. > :08:51.because the next generation are not interested in taking over the
:08:52. > :08:53.business. Most of them prefer to take up high`paying jobs or go
:08:54. > :09:04.abroad after receiving good education. And in fact, he is facing
:09:05. > :09:07.the same problem. With my children? Yes, definitely. They are not
:09:08. > :09:14.impressed with this kind of business. My daughter and my son.
:09:15. > :09:27.They do their own things. They say it is monotonous. There is a lot of
:09:28. > :09:32.labour. He plans to sell this restaurant, but says he will not do
:09:33. > :09:38.it while his father is still alive. The reality is, these cafes are
:09:39. > :09:41.waning. With just a few of them left, lovers of the food can only
:09:42. > :09:44.hope that the remaining places will keep serving their specialities for
:09:45. > :09:58.as long as possible before becoming part of history. A quick look at the
:09:59. > :10:16.markets. They are fairly mixed at the moment. The Nikkei strong in
:10:17. > :10:21.exports. We are seeing a fall in gold prices in Australia although
:10:22. > :10:32.metal prices are climbing elsewhere. A bad day in Hong Kong,
:10:33. > :10:39.finishing up in negative territory. That is it for this edition of Asia
:10:40. > :10:46.Business Report. I'm Adnan Nawaz. The top stories this hour.
:10:47. > :10:48.13 people have been killed and hundreds wounded